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Best of Tosa 2007 

Best Party- Gary's after Labor Day--Free Beer/Wine, Golf & Paul Cebar, Robin and the rest!  Best party ever!

Best place to buy a $5 beer, Mo’s.

Best place to get a parking ticket Mo’s

Best place to get a $10 pitcher- Club Tap

Best place to get beer, fish fly & smoke –Sluggo’s

Best Sled riding hill – Curry Park

Best rentable space – Jacobus Park Pavilion

Best Tax Attorney- Ask Tom

Best Aldermen- Art Landulay

Best Resturant- Pedro’s Wok

Best Dog Walking place – Underwood Parkway 

Worst Corp Citizen- MMSD

Best Cheap Beer- Red Dog

Worst Beer – Lazy Dog

Best Place to get music- Tosa Library

Best Blogger – Tine

Best New Blogger – TTS  (Sorry new bloggers you didn’t have enough posting to be considered.

Best Tech Blogger- Robert Flesses (Brookfield)—he has videos!

Worst Blogger- Matt Thomas (New Berlin)

Best Reporter – Janice Kayer (Newstimes)-  Remember bloggers aren’t reporters (we don’t have to check our facts)

Best Newpaper – Onion

Best News show – Daly Report

Best place for Gas – Taco Bell

Best Year Ever - 2007

Happy Festavis!

Anyone interesting in looking up 2007 Home sales on the Wauwatosa city

Website won’t find much information. http://www.wauwatosa.net/

I emailed the assessor’s office with two questions.  First,  how long does it take

to update one home sale and second, why isn’t the 2007 home sales information

available.

After two weeks no answer.

Why is it important?   I guess if I worked in the City assessor’s, I would like

to know if the new assessment values were close to the 2007 sales values.  Without

an updated sales database, I would have no clue if the reassessment done

last year did any good.   

I can’t think of a more important issue for the assessor’s office than to know

if their valuations are accurate.

How long can it take to update one home sales  --  2 minutes??

How many home sales in 2007—800. 

That’s 26 hours—give or take a few weeks-can’t the assessor’s office spend the time??

There are still many homes in the village that are way under-assessed which

causes all the rest of us to pay more than we should.  (This was told to me by

Kathy Isleb-old assessor/City consultant.  She acknowledged that there are

those that are “getting a deal”.   I talked to the Mayor about the issue and

nothing was done. 

When a 2006 home on Milwaukee Ave. sells for $440K and gets reassessed for $340 is that right while a home on the Westside that sold for $300K gets reassessed for $340.   

Need more examples-Look at Alice St in the village.  Of the dozen or so homes on that street, only one's

reassement went up materally (over $100K).  It was the only one sold in the last 3 years--Sold for $360K

now reassessed for $340K and pays $2,000 per year more than the other homes on the block. Why--is it

bigger, better--no- it was sold and the other were not.   The others are getting a deal and the sold one is not.

The New Assessor seems like a very sharp person.  Hopefully he will be given the

resources to address the unequal treatment of homeowners and change a department

which in the past has been very unresponsive and unjust to many Tosa homeowner.

Wednesday, the Milwaukee Co. Zoo, in an effort to find new

revenue streams began to  offer to local Deer hunters a chance

to hunt deer at the Zoo as well as a  tour the wonders of the animal

kingdom. 

For just $300, hunters can have exclusive access to the zoo during

The hours of 4:00-6:00 am on weekdays.  Hunters will have to

show that they have passed the Hunter Safety course and well as

have a good knowledge of non-deer animals.

Sue Black, Parks Directors, said this is a win-win for the Zoo and the

community.  “The zoo was going to spend $5,000 on sharpshooter

to kill the 70 or so deer in the park, now with the “Bag a deer at the Zoo”

program we look to make $21,000 on hunting fees plus more money on the

"hunters gone wild" videos”.

Jimbo Stricker, local hunting legend, said “this is the best thing to happen

to hunting since the T-Zone.”  Where else can you ride the zoo train and

bag a 6 pointer at the same time” 

Local Tree Hugger, Anita Liffe said “I just cry knowing those poor deer will be

shot for pure enjoyment”  They should capture and relocate whose deer to  the

Northwoods.”  Jimbo retorted “I would just go up north then, so let’s save some

gas and raise money for the zoo”.  

The Zoo plans to evaluate the program after the deer harvest and maybe, if successful,

 open up the hunting to include those pesky Canadian Geese in the fall.

Today the US Congress passed, the President Bush is expected to sign

The new Energy Bill.  The Energy Bill, the first in 35 years will set

higher gas MPG stds for cars, faze out electric light bulbs and increase

efficiency standards for ovens, stoves & refrigerators.

One of the smaller portions of the bill would affect Bike Manufacturers.

The Energy Bill would require Bike Manufacturers (such as WI’s Trek)

to increase the number of speeds on their bikes.  Most bikes now only go

up to 18 speeds and the new café standards will require the manufactures

to reach 25 speeds by 2020.   Also, bike seat will be required to have at

least 50% gel by 2020 as well.      Bikes will also be required to be lighter

by 25% and the most costly change—bike brakes will be required to produce

enough electricity to power the calorie burning computer on the handlebars

(a technology still in development).

Trek’s president Jim Sprocket “ said “although we agree that the Energy bill is a good thing, however

the requirements on the Bike industry are unwarranted and may lead us to manufacture our bikes in China”

EPA chairman Bob “big oil” Rigger said “we all got to pull together and help

our country and oil industry conserve—and the bike industry has to do it part"

Way down in the Energy bill is a $4 Billion tax break for Oil companies R&D costs.

This last Sunday at Christ King's Parish Hall, Boy Scouts from (9) different Troops based in Wauwatosa and Milwaukee engaged in earning their Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation and Citizenship in the World Merit Badges.  Wauwatosa's Venturing Crew 1538 managed the event with well over 50 scouts in attendance. 

These three merit badges are required cornerstones for a scout’s advancement on their way to Eagle.  They are not easy to earn. 

One requirement for Citizenship in the Community is to have a local official speak and discuss how local government works.  That official then can lead a question and answer period which asks the scout to think about his community, how it works and what would make it better.

I asked Alderman Tim Hanson (3rd District) to come and speak with the Scouts and he agreed.  While most of us relaxed after the Packer win, Tim graciously donated his time to address the young Scouts.  There were two sessions with over 50 scouts who participated.

Alderman Hanson did a great job explaining local government in a way that a 14 year old can understand.  I don’t know if many adults know as much as these scouts did after the seminar was over.  (Are you smarter than a Boy Scout?)   In addition to their attendance at Citizenship Sunday, the scouts attended a council meeting, toured the State Capital, wrote a letter to Senator Kohl and performed local community service  --  impressive!

Thanks again for Alderman Hanson’s time and knowledge of local government.  It’s Alderman Hanson’s community service that is also impressive.

Future Alderman don’t grow on trees they are raised, and this last weekend, we planted some seeds.  Maybe one day, one of these scouts may decide to become an Aldermen. 

If you Google your phone number, google provides a map where your house is located.

If you don't think this is a good idea, click on "delete from list" button and it should

take your home address off the listing.  

The American Granny Music Association  has announced their

Award nominations for 2007.

The “Granny” are the geriatric side of the Music Business and honor

those musicians over 60.

Nominations are as follow:

Blues Song of the year

Eric Clapton for “I forget why I have the Blues”

BB King   “Incontinence Stomp”

Ray Charles “Somebody down here likes me”

County Album of the Year

Ricky Skaggs  “Too blind to shoot”

Reba MacIntier  “Stop the Treadmill, I want to get off”

Vince Gill “Got a new car, but no gas”

Album (yes album) of the year

Rolling Stones  “Sticky Gums”

Pink Floyd  “Another handful on my casket”

Aerosmith  “Cobwebs in the attic”

Lifetime achievement award

Dick Clark – for his incredible work on American Bandstand

The winner will be announced on Jan 7^th  2008.

Hopefully they will all be around.

Rock On!

I am at a quandary this Holiday season.   I have always had a real Christmas Tree.

I have taken great pleasure packing the kids up and making my yearly pilgrimage

To Steins to pick out (what my wife would say) the sorriest tree on the lot.

I receive great enjoyment, stuffing it into my compact car’s trunk (most of it sticking out the back) sawing off the bottom, trimming the lower branches, locating the totally inadequate tree stand and putting up the tree (usually on a 20 degree angle).

I hate fake trees.  I think they are gaudy.  I detest them with my entire being, but

with our planet in peril, do I cut down a tree which will add to global warming?

I think of myself as an environmentalist (even though my carbon footprint is about

size 16).

What woulda, coulda, shoulda I do?????????

What would Jesus do?