Every Friday, Off The Record looks to other Milwaukee publications (and beyond) for bits of news we missed throughout the week.
• Once upon a time, Milwaukee had a rootin’-tootin’ county sheriff named David Clarke. The sheriff’s endlessly edgy, paint-by-numbers far-right rhetoric made him a hero to Fox News and cowboy-hat aficionados alike. Hardly a day went by without Clarke appearing on Fox and/or saying something outrageous. Want to shake your head at him on an airplane? Prepare to get harassed. Want to hug him? Prepare to get your ass kicked. Want to put up a Black Lives Matter banner? Make that Black LIES Matter, pal! Shoot first, own the libs, fake news, blah blah blah.
And then dude suddenly retired, and, following a job in the Trump administration that never materialized, everyone forgot about him. Including Fox, apparently. In a new piece from The Daily Beast, it’s revealed that Clarke has been effectively “banned” from the station, and that he hasn’t made an appearance there since Feb. 14, 2018.
“His rhetoric became crazier and crazier and most shows refused to use him,” a Fox source told The Daily Beast. The piece also notes that “two knowledgeable sources confirmed that Clarke is also no longer a senior adviser and spokesman for pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.” Clarke’s podcast appears to be on permanent hiatus as well.
Funny: the once ubiquitous Clarke being banished from Fox. Funnier: no one noticing for a year. Funniest: an “assistant” to Clarke who responded to The Daily Beast with standard PR talk like this:
“It may have had something to do with the very liberal Rupert Murdoch boy taking over after Roger Ailes and Bill Shine, who was in charge of programming, were let go. Ailes and Bill Shine liked the sheriff.”
Clarke remains active and popular on Twitter, where bogeymen/women like Colin Kaepernick and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ensure his edginess will never be dulled. [The Daily Beast]
• The slowly transforming Shops of Grand Avenue (a.k.a. “The Avenue”) might receive a cool $9 million in city financing. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• The Historic Preservation Commission awarded a temporary historic designation to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s (largely empty) downtown office complex. Permanent designation will be discussed March 18. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Further historic talk for the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has been delayed a month. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Fiserv Forum will put a Fiserv Forum sign on the roof of the Fiserv Forum. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Punch Bowl Social, a new “eatertainment” pleasure palace located at 1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., opens tomorrow! Take a look! [Urban Milwaukee]
• Punch Bowl Social, a new “eatertainment” pleasure palace located at 1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., opens tomorrow! Take a look! [BizTimes]
• Punch Bowl Social, a new “eatertainment” pleasure palace located at 1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., opens tomorrow! Take a look! [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Punch Bowl Social, a new “eatertainment” pleasure palace located at 1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., opens tomorrow! Take a look! [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Punch Bowl Social, a new “eatertainment” pleasure palace located at 1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., opens tomorrow! Take a look! [OnMilwaukee]
• Have a great weekend, Milwaukee!