DAILY WISCONSIN

Milwaukee

Democrats, DNC 2020, Milwaukee, Presidential race 2020, WisDems

Vindicated

Winning the 2020 Democratic National Convention is a coup for Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett and a host of allies.
And for a downtown river revival rooted in former Mayor John Norquist’s New Urbanism which correctly predicted that people wanted to live and work near water and to get where they needed to go on a bike, by rail, or on their own two feet.

Via The Political Environment: Democrats’ 2020 convention will make Milwaukee glow.

Democrats, DNC 2020, Milwaukee

MKE WINS

MKE Business Journal on Twitter

Huge win for @cityofmilwaukee. Will have major economic impact on @MilwDowntown and region. Watch our site for full coverage: Milwaukee wins 2020 @DNC Democratic National Convention @AlexanderLasry @MayorOfMKE @ChrisAbeleMKE @GovEvers https://t.co/652OXr0hQ2

Milwaukee, Milwaukee County

Bye?

A report released today recommends that the Domes(officially called the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory) be demolished and replaced with a new horticultural conservatory that would be paired with a new Milwaukee Public Museum in Mitchell Park on Milwaukee’s South Side.

The report, commissioned by the MPM-Domes Joint Task Force and prepared by Washington, D.C.-based Gallagher & Associates Museum Services, says combining the two institutions on a single site, “could be a great guest experience which integrates the content and stories from Milwaukee Public Museum with the content and experience of the current Domes and Conservatory. Specifically, the natural history portion of the MPM storyline fits very nice with the Domes experiences.”

The report also says that, “the cost of properly renovating the Domes greatly outweighs the benefit of doing so.”

Via Report: Demolish Domes & combine replacement with Public Museum – OnMilwaukee

Milwaukee, Music

Outlaw Music Festival 

Joining Willie Nelson and company for the micro-festival this time will be Phil Lesh and friends, Alison Krauss, Dawes, The Avett Brothers, Counting Crows and Trapper Schoepp, totaling 10 hours of entertainment at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater starting at 1 p.m. (Doors open at noon.)Tickets for this special festival within a festival will go on sale starting on Friday, March 8 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster and Summerfest’s website. Tickets can also be bought in person at the Summerfest box office, Ticketmaster ticket centers and select Walmart stores, as well as by phone at (800) 745-3000 for a live Ticketmaster Agent or (866) 448-7849 for the “Ticketmaster Express” automated phone line.

Via Summerfest announces the return of Willie Nelson and the Outlaw Music Festival – OnMilwaukee.

Bucks, Government Spending, Milwaukee

Choices

Here’s the irony. Last year, now Gov. Scott Walker pushed through a $400 million taxpayer subsidy for a new arena for the billionaire hedge fund operators who own the Milwaukee Bucks. While County Executive Walker didn’t lift a finger to repair the Domes, he fought hard to help a professional sports team pay for their new digs.

And here’s an even bigger irony. As part of that deal, Milwaukee County agreed to be on the hook for $4 million a year. And how much borrowing would $4 million a year support with interest for 20 years? Well, just about $60 million or so.

Via The Domes vs. the Bucks arena @ Isthmus.

Business, Ethics, Milwaukee

Tyco merger gives Johnson Controls CEO Molinaroli an exit strategy

Alex Molinaroli will hand over the reins of Johnson Controls Inc. to Tyco International’s top executive 18 months after the big merger of the two companies is completed this fall.

That means Molinaroli, whose brief tenure as CEO of the state’s largest company has included wheeling and dealing as well as two personal scandals, will likely be in for a big payday and poised to leave on top.

In the weeks leading up to the merger, both Johnson Controls and Tyco International moved to put some troubling matters behind them, with Tyco reaching a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over back taxes and Johnson Controls saying a law firm found no wrongdoing by Molinaroli in his involvement with convicted Ponzi schemer Joseph Zada.

Via Tyco merger gives Johnson Controls CEO Molinaroli an exit strategy @ JSOnline.

Milwaukee, Newspapers, Wisconsin

Goodbye, Local!

Gannett Co. Inc. said Wednesday it plans to buy Journal Media Group — the parent company of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — for about $280 million in cash.The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 if it receives regulatory and shareholder approval, adds Wisconsin’s biggest newspaper to Gannett, which already owns newspapers in Green Bay, the Fox Valley and other important markets in the state….

The agreement is part of an era of further consolidation in the U.S. newspaper industry, as newly pure-play newspaper companies take steps to meet the competitive threat of scaled digital news and advertising businesses, the companies said in a statement.When the deal is completed, Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, The Arizona Republic and The Indianapolis Star, will be in 116 U.S. markets and have a digital audience of more than 100 million unique visitors each month.

Via Gannett to buy Journal Media Group, parent of Journal Sentinel, for $280 million @ JSOnline.

Milwaukee, Police

Chief Flynn blames culture for murders

Because it just couldn’t be bad policing –

“Maintaining one’s status and credibility and honor, if you will, within that peer community is literally a matter of life and death,” Milwaukee’s police chief, Edward A. Flynn, said. “And that’s coupled with a very harsh reality, which is the mental calculation of those who live in that strata that it is more dangerous to get caught without their gun than to get caught with their gun.”

Via Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities @ NYT.