Past Stories

County detention pond wall sections wash away
May 6 -- Sections of the stormwater detention basins under construction on the Milwaukee County Grounds washed away last week, and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District officials are exploring ways to repair them.more >>

Key city officials urge balanced transportation planning
May 6 -- The $200 million the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has proposed spending to expand North-South I-94 "could be better spent implementing a balanced transit strategy that includes mass transit alternatives and increased local road aids," top city officials said Monday.more >>

Hank Aaron trail hearing Thursday
April 30 -- Plans to lengthen the east end of the Hank Aaron State Trail to connect it to Lakeshore State Park and to create a recreational site along the central portion of the trail are anong proposed changes to the trail master plan that will be discussed at a public hearing Thursday evening.more >>

Story Hill assessments don't change
April 30 -- The average 2008 residential property assessment was unchanged in Story Hill, according to city Assessment Commissioner Mary Reavey.more >>

Freeway expansion won't help speed in Racine, Kenosha Counties: WisDOT
March 22 -- Expanding North-South I-94 to eight lanes will not improve traffic speeds in Racine and Kenosha counties beyond the gains that would be realized through a far less expensive proposal to improve freeway design while maintaining a six-lane configuration, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.more >>

CIA training still an issue
March 22 -- A witness for the county in a lawsuit over the pension scandal testified last week that he would not sign a waiver to allow the Central Intelligence Agency to verify that he received actuarial training from the agency.more >>

A surprise: Walker wins in Story Hill
April 15 -- County Executive Scott Walker won the traditionally Democratic Story Hill neighborhood in the April 1 general election, edging challenger State Sen. Lena Taylor by three votes.more >>

March agenda and information from the County Board's Parks Committee here.

Extreme sports at Miller Park?
March 31 -- Neighborhood residents will be consulted if plans for an extreme sports complex at Miller Park move forward, according to Ald. Michael Murphy.more >>

County pension suit witness claims CIA training
March 31 -- A witness in the county's mega-million dollar pension scandal law suit said that his CIA training as an actuary is too secret to testify about -- and that he worked for the CIA before he graduated from college.more >>

Billboard debate sparks accusations of deception
March 24 -- Ald. Michael D'Amato accused colleagues seeking stricter regulations on electronic billboards of misleading the Common Council and Ald. Robert Bauman returned the favor by accusing D'Amato of "dissembling" on the issue. more >>

Council committee approves billboard changes
March 17 -- Billboards would be able to change electronic messages every eight seconds, but their brightness and visibility from residential neighborhoods would be restricted, under a compromise ordinance endorsed last week by a Common Council committee. more >>

The St. Patrick's Bluemound Rd. Parade photo gallery. Click here to view.

Restrictions added to proposed billboard ordinance
March 10 - Electronic billboards with changeable messages could not be located within 400 feet of residential areas if the signs would be visible from the homes, under a proposed ordinance to be considered by a Common Council committee this week.more >>

County will buy solar lights for flag illumination
March 10 -- The county will buy solar powered lights to illuminate U.S. flags at night, according to county documents.more >>

I-94 North-South project would add tons of global warming gases
March 3 - Expanding North-South I-94 will add seven million tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere during the life of the proposed freeway, according to the land use group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.more >>

City cuts programs to cope with CDBG funding woes
March 3 -- The Common Council last week cut funding for the Health Department, Milwaukee Public Library, Department of Neighborhood Services and a number of community groups and agencies to offset a $1.2 million cut in federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME funding.more >>

Dems trounce Republicans in Story Hill
Feb. 25 -- Democratic presidential candidates outpolled their Republican opponents by nearly a 4-1 margin in Story Hill in the Feb. 19 primary election, according to the City Election Commission. Republicans, though, did better in Story Hill than they did in Milwaukee as a whole, where Republican presidential candidates were trounced by almost 7-1, according to election returns.more >>

Story Hill resident wants to organize your dates
Feb. 25 - Pat Downs knows firsthand the multitude of steps between inventing a product and getting it into the marketplace. More than two years after Downs and his partners began work on Jenda, a lifetime voice calendar for the home or office, they've yet to put it on store shelves.more >>

Audit slams jail medical system
Feb. 21- The Sheriff Department's three-year-old medical records system for jail and House of Correction inmates, acquired under circumstances that raise conflict-of-interest questions, is so bad it should be replaced, according to a new audit.more >>

City loses $1 million in 2008 federal funding
Feb. 19 -- The city has been notified that it will lose $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for this year, Mayor Tom Barrett's top aide said Monday.more >>

Barrett champions transit, Great Lakes Compact in "State of the City"
Feb. 18 -- The Milwaukee community must confront the "stark reality" that the Milwaukee County Transit System is on the "precipice of disaster," according to Mayor Tom Barrett.more >>

Billboard proposal stalls
Feb. 11 -- A proposal that would allow every billboard in the city to be converted to illuminated, flashing signs that change every six seconds stalled in the Common Council last week after city officials expressed concerns over traffic safety impacts and the enforceability of some of the proposal's provisions.more >>

SHNA opposes billboard measure
Feb. 11 -- The Story Hill Neighborhood Association board has voted to oppose the proposal to allow electronic billboard messages to change every six seconds.more >>

Flags lowered in county parks
Feb. 4 - The "vast majority" of American flags that usually fly in county parks have been removed until the county can figure out how to properly treat them, according to County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.more >>

27th Street group slams I-94 North-South statement
Feb. 4 - The State Department of Transportation did not adequately explain its proposals for the 27th St./I-894 interchange in a draft Environental Impact Statememt, according to a business group.more >>

The snow chronicles
Feb. 4 -- The Department of Public Works first plowed snow into the Sunnyside entrance of Mitchell Blvd. Park. Then, at the request of Ald. Michael Murphy, the entrance was cleared. more >>

WisDOT analysis of air pollution, wetlands impacts inadequate: EPA
Feb. 1 - The Wisconsin Department of Transportation failed to adequately consider the impacts of air pollution and the loss of wetlands its draft Environmental Impact Statement for the North-South I-94 reconstruction project, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.more >>

Groups rip North-South
I-94 impact statement
Jan. 28 - The Wisconsin Department of Transportation failed to adequately consider health, environmental and economic impacts of the unfunded $1.9 billion North-South I-94 expansion plan, according to a group
of environmental and legal organizations.
more >>

County panel oks bus bike rack grant application
Jan. 28 -- A County Board committee has recommended, 5-2, that $760,000 be added to next year's county budget to add bike racks to county buses. more >>

Proposed billboard changes could affect look of city
Electronic boards could change every six seconds
Jan. 14 -- Allowing electronic billboards to change advertisements every six seconds would dramatically change the city's looks, according to Ald. Michael Murphy.more >>

West side could see huge impacts from Zoo Interchange
Jan. 10 -- The west side of Milwaukee County and Milwaukee, including Story Hill, could be greatly affected by new traffic patterns during and as a result of the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project.more >>

No new lanes for Zoo Interchange
Could be added later
Jan. 10 -- Studies for the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project will not consider adding lanes to increase traffic capacity, according to the $7.7 million environmental assessment contract for the for the project. more >>

City seeks peer review of
I-94 plan
Jan. 2 -- An independent panel of experts should be assembled to review the seriously flawed draft Environmental Impact Statement for the North-South I-94 freeway reconstruction and expansion plan, according to the city's top public works officials.more >>

County Board approves negotiations to fix HR screw-up
Contract awarded without competition
Jan. 2 -- The County Board voted, 14-5, to negotiate with Vitech Systems Group to implement a retiree benefits component not included in a major human resources and payroll system upgrade. more >>