The Daily Reporter articles from July 2006

The Daily Reporter archives from July 2006

Direct Supply in Milwaukee plans $85M expansion.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Direct Supply Inc. announced a 15 year, $85 million expansion of its corporate headquarters on Milwaukee's northwest side at a Friday press conference. The expansion project, which is expected to add more than 1,000...

Direct Supply plans $85 million expansion.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle

U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th District of WI dismisses Cape's antitrust case.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh District Wednesday dismissed a bid-rigging case that James Cape & Sons Co. launched in 2005 shortly before announcing its closure in March of that year. The case has its...

Highway 141 work in northeast Wisconsin is winding down.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle While vehicles will continue to maneuver around Marquette Interchange construction for some time, a three-year road-expansion project in northeast Wisconsin is nearing completion. Wisconsin Department of...

Public Service Comm. of WI say more data needed on electricity market competition.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin said a federal report about competition in the electricity market should include more solid data showing costs and benefits for consumers. The comments came in response to a...

Madison's Metropolitan Place ahead of schedule.
July 5, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Timing is everything, and the second phase of the Metropolitan Place in Madison now has a little to spare. Cliff Fisher, the developer of the $64 million complex, announced Thursday that construction of the downtown...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District looks for 'innovation'.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle It's kind of like the State Fair but for sewers instead of livestock. In an effort to demonstrate the benefits of storm-water practices that manage the volume, rate and quality of runoff, the Mil-waukee...

Capitol West project in Madison delayed.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder One of the largest projects in Madison's history is headed back to the drawing board. Developer Randy Alexander recently announced that some elements of the $110 million Capitol West project would be redesigned due...

Ironworkers, apprentice settle suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court against union.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Ironworkers Local 8 worked out an amicable resolution in May with a former apprentice who sued the union for racial discrimination in October. Ricky Jones, who is black, is a former apprentice in the Wisconsin...

Gottschalk's poised to take over Milwaukee National Labor Relations Board.
July 7, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Irving Gottschalk, who has worked in the Milwaukee National Labor Relations Board office for 30 years, will take over as regional director on July 14. The swearing-in ceremony will mark the end of tumultuous times for...

American Institute of Architects to provide affordable housing.
July 7, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Next year is the 150th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects, and AIA Southeast Wisconsin is getting in on the party. AIA - which is celebrating the event by providing $2 million to fund up to 200...

Milwaukee County officials advance plans for Connector money.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County officials are backing a plan to use the $91.5 million in federal funding earmarked for the Milwaukee Connector project to fund the county transit system. For the past few years, a team led by the...

Officials advance plans for Connector money.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan

Groundbreaking set for 16-screen movie theater complex in town of Brookfield.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Marcus Theatres Corp., a division of Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp., is making the dinner-and-a-movie date a one-destination affair. Marcus announced Thursday it will break ground July 12 on The Majestic, a 16-screen...

Ground's broken on Milwaukee Area Technical College technology center.
July 11, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle If the state of Wisconsin is to follow through with its plan to use emerging energy and manufacturing methodologies, it's going to need knowledgeable people to implement them. With that in mind, Milwaukee Area...

Ground's broken on MATC technology center.
July 11, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle

Plan presented to build biotech business in Milwaukee.
July 11, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Louis Tornatzky, who has spent 30-plus years watching communities spawn high-tech economies, told Milwaukeeans to expect a long journey as they try to build a local biomedical industry. "This takes a long time, but if...

Tourism initiative in Racine and Milwaukee targets minority travelers.
July 12, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Racine and Milwaukee received $40,000 from the state to try to attract minority tourists from northern Illinois and western Michigan in the fall months. The partnership marks the first collaboration between VISIT...

Tourism initiative targets minority travelers.
July 12, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan

Milwaukee Riverwalk to be brought up to code.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Developers of the Milwaukee Riverwalk have agreed to make it easier to walk or roll along the entire downtown attraction. The north and south ends of the Riverwalk will become more accessible to people with...

Two plans proposed for Sidney Hih site in Milwaukee County.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan On Monday, a Milwaukee County committee will consider two redevelopment plans for the Sidney Hih property, both proposing high-rise hotels. A review panel of Milwaukee County staffers favored the $104.2 million offer...

Youth group rebuilds home for Madison family.
July 14, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Complaints about "kids these days" were hard to come by Thursday in Madison, as a group of young people were honored for their foray into homebuilding. An open house was held at 916 Ridgewood Way, which was rebuilt...

Youth group rebuilds home for Madison family.
July 14, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder

Attorney Joseph Kaye's lawsuit against Milwaukee city officials dismissed.
July 14, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan A U.S. court Tuesday dismissed attorney Joseph Kaye's lawsuit accusing Milwaukee city officials of making illegal, under-the-table deals on sales of public property. "I'm surprised about the decision," said Kaye, who...

T-Lon Products Inc.to build new facility in Hartland.
July 14, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle T-Lon Products Inc. received $1.75 million from the state Thursday in industrial revenue bonds for a new facility in Hartland. IRBs are bonds free of federal tax issues by local governments, and the proceeds are...

Wisconsin may be coming a tourist's paradise.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Wisconsin is making a name for itself. It's not the old cheese and cow moniker, as the license plates and state quarters would suggest. It's a different Wisconsin, a land of water parks, swanky resorts and neon...

Veterans oppose private development of Soldiers Home property in Milwaukee.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Fourteen veterans' services organizations Monday said they were concerned that developing parts of the National Soldiers Home property in Milwaukee would ruin what makes it special. More than 33,800 U.S. veterans are...

Veterans oppose private development of Soldiers Home property.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan

Milwaukee-based developer Mandel Group plans St. Francis development.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Even former electrical power substations can still generate something. Milwaukee-based developer Mandel Group Inc. announced Thursday the purchase of a 12-acre site in St. Francis that will be used to build an...

Mandel plans St. Francis development.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder

First lady Jessica Doyle helps with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity's first Women Build.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Johanna Jimenez is not used to all the attention, but she doesn't mind it one bit. Jimenez will be the owner of a house being framed this week by Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity's first Women Build. "I tell...

Witness for Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District says building owner's data unreliable.
July 19, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District called its first witnesses Tuesday in the jury trial that will decide whether its deep tunnel system is responsible for the sinking of the downtown Boston Store located above...

MMSD witness says building owner's data unreliable.
July 19, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle

EBE participation on City Hall project in Milwaukee improves.
July 19, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Every category of participation that Milwaukee is monitoring on its City Hall restoration improved between January and April. The first project report, released in January, found that 5.2 percent of the project...

WI Supreme Court rules in favor of Milwaukee-based T-3 Group Ltd.
July 19, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder A bad end to a construction project has led to yet another addendum to Wisconsin's economic loss doctrine. Last week, the state Supreme Court overturned a court of appeals ruling, and potentially moved service...

Work on Convent Hill high-rise project in Milwaukee under way.
July 19, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Construction work has begun on the Milwaukee Housing Authority's more than $15 million project to build a 120-unit housing high-rise at Convent Hill. There is already a 120-unit Housing Authority building on Convent...

Ground broken on first project in Milwaukee's Park East.
July 20, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Legacy Real Estate Development's Flatiron condominium became the first project out the gate in Milwaukee's Park East redevelopment with its Wednesday groundbreaking. "This is a ground-breaking groundbreaking,"...

Madison's Midvale Plaza plan approved.
July 20, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Tuesday night's Madison City Council meeting cooked up heated tempers and heated exchanges, but when the smoke cleared, the $25 million plan for Midvale Plaza passed 17-2. Though the majority of the council backed...

Germantown Village Board approves drafting a referendum to fund road work.
July 20, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Germantown residents will get to decide this November what conditions they want their roads to be in. On June 5, the Germantown Village Board approved drafting a referendum for the fall ballot that asks voters for...

Elmbrook considers $94 million school construction plan.
July 21, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Elmbrook Board of Education examined its plan to extensively renovate the district's two high schools, Brookfield East and Brookfield Central, at its Tuesday meeting. The board pinpointed areas of both schools...

Materials supplier to redevelop brownfield.
July 21, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder It's not every day that a redevelopment project is considered world-changing. But when a company based in Eighty Four, Pa., called 84 Lumber Co., the nation's largest privately held supplier of building materials...

Milwaukee's Canal Street bus route gets funding from state of Wisconsin.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County and the Milwaukee Common Council refused to find $114,000 to pay for a Canal Street bus route, so Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday decided the state would pick up the bill. The funding will help make up the...

American Institute of Architect's president-elect visits Madison.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder It's an important time to be an architect, says RK Stewart. He should know. As the national president-elect for the American Institute of Architects, Stewart is at the forefront of the country's architectural...

Milwaukee County Historical Center is brought up to date.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Milwaukee County Historical Society began the second phase of construction on its headquarters inside the Milwaukee County Historical Center on July 12. This restoration phase, managed by Burkhart Construction...

Voluntary Protection Program for contractors is launched.
July 25, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Starting Oct. 1, contractors nationwide will be able to participate in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's pilot Voluntary Protection Program for the construction industry. About 1,400 employers...

Funding for future transportation needs in Wisconsin a problem.
July 25, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The road to the future isn't a cheap one to build, and the financial severity of the matter isn't lessening. The Legislature's Joint Road to the Future Committee, formed in February to analyze the state's...

Former Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School school to be razed.
July 25, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Bradley Tech School Commission unanimously approved a demolition agreement Monday with the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools to raze the former Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School building and...

Commuter rail between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee will lead to development, study says.
July 26, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan A proposed commuter rail running between Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee could result in a boatload of development around the stations it would pass. On Wednesday night, the KRM study team will visit Milwaukee to...

Delafield-based The Prestwick Group Inc. plant to resemble clubhouse.
July 26, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle What company would design a manufacturing plant to resemble a traditional European golf course clubhouse? One that makes golf course products, of course. Delafield-based The Prestwick Group Inc. is building its...

DeForest officials opposes roundabouts.
July 26, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Department of Transportation's roundabout logic isn't impressing DeForest officials. Village President Jeff Miller said the board has directed staff not to support a move by WisDOT to put three...

Lake Geneva-based Crispell-Snyder acquires Madison-based Mid-America Planning Services Inc.
July 27, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Lake Geneva-based engineering firm Crispell-Snyder Inc. has acquired a company specializing in Smart Growth community planning. Crispell-Snyder bought Madison-based Mid-America Planning Services Inc. in April for an...

First segment of Milwaukee River bike path opens.
July 27, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The River Revitalization Foundation Wednesday opened the first segment of a bike bath along the Milwaukee River that it hopes to eventually extend to the northern Milwaukee County line. "This is a start; this is...

Don W., CEO of Wood-Lam Inc. of Pewaukee, dies at 81.(Obituary)
July 31, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Services for Don W. Osenga, CEO of Wood-Lam Inc. of Pewaukee, will be held Aug. 5 at Luko-Evert Funeral Home in Hartland. Osenga, a Hartland resident, died on July 22 at the age of 81. He is remembered as an honest...

Osenga, founder of Wood-Lam, dies at 81.(Obituary)
July 31, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle