Milwaukee, WI

Gov. Evers appoints longtime state Sen. Lena Taylor to be Milwaukee judge

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

Gov. Evers appoints longtime state Sen. Lena Taylor to be Milwaukee judge

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appointed longtime Democratic state Sen. Lena Taylor, a 20-year veteran of the Legislature who has mounted numerous unsuccessful campaigns for local office, to be a Milwaukee County judge Friday.

Taylor, 57, was first elected to the Assembly in 2003 and has been in the Senate since 2005. She resigned Friday and will take over as a Milwaukee County circuit judge Tuesday. Her departure leaves Republicans with a 22-10 majority in the Senate.

Evers appointed Taylor to succeed Audrey Skwierawski, who resigned last month after being named by the new liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court as state court administrator. Taylor will complete the remainder of her term, which ends July 31, 2025, and would have to run in the 2025 spring election to serve a full term.

Evers will call a special election to replace Taylor in the Legislature this spring, his spokesperson Britt Cudaback said. Whoever wins would have to run again in the general election because the seat is up for election this year. Further complicating things, the district lines may be redrawn as the Wisconsin Supreme Court ponders new legislative map s after tossing the current Republican-drawn ones as unconstitutional.

Taylor ran to be a Milwaukee municipal judge last year and lost. She also was defeated in races for Milwaukee mayor in 2020 and 2022, lieutenant governor in 2022 and Milwaukee County executive in 2008.

“Sen. Taylor is a committed public servant who has dedicated her life to pursuing justice for her community and the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said in a statement announcing the appointment.

During her time in the Legislature, most of which she was the only Black member of the Senate, Taylor has been a vocal advocate for justice reform and Milwaukee. She previously served as chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Taylor, who began her legal career as a public defender, said being named judge is a “full circle moment.” She said justice reform remains a priority.

She has also faced controversies, most notably in 2018 when she was cited for disorderly conduct. The police report quoted multiple witnesses saying they heard Taylor call a Black bank teller a racial slur. Taylor defended her use of the term, saying she thought she could speak that way because both she and the teller are Black and conversations within Black culture are different than other conversations.

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Milwaukee, WI

Brewers finally announce cable, satellite TV channels for broadcasts

Published

4 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Brewers finally announce cable, satellite TV channels for broadcasts

Just before the pitch clock hits zero, the Milwaukee Brewers released a rundown of channels on cable and satellite for game broadcasts, mere hours before the 1:10 p.m. CT first pitch on Opening Day, Thursday, March 26.

The club said channels include 1263 on XFinity, 670 on DirecTV, 1743 on U-Verse, and 319 or 469 on Spectrum. The broadcasts are also listed as available on streaming service Fubo.

The Brewers are pointing fans to a channel-finding tool on their web site at Brewers.com/watch, though in the moments after the announcement, the channel finder was not yet locating details for Spectrum customers for Milwaukee-area zip codes. A club spokesperson said Major League Baseball was aware of the error and the games would indeed air on Spectrum in Milwaukee.

The built-in Spectrum guide still showed Channel 308 as the “BREW” offering in Milwaukee, with Brewers Live Pregame scheduled to begin at noon CT and baseball at 1 p.m. March 26.

With the February announcement of a switchover from FanDuel Sports Wisconsin to Major League Baseball productions in 2026, MLB negotiations have gone down to the wire with the various providers around Wisconsin. Several teams covered by Main Street Sports, which operated the FanDuel brand, have been in a similar boat this offseason.

Brewers fans aren’t alone in experiencing the late-arriving channel information. Maury Brown of Forbes has been keeping track of all the late-arriving channel announcements for teams around baseball, specifically those that were covered by the Main Street Sports. As of 7 a.m. March 26, the Royals, Rays, Tigers and Braves also still hadn’t released channel listings.

Streaming customers who used the FanDuel Sports Wisconsin app in previous years can use the new Brewers.TV option to once again watch games. The opener is also one of 10 games simulcast on over-the-air channels this season, including WITI-TV (Channel 6) in Milwaukee.

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Milwaukee, WI

Chase, crash into Milwaukee library construction site; man pleads guilty

Published

17 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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Chase, crash into Milwaukee library construction site; man pleads guilty

article

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a pursuit that ended with a crash into a library construction site.

In court:

Court records show Cameron Moore, 37, pleaded guilty to three felonies and the state dismissed two others as part of a plea deal. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in May.

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The backstory:

Sheriff’s deputies were monitoring a home near 2nd and Lloyd. They were trying to locate a man, later identified as Moore, who was wanted for burglary and fleeing/eluding.

Moore left the home and got into an SUV that afternoon. Detectives tried to pull the SUV over and, while it did briefly stop, it almost immediately took off.

Crash damages library at MLK and Locust, Milwaukee (Jan. 7, 2025)

About a mile into the chase, the SUV ran a red light and slammed into a car at the intersection of King Drive and Locust Street. It then careened into the library construction site.

Nobody in the vehicles involved in the pursuit or crash was injured, according to authorities. A construction worker inside the building reported leg pain, and he was examined and cleared at the scene.

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“120 to 140 miles per hour on the freeway, on the public roadways passing people,” Court Commissioner Katharine Kucharski said after charges were filed. “We are all very lucky that nobody is…passed in this situation.”

The Milwaukee Public Library’s new Martin Luther King Branch opened months later. At the official opening, Ald. Milele Coggs acknowledged the roadblocks along the way – including the crash.

The Source: Information in this report is from the Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior FOX6 News coverage.

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Milwaukee, WI

Musical ‘The Wiz’ eases on down to Milwaukee’s Water Street

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Musical ‘The Wiz’ eases on down to Milwaukee’s Water Street

“The Wiz” was a good idea in 1974, and it’s still a good idea today: Retell “The Wizard of Oz” as a musical with a Black cast, singing tunes with R&B, disco, soul and gospel arrangements.

The North American tour of this brightly colored song-and-dance spectacle, directed by Schele Williams, has eased on down the road to Milwaukee’s Marcus Performing Arts Center for performances through March 29.

It’s a clever blend of human creativity and technology. The tornado winds, poppies and even the yellow brick road are represented by costumed ensemble dancers (the yellow brick road people are drum majors). But during the March 24 opening performance, the Marcus audience also saw some groovy, psychedelic projections and a futuristic Oz.

Just like in L. Frank Baum’s original novel (1900) and the famous movie adaptation (1939), a cyclone deposits young Dorothy (Phoenix Assata LaFreniere) in Oz, where she meets and befriends Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis), Tinman (D. Jerome) and Lion (Cal Mitchell). They’re off to see The Wiz (Alan Mingo Jr.), hoping he’ll give them a brain, a heart, some courage and a way home for Dorothy. But wicked witch Evillene (Kyla Jade) has designs on that silver footwear Dorothy’s wearing (yes, silver like the novel, rather than the movie’s ruby red).

LaFreniere is a convincing Dorothy in her yearning ballads, character moments and dance moves. Lewis’ adorable Scarecrow has some early Eddie Murphy charm. There are some big voices here, too, include Jade, who could power most of Water Street with her roar in “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.”

Jaquel Knight choreographed the nearly nonstop flow of dance, which ranges from balletic moves to the disco party in the Emerald City.

There’s no Toto in this version, which has led to a few changes in how the story unfolds. The way this version ends is even stronger than the 1939 movie in depicting the fabulous four as coming to understand they had what they were searching for all along.

If you go

“The Wiz” continues through March 29 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water. Visit marcuscenter.org or call (414) 273-7206. The Marcus recommends this show for people 8 years and older.

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