TosaTakes

Do you personally or do you have a friend or family member who works/goes to school/visits Madison?

Here's a primer on the current climate on State Street and other neighborhoods near the Capitol. 

Isn't the debate over the fire station over?

I certainly hope not.

Fellow blogger Christine McLaughlin wonders why, after the advisory referendum was approved, I am still urging city leaders to examine the appropriateness of the extra-large fire station being promoted by the formerly maybe I guess not right now retiring Fire Chief.

I raised several questions in the comments section of an earlier post. They deserve highlighting here.

Many of those who have been pushing the extra large station are the very ones who would benefit from the construction. The designers, the developers, the chief, and those who have eyes on the excess parking and the potential to commercially develop land to the south of the new station.

It's bad enough that families have already been displaced and uprooted from their homes as the city's eminent domain threat loomed over their future. It's pretty clear the City will take private property, as was their intention all along.

Yet, as they move forward to finalize the construction plans, I am hopeful that City leaders will at least take into consideration the taxpayers who will be paying for the construction and operation of this station for years to come.

I realize the current station is dilapidated and crowded. The open house really stressed that fact. Excess and outdated equipment strewn throughout for extra affect notwithstanding, the conditions needed to be improved, for the firefighters' sake.

But we don't need public meeting space at that (expensive) location. Especially with City Hall less than a mile to the north.

Other questions have not been answered. Why must a maintenance bay be on site? Why must the chief have an office at that (expensive) station?

Does the department need the number of mechanics it presently uses? How many people are involved in the supervision of the maintenance department? Does all maintenance need to be done in-house? How often would a maintenance bay be used and what are the advantages for having it be at that (expensive) location?

The excess parking may come in handy for an area church on the weekends, but is it necessary for the operation of the firehouse?

The neighbors around that station will tell you the same thing they've told me. The present parking lot is never half full, except for the occasions when non employees use it.

I don't think it's 'off the cuff' or 'uninformed' to hope that the new leaders of Wauwatosa move thoughtfully and expeditiously to answer these questions. It's not a matter of building the biggest new building taxpayers will allow. It is, rather, a matter of using the authority now granted by taxpayers in a responsible manner.

What's the harm in answering these questions and making sure the plan chosen fits meet the public safety and public stewardship needs at the same time?

Christine believes these questions are best answered by administrators at the City and in the Fire Department. I respectfully disagree. I believe it is not only the right but the responsibility of our elected officials to seek answers to these questions before approving a capital project of such magnitude.

These issues can be addressed, questions answered and a right-sized station developed and built without needless delay if our Alders and Mayor have the courage to do so. 

Wauwatosa needs a better fire station that the current one located at 1463 Underwood Ave.

City residents, in an advisory referendum earlier this month, authorized spending up to $11.5 million on a new station.

Mayor Didier wants to move quickly to get the station built.

The fire chief, perhaps after checking what a sudden retirement would do to his health care premiums, has decided to stick around until the new station is built.

I would love to see some leadership on this issue from the city council and the new mayor.

Decision making does not necessitate a delay in this project.

How about proposing a fire station that serves the needs of the community and the department, but doesn't cost a staggering $11.5 million?

Could we agree on a station that provides better living quarters and larger doors to accommodate modern equipment but one that does not include a huge maintenance bay and what is sure to be little-used meeting space? For that matter, why does the chief need to be at that fire station? By scaling back the extravagant plans originally proposed, the footprint for such a station would be smaller, there would not be a need for so many parking spaces, construction could be concluded sooner, and the cost would be less.

Why can't the Chief, a maintenance bay and public meeting space be found elsewhere? Between City Hall, the Fisher Building, the old recycling center, the County Grounds and other publicly-owned property, there has to be a more frugal and sensitive way to balance the public safety needs with taxpayers' ability to pay.

Mayor Didier has a chance to be bold and innovative here.

Is 'clinging to God' a sign of despair and bitterness?

The most galling part of Obama’s San Francisco sniping isn’t his condescension regarding gun rights or even his comment about small town America being bitter.

It’s his assertion that people embrace faith only* out of ignorance and fear. That God is something to cling to only when you feel you have nothing else upon which you can rely. As if when government fails them…when the policies of the State leave them wanting… people look to God solely for a spiritual hand out.

Maybe that’s why Obama never understood the seriousness of the whole Reverend Wright episode. To him, it was ‘only’ about religion. That was something from Obama’s past. Something he turned too only when he needed it, when it suited him. Now, he knows better. So why should people examine what Reverend Wright preached? Even if Obama was there during the racially divisive tirades… It was only church.

Obama's comments will not only rankle conservatives and moderates. There are a great many liberals who are deeply involved in living their faith every day, through words and deeds. It's insulting to say they cling to God out of a sense of frustration or bitterness with government.

I think his comments will severely hurt him, if not in the Democrat primary, surely in the general election if he is the nominee.

* He didn't say it was their 'only' motivation/inspiration. 

Whew. Not a great debut for Gagne. Nice save Riske.

Ryan Braun is a man. How DARE they issue an intentional walk to get to the 2007 Rookie of the Year.

This quick take would not be complete without a comment on the Cubs grounds crew.

How pathetic are these guys? The game could have started on time. Then they dump all the water in the outfield...They couldn't handle the tarp.. It was if this was their first game ever.

Where did the Cubs find these guys? I wonder if any of them were the same geniuses who put up the snow fence three feet from the road along Swan Blvd this winter. You know, the fence that was down the first time the plows came through. 

(I've been wanting to comment about that for months and thought this might be my last time to get that shot in).

Anyway. Brewers are in first. Cubs in last place.

Sounds perfect to me. 

Like most voters in Wauwatosa and elsewhere, as Election Day approaches, I've settled on my choices.

For Wauwatosa Mayor, I'm casting my vote for Jill Didier.

Let's briefly summarize a few different areas where I prefer Didier over her opponent

Perspective/Motivation for seeking office
While her better-funded opponent is part of the status-quo power structure of this City, I like Didier's fresh perspective and understanding of the need for new leadership here.

Consider that Jerry Stepaniak was originally appointed to the city council to serve out the term of then newly-elected Mayor Theresa Estness and he only announced his intention to seek the Mayor's post after Estness said she would not run again.
Didier, on the other hand, was clearly poised to take on Estness this spring. (And after the dragged out fire station fiasco, the lack of leadership from the Mayor on public safety plus the Mike McGee Jr debacle, it was clear it was time for Estness to go.)

Stepaniak is too close to the Tosa governing clique.

Her willingness to take on the status-quo in this city is a huge plus for Jill Didier, in my book.

Concern for taxpayers
Both Stepaniak and Didier talk about preserving and even enhancing the quality of life in Wauwatosa.

Didier is more in touch with and willing to speak about the need to balance quality of life initiatives with our city residents' ability to pay for them.

Maybe I'm also swayed by Stepaniak's support from those who back governor Doyle and Senator Sullivan, but it is my opinion that moderates and fiscal conservatives in Wauwatosa would be wise to cast their vote for Didier.

Outreach
While I have not personally met with either candidate and have received more mail from Stepaniak than Didier, only Didier has taken the time to call and ask me what issues I'm most concerned with. I appreciate an elected official's willingness to actively seek the opinions of others outside their inner circle, and I find Jill Didier to be open minded, bright and capable.

This isn't an in depth analysis of the candidates' background or positions. You can visit their websites for that info if you so wish, and I'd encourage you to do so. This is my take, based on my current state as a recently-married homeowner who's lived in Wauwatosa for more than 20 years.

I'm impressed with Didier's fresh approach, concern for taxpayers and willingness to listen.

If you're happy with the recent decline in Wauwtosa (random robberies on state street, tax cash grabs of senior living centers, retail uncertainty on North Avenue, a Kelo-like zeal to pursue eminent domain actions on private properties and a 'we know better than you' attitude from City Hall) then don't shake up the status quo.

If you want and think you deserve better, I believe Didier is the right woman for the job.
 

So, I turned 40 last week.

Other than the receding hairline and emergence of a few more gray hairs each week, I'm not often reminded that I'm aging.

I've never had a hang up about how old I was, be it as a teen, when I hit 21, 30 or what have you.

Some things will be. Period. I feel sorry for those who can't come to grips with certain realities. Like time. It marches on. 

My lovely wife threw a party for me on Saturday night. Surrounded by family and friends from several different parts of my life, I had a great time. Ok, so maybe I didn't 'act my age' but cut me some slack, it was a party.  Truth be told, it was pretty cool to be watching Tosa East win the state basketball championship with several former classmates and their spouses/significant others. 

Since my wife first began planning this party several weeks ago, I've never felt "Oh, man, am I getting old!" 

Forty? Big deal. 

That being said, I'd be lying if I said that seeing the East squad being led by a gray-haired head coach who is ten or so years younger than me didn't feel a bit strange.

Congratulations to the team, Coach Andorfer, the students, and my fellow Red Raider alums.

Hail, Wauwatosa! Indeed.
 

I'm certainly not referring to the empty rhetoric of Obama or the thin resume of Clinton.

Snowbanks be damned, people, SPRING TRAINING is right around the corner.

Brewers' pitchers and catchers report in Arizona on Saturday.

This year. Our year. Yes we can. From Day One. 

First Wauwatosa Realty, Co. gave way to the generic Shorewest, now, more than a decade later, this? 

Wauwatosa Savings Bank (WAUW) said today it plans to change its name because the bank's markets reach beyond Wauwatosa and its expanded products and services have broadened the bank's mission.

The bank said it plans to give people a say in what it will be called in the future.

The bank, established in 1921, now has branches in Franklin, Germantown, Oak Creek, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, Waukesha and West Allis in addition to Wauwatosa. In the last two years, it also has added business and consumer lending and other financial services to its traditional mortgage loan business. That has made it more of a full-service bank than a mortgage-focused savings bank, the bank said.

The bank may expand further in Wisconsin and even out of state, said Doug Gordon, president and chief executive. "A name change is necessary to better reflect what we are now and what we plan to be in the future," Gordon said.

Between now and Feb. 29, the bank will ask visitors to its branches to fill out an opinion ballot on the three names the board of directors is considering: Granite Bank, Security First or WaterStone Bank.

WaterStone Bank? Bleh. Sounds like a small town in upstate Vermont.

Save where you'll earn the most, save at Wauwatosa....they've invested so much in that branding for so many years. Beyond my hometown pride, I think this name change is a mistake. 

There's nothing good on TV tonight.

                   I blame Scott Walker
 

At the risk of being labeled a crotchety old fart, I have to ask: Why not just insert a busy city street intersection in the middle of this.

Or perhaps hand out Bags o Glass to park enthusiasts? (h/t Dan Akroyd)

Seriously, does anyone know if liability issues have been addressed? I knew this concept was in the mix but never thought such a crazy idea would get this far.

In other communities with skate parks, I've discovered the following precautions:

Non-skaters, for safety reasons, are not permitted into the skating facility, however, a spectator observation deck gives a first class view , perfect for parents and other interested onlookers to enjoy.

Skaters must wear helmets, kneepads, wrist guards, and elbow pads while in the park, and a liability waiver must be signed by all participants and/or parents of children under 18 years of age. LEGAL GUARDIANS* MUST BE PRESENT at registration, or the official waiver form with the guardian’s signature must be notarized. Waiver forms expire June 30 of each year.

* Legal Guardians are those individuals who have been given the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a minor. Friends of the family, non-parent relatives, etc. who are in temporary custody of a minor may not claim legal guardianship.

Have these been covered here, too? 

Finally, it seems counter intuitive to have a park that resembles features found throughout the city. Practice at the library so you can show off for your friends at the park! 

Alright, that's enough for now. I need to finish my dinner. There's a Matlock marathon on the television set tonight. 

I've been a movie buff since high school. However, as I grew older (and crankier) the theater experience waned. Between the yakers and the texters and the poor audio quality at a lot of theaters, I found myself going less and less.

 I love the Rosebud, mind you. It's an experience that's much more than just the film that happens to be showing.

Last night, my wife and I went to the Marcus Majestic in Brookfield and watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets on the Ultra Screen.

Fantastic.

The screen is amazing, and the audio is pretty darn good, too.

Minor quibbles. While the seats are comfortable, they have a weird reservation policy. The two seats I reserved for us were separated by a table, which would have left each of us sharing a two seat section with someone else. Every couple in the rows surrounding us found themselves in the same predicament. We just all shifted over one seat because the theater wasn't sold out, but I thought the arrangement was weird.

And the post movie egress from the parking lot resembled trying to get out of Lambeau after a Packers win.

Overall, it was a great time though. Believe it or not, it was the first movie my wife and I saw together in a theater. This after several years of courtship. While the DVD player and DVR are used constantly in casa de Fraley, we've never done the movie date night, til yesterday.

 Thanks to a pleasant experience at the Majestic, and my desire to show her the Rosebud, it won't be our last.

Problem is, we have different tastes in movies. Well, we'll work that out, I'm sure.

Have any flicks you suggest we see?  
 

To the guy driving the Chevy Blazer (with a plow attached) that spent more than a half hour trying to plow my neighbor's narrow driveway Saturday night:

1) Just because your vehicle has a plow attached to it doesn't make you a plow driver.

2) That grass on either side of the driveway? Yeah, that's the lawn. The grass on the south end of that driveway is was mine, by the way.

3) When spinning your wheels on the ice, hitting the accelerator will not solve your dilemma. Think lower gears, dude. And some weight in the back of your mini SUV wouldn't hurt, either.

4) That was a neat trick you did, sliding sideways about 100 feet down the road. Fortunately you didn't tip over. Even more fortunately, you didn't hit any parked car or pedestrian.

5) Perhaps you should find another means by which you can earn some extra cash during the winter 

Why does the new fire station need to be twice as large as the station it is replacing?

Under the recommended plan, two single-family and two duplex homes would be razed to make way for the new 32,000-square-foot fire station, which is almost double the size of the current station.

The parcel for the new station would stretch to the north up to the edge of the current church parking lot at the corner of Milwaukee and Harwood avenues.

My biggest beef is that the prospect of using eminent domain to take private property was one of the first, not last, alternatives considered. It was on the table from day one, whereas something that onerous should be only considered as a last resort.

Property owners who would be affected, as well as their neighbors were not informed by City officials of this possibility. They had to stumble upon the news. And they were rightfully upset and worried.

Imagine for a moment that you purchase a house and choose to live in this City because of its safety, good schools and charming neighborhoods. You envision raising your family here and you invest in the largest purchase of your life. Then, boom, you find out your City has eyes on your property and is planning on paying assessed, not fair market, value for it whether you like it or not.

Now that word is out, you're stuck. Do you go ahead with those home improvement plans you and your spouse drew up the night after your offer was accepted? How long will this dream house of yours still be yours? Whereas when you bought the place you had to make the best offer to the previous owner you know you can't get real value for your house because no one besides the City will be bidding for it.

Government isn't supposed to 'happen' to people. Our elected officials are supposed to work on our behalf and I believe they've failed with this issue.

I have nothing against public opinion. In fact, had the City chosen to include more of the public (namely the property owners at and near the originally 3, then more, now one site) in the initial stages of planning, they may have even broken ground, somewhere, by now.

As to the appropriate size. This is a classic example of a public project growing to accommodate itself. If they create a public meeting space on site (Isn't City Hall just down the street?) then they need parking spaces for those who use the facility. If they have offices for the fire department and place for police in there, they need parking spaces for them, too. The chief said so himself.

...Chief Redman addressed the issue of increased surface parking, stating that potential public uses of meeting areas makes more parking necessary. Furthermore, accommodation must be made for overlapping staff periods, visitors’ training sessions, and police officers using the facility... Mr. Sabinash added that the minimum required parking is for 30 staff vehicles, 6 visitor/citizen vehicles, and 12 fleet vehicles.

The City has yet to explain why a replacement station with updated living quarters and apparatus bays but without the increased office and meeting spaces is not sufficient.

Instead, they are intent on getting 'their' fire station, perhaps creating some new retail space in the process, regardless of the cost.

For those of you who saw the title of this post and were expecting a blurb about the wife of a certain Idaho Senator, I am sorry to disappoint you. This post is about Deer Hunting.

With the exception of a two year stint which ended with my engagement earlier this year, As an adult, I’ve regularly been clean shaven for 50 weeks of the year. But each November, I leave the razor in the medicine cabinet for two weeks. The results aren’t always pretty, but the reasoning is sound in my mind.

Deer Camp approaches.

I’ve previously written about the importance of Deer Hunting to me and members of my family.

Beyond the cultural traditions, however, Deer Hunting brings out quite a few of my idiosyncrasies.

As I mentioned, I don’t shave for the two weeks preceding opening day. It’s not that I am going for the ‘woodsy’ look. I just like having a bit more insulation from the gales of November when up in the North Woods.

I enjoy shopping. Normally, I am loathe to enter a retail store for any reason. But when it comes to purchasing everything from hand warmers, to groceries, to Scotch, to ammo, I never mind shopping for Deer Hunting.

I plan ahead. I’ve always been a planner, business wise, but my personal day-to-day activities are usually done by the seat of my pants. I make lists for work, but rarely for anything outside of it. The major exception is Deer Hunting. While my wife is not fond of the beard or my disgust for shopping, this is one idiosyncrasy she wishes I would adopt on a full time basis.

I wear the Yellow Shirt.  For years, I wore a chamois shirt that my Dad only wore deer hunting. I went to Culvers too many times and the shirt went to the dryer to many times. So I bought a cheap replica. Even though the Culvers trips have stopped, the original shirt is still too fragile to wear. The replica will have to do.

I drink coffee. I hate coffee. On occasion, I may down a ridiculously expensive uber mocha latte extreme if no other source of caffeine is available, but I’ve always preferred my caffeine cold. Diet Coke is my friend. But at Deer Camp and in the woods, coffee is king.

I, gulp, turn off my cellular phone/pda. Really. Until this year, the only time I was either accidentally or purposely out of range of clients was during deer camp. And while vacations with the then-fiancé, wedding planning and time with my, now, wife has made those times a bit more frequent, seclusion during Deer Camp is assured.

I read maps. C’mon, I’m a guy. Guys hate to look at a map/ask for directions. Not when plotting the best route to the cottage. I actually (see planning bullet point above) even check for road construction detours. Because I realize that my weekend will be ruined if I get to Deer Camp ten minutes behind schedule.

Over the next few days, I’ll enjoy the camaraderie of family and the therapy provided by solitude in the woods. I’ll get these quirky traits out of my system. At least for another year.

Then, I’ll come home Monday (with my first buck in tow.

I’ll leave the Yellow Shirt in the laundry hamper, and the remnants of this growth I call a beard in the drain of the bathroom sink. ) Then I’ll prepare for Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my new extended family.

There’s no way you’re going to have a better week than me.

Safe travels fellow hunters. Here’s to a safe and prosperous Deer Camp.

This is an example of common sense administration of a government program.

Not sticking to artificial time lines, but adapting to reality to provide a promised service to all the city. 

It shouldn't just happen this weekend, but it should at least happen this weekend.

If you love your freedom...if you have been graced with liberty...

...thank a Veteran.
 

Head over to the Square...