Posted inNeighborhood News

Brophy Declares Bankruptcy

Two years ago, landlord Tim Brophy hid under one of his tenant’s beds, hoping the police wouldn’t find him. They did. The city was after him then — and still — because of unpaid property taxes and outstanding fines relating to code violations on his vast collection of rental units in Riverwest, Harambee, Brewers Hill, and the East Side, which during its peak included more than 100 properties.

Posted inArts & Entertainment, Business Spotlight

20 Years of Lakefront

RIVERWEST has found another excuse to raise a glass of its self-titled beverage. This year is the 20th anniversary of the beer that made a neighborhood famous: Riverwest Stein. Towards the end of 1987, commercial production began at the Lakefront Brewery, an operation that Ann Pogorelc of Tony’s Tavern in Walker’s point still refers to as “the Klisch boys from Riverwest.”

The Klisch boys are the brothers Jim and Russ, a cop and a chemist, both born and raised in Brown Deer, who found themselves as young adults sharing a house at 2951 Bremen Street in the early 80s. 

Posted inUncategorized

March On Milwaukee!

PEOPLE who have taken part in protests and group actions report a kind of euphoria – some say it’s as powerful as falling in love. “Action fever,” they call it. 

Milwaukee audiences are sure to feel some emotional heat if they attend March On Milwaukee, Margaret Rozga’s dramatic memoir. The scene with Christmas carolers outside the home of the landlord who refused to rent to Ronald Britton, a black Viet Nam vet, is guaranteed to bring a lump to the throat. Perhaps a blush to the cheek.

The play will be presented at 7 pm on Thursday, September 27 at the Humphrey Scottish Rite Center, 790 N. Van Buren St. It will kick off a weekend of events commemorating the open housing marches of 1967. 

Posted inArts & Entertainment

Cheap Thrills: Currents Cartoonist Crew Goes Gallery in Green Bay

Yours truly is honored to be guest curator for a showing of comic art by Wisconsin artists at the Lawton gallery at UWGreen Bay, titled Cheap Thrills: 20 Comix Artists From Wisconsin. The show was suggested by Dr. Stephen Perkins, head honcho at the Lawton gallery after he saw a showing of work at the Firecracker gallery in Madison which was curated by David Mueller, Coth, and me. “Wow!” he said at the time, unaware that organizing cartoonists is like herding cats.