Category Archives: Milwaukee County

County Board takes to the airwaves, but public still can’t get info

Posted on by
Reply

The County Board now has its own radio show, “Inside the County Board,” on WISN (1130-AM).

The one-hour show will be on at 9 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month.

“Inside the County Board is intended to give listeners a more in-depth analysis of actions taken by County Supervisors,” according to the press release announcing the show.

What a load of crap that is. The County Board has not shown much interest at all in making routine public information available to the public in a timely and easily accessible manner. The Board still does not make resolutions and reports available online with committee agendas. The Board is the worst local unit of government at making public information easily accessible for anyone wanting an “in-depth” understanding of just what it is the County Board is voting on and what impacts those votes will have on the public.

County officials each year, year after year after year, promise that soon, soon, soon all the reports and resolutions that supervisors will consider will be posted in advance. Still, they aren’t. Meeting audio now is streamed, but without the documents being discussed, they can be really hard to follow. Same with the County Board meetings themselves.

It’s hard to believe the County Board show will be anything more than big spin: “We won’t provide you with the data, but we’ll tell you what it means.”

WisDOT proposes destroying part of Monarch habitat

Posted on by
1

A section of the Milwaukee County Grounds, near the Eschweiler buildings, is widely known as a resting place for Monarch butterflies as they migrate to Mexico.

Even WisDOT recognizes that, and then says it wants to destroy part of it.

More here.

Story Hillers beat back the evil weed, for now

Posted on by
Reply

Story Hill residents turned out Saturday to reclaim Mitchell Blvd. Park from garlic mustard in a battle that was over in short order, with the weed ripped easily from saturated ground.

Then, frustrated by the eight years of government neglect that allowed garlic mustard and buckthorn to take over Bluff Park, weed-out participants turned their attention to the west end of the hill, cleaning it up quite a bit before the weed-out ended at noon.

More than 30 bags of garlic mustard were collected, and dead branches, brush and invasive, hazardous buckthorn were removed from the two sites.weedout3

Bluff Park, which is the hill between the neighborhood and the freeway, has been in limbo for the last eight years while Miller Park and county officials have for some reason not been able to complete the deal that would transfer Bluff Park from Miller Park to county ownership. The County Board voted in 2001 to accept the property. The county has been maintaining the hill in the last few years, but the invasives already are in control of it.

The original intent Saturday was to remove garlic mustard from the hill, which is overgrown with the stuff in some areas. It soon became apparent, however, that the weed was inaccessible because of dead vegetation and hazardous buckthorn thorns.weed-out-2

And so, in one of those great community moments…

weedout-1

weedout-4

The weed-out was sponsored by Sustainable Story Hill, the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Parks Department, the Park People of Milwaukee County, the Bluemound Road Business Advancement Association and the Story Hill Neighborhood Association.

weed-out-5

Participants each received a $10 gift certificate to a local Bluemound Rd. establishment. The certificates were donated by Sustainable Story Hill and  Derry’s, Kelly’s Bleachers, Long Wong’s, McGinn’s and Steve’s on Bluemoud. Thanks to those businesses for their generosity. Thanks to everyone who came out to make Story Hill a little bit better place to live.

Help defeat the evil weed!

Posted on by
1

Sustainable Story Hill (disclosure: I’m on the board), along with the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Parks Department, the Park People of Milwaukee County, the Bluemound Road Business Advancement Association and the Story Hill Neighborhood Associatiom, is sponsoring a weed-out in Mitchell Blvd. Park from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, May 9.

Yup, it’s time once again to do battle with the evil garlic mustard.

young-garlic-mustard

Evil garlic mustard as juvenile delinquents in Mitchell Blvd. Park

As the National Park Service puts it:

“Garlic mustard poses a severe threat to native plants and animals…Many native widlflowers that complete their life cycles in the springtime occur in the same habitat as garlic mustard. Once introduced to an area, garlic mustard outcompetes native plants by aggressively monopolizing light, moisture, nutrients, soil and space. Wildlife species that depend on these early plants for their foliage, pollen, nectar, fruits, seeds and roots, are deprived of these essential food sources when garlic mustard replaces them. Humans are also deprived of the vibrant display of beautiful spring wildflowers.”

Mitchell Blvd. Park is at 51st and Bluemound.

We will have snacks for volunteers, as well as prizes. The Park People has donated discount coupons to parks attractions and will supply gloves and bags, and the Bluemound Road Business Advancement Association is kicking in gift certificates to the restaurants and bars along Bluemound Rd. Sustainable Story Hill is supplying some of those gift certificates as well, and will provide more child-oriented incentives, too.

The City of Milwaukee is matching a $500 Sustainable Story Hill gift with a $500 Healthy Neighborhoods grant. This will allow us in another month or so to buy new plants for the park and to engage kids from the Hawley Rd.  Environmental School summer enrichment program in learning about and planting them.

All are welcome to help on Saturday — we’d appreciate the assistance!

older-garlic-mustard

Same garlic mustard, 1 1/2 weeks older
– becoming a more potent threat.