Badger Blogger

Speaking of dirt, remember HNTB Corp? They’re the DOT’s “golden child” engineering and consulting firm which gave heavily to Governor Doyle at a controversial fund raiser organized in September of 2005 by DOT officials; representatives of the engineering firm reportedly plunked down $8,000.00 in donations to Governor Doyle in a two-day period, at the same time they were negotiating with the DOT for their share of the Marquette Interchange reconstruction project (which HNTB had also been awarded a no-bid contract to put an informational website together for, to the tune of about $685,000.00).

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This was sent in by a frequent contributor who wanted to alert us to a crime wave taking place on Milwaukee’s east side and mostly in the vicinity just south of UWM. As one who was born and raised on Milwaukee’s east side and spent time as a Patrol Officer, Lieutenant and Captain at Milwaukee Police District #5 (which has responsibility for the east side), I am more than qualified to comment.

A review of the reported offenses reveals that, in all but one case where the suspect was reported to be a white male and one case where the victim couldn’t provide a description of the suspect’s race, the suspects are multiple black males who have been operating primarily on weekends (occasionally deviating by a day or two) and initially between the hours of midnight and 2AM and then later between the hours of 7PM and 10PM in a geographical boundary roughly from Oakland to Downer and North Avenue to Hampshire. In one case they were seen fleeing in a white Oldsmobile and in another case they were seen fleeing in a dark auto. It is likely that these thugs are cruising the area in an auto looking for easy prey and then they park somewhere in the direction where the prey is walking. The driver stays in the car while the other thugs go out and stalk the prey. They are targeting lone victims and/or no more than two female victims. The attached UWM PD crime alert shows these crimes began Saturday, September 1st with the latest on Sunday, October 7th. Suspect descriptions are close enough for me to conclude with reasonable certainty that they are the same group in all but one of the offenses. In most cases these suspects approach the victim(s) and steal property by using force or threat of force. In one case a gun was implied but not observed by the victim and in another case a semi-auto handgun was displayed by the suspect. In one case the suspects took nothing and seemed content simply to punch the victim - a female and in another case it was the same scenario except the victim was a lone male.

Incidents like those described in the UWM crime alert are predictable crime trends as they have been happening on the east side and in the Riverwest area with almost seasonal regularity. Any law enforcement officer with experience should be able to detect the trend and react to it almost immediately. In fact, if the proper Department policing strategy and deployment of resources is in effect, Commanding Officers should have strategic patrol plans in place to deter these kinds of crimes or at the very least ensure swift apprehensions.

The real question these victims and everybody else should be asking here is WHERE THE HELL ARE THE COPS? Even Stevie Wonder can see the pattern and develop a patrol strategy that should have nailed these thugs within the first week. I’m going to venture a guess here. I’ll guess that the cops who routinely patrol the east side were on assignments west of the river. And, as we have been told, the Neighborhood Safety Initiative’s east boundary was west of the river and likely quite a bit west of the river on most nights. Is it possible that the thugs knew that and therefore adjusted their area of operations? Maybe, but my experience tells me that the NSI didn’t affect their decision.

One other thing - thanks to the frequent contributor for bringing this UWM crime alert to our attention. I haven’t read anything in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about this month long crime spree and appreciate the heads up.

It’s a bit unusual, but Michael McGee’s trial along with his co-defendants, will begin in Dec. 10. The twist is, they will run the trial as one case, with two separate juries, one for the the beating conspiracy and one for the vote-buying charges. They will be switched in and out while testimony is being given pertaining to the charges each will decide on.

McGee’s state trial set for Dec. 10

In my job, I often get to spend time with disabled veterans, and each time, I feel honored to be in their presence. Most of the folks I get to be with are WWII or Korea, sometimes Viet Nam, but rarely are they talkative about their service, today was different.

The Man I had the honor to be with today is a 17 year Marine Corps Veteran, a man very proud of his service, the only thing he is mad about is that he will miss deer season this year, but by next year he promises to be in the woods… But he has to wait for his leg.

This man, this hero lost a leg and a lung when a 9 year old boy slid a bomb under his HUMMVEE. The two other heroes with him weren’t as lucky. Surprisingly, he is not bitter, he in fact has an amazing spirit. He says being bitter doesn’t serve any good. He spoke a little of the children of Iraq and how it must be to grow up the way they do, with the hatred and violence. It is his belief that the troops should come home soon, he believes that most people in Iraq don’t want to live what we call a civilized life. While I disagree with him, and he knows it, I have nothing but respect for him and his opinion, and he respects mine. (yes, people can disagree without being disagreeable)

I wish I would have had more time with him, it was truly an honor to meet him. When you get a chance to meet a man like this, thank them! Let them know that no matter your political stance, or what you feel about the war, let them know that you appreciate the sacrifice they make for us… They really do appreciate the recognition and respect. It was an honor to shake his hand.

In a cost containment measure which appears to be aimed primarily at optimizing marketing expenses in order to more effectively compete with industry leader Anheuser-Busch, and the increasing market share the adult beverage consumer has shifted to wine and microbrews, Miller and Coors today announced a joint venture which will partner their U.S. entities; streamlining redundant operations, and offering greater efficiency to their distribution network.

In an interview with WTMJ-AM’s Jagler and Mueller, a Miller spokesperson affirmed Miller’s long-standing commitment to Milwaukee as an operations hub, and indicated that this joint venture announcement will not have any immediate implications for Miller’s Milwaukee employees.

In 2002, Miller was acquired by South African Breweries, creating the parent company SABMiller. While SAB was previously unknown to the U.S. consumer, it has long sustained market-leading brands in Africa, China and Europe. While SABMiller maintains a global corporate headquarters in London, and is traded on the London Stock Exchange, Milwaukee has remained the corporate headquarters of Miller Brewing’s U.S. operations.

Click here to see SABMiller’s 2007 Corporate Report