The Milwaukee Post

4 • Milwaukee Post • August 2, 2013 WEEK IN REVIEW Following Braun suspension, Brewers to hand out $10 vouchers at all August home games STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST 1 Following the suspension of star leftfielder Ryan Braun for the rest of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers announced Monday they will give a $10 voucher for food, merchandise and game tickets to each fan who attends a home game in August. The announcement comes after Braun's suspension for unspecified violations of Major League Baseball's drug policy . "This has been a challenging season for all of us, but the one thing that has never 2 wavered has been the tremendous support we have received from fans who love the Brewers," Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said Monday "We . wanted to do something meaningful to show our appreciation, and we will strive to provide the best fan experience possible." Based on the anticipated August attendance figures of more than 30,000 per game, the vouchers are expected to amount State gets another $11M in Race to the Top Funds Wisconsin received an additional $11 million in Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge education grants from the federal government, Gov. Scott Walker's office announced Friday. The state received $22.7 million in 2012. "The additional Race to the Top funding will help Wisconsin continue to be a leader in early childhood education," Gov. Scott Walker said. "These funds will support initiatives to improve early education in our state and help ensure kids across the state are prepared to Anderson Walker begin kindergarten." The award will continue to fund programs to make advancements in our early childhood education system and further improve the access to quality early learning, a press release said. Race to the Top Awards have been used to improve early childhood development, enhance teacher training, and increase parental involvement with the goal of having all Wisconsin children reading by the end of third grade. "We have to address the school readiness gap that exists between kids of different economic and racial backgrounds," Department of Children and Families Secretary Eloise Anderson said. "Making sure that families are engaged and ensuring educational standards are high is the key. These funds will help us ensure all children have the educational foundation that they will need in life." The Department of Children and Families is the lead agency for the grant and will focus the funding on additional training, mentoring, and on-site coaching to develop innovations which improve family involvement in the early education of their children. 3 Unemployment increases in city,county Unemployment rates rose in most Wisconsin counties and cities in June. The state Department of Workforce Development reported July 24 that rates increased in 30 of Wisconsin's 32 largest cities. There were no changes in rates in two cities. Beloit continues to have the highest unemployment rate at 12.4 percent. Racine ranks second at 12.2 percent. Caledonia had the lowest rate, at 4.1 percent. Milwaukee was at 10.6 percent, up from 9.9 in May . Unemployment went up in 56 of 72 counties between May and June. The other 16 had a decrease or no change. Menominee County had the highest at 17.7 percent followed by Iron County at 11.2 percent. Milwaukee County was at 8.8 percent, up from 8.3 percent in May . The statewide unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in June, which is less than the national rate of 7.6 percent. to an estimated $3.6 million in total giveaways for the 12 games. Every fan entering Miller Park in August will receive a voucher good for $10 that can be used for food, beverage, merchandise and tickets sold at nearly every outlet (only excluding Friday's Front Row, portable merchandise stands, Miller Park Suites, the Johnson Controls Stadium Club and all-inclusive entertaining areas). The vouchers can be combined for larger pur- chases, and fans can use them to purchase tickets, food, beverages or merchandise at any other home game this season. The Brewers said this is the first in a series of special fan appreciation initiatives that the Brewers will unveil during the final two months of the season under an umbrella program known as Fans First. Additional details of Fans First events will be announced throughout August and September. 4 County Courthouse fully reopens 5 West Allis woman pleads guilty after 3 children die in fire 6 Garland enters not guilty plea The Milwaukee County Courthouse has fully reopened, after a fire destroyed the main electrical system there, a press release from Milwaukee County said recently. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said some experts said the courthouse wouldn't be fully reopened for months after the July 6 fire, but the hard work of many citizens in and outside government did the job in a few weeks. The courthouse returned to limited functions a week earlier, in a series of steps culminating in the July 24 return to full power, a statement from Milwaukee County spokesman Brendan Conway said. It added that restoration work continues, mainly after hours, and that the carpet and ceiling tiles will be replaced in many areas, as well as the building's main electrical system. A West Allis woman who lost three of her four children in a fire earlier this year after she left them alone in a locked bedroom has pleaded guilty to felony child neglect. Angelica D. Belen was convicted July 25. The 25-year-old was accused of leaving her 5-year-old daughter and 4-year-old twin sons locked at home while she went to work. Court documents say before the fire in April, Belen had twice been warned by a child-welfare worker not to leave her kids alone. A Messmer High School teacher and Waukesha resident facing two child sexual assault charges pleaded not guilty recently in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Megan Garland, 28, appeared with her attorney Alexander Flynn. A final pretrial and motion hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26 with a jury trial set for Oct. 28. According to the criminal complaint, Garland sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy who was in her class at the Destiny Church and School on North 76th Street in Milwaukee. The complaint said a witness found Garland in a car, performing a sexual act on the victim. The victim, now 15, also stated there was sexual intercourse during that event, according to the complaint. Destiny School is not affiliated with Messmer Catholic Schools. The complaint states the victim said Garland was "very touchy feely and made multiple sexual comments" to him. Another 15-year-old boy, according to the complaint, told police Garland was giving him rides to school and, during one ride home from school, touched him inappropriately .

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