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June 24, 2009 3:04 p.m. | Greenfield — The Common Council will hold a special meeting Wednesday night to decide how late beer can be served at the annual St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church festival.
In the past, beer sales ended at 11 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday of the festival.
But last week, the council voted, 3-2, to cut off beer sales at 10 p.m. for those nights at this year's festival, which runs July 24-26.
No one from the festival was at last week's council meeting to answer questions about the beer sales, so the special meeting was scheduled to reconsider the cutoff time.
The festival is held at the church, 8500 W. Cold Spring Road.
By
Tom Tolan of the Journal Sentinel
Aug. 31, 2010 4:16 p.m. | Workers at the Clement Manor complex in Greenfield "inexcusably and unconscionably" ignored for four hours an emergency alarm set off in an apartment at the complex as the resident bled to death, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
One nurse's aide received a call about the alarm while she was watching TV and instead of following up, went back to watching TV, according to the complaint filed Monday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and a Greenfield police report.
The lawsuit names Clement Manor Inc., two Franciscan sisters' communities and Cincinnati-based insurance companies in the death of 87-year-old Sylvia Ploszay on Feb. 15.
Ploszay was a resident of a 101-unit independent living building at 9405 W. Howard Ave. that is part of Clement Manor, which also has assisted-living units and a nursing home.
The independent apartments have cords to pull to summon help in emergencies, and Ploszay pulled hers at 12:25 a.m. on Feb. 15. A nursing supervisor and a nursing assistant finally arrived at the apartment at 4:34 a.m., according to the lawsuit, and found her dead in her bathroom.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 27, 2010 1:04 p.m. | Greenfield police are investigating a Friday morning robbery of a 27th Street bank.
According to a Greenfield Police Department news release, a man walked into Anchor Bank about 10 a.m., approached a teller and handed over a note saying it was a robbery and demanded money.
He left the bank, 5101 S. 27th St., on foot with an unknown amount of cash. No weapon was displayed.
The suspect was described as white, about 40 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and was wearing a long-sleeve blue or black dress shirt, black jeans, white shoes and a blue baseball cap. The cap had a dog- or wolf-type logo.
Anyone with information can anonymously call WeTip at (800) 722-7463 or Greenfield police at (414) 761-5301.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 26, 2010 3:20 p.m. | Greenfield firefighters are at the scene of a fire at TGI Friday's, 4638 S. 76th St.
The fire was small and contained to the back corner, but the restaurant has been evacuated, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Bauer said.
The Fire Department arrived within the last hour.
Aug. 26, 2010 12:18 p.m. | We're just hours away from the first official games of the 2010 high school football season and there is no better way to find out the latest news on your favorite team then to check out NOW's comprehensive football preview page.
The page is packed with videos on area teams, a roundtable discussion from our sportswriters previewing the top teams to watch, position by position breakdowns, an interactive poll, photo gallery and more.
Go to NOW's 2010 football preview section.
By
Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
Aug. 25, 2010 11:10 a.m. | Thomas H. Koch, who gambled away millions of dollars he had recovered for a Texas client, had his law license revoked Wednesday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Koch, 46, of Greenfield, was charged with theft of $2.4 million in February, He consented to the law license revocation rather than defend against related professional misconduct claims being investigated by the Office of Lawyer Regulation.
According to the criminal complaint, Koch (Marquette, '90) worked for Affiliated Computer Services, a Dallas-based company, that checks to see whether medical insurers are recovering costs for injuries when possible. ACS hired Koch in 2001 to pursue such cases in the Milwaukee area for ACS’s insurance company clients.
In 2007, a new litigation manager at ACS noticed Koch had about 360 open claims. When he failed to reply to her request for status updates, she found that about 270 had been settled, but that no proceeds had been forwarded to ACS.
The Supreme Court noted in its ruling that Koch admitted his embezzlement once confronted by ACS, and has entered treatment for compulsive gambling.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 20, 2010 7:15 a.m. | Greenfield aldermen on Tuesday passed a resolution asking the state to repeal its smoking ban.
Council members before and after the ban took effect often voiced concern about the ability of the city to enforce the law. They also are worried about the financial burden the ban could have on bar owners.
The resolution passed 3-2, with Aldermen Karl Kastner and Shirley Saryan opposed.
"I feel it is a good thing for our lungs," Saryan said of the statewide ban, which took effect last month.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 19, 2010 9:10 p.m. | Facing a public outcry, the Greenfield Common Council tonight quickly halted its plans to redevelop the Interstate 894/Loomis Road area, and, in the process, quashed all talk of eminent domain.
Business owners in recent weeks voiced concern over the city's plans for the mixed-use project, called Greenfield Crossing. They fearied the city would use eminent domain to acquire their properties.
As was the case Tuesday, City Hall tonight was packed with residents and other who opposed eminent domain.
In a meeting that lasted just five minutes, the council voted unanimously to rescind a previous resolution that called for the city to acquire properties in the 47-acre Greenfield Crossing area.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 19, 2010 5:08 p.m. | The Whitnall School District is planning a school year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary, and things will kick off with a block party Sept. 18.
The party, from 2 to 8 p.m. in front of Whitnall High School, 5000 S. 116th St., will feature live music, games, food, raffles and prizes.
More activities throughout the year are in the planning stages.
For information, visit the district's website, whitnall.com.
By
Tom Kertscher of the Journal Sentinel
Aug. 18, 2010 5:06 p.m. | Greenfield - On the heels of a meeting that drew an overflow crowd, the Common Council on Wednesday scheduled a special meeting for 7:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the possible use of eminent domain for the Greenfield Crossing redevelopment plan.
The council is scheduled to vote on a resolution to allow the acquisition of land, by eminent domain, if necessary.
An overflow crowd appeared at the council's regular meeting Tuesday, even though Greenfield Crossing wasn't on the agenda, according to a GreenfieldNOW story.
By
Doris Hajewski of the Journal Sentinel
Aug. 18, 2010 11:35 a.m. | The City of Greenfield expects to have a plan submitted soon for a new Wal-Mart with a full grocery department, near the site of the existing store on S. 108th St. and W. Layton Ave.
The city expects to have the plan in time for the Sept. 14 Plan Commission meeting, according to Mayor Michael Neitzke.
Chuck Erickson, community development manager for the city, said he's been in discussions with the Bentonville, Ark. chain for the past two years on ways to replace the old store with a larger one. The challenge, Erickson said, is the elevation of the land. Wal-Mart wants to build the new 140,000-square-foot store east of the existing one, on land now used for a driving range. That would require raising the elevation to even out the site.
The existing store might be retained and offered for lease to another retailer, Erickson said.
Wal-Mart has not yet responded to a request for comment on the plan. The company recently remodeled and enlarged its store on S. 27th St. in Franklin and has new stores under construction in Muskego and Waukesha. All of the new stores include full grocery departments.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 18, 2010 9:00 a.m. | Plans for an affordable housing apartment proposal near 94th Street and Layton Avenue have been pulled.
A public hearing was supposed to be held during Tuesday night's Common Council meeting, but it did not happen after the developer informed city officials on Friday he was pulling the project, Mayor Michael Neitzke said.
The proposal, called Preserve at Greenfield, consisted of three 22-unit multi-family buildings on 5.2 acres near 94th Street and Layton Avenue.
Preserve at Greenfield drew resistance from the city's Plan Commission, which recommended the council not approve a zoning change necessary for the project to go through.
In addition, the state put developers' application for $1 million in federal tax credits, a key part of the financing, on hold.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 17, 2010 10:20 p.m. | The house was so full the Common Council chambers could not even hold everyone.
An overflow crowd, with several people holding signs against eminent domain, turned out at Greenfield City Hall Tuesday night protesting the city's plans to redevelop the Loomis Road-Interstate 894 area.
No item concerning the plan was on the agenda, but during a 30-minute "citizen commentary" period, Greenfield residents and non-residents implored aldermen and Mayor Michael Neitzke not to pursue relocating businesses in that area.
"Do your part. … Make this whole thing go away," said Bonnie Maynard, who along with her husband, Bill, own Bill Maynard's Auto Service, 4061 W. Loomis Road.
Greenfield officials appear reluctant to go forward. The Common Council will likely hold a special meeting to consider whether to drop the redevelopment plan completely, and Alderwoman Linda Lubotsky said she would introduce a resolution to that effect.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 17, 2010 5:11 p.m. | The Greenfield Common Council may call a special meeting in the next few weeks to consider putting plans to redevelop the Loomis Road-Interstate 894 area on hold.
Many business owners fear the city will use its eminent domain powers to acquire their properties, and Greenfield officials have come under fire for keeping it on the table.
The council may now discuss dropping redevelopment plans altogether, Mayor Michael Neitzke said.
"Among the council, there's a strong desire to just put this matter behind them," he said.
The city has planned for several years to build a mixed-use project called Greenfield Crossing and has declared that area "blighted," a key step in the eminent domain process.
» Read Full Article
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 16, 2010 6:02 p.m. | Construction has begun at Clement Manor, the faith-based retirement community at 3939 S. 92nd St.
Pewaukee-based VJS Construction Services will add an eight-bed therapy suite, remodel the Adult Day Care Center and upgrade existing rooms, according to a company news release. Work is expected to be wrapped up in February.
Aug. 12, 2010 8:04 a.m. | With just a few days left of the Wisconsin State Fair, you still have time to score free tickets from NOW Newspapers.
All you have to do is "like" NOW Newspapers on Facebook and respond to our last status update and tell us your favorite story from our papers this week.
A random drawing will be held at 8 a.m. Friday and announced on Facebook.
Winners will receive a four-pack of tickets to the fair, which begins runs to Sunday. Winners will have to pick up the tickets in our Waukesha office, 1741 Dolphin Drive, Suite A, 53186.
