Milwaukee, WI

SDC board continues to shrink as three more commissioners resign | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Published

1 year ago

November 7, 2024

SDC board continues to shrink as three more commissioners resign | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Commissioner Donna Brown-Martin writes on a copy of the agenda of the Social Development Commission’s board meeting in September. She is one of three commissioners who have resigned in the past week. (Photo by Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

The Social Development Commission has lost three more commissioners in the past week, leaving the agency with just four remaining commissioners.

The latest board members to resign include: Marjorie Rucker, the appointed commissioner for the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin; Donna Brown-Martin, appointed by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s office; and Patricia Nájera, who represented Milwaukee Area Technical College; according to William Sulton, SDC’s attorney.

“I think all the board members feel very overwhelmed,” Sulton said.

Their resignations come on the heels of former board chair Barbara Toles’ departure after attending a virtual board meeting on Oct. 23.

Since the anti-poverty agency suspended operations and laid off employees six months ago, the SDC’s board has been meeting regularly to figure out a path forward.

Reappointments remain uncertain

Brown-Martin’s term on the SDC board officially ended on Oct. 1, but she continued to attend meetings until she left the board on Oct. 31.

“There was some discussion about whether the County Exec’s office could simply reappoint her because she had historical knowledge (rather) than having someone else come in,” Sulton said.

After reviewing the SDC’s bylaws, county officials decided they could not reappoint Brown-Martin, Sulton said.

Milwaukee County will defer replacing Brown-Martin’s seat on the board until it receives clearer information about the agency’s path forward, according to an email Brown-Martin sent to Sulton and SDC interim CEO Vincent Bobot.

However, Brown-Martin will continue to volunteer with SDC, according to Sulton.

“I think we are fortunate to have former board members and community members who are stepping up,” Sulton said.

Resignations leave more vacancies

Rucker resigned Monday and did not give a reason, Sulton said.

Nájera submitted a resignation letter on Friday. In her letter, she said she was grateful for the opportunity to work with an organization that had a long history of positively impacting Milwaukee residents.

“Essentially, she does not feel like the commission is actively operating,” Sulton said.

NNS tried to contact Rucker, Brown-Martin, Nájera and Bobot for comment, but did not receive responses as of Wednesday night.

The board now consists of Bobot, who is also an elected commissioner; Jorge Franco, of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin; Jackie Carter, of Port Milwaukee; and Matthew Boswell, who was appointed by Milwaukee Public Schools.

Carter is the newest commissioner and was appointed to the board by Mayor Cavalier Johnson in June.

Boswell’s term is set to expire on Nov. 18, Sulton said.

Here’s more on the SDC

Smaller board puts SDC at risk of losing sizable funding

What you need to know about SDC’s progress amid frozen bank accounts

SDC sends out second round of paychecks to former employees

SDC puts main office and warehouse up for sale

How the Social Development Commission failed its Milwaukee residents

Why did the Social Development Commission fail? Here are takeaways from our investigation

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.

Source link

Click to comment

Milwaukee, WI

Downtown Milwaukee temporary steam outage, We Energies restoring service

Published

4 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Downtown Milwaukee temporary steam outage, We Energies restoring service

article

MILWAUKEE – An issue at the Valley Power Plant caused a temporary steam outage for downtown Milwaukee buildings on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Steam service interrupted

What we know:

According to We Energies, the gas supply to the Valley Power Plant was interrupted on Saturday morning, causing it to go offline. The plant produces steam for downtown buildings for heating.

We Energies says it has restored service to the steam system and is bringing steam back to customers, but the restoration process requires steam pressure to build back up in the steam system. Once pressure reaches safe levels, steam service can be delivered to customers.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Customers should begin to see service return over the next few hours, and some are already restored.

We Energies says it does not anticipate any more steam outages, and that this issue is not affecting electric or natural gas service.

Show canceled

What we know:

The Marcus Performing Arts Center says its building has been impacted by the steam outage and, as a result, had to cancel its 1 p.m. matinée performance of The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!

Ticket holders will be contacted directly to get further information about next steps.

All other shows at the Marcus Performing Arts Center will go on as scheduled.

The Source: We Energies and The Marcus Performing Arts Center sent FOX6 the information.

We EnergiesMilwaukeeNews

Source link

Milwaukee, WI

Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford

Published

16 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford

article

ROCKFORD, Ill. – Goalie Laurent Brossoit stopped 33 shots – and scored a goal – to lead the Rockford IceHogs to a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday.

The loss extended the Admirals losing streak to four games.

Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app

By the numbers:

With goalie Matt Murray pulled, the Admirals dumped the puck into the IceHogs zone from the red line. Brossoit tracked it down behind his goal and sailed a shot into the empty Milwaukee cage at 18:56 of the final frame.

The teams waited until the second period to start scoring goals. IceHogs forward Nick Lardis started the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 1:18 of the second frame. He sent a wrist shot from the slot into the net just as Milwaukee had two players leave the penalty box.

Just 0:33 later, Rockford’s Brett Seney exited the penalty box and grabbed a loose puck at the Admirals blue line. He moved to the right circle and sent a shot over the glove of Admirals goalie Matt Murray at 1:51.

Milwaukee got on the board with a power-play goal at 4:56 of the second frame. Oasiz Wiesblatt skated with the puck from the left point to the right circle and slid a pass to the crease. Daniel Carr redirected the puck past IceHogs goalie Brossoit for his team-leading tenth goal of the season, and seventh on the power play. Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell assisted.

Rockford scored two more before the close of the second period. Martin Misiak scored his first pro goal at 15:39 and Jamie Engelbert added a 4-on-4 goal at 18:45 to give the IceHogs a 4-1 lead after two frames.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

The Admirals cut the deficit to 4-2 when Jake Lucchini scored his sixth goal of the season at 11:21 of the third period. Lucchini slammed a rebound of a Jordan Oesterle shot into the net. Cole O’Hara and Oesterle were awarded assists.

The Ads got within one just :36 later when O’Hara shot a blocked puck into the net from the right circle. Oesterle and Ryan Ufko assisted on the goal at 11:57 of the third period.

Milwaukee returns to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to host the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.

Milwaukee AdmiralsSports

Source link

Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Children at Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee were locked in a boiler room as a punishment, a group of parents say in a recently filed lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s civil division by three sets of parents. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is among the defendants.

The parents claim in court papers several employees at the K4-8 elementary school on North 35th Street sent kids to the boiler room if they misbehaved.

Some of those staff members, as well as students, referred to the boiler room as “The Dungeon,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims a former male paraprofessional at the school locked three students in a boiler room multiple times during the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years.

In the lawsuit, the parents said the “dungeon” presented a serious hazard to the children because of the potential exposure to “chemicals, cleaning agents, boilers, and other machinery.”

The paraprofessional resigned in November 2023 after he was investigated for violating several school district policies. At the time, he told district officials he placed the students in the room as a scare tactic, the lawsuit states.

Among the defendants is former assistant principal Dennis Daniels.

He pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office after failing to alert police that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school in February 2024.

He initially was charged with a felony, but brokered a deal with prosecutors to instead plead to an amended lesser charge.

“Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff,” Stephen Davis, an MPS spokesman, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment.”

In a statement, Milwaukee attorney Drew DeVinney, who represents the parents, described the alleged behavior of school staff as “disbursing and egregious,” and that it appeared no one intervened to stop it.

He urged other families to come forward if they also were impacted.

“Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law.

“We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.

Source link