Another commissioner is leaving the Social Development Commission board, as leaders continue to work on a restructuring plan, SDC attorney William Sulton said Friday.

Sulton said Serina Chavez, who was elected to represent SDC’s District 5 and serves as the board’s secretary, indicated that she planned to resign at the Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday at the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, 1920 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. 

He received her official resignation on Friday. 

“She indicates in her correspondence that essentially that the work that’s necessary is beyond what she is able to commit,” Sulton said. 

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Chavez’s resignation follows the departure of four board members, including former board chair Elmer Moore Jr., since SDC suspended operations and laid off its employees in late April.

The all-volunteer board has met frequently since the spring to sort through new information and work on a plan to reopen SDC, handling its day-to-day operations. 

Most of Thursday’s board meeting was spent in closed session.

Here’s more on the SDC

Tax appointments for former SDC clients will close at IRS office on July 24

‘It’s heartbreaking’: Residents, vendors left in limbo after SDC’s closing

SDC’s inconsistent meeting notices raise transparency concerns. Here’s what you need to know.

What you need to know about the SDC’s closing

Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

Milwaukee Brewing & Distilling Company  – owned by Eagle Park Brewing – has announced that its new taproom in Bay View will have its soft opening on Friday, Aug. 2.

A grand opening event with live music and more will take place on Saturday, Aug. 17.

The taproom is in the former Tonic Tavern, 2335 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., which has been renovated.

The new venue will not have a brewhouse. It will feature a range of beers and spirits made by Milwaukee Brewing & Distilling Company at its Muskego facility.

Milwaukee Brewing will continue the Tonic tradition of hosting live music. There is an indoor stage.

Tonic’s large outdoor area has been remodeled.

“Much of the work on the space was cosmetic besides the new patio,” says co owner Jake Schinker. “We loved Tonic Tavern and it was a careful balancing act to choose what to update and what to keep.

“We wanted it to feel new but still keep it familiar to those in the neighborhood that frequented here.”

Eagle Park’s roots are in Bay View, where it opened in 2017 in the Lincoln Warehouse on 1st and Becher Streets.

“Bay View holds a special place in our hearts,” says Schinker. “When we left our original location here in 2018 we were sad to leave, but being back here and being part of the wave of new businesses opening in the area is amazing!

“It already feels like we never left.”

The new taproom was announced this past spring. Tonic Tavern closed in February.

When Eagle Park Brewing and Distilling bought the brands of the closed Milwaukee Brewing Company in September 2022, Schinker told us that he and his partners planned a taproom focused on the brand.

Milwaukee Brewing Company opened in 1997. It closed its Brewery District taproom in August 2022 and sold the business and facility to Pilot Project Brewing.

Eagle Park has taprooms on Milwaukee’s East Side and in Muskego, where it operates its production facility.

MILWAUKEE – A 16-year-old was shot and wounded in Milwaukee on Friday morning, July 26. 

It happened around 1:15 a.m. near 63rd Street and Hope Avenue. 

Police say the victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. No arrests have been made. 

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Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or P3 Tips.