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Council Wants State to Ban Bump Stocks
In light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling relegalizing them, the Milwaukee Common Council wants to see state legislative action to ban bump stocks, a gun modifier that can greatly enhance the speed at which bullets can be fired, to the point where they’ve been classified as machine guns.
South Side’s La Bodega is Closed
The term bodega is a tricky one to define. Officially, the label is reserved for small convenience stores — typically owner-operated — selling packaged snacks, household goods and hot food to go. From there, the variants are limitless. Some are stocked with special products such as homemade kimchi;...
Milwaukee Businesses Closing During RNC
When Milwaukee was selected to host the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), elected officials and local entrepreneurs cheered the news as a much-needed boon for small businesses and the city’s economy. Now, with the four-day convention less than two weeks away, a number of establishments have announced plans to...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Accepts Abortion Rights Cases
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that it would hear two cases filed by Attorney General Josh Kaul and Planned Parenthood that will determine if Wisconsinites have a right to abortion care. The cases, accepted concurrently, ask if the state’s 1849 law widely seen as banning abortion actually does...
Milwaukee Company Sees Stock Double Amid Meme Stock Craze
Milwaukee-based headphone maker Koss Corporation saw its stock price more than double early Wednesday due to a social-media-triggered squeeze. Buyers appear to have rushed in, pushing the price up and triggering investors who sold the stock short (betting it would go down) to buy stock to close their trade. It’s...
Data Wonk: Counting the Lies By Trump
Some Democrats’ disappointment with Joe Biden’s performance in the recent presidential debate has served Donald Trump well, in my view. The rush to demand that Biden step down has shifted attention away from what the debate tells us about Donald Trump to an attempted reboot of the primary season. Here are some of the things that Trump told us about himself:
Become a Member on Independence Day
The desire to celebrate freedom is still as relevant today as it was in 1776. Some may say even more relevant now as the original fight for American independence benefited only white, property-owning men. As the centuries progressed and the definition of the phrase “freedom for all” slowly and painstakingly changed, independent and local news media, like Urban Milwaukee, have been and will continue to be on the front lines of the fight.
Two Sushi Restaurants Open on East Side
Selina Zheng is well-practiced in going with the flow. That might explain why she named her restaurant Kawa, after the Japanese word for river. The title is especially fitting now, as Zheng celebrates her hard-won battle to keep the business afloat after a devastating fire. On June 7, 2023, Zheng...
County Awards $2.8 Million To Non-Profit Opioid Programs
Milwaukee County is putting $2.8 million in funding from opioid settlements to use this month with help from more than a dozen local non-profits. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s office announced Tuesday that the county’s Department of Health and Human Services is awarding 15 local organizations with grants up to $200,000 for opioid abuse prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery programs. The grants are funded through legal settlements with opioid distributors, manufacturers and pharmacies that will net the county more than $100 million over the next 18 years.
Opponents of Wisconsin Avenue Historic District Win Fight
Maybe you can fight City Hall. Property owners in a new historic district on W. Wisconsin Avenue successfully convinced Sharlen P. Moore, their new alderperson, that they should be dropped from the proposed district. The district, which was to be made up of five homes from the street’s Grand Avenue...
Audit Finds Slow Turnaround on Forensic Evidence by Wisconsin Crime Labs
An audit of Wisconsin’s crime labs recommends the state Department of Justice do more to ensure timely analysis of evidence in criminal cases. The report from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau shows average turnaround time for completing analyses increased from 39 days in the 2019-20 fiscal year to 58 days in the 2022-23 fiscal year — an increase of 48.7 percent.
Proposal Asks City to Adopt ‘People’s Flag’
The Milwaukee Common Council will try again to adopt the People’s Flag, a widely used 2016 flag, as the City of Milwaukee’s official flag and dump its current flag, which has been derided as the worst city flag in America. But unlike the last try, which ran from...
New Class of Clerks Prepares to Run Elections
When around three million Wisconsin voters cast ballots in a November election that could again decide the future of the country, it will be a handful of people — Wisconsin’s county and municipal clerks — who keep the wheels of democracy turning. Wisconsin, where four of the...
MPS Could Lose $81 Million in State Aid
Milwaukee Public Schools will receive about $81 million less in state general school aid in 2024-25 according to estimated data released Monday by the Department of Public Instruction. The decrease in state funding is the latest blow to the embattled school district that has faced financial scandal since it was...
Transportation: MCTS Bids To Run Waukesha Buses
The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is taking a big step toward regionalization and bidding to manage the City of Waukesha‘s system: Waukesha Metro Transit. If awarded the contract, MCTS would manage Waukesha Metro like a third-party government contractor. The City of Waukesha would maintain responsibility for funding the operations and infrastructure needs of the system.
Court Decision Holds Up Wisconsin’s $70 Million Drug Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a proposed settlement with OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, holding up a potential payout that could have brought tens of millions dollars to help Wisconsin fight opioid addiction. In a close decision this week, a majority of justices objected to a provision in a bankruptcy...
How Traffic Noise Impacts Children’s Brains
Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. At the end of the week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.
Mayor Calls for Stricter Gun Laws After Spate of Shootings in City
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is again calling on the state Legislature to pass stricter gun laws after the city experienced a violent week. At least 15 people were shot in Milwaukee on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the latest media update from the Milwaukee Police Department. A 25-year-old was also fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday a 1-year-old was injured in a shooting.
11 Injured in Escalator Malfunction at Brewers Game
Eleven people were injured Saturday at American Family Field after an escalator malfunction following the Milwaukee Brewers game against the Chicago Cubs. Six people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and five more were treated for injuries at the ballpark, according to a statement from the Brewers. The...
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