Milwaukee Streetcar Line

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.

Milwaukee Mob Attacks: Beatings, Looting (Video)

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 beatings

Milwaukee 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.

MMSD, Sewage, and Illegal Dumping

What does heavy rainfall in the Milwaukee area mean?

It means the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District will be dumping sewage into rivers and Lake Michigan. Lots of it.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Two waves of heavy rains and high winds downed trees and power lines and flooded roadways throughout the Milwaukee area Tuesday afternoon and evening.

...Tuesday's second wave of rain hit about 8 p.m. Within 20 minutes 3-4 inches had accumulated on the roadway of the Zoo Interchange, the National Weather Service said. In Milwaukee Sewer grates were reported overflowing at S. 43rd St. and W. Lincoln Ave. Street flooding lifted manhole covers at N. Port Washington Road at Capitol Drive. There also were estimates of rainwater two-feet deep on roads two miles southeast of Miller Park, the weather service said.

...Flooding also was reported at Mayfair and Blue Mound roads in Wauwatosa and at Lily and Burleigh roads in Brookfield.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District started combined sanitary and storm sewer overflows into local rivers and Lake Michigan in central Milwaukee and eastern Shorewood around 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday was a second day of heavy rain and it overwhelmed regional sewers and started filling the district's deep tunnel. It was the first sewer overflow to waterways reported by the district this year.

...MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer said he ordered closing of gates connecting combined sewers to the deep tunnel during a Tuesday evening downpour to prevent sewage backups into basements and to reserve space in the tunnel for flows from the majority of the district served by separated sanitary sewers. Overflows from combined sewers likely started as gates closed.

The main deep tunnel already was more than half full from combined sewer flows when Shafer ordered the combined sewer overflows. Another reason for the emergency measure is to prevent overflows from separate sewers. The district's state permits allows up to 6 combined sewer overflows in a year but generally prohibits separate sanitary sewer overflows except under extreme conditions.

By late Tuesday night, the City of Milwaukee said it had received about 150 complaints of backwater in basements and water flowing into basements through basement windows. At least a half dozen manhole covers were displaced.

Of course.

MMSD is fouling Lake Michigan and rivers again.

Are we supposed to be impressed that this is the first time this year that MMSD has dumped sewage into Milwaukee's source of drinking water?

In an interesting twist, news of the sewage dumping comes on the same day that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and other city officials held a news conference about the problem of illegal dumping.

From FOX 6 News:

This is the season for a lot of outdoor fun, but unfortunately it is also a time when the City of Milwaukee sees an increase of illegal dumping.

The City of Milwaukee is asking for help from citizens to stop these culprits, and this growing problem.

Sanitation Services Manager Wanda Book said, "There are over 3,000 city owned vacant lots across the city that unscrupulous characters have been using as their private dumping grounds."

Last year, the city spent $175,000 clearing illegally dumped debris and the problem is getting worse.

City leaders say citizen reporting is the key.

"We need citizens who are tired," Alderwoman Milele Coggs said. "Who are sick and tired of their neighborhoods being used as a garbage dumping ground and we need them to be the eyes and ears on the streets for us."

Common Council President Willie Hines witnessed illegal dumping in his district and he took action.

Hines said "Write [their] drivers license plate down, the name of the company and forward it to the police department of which we were able to cite him."

...If you see illegal dumping in progress, call the Milwaukee Police Department's non-emergency number.

Also, you should call the We Tip hot-line number at 1-800-78-CRIME. You can be rewarded up to a thousand dollars if your information leads to prosecution.

 

Illegal dumping on city or private property is a serious problem. It shouldn't be tolerated.

Citizens should report this crime if they see their neighborhood being abused as a dumping ground.

A thousand dollars in reward money is quite an incentive to get involved.

Too bad Mayor Tom Barrett and city officials tolerate dumping sewage in Lake Michigan. I wish they'd take a strong stand against that.

Prepare for Milwaukee area beaches to prohibit swimming due to contaminated water.

Same old, same old.

Ceasefire Sabbath

Will Milwaukee's gun-toting murderers, thugs, and assorted criminals be in church this Sunday?

It's the 7th annual Ceasefire Sabbath.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Scores of area congregations are expected to join with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and city and county law enforcement officials to promote nonviolence as part of the 7th annual Cease Fire Sabbath this weekend.

Barrett, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm will kick off the initiative at breakfast with faith leaders Thursday at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church, 128 W. Burleigh. And Barrett and Chisholm will speak at six area churches on Sunday.

"The police department and district attorney have done a magnificent job in reducing violent crime in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. But in all honesty, we can't do this alone," Barrett said at a Wednesday news conference at City Hall.

"We need the cooperation of faith leaders and the community."

Chisholm said strong families and faith communities play an important role in keeping young people from becoming involved in crime. "The more mentors and faith-based relationships we have, the better we'll succeed as a community," he said.

...Barrett and Chisholm will speak at the following churches on Sunday:

Barrett will be at New Covenant Church, 2315 N. 38th St. at 9:30 a.m.; Greater Galilee Missionary Baptist Church at 2432 N. Teutonia Ave. at 10:30 a.m.; St. Patrick Parish, 723 W. Washington St., at 11:20 a.m.; and St. Adalbert Parish, 1923 W. Becher St. at 12:45 p.m.

Chisholm will appear at Parklawn Assembly of God, 3725 N. Sherman Blvd., at 7:50 a.m.; and Jerusalem Missionary Baptist church, 2505 W. Cornell St., at 11 a.m.

Although the thugs most likely won't be in church today, people who know them may be. The good people might be able to encourage the thugs to follow a nonviolent path.

Also, children, the next generation of thugs, may be attending today's church services and be influenced by hearing the messages of Barrett and Chisholm and faith leaders in the community.

Who knows?

It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
_________________

Here's Tom Barrett's May 20, 2011, e-mail message on the topic:

Dear Friends,

This weekend marks my 7th Annual “Ceasefire Sabbath” in which I ask clergy and faith leaders to promote a common message of peace and non-violence in their weekend services. I believe faith is the cornerstone of a healthy and productive community and, as history has shown us, it is often religious leaders who lead the charge for social justice and change. I believe the same holds true today.

Just this week, District Attorney John Chisholm, Police Chief Flynn and I met with more than 100 pastors and other faith leaders who serve our city. We agreed that violence prevention and community building comes in many forms. Mentoring a young family, providing summer jobs to teens, extending a hand to a reentering ex-offender and recommitting our efforts to stem the flow of illegal guns are among just a few of the many strategies offered that will make a difference in the lives of Milwaukee residents.

Everyone who cares about keeping our neighborhoods safe in this City has a role to play. A full-on community effort in cooperation with the police department is essential to the success of our common goal to strengthen the community, reduce crime and promote peace. We need to show strength and unity in spreading the message that violence will not be tolerated in our neighborhoods.

Below is the schedule of churches that I will be visiting:

8:45 am - 9:50 am Greater New Birth Church
10:30 am - 11:50 am Greater Galilee MBC
11:20 am – 11:50 am St. Patrick Parish
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm St. Adalbert Parish

District Attorney Chisholm will be visiting the following churches:

8:00 am Parklawn Assembly of God
10:20 am Canaan Missionary Baptist Church

I’m pleased we have made great progress in making our communities safer and I’m grateful to the police department, District Attorney Chisholm and the countless community members who have helped in our efforts.

Sincerely,

Tom Barrett
Mayor, City of Milwaukee