The Milwaukee Post

June 22, 2018

Milwaukee Post

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4 • Milwaukee County Post • June 22, 2018 State Office Building to be named after Vel Phillips MILWAUKEE — The future Milwaukee State Office Building will be named after civil rights pioneer and former Wisconsin Secretary of State Vel Phillips, Gov. Scott Walker announced Tuesday. "It is only fitting that the state's future office building in Milwaukee be named in honor of Vel Phillips," Walker said in a news release. "She was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, the first African-American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council, the first African- American judge in Wisconsin, the first African-American and first woman to be elected Wisconsin Secretary of State, and the first African-American to be elected to the National Committee of a major political party. Vel Phillips was a nationally renowned trailblazer for civil rights, and her honorable legacy will benefit the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin for generations to come." Phillips, who passed away on April 17, at age 95, was a tireless advo- cate for the African-American community in Milwaukee and beyond, the release said. As Milwaukee County executive, Walker was part of efforts to rename the Milwaukee County Children's Court Center as the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center in her honor. Walker, who chairs the State Building Commission, will include language enumerat- ing the Vel R. Phillips Milwaukee State Office Building in the 2019-21 capital budget pro- posal in early 2019. The full Building Commission and Wisconsin Legislature will act on the proposal. The new building will replace the current Milwaukee State Office Building at Sixth and Wells streets, which was built in 1963. The Department of Administration issued a request for proposal for the new office building and is reviewing the responses. WEEK IN REVIEW STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST City receives $30,000 park grant from Walt Disney Co. MILWAUKEE — The city has been selected to receive a $30,000 play space grant from the Walt Disney Company in support of the National Recreation and Park Association and Disney's combined goal of providing 1 million kids and families with greater access to play. As part of the national Meet Me at the Park program, park and recreation agencies across the country were invited to share their best ideas on increas- ing access to play spaces for children and families in their communi- ties. Agencies with the most innovative and impactful project ideas were chosen to receive $30,000 grants to build their projects. MKE Plays, a program to revitalize parks in the city, will use the $30,000 grant to work with the local Hmong community to create designs for the Foundation Park, 3700 W. McKinley Ave., playground surfacing that incorporates traditional Hmong symbols and patterns. "Empowering local residents is a core tenet of this program," said Alderman Michael J. Murphy, who created MKE Plays in 2015. "Partnering with the Hmong community in this manner will be a prime example of community-involved design." The $30,000 gift means MKE Plays has raised more than $1.69 mil- lion from private sources and leveraged an additional $1.31 million in public funding, totaling more than $3 million of investment in Milwaukee parks, Murphy said. "By increasing access to play spaces, this program will also provide unique activities tailored to the local community that support healthy lifestyles," said Kellie May, NRPA director of health and wellness. West Allis woman charged in thefts from store WAUKESHA — A West Allis woman allegedly used fraudulent returns to steal more than $7,600 from the Brookfield JCPenney store where she worked this year. Rachel Blundon, 31, was charged with a felony count of theft and released Monday after signing a $5,000 signature bond. She is due to appear in court again July 2. A criminal complaint said a store official reviewing transactions revealed Blundon was involved in numerous returns, sometimes multiples ones on the same day, which were determined to be thefts totaling $7,663 from February until this month. Blundon said she did the thefts to "pay a friend back money," the complaint said, adding she cited family issues and looming homelessness. Zepnick: Stop sending Guard for immigration policy MILWAUKEE — State Rep. Josh Zepnick, D-Milwaukee, joined other Democratic law- makers, Voces de la Frontera, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and others against President Donald Trump's policy to separate children from their parents at the border with Mexico. Zepnick asked Gov. Scott Walker to stop sending the Wisconsin National Guard troops to enforce the policy. "This is a wasteful, harmful, and un-American policy which does not deserve the time and talent of our brave men and women of the National Guard," Zepnick wrote in a news release. Democratic gubernatorial candidates forum set MILWAUKEE — Nine of the 10 Democratic candidates for governor have accepted an invitation from Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele to attend a public forum Aug. 3, according to a news release. The forum, focusing on issues facing Milwaukee County, including the state funding formula and lack of resources available to Milwaukee County and other local munici- palities, will take place at 1 p.m. at 313 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 207. This year, Milwaukee County will send $250 million more to the state government than it did in 2007 while receiving $150 million less in state funding, which Abele said is not sustainable and unfair to Milwaukee County taxpayers, and could force severe cuts in public safety, public transit, county parks, and other services in the future. Similar trends can be found in Waukesha and many municipalities and counties across the state, the release said, adding it is not a partisan problem. Those candidates who will attend are Tony Evers, Matt Flynn, Andy Gronik, Mike McCabe, Josh Pade, Kelda Roys, Paul Soglin, Kathleen Vinehout and Dana Wachs. Mahlon Mitchell has also been invited. The forum is open to the public. Sen.Taylor objects to legislative 'gerrymandering' MILWAUKEE — State Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, objected to the U.S. Supreme Court sending a decision on Wisconsin voting district lines down to lower courts based on a lack of personal injury by the plaintiffs in Gill v. Whitford. "Today the Supreme Court had the chance to call this what it is, blatant Republican gerrymandering. Lines were drawn to limit the voices of countless Wisconsinites, the majority of whom are minorities, and frankly, to steal elections," Taylor said Monday. The state Legislature draws district boundaries after every U.S. Census. Twelve Democratic voters objected to the redistricting after the 2010 census. "Despite the objections of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, I remain opti- mistic that there will be another chance to make the case in the lower courts," Taylor wrote in her news release. Democratic Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay has introduced a bill that would create a nonpartisan third party to draw voting maps. Complaint: Women had child help them shoplift WAUKESHA — Two Milwaukee women were charged June 15 after they allegedly stole merchandise from a Waukesha Walmart store with the help of an 11-year-old girl. Alise Carter-Smith, 47, and Davashia Porter, 27, were both charged with felony retail theft, with Porter charged with two counts of bail jumping for allegedly committing a new crime while pending on retail theft charges in Fond du Lac and Milwaukee. A criminal complaint said the women spent at least two hours in the Waukesha Walmart store early June 15 before they tried checking out with their items. An 11-year-old girl with them tried wheeling a shared cart out to the parking lot but was stopped when a store employee brought her back inside. When a card wouldn't work, Carter-Smith went to her car for a different one while Porter took the merchandise to load it in a car, despite being told to return it to the store and pay for it. The women and the girl all left with some $829 in merchandise. It was found in the women's car, which was stopped near Highway 164 and Pearl Street, with Porter admitting they stole some items after their card was declined, the complaint said. Carter-Smith stated she was aware it was illegal but did it anyway, the complaint said. Phillips Murphy

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