Every Friday, Stuff We Missed looks to other Milwaukee publications (and beyond) for, well, stuff we missed throughout the week. This week: Milwaukee getting screwed by state government and looking to the federal government for help fixing stuff.
• In case you missed it, Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are facing a funding crisis. Long story short: Milwaukee isn’t getting its fair share of state revenue, it has no way of raising additional funds other than continuing to jack up property taxes, and Republicans in state government won’t even let us ask ourselves if we’d like to raise our sales tax by one cent and bring in an additional $160 million per year. Sigh.
So that’s why Milwaukee County Parks is looking for federal money to fix and improve the wonderful, delightful, 130-mile Oak Leaf Trail. New access ramps and pothole repairs on the East Side are just a few of the issues the parks department hopes can be addressed via a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grant. “This work is not currently eligible under the CMAQ guidelines,” says [Urban Milwaukee], “but [Manager of Planning and Development at Milwaukee County Parks Sarah] Toomsen said the department is working to convince the state Department of Transportation, which disburses the grants for the Federal Transit Administration, to approve the projects for CMAQ eligibility.”
• Oh, and go ahead and add “Beerline Trail expansion” to the list of things we can’t afford but which can maybe be covered by the CMAQ grant. [Urban Milwaukee]
• For an in-depth look at Milwaukee’s shared revenues woes, look no further than [The Recombobulation Area].
• Buckle up, fans of not walking all the way from Cathedral Square Park to the Milwaukee Public Market: THE HOP IS RETURNING TO ITS FULL, PRE-PANDEMIC SCHEDULE. Yes, beginning Sunday, August 1 (and ending whenever everything shuts down again), the beloved Milwaukee streetcar will once again operate 5 a.m.-midnight Monday through Friday; 7 a.m.-midnight on Saturdays; and 7 a.m.-10:00 p.m. on Sundays. “The reduced service schedule has had the system operating from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily,” says [Urban Milwaukee].
• The Diplomat (815 E. Brady St.) is open for the first time since the pandemic began 8,000 years ago. Oh, and Red Light Ramen (1749 N. Farwell Ave.) will finally reopen for indoor dining on August 6. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• This week in City of Milwaukee License Application Search news: A new bar called Elevate on Humboldt is planning to open at 2221 N. Humboldt Ave. The space was previously occupied by Tha Circle and Treats. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Milwaukee Flag Discourse returning in 5…4…3…2…
Cleaning our vaults sometimes results in finding special things. This is all but certainly Fred W. Steffan’s original art for the Milwaukee flag. It answers dispositively a question I’ve long had, viz.: did he really paint seagulls on the flag. Answer: yes. pic.twitter.com/2ZMisPPBq7
— Jim Owczarski (@MKECLERK) July 30, 2021
• Supernova Coffee & Doughnuts is coming to the loooooong-awaited 3rd Street Market Hall, a.k.a. the first floor of the old Shops of Grand Avenue where the animatronic bears used to do their thing. The homemade donut shop will share food-hall space with Dairyland Old Fashioned Hamburgers & Frozen Custard, Mid-Way Bakery, and more TBA vendors. 3rd Street Market Hall is expected to open in September. [OnMilwaukee]
• Southern-cuisine chain restaurant Tupelo Honey Kitchen & Bar will open its first Milwaukee location August 4 at 511 N. Broadway. [OnMilwaukee] has all the yummy details, including the skinny on the unique-to-Milwaukee fish fry.
• The Milwaukee Bucks have filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to obtain a service mark (“similar to that of a trademark,” says the [Milwaukee Business Journal]) for “Bucks in Six” and “Bucks in 6.” Here’s some non-trademarked “Bucks in Six” action from happier times, a.k.a. last week. Have a great weekend, Milwaukee!
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