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It would be nice if a streetcar line in Milwaukee would spark development, increase business, and improve the overall quality of life in the city.
That would be nice, but it's a pipe dream.
This is a major time warp.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:After nearly 20 years of debate, Milwaukee aldermen voted 10-5 Tuesday to build a modern streetcar line downtown.
They stopped short of final approval, however. In response to concerns raised by Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics, the Common Council agreed to limit spending to engineering expenses for now, and to seek a review by the comptroller before releasing money for construction.
Still ahead in the next year are key decisions about how to run the line, how to pay its operating costs and how to resolve concerns raised by utility companies about moving their underground lines out of the way of the streetcar tracks.
The measure now heads to Mayor Tom Barrett, the plan's chief advocate, for signing.
"We know there's a lot of work to be done," Barrett said. "I view this as a significant step, but by no means do I view this as the end of the road."
Plans call for a 2.1-mile line, from the lower east side to the downtown Amtrak-Greyhound station, starting in 2014. Streetcars would run every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes on weekends and during late-night and early-morning hours.
Modern streetcars, resembling light rail vehicles, would run on rails laid in streets, draw power from overhead wires and operate in traffic.
Rails laid in streets, overhead wires.
This would be a step in the right direction, if this were the 19th CENTURY. ...Utilities have warned it could cost $50 million or more to move utility lines along the initial route, but utility and city representatives have agreed those early projections are likely to come down with design adjustments and possibly even a route change. The council voted to cap the initial segment at $64.6 million and trim costs if needed.
Barrett has said he wants the streetcars to be operated by the nonprofit company that runs the Milwaukee County Transit System, but no formal deal is on the table.
Downtown Ald. Bob Bauman said the streetcar line would stimulate development, expand the tax base, create jobs and improve mobility for downtown workers, residents and visitors.
City officials predict the project will create 680 jobs at construction and supply contractors with the initial route, or 1,080 if the extensions are included. The extensions also would raise the number of permanent operating and maintenance jobs from 20 to 35.
The council voted 12-3 to reject south side Ald. Bob Donovan's move to subject the project to a referendum in the spring 2012 elections. Donovan cited the potential utility costs and Morics' concerns about insufficient information, while deriding predictions of economic development along the line as "incredibly rosy."
Of course, it will cost more than projected. That's certain. Additional costs will pile up. They always do.
I think Donovan's idea of having a referendum on this is an excellent idea.
Let the people of Milwaukee decide if they want a streetcar line.
It shouldn't be jammed down their throats.
Council members are probably afraid of a referendum because they know people don't want a streetcar line.
So, in their arrogance, they're bypassing the people, acting like they know what's best for the community.
They view residents as dolts, incapable of choosing the proper means of transportation to suit their needs....[Mayor Tom] Barrett, Kovac and Bauman said they viewed the initial line as a starter system that could be expanded if it is successful, with potential extensions to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University, Mitchell International Airport and various neighborhoods.
"This will remain controversial until people start riding it," and then begin clamoring for extensions to other parts of the city, following the pattern of similar systems elsewhere, Barrett said.
People are going to be "clamoring for extensions to other parts of the city"?
Yeah, right.
Back in the 1800s, streetcars replaced horses. That was progress.
This isn't progress.
It's a waste.
I'd rather have horses than streetcars.
Festa Italiana's four-day run on Milwaukee's lakefront began with a beautiful summer night.
The heat wave eased up just enough and just in time. There was a soft breeze and less humidity at the lake. After a gorgeous sunset, the weather was perfect to enjoy the sights, the food, the music, and the fireworks.
It seemed less crowded. Maybe concerns about heat kept attendance down a bit.
What's new at Festa? New this year at Festa Italiana is Piazza di LEGO (LEGO square). In collaboration with MSOE, American Institute of Architects – Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools, children of all ages are welcome to participate in a daily LEGO contest at the North end of the grounds.
...As part of Piazza di LEGO, members of MSOE’s student chapter of the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) will construct a five-feet tall Leaning Tower of Pisa out of approximately 18,000 LEGOs! The students, led by Justin Cosgrove, began their work in early February and are expected to complete the structure during the week of May 23. A team of students will spend approximately 130 man hours and 90 days shaping the LEGOs into a lifelike construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The completed tower will be driven to Festival Park from MSOE and will be on display at Piazza di LEGO all four days of the festival!
In addition, a fully functional LEGO model of Milwaukee’s Miller Park, constructed by MSOE alumnus Tim Kaebisch, will be displayed at Piazza di LEGO. The model stands over three-feet tall and the details are amazing!
Once upon a time, local television news actually was informative.
The broadcasts weren't loaded with sensational crap and goofy features.
Those days are gone, and now so is the long-time anchorman of Channel 4, John McCullough.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Even in so-called retirement, John McCullough remained a newsman.
He was best known as the respected anchor at WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) - long the station's lone anchorman at 5 and 10 - until he officially retired in 1988. He went on to start McCullough Productions, producing award-wining documentaries for WMVS-TV (Channel 10) and WTMJ.
"John was an icon in the TV news business in Milwaukee," said Mike Gousha, now distinguished fellow in law and public policy at Marquette University. "At a time when viewership for TV news was at its zenith, there was nobody bigger than John."
That said, McCullough didn't act it.
"It was always about the news," said Gousha, who found a mentor in McCullough as a young reporter at WTMJ. "It wasn't about John."
McCullough died Wednesday at a hospital in South Bend, Ind. He was 77. He collapsed Sunday while with his wife, Sandy, at their summer-and-football-season home in Granger near South Bend. No cause of death is known, but it might have resulted from a heart rhythm problem.
...McCullough joined WTMJ-TV in 1967. The station is owned by Journal Communications, which publishes the Journal Sentinel.
"McCullough personified the station," wrote Mike Drew, then TV-radio critic for The Milwaukee Journal. "Older, sincere, solid to the point of stolid, unflashy to the borderline of dull. But also, year after year, reliable, right and no-nonsense."
..."He was a legend," said Hank Stoddard, former WTMJ sports director and a longtime friend. "He was not big on too much happy talk - he could throw a one-liner out - but he didn't tolerate the fluff that you see today on TV news."
When he decided to step down, McCullough made the announcement himself - on his 5 p.m. newscast.
"I spent 22 years here breaking stories, and I wanted to break my own retirement," he said.
I can still hear McCullough's sign-off after the 10:00 news, before Johnny Carson's Tonight Show: "Sleep warm."
Rest in Peace.
Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, has yet another clip to add to her highlight reel.
Brewer, former TMJ4 reporter and anchor, is the gift that keeps on giving.
Video, from Breitbart:TranscriptCONTESSA BREWER: You're simplifying the issues that were on the plate of the nation at that point. We were looking at going, reverting into a depression at that point. Everyone-- the Fed Chairman, the...
REP. MO BROOKS: Well, I disagree that we were going into a depression; but go ahead.
BREWER: Do you have a degree in economics?
BROOKS: Yes, ma'am, I do. Highest honors.
BREWER: OK, so... so, you disagree with the Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke.
Oh, Contessa, you stepped in it - AGAIN!
What a fool!
Mo Brooks is no schlub.Mo graduated from Duke University in three years with a double major in political science and economics, with highest honors in economics. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Alabama Law School.
Other "highlights" in Contessa Brewer's career:Contessa Brewer and John Ziegler
Contessa Brewer and Zach Lahn
Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, White People, and Guns
MSNBC Bashes Republicans on Olympics
Contessa Brewer: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton
Contessa Brewer and Judd Gregg
Contessa Brewer: Global Warming Snow Job
Contessa Brewer: Islamic Ties, Faisal Shahzad
Contessa Brewer, MSNBC, and Living Green
Contessa Brewer and Tony Katz
Lisa Humphrey, the grandmother charged with killing her 10-month-old grandson, Royality Sanders, has been convicted of killing before.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:A woman who police say killed her 10-month-old grandson by spiking his bottle with morphine was convicted of shooting the infant's grandfather to death in the late 1980s, according to court documents obtained Friday by the Journal Sentinel.
Lisa Humphrey, 46, is charged in a complaint with killing her grandson, Royality Sanders, whose body was found April 28 on the mattress he had shared the night before with Humphrey and his 2-year-old sister. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, according to court documents.
A jury found Humphrey guilty in July 1989 of shooting her husband, Curtis Humphrey, in the back and in the throat as he tried to leave their apartment building in the spring of 1988, according to court records.
Humphrey, convicted of what was then called second-degree murder, faced up to 20 years in prison. Then-Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Skwierawski sentenced her to six years.
Queentesta Humphrey is Royality's 24-year-old mother and the daughter of Lisa and Curtis Humphrey. In other words, her mother has been convicted of killing her father and is charged with killing her son.
"I am near to having a nervous breakdown," Queentesta Humphrey said.
She said she and her siblings were placed in foster care after her father was killed.
A child when her mother was released, Queentesta Humphrey said she was the only one in her family that would have anything to do with her mother.
She said she has been taking care of her mother, who suffers from back pain, for the last several years.
"I can't understand why she would do this," she said.
Really?
Someone capable of killing your father would be capable of killing your baby.
I can't understand why Queentesta would leave her children in her mother's care. ...In the early evening of April 8, 1988, according to court records, Lisa Humphrey and her husband were arguing over a pair of shoes. Curtis Humphrey wanted to know where his wife had found the money to buy them. Lisa Humphrey told police he slapped her and wrestled with her on their bed.
Lisa Humphrey told police she called her husband's mother, who came to their apartment in the 700 block of W. Galena St.
As her mother-in-law was talking to her husband, Lisa Humphrey took a handgun from his car, according to a complaint.
She told police that she closed her eyes and opened fire on her husband as he was heading down a flight of stairs.
He climbed back up the stairs, went back into their apartment and collapsed on the floor, the complaint says.
Decades of deadly dysfunction.
UPDATE, July 26, 2011: Aldermen balk at changing name of Fire Department___________________
Milwaukee Alderman Terry Witkowski wants to rename the Milwaukee Fire Department to Milwaukee Emergency Response Services.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The Milwaukee Common Council is considering a proposal by Ald. Terry Witkowski to rename the Milwaukee Fire Department as Milwaukee Emergency Response Services.
Witkowski said the change would better reflect the work of the department. He said only 7% of the department's calls are related to fire; the remainder range from paramedic services to chemical cleanups. The new name would save the department from criticism that it responds to relatively few fires, making the department less of a target during the city's next round of budget cuts, Witkowski said.
"A part of what makes me bring this forward is that every time we go through budget cuts, we hear about this 7%," Witkowski said Wednesday.
Witkowski added that the name change would cost very little - uniforms, engines and stationery with the new name would be ordered only as equipment wears out.
Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing agreed that the department was "a multiservice organization," but he remains wary of the way the alderman is pursuing the change. Rohlfing hoped that a name change would be accompanied by a larger discussion of the department's role in responding to the city's emergencies.
"Let's talk about it, you know, look at our mission, our vision, and look at what we want to change our name to, what best reflects what we do," Rohlfing said Tuesday. "One of the reasons they hang on to that name is tradition, pride and all those kind of things."
Rohlfing said he expects the firefighters union to oppose the name change.
...The ordinance will be considered at Thursday's meeting of the council's Public Safety Committee. If approved by the committee and the council, the name change will be effective in 60 days, although the department will continue to be officially chartered as a "fire department organization."
With all due respect, this is a lame idea, an utter waste, weird politics.
Does Witkowski really believe that a name change for the department would make it less of a target when it comes to budget concerns?
"Milwaukee Emergency Response Services" wouldn't be immune from budget cuts.
What an ineffective smokescreen!
Witkowski's plan to have "uniforms, engines and stationery with the new name... ordered only as equipment wears out" is ridiculous.
A name change would involve more than altering uniforms, engines, and stationery. Witkowksi doesn't consider other things such as equipment and signs and the fire stations themselves.
The process would take years, possibly decades.
Ask firefighters if they want to be called "emergency response service workers," since they really don't spend a lot of time responding to fires.
I don't think it would go over too well.
Should the Milwaukee Public Schools be renamed Milwaukee Public Child Warehouses, Meal Halls, and Leftist Indoctrination Centers, to better reflect the reality of what happens there?
Marquette University students have been the target of robberies.
From 620 WTMJ:According to Marquette University:
The first happened near North 17th Street and West Kilbourn Avenue when a student was approached by two men, who tried to rob him.
The student hit one of the would-be robbers and managed to get away.
The second incident happened near North 18th and West State Streets when police say 10-15 young men stole a wallet from student.
Police are investigating the crimes.
What did the men look like?
Did Marquette release any information on the descriptions of the thieves? That would help students and others on and near campus protect themselves.
A group of 10-15 young men robbed a student.
That's a large group of young men to be strolling down the street near 18th and State.
Sounds like "mob-like behavior" to me.
The final day of Summerfest 2011 wasn't violent, but it turned out to be dangerous.
The Rock 'n Sole half marathon and 10K had some problems related to the heat, humidity, and poor planning.
Runners participating in the event complained about a lack of water stations on the Hoan Bridge.
The bridge to nowhere became the bridge to no water yesterday.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:More than 20 runners were taken to the hospital and about 50 received emergency medical attention for heat-related problems during Summerfest's inaugural Rock 'n Sole event Sunday.
The half-marathon and 10K race turned into a full-fledged emergency when early hydration stations ran out of water and cups. Runners started collapsing in the humid 85-degree heat, and some were unable to get immediate help because of a lack of medical aid stations. No medical aid was available on the 2.5-mile-long Hoan Bridge.
Organizers ended the race around 10:30 a.m. because of dangerous conditions, although many runners had crossed the finish line by then.
The Milwaukee Fire Department provided about 15 runners with IV drops and took them to Columbia St. Mary's Hospital and Aurora Sinai Medical Center. Bell Ambulance transported 6 to 10 more, Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Jack Christianson said.
"We saw a lot of IVs started, just to get fluids back," Christianson said. "I don't know the number of IV bays we went through, but every patient we transported had an IV.
"Dehydration was a big problem. I was looking at people there and you could tell, 'Keep an eye on that one.' Next thing you know, there he went. It was very hectic for about an hour, a little more than an hour. It did put quite some stress on the area hospitals. The emergency rooms were inundated in pretty rapid order."
Multiple runners said hydration stations as early as 2.5 miles into the course ran out of water and cups. The next station, a mile away, had no cups. Volunteers had to pour water straight into runners' hands.
Race officials acknowledged their failure to provide enough water in the right places and apologized.
...Schuler admitted that hydration stations along the Hoan Bridge, one of the first parts of the course, did not have enough water, but said other later stations were more heavily stocked.
"We had enough water, but not in the right place," Schuler said. "We tried to get water up there as fast as we could, but we couldn't get it up there fast enough."
He largely blamed the lack of water on the little time his crew had to prepare. Drivers said the Hoan Bridge was closed to traffic about 6:30 a.m. Schuler said the bridge was closed at 7 a.m., which gave his 250-volunteer crew less than 45 minutes to cover grates and set up and stock hydration stations before the half-marathon began at 8 a.m.
While some runners said volunteers did a great job and the event overall was good, others were outraged. They called the lack of water, medical aid stations and shade along long stretches of the race "inexcusable" and "appalling" and criticized organizers for gross management failure.
It's unfortunate that it was such a hot and humid day. There was no room for error when it came to having adequate water available for runners.
It turned out to be quite a mess...."They should be embarrassed. They're completely culpable for any heat-related incident that happens," said half-marathon runner Daniel Otto of Chicago, who said he saw two runners collapsed along the course - one right in front of him at mile marker 12. The half-marathon race was 13.1 miles long.
...Many runners demanded a refund, saying organizers didn't deliver the promised basic services for runners, who paid between $40 and $70 to run the 10K or $60 to $100 for the half-marathon.
Edwin Thaves, who ran his 12th race, said he was shocked and called it "inexcusable."
"I was quite surprised for an event that was promoted as being iconic and world class that there was no water on the course after that first station at mile marker 1.5. No water along the rest of the course, at least for the 10K," Thaves said. "It doesn't take a lot of effort to plan an event where there's water. That should be a minimum expectation as far as I'm concerned."
Runners said bystanders offered their garden hose to allow volunteers to fill up water jugs for the runners. Firefighters also set up a fire hose to spray runners around the 13-mile marker to help cool them down.
Some runners said the race should have started earlier, when temperatures were lower. The original start time, set in 2010, was 10:15 a.m. but was changed to 8 a.m.
John Boler, vice president of sales and marketing for Summerfest, said the start time for the 10K run was pushed back 15 minutes, to 8:30 a.m., to accommodate the large number of participants in the 8 a.m. half-marathon.
Despite the extra time, the large number of half-marathon runners meant that the understocked, and according to some runners, understaffed, hydration stations were out of water before the first 10K runners reached them.
Several runners complained that throughout the morning the race's website listed conditions of the race with a green flag and low risk. It wasn't until the afternoon that the page was updated with a "severe" level and black flag, which advises runners to seek immediate shelter because it's considered unsafe to proceed along the course.
I think refunds are in order.
There's no excuse for not having adequate water. __________________
Video, from FOX 6 News: This Summerfest video doesn't give any indication of problems. It even shows the hydration stations fully stocked.
__________________
Rock 'n Sole director apologizes, promises improvements
Summerfest, Day 11 - Summerfest 2011 draws to a close with Sugarland at the Marcus Amphitheater, 7:30 PM.
UPDATE, July 11, 2011: Greenfield man arrested in Summerfest stabbingA Waukesha man is recovering after he was stabbed twice in the stomach during Summerfest Friday night.
Ricardo Moran was near the Harley-Davidson stage at 11 p.m. when he got into an argument with a 24-year-old man from Greenfield. Moran told Today's TMJ4 that the Greenfield man bumped into him. The Greenfield man stabbed him twice with a knife, Milwaukee police Sgt. Mark Stanmeyer said.
The suspect was arrested.
When was the suspect arrested?
Why did it take so long for police to release information on the stabbing?_________________
MSNBC's online report on the Summerfest stabbing at the Dropkick Murphys concert, using WTMJ-TV and JSOnline.com as sources, mentions the race of the attacker.
He is described as a "a white man with a goatee."Summerfest stabbing victim speaks out
In an exclusive interview, Ricardo Moran tells TODAY'S TMJ4 a white man with a goatee bumped into him, then quickly stabbed him twice in the middle of a crowd. "What I saw in his eyes was something different. He had kind of a smirk on his face. Like he intended to bump me to see what would happen, to see if I would defend myself," Moran said.
Here's the text of TMJ4's online report:A Waukesha man is recovering after a violent encounter on the Summerfest grounds Friday night.
In an exclusive interview, Ricardo Moran tells TODAY'S TMJ4 a white man with a goatee bumped into him, then quickly stabbed him twice in the middle of a crowd.
"What I saw in his eyes was something different. He had kind of a smirk on his face. Like he intended to bump me to see what would happen, to see if I would defend myself," Moran said.
Police will talk more about the incident on Monday. Summerfest organizers tell TODAY'S TMJ4 they have not added any security, maintaining the festival already has solid security measures in place.
Again, the attacker's race is mentioned, the MSNBC article being a copy of the TMJ4 piece.
A white guy allegedly committed the violent act.
WHITE. The bad guy is WHITE. However, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, citing TMJ4 as its source, chose to omit the race of the attacker in its online report on the incident.A man was stabbed at Summerfest Friday night, according to WTMJ-TV (Channel 4).
Ricardo Moran told WTMJ a man came out of the crowd Friday night and cut him twice in the stomach and chest. Moran was hospitalized overnight and released on Saturday, the station reported.
Moran said he was at Summerfest with his wife. At one point, he felt a strong push and turned to see a man who quickly stabbed him. He said he did not know the man or what prompted the attack.
Summerfest officials could not be reached for comment.
The Milwaukee Police Department said it would not release any information on the incident until a Monday morning news conference.
It's weird that TMJ4, and accordingly, MSNBC, chose to report on the attacker's race, while the Journal Sentinel did not.
Has the Journal Sentinel decided it's going to be colorblind?
It's also weird that the police department is staying quiet until a Monday news conference.
Why a news conference at all?
Does this incident merit a news conference, scheduled more than two days after the attack?
Given the PR disaster of the mob attacks last weekend, I suppose I can understand the lengthy silence by the department. All parties probably want to get their stories straight this time to avoid further embarrassment.
Better to wait until Summerfest is over, too.
I wonder if Ed Flynn and the Leftist media will go out of their way to stress that race is NOT a factor in this crime.
Maybe race can be discussed in this crime since the attacker was white. No need to fear a racial emphasis dividing the community in this case.
I don't know.
Not much information on this incident--
From WTMJ:Authorities are looking into a battery and cutting along Milwaukee's lakefront.
It happened at 200 N. Harbor Drive near the Summerfest Grounds.
A 33-year-old man sufferend non-life threatening injuries.
Milwaukee Police haven't released any further details at this time.
So there's more violence in Milwaukee, battery and stabbing.
And police aren't releasing information to the public.
I suppose there could be a good reason for the lack of details, like hampering the arrest of a suspect or suspects.
I would like to know more.
The problem is after the mob rampage, the robberies and brutal beatings, following the July 3rd fireworks, and the awful police response and lame excuses from Police Chief Ed Flynn, I've lost trust in the department to provide the truth.
I'm not saying that the vast majority of Milwaukee police officers aren't performing their duties admirably, protecting the public from the bad guys.
My concern regards the truth about certain incidents being withheld from the public.
I have doubts now that weren't there before the mob attacks.
Trust is a very important thing. When it's lost, that's a problem not easily solved.
Summerfest, Day 10 - America performs at 10:00 PM on the M&I Classic Rock Stage.
Summerfest, Day 9 - At Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, 10:00 PM, it's Dropkick Murphys.
Why were there several fights in the vicinity of the Harley Stage at Summerfest on the night of July 5th?
One explanation is that venue was too small to accommodate the huge crowd there to see Wiz Khalifa.
From FOX 6 News:Summerfest crowds were large on July 5th and witnesses say several fights broke out. A FOX6 viewer caught Summerfest security breaking up one of those fights.
There was a lot of buzz leading up to Rapper Wiz Khalifa's July 5th concert. Charles Fink shoots video of the packed Summerfest crowds surrounding the Harley stage, where Khalifa's performing. He heard shouting and focused his camera on a fight quickly broken up by Summerfest security.
Director of Summerfest Security Michael Demarco says Summerfest was ready for the 100,000 plus people who flooded the festival grounds on July 5th. "We concentrated a considerable amount of resources into the Harley area. I took resources from the north end of the grounds, the south end. We took from the Amphitheater we concentrated them there and placed them strategically."
...Some people FOX6 spoke with say the rapper wasn't on a big enough stage for the crowds appearing to hear his famous "Black and Yellow" song. Security says he was booked before he became popular and they did the best they could.
No. That's no excuse for the violence.
Behaving badly, being violent, is a choice. It has nothing to do with crowd size.
Video. Here's full video of one of the fights at Summerfest on Tuesday night:It appears that security did a good job in controlling the situation, preventing the fight from escalating into a massive brawl.
It's disturbing that this was just one of "several fights" at Summerfest that night, but security was prepared.
This is why I cringe when I see small children at Summerfest late at night. It's not a good atmosphere for little ones. It's not safe. ________________
Here's video of the crowd at the Wiz Khalifa concert:
Read the comments at YouTube describing the crowd, the fights and the disorder.
More video:
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn had some explaining to do at a public meeting in Gordon Park.
The police response to the beatings and robberies by a mob of young people in Riverwest has been criticized by the victims and witnesses.
Naturally, the community is concerned about the lawlessness.
This video shows the reason for the concern:
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The police response to a weekend rampage by about 60 young people who beat and robbed a smaller group that had been watching fireworks from Kilbourn Reservoir Park "may not have been our finest hour," Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told an audience Wednesday evening.
Flynn's comment preceded an account of the assault by a woman who was among the victims. The woman, who identified herself only as Jessica, drew applause from the crowd of about 200 after describing how police made her and her friends feel at fault for simply enjoying a holiday weekend at a public park.
"They told us to leave and started kicking us out of the park," she told the audience at the Gordon Park pavilion.
"It was then that we realized that no one got a chance to make statements except the two who required medical attention, even though there were 19 of us who had witnessed something a bit different. They did not even take our names and phone numbers to call us at a later time."
Later, Flynn invited any other victims or witnesses in attendance to provide their accounts to officers after the meeting, which he called to address heightened community concerns after several violent robberies and the looting of a gas station in the neighborhood late Sunday night and early Monday.
Earlier, police reported that several parents contacted them to report their children as suspects in the looting of the BP gas station at 1030 E. North Ave.
As of Wednesday afternoon, four teens had been cited with disorderly conduct, theft and curfew violation after their mothers called police. Three were girls - aged 13, 14 and 16 - and one was a 15-year-old boy.
Police are seeking at least 22 suspects who ransacked the gas station early Monday. Police have identified seven people in the looting, and charges are pending against the four who were turned in and two others.
They're also seeking more information on a series of beatings associated with six armed or strong-arm robberies against 11 victims in the Riverwest neighborhood around the time of the looting. There have been three arrests in the robberies.
Police have still not said the looting and the beatings are connected, although they might involve some of the same people. Several of those injured described being attacked by a mob that subjected them to racial taunts. The injured were white; the attackers were African-American, witnesses said.
The police response to the rampage "may not have been our finest hour"?
Note to Flynn: It most definitely was not the department's finest hour.
Furthermore, the way Flynn is handling the situation at this point is not good.
He's acting personally offended by criticism, as if he thinks people are being unfair to the police.
Flynn will acknowledge mistakes "to a certain extent," but then he turns around and lectures the public. He seems pissed off at what he calls "talk-land and blog-land," accusing people of inciting racial divisiveness.
Here's video of the Gordon Park meeting, from WISN.
I don't think Flynn is being fair. He's playing the race card, trying to turn criticism of his department's response into something sinister and inappropriate.
Expressing concern about victims being mistreated by police is appropriate.
I think legitimate questions are being asked by citizens. They shouldn't be marginalized and dismissed as racist.
Interestingly, the JSOnline article about the Gordon Park meeting doesn't allow comments.
What's that about?_________________
More video:
Police Chief admits to shortcomings in town hall meeting on attacks
Victims Describe Mob Scene In Riverwest
Some Parents Turn In Their Children After Riverwest Incidents
Summerfest, Day 8 - G. Love & Special Sauce are at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, 10:00 PM.
UPDATE, July 7, 2011: Response to Riverwest attack not Police Department's 'finest hour,' Flynn says_______________
It's taken a while for the police and the media to fully report on what happened in Milwaukee on the night of July 3rd and into the early morning hours of the 4th, but finally we're learning the extent of the crime and disorder.
At first, there was a definite effort to downplay the size of the mob and its thuggery.
Jeff Wagner writes:Early in the morning of July 4th, a gang of approximately 50 teenagers looted a convenience store at the corner of North Avenue and Humboldt. Shortly afterwards, the mob attacked groups of people hanging out at Reservoir Park after the July 3rd fireworks.
A surveillance video shows the convenience store being looted. Televised interviews with victims of the attacks in the park confirm the wildings. Residents in the area say that the mob has been running around the Riverwest neighborhood for weeks.
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary however, the Milwaukee Police Department says that reports of a "mob" are not accurate! Huh?
Chief Flynn seems to be saying: "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes and ears"? In this case, with all due respect to Chief Flynn, I think I'll believe the photographic evidence and eyewitness accounts.
Reality eventually has forced officials to acknowledge the truth.
A mob went on a criminal rampage in Riverwest. Innocent people were victimized.From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shaina Perry remembers the punch to her face, blood streaming from a cut over her eye, her backpack with her asthma inhaler, debit card and cell phone stolen and then the laughter.
"They just said 'Oh, white girl bleeds a lot," said Perry, 22, who was attacked at Kilbourn Reservoir Park over the 4th of July holiday weekend.
Though Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn noted Tuesday that crime is color blind, he called the Sunday night looting of a convenience store near the park and beatings of a group of people who had gone to the park disturbing, outrageous and barbaric.
Police would not go quite as far as others in connecting the events; Flynn said several youths "might" be involved in both.
"We're not going to let any group of individuals terrorize or bully any of our neighborhoods," said Flynn.
Perry was among several who were injured by a mob they said beat and robbed them and threw full beer bottles while making racial taunts. The injured were white; the attackers were African-American.
Store video of the BP station at E. North Ave. and N. Humboldt Blvd. shows the business being ransacked. A clerk at BP confirmed to the Journal Sentinel that he was busy waiting on customers when one or two people held the door open to let others rush in and steal snacks and candy.
Not far away, a group of 20 to 25 friends from Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood had gathered at the park shortly before midnight to watch some fireworks set off by a neighbor. In interviews with 11 people who said they were attacked or witnessed the attack, a larger group of youths appeared in another section of the park around midnight and were joined by more young people running up the park's stairs.
At some point the group of friends and the group of youths intersected; those interviewed said the attack appeared to be unprovoked.
"I saw people dancing and I figured they were just having a good time," said Jessica Bublitz, 28, who lives in Riverwest.
Minutes later Bublitz saw a male friend hit in the temple and fall down. Her fiancée told her to run to safety. James Zajackowski, 28, said things suddenly turned chaotic.
"Within 30 seconds to a minute, bottles were flying and people started getting punched. I was in shock. I thought 'Really? Is this really happening?' I was on the ground, people were trying to get into my pockets, I could feel their hands but I held on to my cell phone and my wallet," said Zajackowski, a census worker.
Emily Mowrer, 27, was not hurt but saw her friends beaten and punched and full beer bottles thrown at them. Her boyfriend was punched. She saw Perry lying down with blood on her face, not moving. She called 911 on her cell phone.
"I saw some of my friends on the ground getting beat pretty severely. They got away with one of my friend's bikes. Some people had their wallets stolen," said Mowrer, who owns a house with her boyfriend in Riverwest. "It didn't seem like it was a mugging - it seemed like an attack. Like they weren't after anything - just violence."
Good Lord!
Racial slurs?
Whites were beaten by blacks in totally unprovoked assaults.
"They just said 'Oh, white girl bleeds a lot.'"
These are hate crimes.
Calling Al Sharpton... Calling Jesse Jackson...
Crickets.
The police should not have misled the public as they originally did.
The public deserves to know the truth. Perry needed three stitches to close a cut above her eye. She said she saw a friend getting kicked and when she walked up to ask what was happening a man punched her in the face.
"I heard laughing as they were beating everybody up. They were eating chips like it was a picnic," said Perry, a restaurant cashier. "All I remember is seeing bright lights (after the punch), then my backpack was gone and blood was spurting out of my head."
A police spokeswoman on Monday said police received no reports of mobs of people committing crimes in the Riverwest area other than the reports of two armed robberies.
At the Tuesday press conference, Flynn attempted to defuse reports that mobs of youth were running through the Riverwest neighborhood attacking citizens. However, he did admit that those responsible for the BP store looting and attacks at Kilbourn Reservoir Park had mob-like characteristics.
"Clearly we had mob-like behavior in the incidents involving the robberies at Reservoir Park as well as the ransacking of the BP station….Certainly we had elements of mob-like behavior that challenged us on July 3," said Flynn.
This wasn't "mob-like behavior." It was mob behavior.
Thugs terrorized innocents. There was a racial element in the attacks.
This is very troubling:Most of the 11 people who told the Journal Sentinel they were attacked or witnessed the attacks on their friends said that police did not take their complaints seriously. They each said police responded to the scene very quickly and tended to the injured but officers did not take statements from them and told them to leave the area.
"You've got 20 plus people giving eyewitness accounts. I'm very surprised that they said it wasn't a mob," said Mowrer.
Lange said he told a police officer about the beatings but noticed the officer didn't write anything down or note his name. Bublitz tried to tell an officer that her three-speed bicycle had been stolen and that one of her friends was hurt but said the officer told her he was looking for evidence.
"About 20 of us stayed to give statements and make sure everyone was accounted for. The police wouldn't listen to us, they wouldn't take our names or statements. They told us to leave. It was completely infuriating," Bublitz said.
The police want cooperation from the public.
When victims are treated like this by officers, the police aren't doing what's necessary to build a good relationship with the community. They aren't doing their jobs, protecting the public.
I would have been horrified if I or a family member or a friend had been beaten and robbed and the crimes were dismissed by the police.
If the accounts by victims are accurate, the behavior of the police must be considered inexcusable, a dereliction of duty.
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed here. ---The thugs need to be apprehended and punished. At present, they are in control. Order must be restored.
---City officials must reassure the public that they will be protected and this criminal activity will not be tolerated.
---The police need to explain what the attempt to downplay the thugs' crimes was about.
---The police need to explain why they didn't take the victims' complaints seriously.
Here's raw video of Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn's news conference on the chaos, the rash of robberies and beatings, that took place after the July 3rd fireworks. FOX 6 News has posted still photos of people from the Riverwest BP surveillance video here.Help Milwaukee Police identify the people in these photos taken from gas station surveillance cameras. This gas station was looted by a mob of teenagers on July 3rd in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood. If you see someone you know, police want you to contact them at 414-933-4444. [These are people of interest NOT suspects]
I really hope decent people identify the individuals in these photos and contact police to give them the information they need to bring the thugs involved in the crimes to justice. More video, from FOX 6 News: Did the police try to cover up what happened because city officials didn't want to scare away visitors to Milwaukee?
Was there concern that reports of such random and such extreme lawlessness would hurt Summerfest and other events in the city?
I want to know why the public was kept in the dark about the attacks. It was an utterly irresponsible decision.
Who made the decision to mislead? ____________________
UPDATE: Flynn defends police response to Riverwest beatingsMilwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn dismissed accusations Wednesday that police tried to cover up or minimize the looting of a BP store near Reservoir Park and several beatings associated with robberies in the city's Riverwest neighborhood Sunday.
Police simply weren't fully informed when they responded to media inquiries Monday about the incidents, which led police to deny mob-like activity, he said.
"We were wrong," Flynn told reporters Wednesday. "There were reports that were filed that night… There was not an intent to do anything nefarious… I had the data. I didn't have the details. Nobody had reported it as a separate report."
Flynn said he and others in the department looked Monday at an online log of police activity in the neighborhood near the park. The log indicated there were three robberies but didn't include a mention of the beatings or mob-like behavior.
"Our initial reaction was 'OK, we had a series of robberies. We don't have any reports of mob-like activity.'" Flynn said.
...The full police reports include details about other crimes that happened at the time of the robberies, Flynn said. Once he and others read that information, they passed it along to the media, he said.
"It wasn't an attempt to downplay or minimize or deny the concern about what we ultimately learned," Flynn said.
Police Capt. Patrick Mitchell said Wednesday that police have reports from five victims in the incidents.
Flynn added Wednesday that the first priority for police at the scene of the beating Sunday had not been to make arrests, but to disperse the crowd and tend to victims.
"The priority is moving people along and treating the wounded," he said.
Making arrests would have taken much-needed police officers off the streets and away from the areas where they were needed, he said.
Nearly a dozen readers complained to the Journal Sentinel that officers didn't take reports, or took incomplete reports, from them after beatings. Flynn indicated the officers were outnumbered and didn't have time to get every detail from each person who approached them. He encouraged people who have additional details to contact district 5 at 935-7253.
"It's certainly plausible we missed victims," he said. "We have competing priorities. I'd love to have the details."
Flynn said he understands some victims might have been frustrated, but said officers did take reports of the robberies.
"I understand the frustration of some people who were involved . . . The situation wasn't as smooth and as calm as every victim might have liked," he said in an interview Wednesday on WTMJ-AM (620). "I do know by the end of that evening we made three separate robbery arrests. We did follow proper protocol in terms of having the reports done and the investigation commenced that night."
The chief said more witnesses had come forward since media published photos and video of the looting of the BP station.
OK.
So, Flynn says there wasn't any cover-up, nothing nefarious about the department's initial denial of the "mob" activity.
It was just incompetence apparently.
That's reassuring, isn't it?
Regarding the racial component:[Flynn] also said it was important to challenge commentary in some blogs and reader comments on news stories that emphasize the race of the victims and suspects.
"We can't allow this activity to divide this community because ultimately, it's this community standing together that will identify these individuals and ultimately bring them to justice."
Facts are facts.
Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:Perry was among several who were injured by a mob they said beat and robbed them and threw full beer bottles while making racial taunts. The injured were white; the attackers were African-American.
"The injured were white; the attackers were African-American."
Today, that sentence has been slightly altered:
"The injured people were white; the attackers were African-American, witnesses said."
So the facts become a little diluted. "Witnesses" claim the attackers were African-American.
The Journal Sentinel is no longer declaring that to be the case.
It should be noted that the racial element wasn't something conjured up by bloggers or commenters on online news articles, at least in the case of the Journal Sentinel.
That media outlet put out the racial information in a very clear manner in yesterday's report. There were no qualifiers.
Victims were white. Attackers were black. Period.
The Journal Sentinel should take responsibility for the information it relays to the public.
Flynn should acknowledge that the media cited the racial component.(
Flynn does admit that JSOnline brought up race in its reporting. Listen to Flynn address the matter, 620 WTMJ.)
I don't understand why stating someone's race divides the community.
There are responsible, law-abiding people and there are thugs.
Their skin color isn't the issue. Public safety is the issue.
However, let's not apply a double standard. If, as victims report, there were racial taunts during the beatings, it's wrong to dismiss that.
It certainly wouldn't be dismissed if the victims were black and the attackers were white.
Let's deal with the reality of the situation and not soften the hard facts.
We have to know the truth to solve the problem.
Summerfest, Day 7 - The Black Keys perform at the Marcus Amphitheater, 7:30 PM.
Summerfest, Day 6 - Switchfoot is performing at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage at 10:00 PM.
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote a prophetic letter to his wife Abigail. It foretold the significance of Independence Day.
He wrote:"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by Solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfire and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."
The second president of the United States was right.
235 years later, it is a day of celebration, a great anniversary.
I feel so, so blessed to be an American, to be a member of the "succeeding generations" that inherited independence.
Adams wrote to Abigail that he understood how high the price of liberty would be, but that didn't discourage him. "You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. - I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. - Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not."
I'm so grateful to all those who fought for my freedom -- the American patriots of over two hundred years ago, throughout our history, and today. 
I love my country.
I cherish my freedom.Happy Fourth of July! God Bless America.
