Shorelines - All Comments

re: Open Letter (includes his View of the Performance of Village Board & Officials)From Tim Vargo, Former Resident of Apartments at the Now Defunct Sunrise Project

Erv Stern — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:34:29 GMT

For what it's worth: Why doesn't the Village buy back the land and build the MUCH needed fire/police station there. A new nicely designed architectural building along the river would be a welcoming site for visitors. The fire and police departments would get the space requirements they need without having them "fit" into an existing space. You have easy access in and out on a major road that will be redesigned by the State in 2010. I realize this makes too much sense, and Shorewood has no history of doing the right thing, when it comes to building new community buildings. Do you remember being sold an oversized library for a community our population? By the way are most of the shelf’s still empty? The library being built the size it was ruined the opportunity to transform the entire block into a complete Village Center. Oh well, it’s only money…other people’s money…right?

re: Congratulations to Shorewood Clerk, Village Staff and Poll Workers

Jaime — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:16:36 GMT

Shwd Resident,

Why would you think to demean anyone who simply chooses to use what was PREVIOUSLY called 'absentee balloting' under it's new 'early voting' name and usage? Either way, we are exercising our constitutional right to vote.

If you would put your elderly parents and/or post-surgery spouse into a potentially more painful situation, so be it. It wasn't MY choice.

Again, next time, I'll probably drive my parents to the regular polls, since the workers have obviously done a fine organizational job!

re: Congratulations to Shorewood Clerk, Village Staff and Poll Workers

Shwd Resident — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:44:11 GMT

Voting early use to be called absentee balloting for those who were out of town - not those that wanted to avoid the lines.

re: Congratulations to Shorewood Clerk, Village Staff and Poll Workers

Jaime — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:02:50 GMT

Dave,

On Monday voting early seemed like the way to avoid standing in long lines as my wife had just had day surgery on her ankle and my 85 y/o parents wanted to vote early also so the 4 of us went to the village hall at around 4PM. The process took around 30-40 minutes as there were around 45+ folks milling about the 2nd floor desk and trailing down the Murray Avenue stairs in various lines!

On Tuesday as I was mowing at around 4PM, my neighbors passed me on their way to the library to vote; they returned in under 10 minutes!

Obviously, the regular polls were handled well; my congrats go along with yours!

Next time we'll skip the early voting, I guess!

re: In my opinion, voting for the best candidates on Nov 4th is a split ticket --- Darling over Wasserman for State Senate, and Obama over McCain for President

Shwd Resident — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:12:32 GMT

Dave,

You are off the mark on this one. Mr. Wasserman, have you seen him workinh on his private practice while on the bus? I bet not!

Even if he did, to multitask is a bad thing?

Supporting his wife by living where she works - a bad thing?

Get off your soap box and get a life!

re: Waste Management -- a Shorewood Vendor --Screws 38 Teamsters out of Jobs

Jaime — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:09:43 GMT

Those WM workers were attempting to secure their retirements, both for themselves and previous retirees. It was far more than they "just didn't like something" their employer was doing "and simply refused to work in protest".

This wasn't any 'gimmie gimmie gimmie MORE' action, it was an attempt to not lose what had already been promised to them already by their employer.

re: Waste Management -- a Shorewood Vendor --Screws 38 Teamsters out of Jobs

David Casper — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:43:50 GMT

I'm not entirely sure how these folks were "screwed" or "shafted." They walked off the job. If I didn't like something my employer was doing and simply refused to work in protest, I'm can't see why I should have any reasonable expectation that my job would be waiting for me when I finally decide to return.

Striking comes with risks. Sometimes the result is good, sometimes it's bad. But when folks decide to strike, they'd better be good and ready to accept the same facts all employees do: you don't do the job, don't expect to have one.

re: Will the People of Shorewood be a Party to UNION BUSTING by Waste Management

Jaime — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:22:34 GMT

Dave,

RE: your comment:

As Shorewood has the reputation of being extremely Liberal --- and Pro Union --- what will the average Shorewood Resident do?

A few years ago, our previous Village Manager stated on a local radio talk show that 'there are many liberal residents here in the village' who would not agree with the village hanging patriotic flags and bunting 'to support the troops in Iraq'!

While he was certainly wrong to equate supporting the troops with supporting the war, and the flags and buntings were up within HOURS of his comment, he was indeed correct in his assessment of local political leanings here!

It remains to be seen if these same folks take the same approach of support toward the Waste Management workers when it means that standing behind the working man may mean having to change their lives re: how their recycles are handled!

As a days-from-retirement union worker myself, I certainly feel for the workers when they act with concern for the already retired, who would suffer loss of what they've worked years to attain if the retirement is changed to the 401K system!

The next few days will tell, I'd guess!

re: Will the People of Shorewood be a Party to UNION BUSTING by Waste Management

David Casper — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:17:38 GMT

Considering the horrible level of service I've received from WM in the last year, I would have guessed that they're already on strike.

re: Percentage of Non-Voters in Primary - 75% - Is That an Indication of Lack of Concern or Knowledge

Steve Koczela — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:45:44 GMT

Hey Dave -

The Journal Sentinel occasionally publishes editorials decrying the lack of participation, and calling for various Blue Ribbon-style tasks forces aimed at increasing turnout. I had one of these missives linked on my blog when it was still in operation.

My point then is my point now. If the editors of the local paper are that concerned about participation in local elections, they should start by participating in these elections themselves. The coverage of local and regional elections is shamefully sparse.

Hope all of you in Shorewood are doing well!

Best Wishes,

Steve Koczela

re: State Assembly District Candidates Respond to Questionnaire on Issues

Rob Carson — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:30:32 GMT

Dave,

I agree with Mr. Johnson's concern on election financing. This race is really one of issues and potential solutions between Guy Johnson and Andy Feldman. They are truly the 2 most viable candidates. However, Dan Kohl has deep pockets and is buying this election. Allow me to qualify this statement. If a candidate can raise a large amount of money from a large section of the voting public (and I mean in their own district) that is great.

Did you notice, Mr. Johnson did not answer questions as if they were sound bites. Thoughtful, honest and intelligent. I hope the other candidates answer the questions like Mr. Johnson did.

Rob

re: Has Wasserman built up Campaign Slush Fund from Taxpayer Dollars ?

Ann23 — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:10:55 GMT

"Sheldon Wasserman is using your tax dollars to fund a significant portion of his war chest for the State Senate Campaign against Alberta Darling."

Good, I hope the money helps him win! I would gladly contribute $1 of my tax dollars each year if it meant there were more "Wassermans" and fewer "Darlings" in office. There isn't anything illegal or unethical about this in my view. Just mudslinging from an obviously pro-Darling source.

re: Why Can't a Black Owned Supermarket Survive in a Liberal Neighborhood ?

Nancy Peske — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:49:26 GMT

I suspect Lena's went under for the same reason the Jewel/Osco did: competition. Shoppers in the area can choose from a variety of food stores and discount stores, each of which has a niche: Pick 'n' Save, Sendiks, Trader Joe's, Costco, Outpost, Whole Foods...and Wal-Mart, Aldi's, and Big Lots. The Jewel/Lena's building is a huge piece of real estate to work with, and I'm sure their costs were high, yet they didn't offer the advantages of big box stores or humongous discount stores, nor did they offer high quality or hard-to-find gourmet food for people interested in that. They just didn't have a niche that I could see.

re: Shorewood BID Financial Expenditures & Vendors

Nancy Peske — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:18:06 GMT

What jumps out at me is that the Easter Bunny only makes $30 an appearance. The poor fellow has been getting up in the wee hours, hiding eggs and chocolates and baskets full of goodies, for who knows how many years, and he's still only making $30 an appearance? Has he talked to Santa and the Tooth Fairy about what they're earning? ;)

re: Shorewood BID Financial Expenditures & Vendors

Steve Koczela — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:43:22 GMT

Dave -

Is anything in this list jumping out at you right away? A

This is a lot of information to look through.

Steve

re: The Reasoning Behind the Ban on Overnight Parking In the Shorewood (or the BAY)??

mamabecks — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:24:45 GMT

In Shorewood, we are allowed to call in our car 10 times a year. If the Village is concerned with safety, the policy does not really control who parks on the street at night because anyone could have random guests call in their plates up to 10 times a year. Rather, the Village should find a way to allow residents to provide proof of residency to park on the street. Resident friendly parking laws would benefit many, not just the people who live in apartment buildings as suggested in another post. Not all Shorewood homes have driveways & there are older homes that were built with a one car garage. People who pay taxes or good rent to live in Shorewood should be able to purchase a residential parking pass to park on the street. Many communities allow residents to purchase such passes. The current option to rent a spot in one of the business lots is not an adequate option. Many of the lots do not have available spots and many people do not live near a lot. Why should an older adult, parent of small children or anyone for that matter have to rent a spot ten blocks from their home? Why not charge the same amount to purchase a pass to park in front of their home?

re: The Reasoning Behind the Ban on Overnight Parking In the Shorewood (or the BAY)??

Maria Sossman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:04:53 GMT

The Street Sweepers do roll at 3 am.

re: The Reasoning Behind the Ban on Overnight Parking In the Shorewood (or the BAY)??

Rob Carson — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:07:23 GMT

The best reason I know of for not wanting overnight parking is those of us older people never wanted to see cars parked everywhere. If you go just a little south, say south of Locust, there are cars everywhere. In the suburbs we just didn't want that. I think I can speak for many of my neighbors, we still feel the same way we did years ago.

A few years ago, under the disguise of safety, bus stops were moved to allow one more car to park on Oakland, in front of business (such as Wicks). Well, that excuse was pretty phoney when you see people having to cross streets to get to their bus stop. One big problem was created when the larger SUV's parked at that last parking spot, obscuring the view of on coming traffic. Oakland Avenue and Capital Drive are very difficult streets to cross on foot.

The newest scam is Len Sobczak telling the village board he is loosing money and needs more on street parking. Two other apartment building owners have stated there is no need. What this does is allow Mr. Sobczak to increase his rents, at the expense of what the home owners want. And I can say that because they came out in mass a few years ago when the parking law changes where first introduced.

I guess that is enough grumbling about parking. None of us will ever be satisfied.

Rob Carson

re: Shorewood Sets New Record for Streetscape Obsolescence

Jaime — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:42:58 GMT

Dave,

A few nights ago Channel 4 did a piece on Shorewood's streetscaping but, unfortunately, it was under the 'You Paid for It' auspice! It specifically pointed out the tree planters as a problem, something many of us have known for quite sometime.

www.todaystmj4.com/.../21590464.html

I spoke with a neighbor last night who mentioned that the City of Milwaukee had recently installed similarly styled, if not the very same, concrete planters,and they didn't work THERE, either!

With as much public money as there is involved in a project like this, don't we need to improve over Britney Spears, 'Oops, I did it Again', planning attitude in light of the previous rusted streetlights of only 10 years ago ??

re: Village Board Selects New Trustee Clone --- Big Project Loving Tax and Spender

Jenny Steinman Heyden — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:42:39 GMT

I have to admit, this seems more than just a little oversight by the committee...Hopefully Mr. Cummings can have the wherewithall to realize that this is a very obvious conflict of interest, and he will not abuse his position. Fingers crossed. The situation now, with D2D over budget even without the dome and after targeting alumni with a direct mail piece...I worry the school is going to get stuck with the rest of the job, while D2D folks move on to other...projects.