Shepherd Express - December 2024

We Lost but We are Definitely Not Defeated

BY LOUIS FORTIS NOVEMBER 21ST 2024

We lost on November 5, 2024, and I believe it was a totally fair and honest election. We just didn’t have the votes and some of that is our fault. Unfortunately, there are consequences when you lose an election. We now need to go into a defensive mode and work to minimize the damage that Trump is proposing without our attacking each other. We need to analyze why we lost and what we can do going forward to win back many of the voters who used to be Democrats and who are the beneficiaries of the policies promoted by the Democrats.

The election was less than a month ago and the new administration has not started, but they are already bringing back their clown show. As this piece is being written (on November 21), Matt Gaetz has just dropped out of contention for Attorney General. Trump has put forward totally unqualified individuals to run our government agencies, and the sane Republicans are aghast. When asked about Trump’s appointee, Pete Hegseth, for Secretary of Defense, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski could only say “Wow” which she repeated when the interviewer asked her a second time.

As they say, elect a clown and expect a circus and the circus has come to Washington.

SKEPTICISM IN THE SENATE

I believe many of these appointees will not be confirmed by the Senate. Senators Murkowski and Collins have already expressed a lot of skepticism. The Republicans in the Senate can only lose three votes and then the vice president would cast the tie breaking vote. Beside Murkowski and Collins, there are institutionalists who have spent a good part of their working lives in the U.S. Senate and don’t want the senate to become a group of sycophants for the president.

They understand the need for checks and balances. Some, like Mitch McConnell, are not going to run again in 2026 and others who will be up for re-election in 2026 fear what will be a strong blue wave midterm election.

Do they defy Trump and probably have a primary challenger or become his lap dog and lose voters in the general election? I’m hoping some of them will understand that by 2026, Trump may be quite unpopular, and it will be a bad year for Republican incumbents. Obviously, they won’t be able to prevent all Trump’s dubious appointments, so the senators will have to decide which ones they will not fight. They need to look at two criteria: how important is the office in question and is the nominee at least halfway qualified.

CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

Trump is talking about eliminating entire federal agencies. These are created by acts of Congress and would need acts of Congress to eliminate them. The filibuster still exists for legislation so any major changes would have to be bipartisan with senators working across the aisle. We hope there are enough Republican senators who are institutionalists and will keep the filibuster in place. That would require just four Republican votes.

Then there are the presidential executive orders. These are decrees from the president that do not involve congressional approval. There are limitations on what a president can do with executive orders. What we have learned from Trump’s behavior over the past four years is “sue, sue, sue,” and keep slowing the process down by keeping the issues in the courts. Both sides understand that Trump will have two years to get through most, if not all his controversial ideas. After that he will probably not control at least one, if not both chambers of Congress.

ON THE OFFENSE

That’s defense. For our offense, we need to seriously analyze why we are losing voters in some of the traditional Democratic Party base like Latinos, African American men, working folks without a technical or college education, and younger voters especially younger men. We need to make sure post high school education is affordable without being stuck with loan repayments for the next 20 years after graduation. We must remove the barriers to the American Dream where a lower income kid can work hard and behave in school, graduate, and get post high school training or education so they could land comfortably in the middle class. We can restore what we had a few decades ago especially if we start fairly taxing the billionaires.

In Wisconsin, we had our victories. Tammy Baldwin won her senate reelection. We picked up four seats in the state senate and where in two years we have about a 90% chance of winning the majority. (only half the state senators are up for re-election every two years) We picked up 10 seats in the state assembly and with a good blue wave election in 2026, we can pick up five more and win the majority in the assembly.

We will get through the next few years and America will get through the next few years if we stay engaged and fight for what is fair.

Louis Fortis is Publisher and Editor-inChief of the Shepherd Express.

Photo by Tyler Nelson

20 David Luhrssen Marks 30 Years This Month at Shepherd Express

MKE SPEAKS: Conversations with Milwaukeeans

Brûlée Flambé with Crunchy

COVER:

Daniels as Ebenezer Scrooge (center) and the cast of Milwaukee Rep’s A Christmas Carol, at The Pabst Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow. Snowflake

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Lawsuit Challenges the $1.75 Billion 1-94 Expansion THE

PROJECT’S ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACTS ARE CITED

BY VIRGINIA SMALL

Milwaukee’s latest disruptive freeway expansion could face a proverbial “gapers’ block” as members of the legal system and others pause for a closer look at the project’s implications.

In response to federal approval of the Interstate Highway 94 East-West corridor expansion, Midwest Environmental Advocates and Legal Action of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in August in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of four environmental and social justice organizations. The $1.75 billion construction plan will increase I-94 from six lanes to eight lanes between 16th and 70th streets and greatly expand the Stadium Interchange.

The lawsuit asserts that the project using state and federal funding was approved “without adequate consideration of a wide range of project impacts, including social, racial, economic, land use, environmental, employment, indirect and cumulative impacts; and without adequate consideration of mitigation requirements and options.” The suit also cited the impacts of “increased urban sprawl and associated segregation; and the unequal distribution of the benefits and burdens of transportation system investments.”

The four plaintiffs are Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Sierra Club–Wisconsin Chapter, and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. MICAH is represented by Legal Action of Wisconsin, while Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Sierra Club–Wisconsin and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin are represented jointly by Midwest Environmental Advocates and Milwaukee attorney Dennis Grzezinski.

The plaintiffs allege that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) refused to consider a reasonable alternative that would incorporate a public transportation element and fix safety and operational concerns of the corridor without expanding the highway.

They also allege that transportation officials failed to consider or mitigate the disproportionate harm to the predominantly non-white residents of the project area. Environmental, public health and social justice organizations have opposed this expansion since the project was first proposed more than a decade ago. Many who testified at public hearings during the state’s environmental review process urged consideration of a “Fix at Six” alternative, a plan that would fix safety and operational concerns of the corridor without expanding the highway.

“State and federal transportation officials used an incomplete and highly selective environmental analysis to justify moving ahead with a project that will increase our dependence on cars, add to greenhouse-gas emissions, and reinforce a long-standing pattern of neglecting public transit,” said Dan Gustafson, senior staff attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates. MEA is the only nonprofit law center in Wisconsin that provides legal services directly to individuals and grassroots groups, according to its website.

“Studies show that highway expansions simply motivate more people to drive, eventually causing the same traffic congestion this is meant to mitigate,” added Grzezinski. “Investing in public transportation and rebuilding the highway without greatly expanding the existing footprint is a viable alternative that would benefit all Milwaukeeans,” he said.

IMPACTS TO LOCAL RIVERS & STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

Grzezinski told Shepherd Express that environmental impacts of Milwaukee’s extensive freeway system and other roadways are known but were not addressed in the 1-94 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (FSEIS).

“For example, Milwaukee’s rivers are already impaired with excessive chloride pollution, deposited from road salting, as documented under the Clean Water Act,” he said. “The FSEIS does not explain that this freeway expansion will aggravate that situation or how it will be solved.” he said.

Grzezinski also cited the fact that the impact study does not specifically address effects on stormwater management of taking 54 additional acres for this freeway project, of which 27 acres will be paved. Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District has spent hundreds of millions in recent decades to address fooding and sewer overflows within its service area, Grzezinski said. “The last thing we need is to preclude 54 acres in the Menomonee Valley from serving any stormwater management uses, which also affects that rest of the metro area.”

Other impacts cited in the lawsuit include effects on air and water quality from increased emissions, increased urban sprawl and associated segregation, and the unequal distribution of the benefits and burdens of transportation system investments.

DISPROPORTIONATE HARM TO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

In December 2023, federal authorities launched a civil rights investigation into allegations that the expansion of I-94 would lead to racially discriminatory impacts on communities of color near the interstate. In March 2024, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the WisDOT released the approved Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) approving the project, despite the ongoing federal civil rights investigation into the allegations.

Milwaukee is one of the most racially segregated metropolitan areas in the country. “Moving forward with the project before federal authorities have concluded their investigation is completely inconsistent with the state’s obligation to protect the civil rights of impacted local residents,” said Rev. Dr. Richard Shaw, President of MICAH. Milwaukeean Adele Nance, a member of MICAH, objects to “expanding I-94 to help suburban residents … get to and from their homes a few minutes faster and believes that doing so harms Milwaukee residents,” according to the suit.

Defendants have defined the “primary study area,” in which the greatest impacts of the project will occur, as “portions of Milwaukee, West Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, and West Allis that are adjacent to the project corridor.” Persons of color, predominantly Black and Latino residents, constitute 59.4 percent of the primary study area population.

Photo of Construction by GettyImages/Bilanol, photo of Gavel by GettyImages/Zolnierek. Photo of caution tape by GettyImages/Wachiwit.

People in poverty constitute 23.9 percent of this same population, with most of that concentrated east of the Stadium Interchange and north of I-94. Although the document does not disaggregate poverty by race, the neighborhoods identified as the poorest areas in the study area are most heavily populated by persons of color.

One in five households in the primary study area have no motor vehicles. Persons in the project area who have jobs are more likely than other Milwaukee County residents to commute to work by transit.

The FSEIS does not include information on what percentage of persons in the study area are unemployed (and thus do not “commute”) but need or use transit for other purposes, such as getting to school or medical appointments.

“Unfortunately, with this highway expansion, transportation officials have chosen to repeat the mistakes of the past rather than invest in solutions that benefit all, like fixing roads and bridges, expanding public transportation, and investing in walkable and bikeable communities,” said Karyn Rotker, staff attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin.

On October 24, 2024, attorneys for the federal defendants submitted a response. It states that: Plaintiffs lack standing to assert the claims alleged in the Complaint. Some or all of Plaintiffs’ claims are not ripe or are moot. Plaintiffs fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their administrative remedies for some or all of their claims. On October 28, attorneys for WisDOT filed a similar response and requested dismissal of the case. Plaintiffs are likely to request the court to issue a preliminary injunction pausing the project while the case is pending.

Virginia Small, an award-winning journalist and photographer, has written extensively about landscapes, horticulture and environmental issues for national and regional publications.

CMilwaukee County Executive David Crowley

THE CHALLENGE OF LEADING WISCONSIN’S LARGEST, MOST DIVERSE COUNTY

BY TOM JENZ

ounty Executive David Crowley chisels away at his job like an experienced tradesman. In fact, he comes from a trades family. His dad is a retired master electrician, his uncle a retired carpenter and his stepbrother a master plumber.

But when Crowley was growing up, there were family troubles with both parents struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues. He often turned to the streets for support. “You might say I found love within my community,” he told me.

At Bay View High School, he joined the youth organization, Urban Underground, which, as he said, “saved my life and taught me how to love myself, love my community, and how to get outside my comfort zone.” After high school, he went into public service. “I had to interact with city, county and state government policy makers,” he commented. Crowley became a legislative aid, which led to winning a seat in the state assembly, which led to his winning the county executive race in 2020.

Four years later, at age 38, Crowley was named Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine. He has a big job, looking out for about 914,000 county residents. He is also responsible for overseeing non-elected county offices like the Department of Health & Human Services, Milwaukee County Parks, Department of Transportation, Office of Emergency Management and the Milwaukee County Zoo.

I met Crowley at the Pilcrow Coffee Shop on Walnut at the edge of Downtown. His charm is catching, checkered with speckles of humor. He’s the type of guy you’d want for your neighbor.

Every major leader kind of grows into and defines the job. How do you see your job as County Executive?

I am responsible for the taxpayer dollars and responsibly investing that money into local programs and services. I ensure that Milwaukee County is connecting the residents, nonprofits and organizations to the services we offer to our most vulnerable residents. That includes housing, mental health, services for seniors and young people. I also try to connect the state legislators to the county.

Through my own travels, I often see you out and about among the residents. You do spend time on the ground. I think it’s important to educate people on the different levels of government. A lot of citizens know about what the federal, state, and city governments are doing. Not enough people understand what county government does.

One thing it does well is maintain the beautiful Milwaukee County parks. People I talk to in the county parks think the city runs these parks.

I do this exercise at citizen gatherings. I say, “If you’ve ever ridden the city bus, raise your hands.” All hands go up. I say, “No, you’ve never ridden a city bus because those busses are run by the county.” We have to make people aware of county services including the parks.

Can you roughly break down the major components of the 2025 budget and how is it decided? Is the revenue funded only by taxes?

As for revenue sources, one is property taxes where we get most of our money. Two is the .09 percent sales tax. Three is shared revenue from the state of Wisconsin. Four is registration fees. Five is grants from public and private institutions.

And how are the revenues spent? What programs and services?

There are state mandated services like our sheriff’s office. That includes the Downtown jail holding many dangerous offenders—and also the Community Reintegration Center that incarcerates less dangerous individuals, many who have committed misdemeanors. We are also responsible to man the courts with bailiffs, which means 114 sheriff deputies and judicial services. A judge might sentence a serious youth offender to incarceration at Lincoln Hills, which costs the county about $450,000 per year, and that is just for one child. Our public safety costs are rising. The large Health & Human Services department—aging, disability, mental health, children—is another big component of expenditures. Then there is housing, family services and veteran services.

I understand that sales tax revenues are falling short of projections. What is currently going on with this issue?

The revenues we receive to cover the critical state mandates do not align with the costs of the mandates. We receive shared revenue, transportation aids, etc., and they have been stagnant, which affects all counties across the state. In this new 2025 county budget, we will see a $13 million increase, 11% increase for the year. This increase should help us with our overtime costs, staffing, recruitment and critical services.

The term “affordable housing” gets used a lot by you and other politicians. What is affordable housing? How is it defined?

I would define affordable housing as apartments and houses that rent below the market rate. We have to work with developers to give them gap finances to bring down costs. The housing problem needs to be addressed across the country. There are so many people who do not make enough money to enter the market rate housing.

Then, to determine affordable housing, you go by whatever the housing market rate is?

Roughly, to enter into affordable housing, the occupants need to pay about 30% of their income, and the government picks up the rest. But it is also important to focus on helping these people get jobs.

It’s a complex issue.

Very complex. You can’t talk about housing without talking about jobs, and jobs mean having transportation to get to the job. You might say it is a cyclical problem.

Recently, Milwaukee County was selected to participate in the Just Home Project, a national program to advance community-driven efforts to break the link between homelessness and incarceration. This is led by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Urban Institute. Reading from the press release, “The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will receive $375,000 to create a plan to disrupt the cycle of homelessness and continued engagement with the criminal justice system.” What exactly is the Just Home Project?

Many of the people who are homeless may have been involved with the justice system at some point. We need to find housing for them. At the Community Reintegration Center, we are doing a pilot project to teach skills to qualified incarcerated people who can be pipelined into a job or a school like MATC when released. The Just Home Project focuses on these people and also those who have a mental health crisis and are living on the streets.

That is a big job for the Just Home Project to handle. That’s why we need the state and federal governments to step up and help with these kind of issues.

Counties across the nation are looking to partner with their state governments and the federal government. Institutionalizing individuals may not be the way to go.

Photo of David Crowley courtesy of Tom Jenz

Photo of Milwaukee Skyline by GettyImages/Joecho-16.

Nevertheless, the first priority must be to keep normal taxpaying citizens safe from mentally ill people who might get violent or steal property. Definitely. That is why we have our crisis response teams.

On that same subject, you signed two bills into law. One is approving $2.5 million to pursue a mixed-use redevelopment of the existing Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Building that will create an estimated 65 affordable housing units. The second is approving $2 million for an affordable housing development in Oak Creek. When will these two developments be completed and who will qualify for residence?

Not sure on the completion timeline, but I’m excited about these two projects. In the Coggs Human Services Building, we will have the Milwaukee Behavior Health Services on the first floor. Both projects will be affordable housing. Working with Habitat for Humanity and the developer Michael Emem, we are also building single family homes in the King Park area.

On the subject of mental health, you have rolled out a set of treatment-based approaches, funded by opioid settlement money. You are one of the leaders in mental health.

Mental health is a subject that is near and dear to me. When you have family members who have suffered from mental health issues and substance abuse disorders, you understand. In the county, we’ve been installing harm reduction vending machines. So far we have 11 machines with another eight on the way.

What products are available in those vending machines?

There is Narcan, which reverses an opioid overdose, and medical pouches to safely discard prescription drugs. There are fentanyl strips, which identify the presence of fentanyl in the bloodstream. There are also gun locks to secure your firearm. This is part of the network around health and human services. We have also invested $8.5 million in grassroots organizations and county programming that focus on substance abuse disorder and prevention. But Milwaukee County cannot do this alone. We work with nonprofit and individual partners.

Do you base your efforts on certain neighborhoods and communities that report the most substance abuse? I’m thinking of the Northwest side and also the South Side, the poorest neighborhoods. Do you have a map?

It’s hard to map out the areas exactly, but the Milwaukee County Dashboard does show the worst areas for abuse. We look for spike alerts, meaning a tainted batch of drugs found in certain neighborhoods. This helps us alert the grassroots organizations that work directly with drug users. I’m thinking of Ken Ginlack and his Serenity Inns right there in the inner city, and Vin Baker and his Vin Baker Recovery Center doing addiction treatment. It is going to take all of us to help people in kicking the habit.

From what I understand, you have been able to establish new rapid transit bus lanes—the county’s first meaningful investment in transit in at least 30 years. The goal is to get public transit to take people all around the county. Can you elaborate? Connect 1 takes people from the lakefront all the way to the medical complex in Wauwatosa. But we will need more funds to expand our rapid transit system. The state mandated services eat up a lot of our revenues.

There are people from Chicago who have better access to jobs in Racine and Kenosha than we in Milwaukee do. We have to keep improving our transit system. Currently, with the WISCO card in conjunction with the Waukesha transit system, you can take a bus to Waukesha and transfer to the Waukesha transit system using the WISCO card. The idea of all this is to give people access to employment and recreational opportunities. We want people to have the opportunity to take public transit to municipalities in our county and in southeastern Wisconsin.

I did not know this, but Goodwill’s partnership with Milwaukee County supports thousands of housebound adults over the age of 60, providing meals at no cost. Can you comment?

That is our Meals on Wheels program. We have been doing this program for many years, a great partnership with Goodwill. They feed about 1,500 older adults every single day. We get federal funding to support this program.

As you move forward in your job, what is still left to accomplish?

I want to strengthen the relationship between our state and federal partners, I want to bring resources back to Milwaukee County to provide for our priorities—affordable housing, mental health, parks, public transit, senior services, and public safety.

Public safety eats up 80% of our local property taxes. Milwaukee County is the economic engine of the state, but we cannot progress without the surrounding municipalities. My long-term goal is to show that government can truly work for the people.

Tom Jenz writes the Central City Stories column for shepherdexpress.com.

REB U ILD UWM BEGINNING WITH A MORE

COLLEGIAL SEARCH FOR A NEW CHANCELLOR

BY WILLIAM HOLAHAN

UWM’s longest serving chancellor, Mark Mone, is stepping down after 10 years in that post. As the effort to replace him gets underway, he is to be congratulated for a job well done leading a state university under difficult political circumstances.

Since its founding in 1956, UWM built its reputation as a research university where students learn and explore at the frontiers of knowledge. This recognition as a toptier university was built both on professional peer-review measures, and more publicly recognized by the Carnegie Commission that rates UWM as Research One (R-1), its top designation. Although much smaller than UW-Madison, UWM’s placement on Carnegie’s R-1 list means that the research performed by the faculty is of top quality and significance.

Meanwhile, the conservative Goldwater Institute rated UWM as one of the most cost-efficient higher education institutions in the nation.

ACCESS MISSION

Of course, the primary stakeholders in UWM are the many excellent students who study at UWM, including many for whom it is the only university within their practical and financial grasp. More than any other campus in the UW system, UWM is proud to serve an “access mission,” making it one of the top institutions of upward mobility in the nation. UWM’s stakeholders also include the business and cultural enterprises whose prosperity rely in part on interacting with professionals at UWM who are at the cutting edge in their fields of expertise.

These great achievements underscore lost opportunity. Rather than recognize that the Carnegie R-1 designation as a reason to invest in the high quality of UWM’s intertwined instructional programming and research productivity, its budget has been slashed to such an extent that much of what was achieved is being undone. A sampler: The physics department has lost 24% of its faculty due to exodus and retirement without replacement; biology lost 32%; history 27%. Distinguished undergraduate and graduate programs are difficult if not impossible to maintain in this ongoing situation.

PRESERVING R-1 SHOULD BE THE NEXT CHANCELLOR’S FOCUS

To preserve and protect this essential research mission for the future of UWM and its constituents across the state, the next chancellor must fully understand it, promote it, explain it to the public and the regents and the legislature. To meet the challenge of replacing Mone, a committee has been formed that will invite applicants, screen them and select one. Unfortunately, despite UWM’s R-1 status, thus far the committee is top heavy with five politically appointed regents but only two members of the faculty. This underrepresentation of faculty is a throwback to the effort begun during the Walker administration to significantly downgrade the role of faculty in the governance of the institution, including search and screen for administrators.

Walker’s notion was that university campuses function more efficiently if they emulate a business model with top-down authority. In that conception, the professors are conventional employees, with only a limited role in management of the organization and certainly should not take part in “choosing their own bosses,” i.e., deans, provosts and chancellors. This notion fails to recognize the nature of the research role of the faculty, a mistake that should not be repeated.

PRIMER ON RESEARCH

Research faculty members engage in an enterprise that stretches far beyond the campus, and even beyond the state and country. Academic faculty and research staff are not conventional employees but rather they are experts within their own fields of study. Research is a global enterprise bearing little resemblance to the topdown authoritarian model that so naturally fits the typical business firm. In their professional research and teaching, faculty do not take direction from administrators. Instead, they operate within an international peer community and review process that critically evaluates their creative work.

They do this through journal publication, writing books, conference presentations, seminars, public lectures, and by bringing that knowledge to their home campus and the curriculum for their classes. None of this is reported to campus administrators for their review. Instead, it must survive the professional referee process that is global. Their own advancement in salary, promotion and special assignments depend on success in this global referee process.

The state and local benefits of this international research focus are huge. This peer review process harnesses logical and technical rigor in the creation of new knowledge. It enables faculty to remain current as the knowledge in their international disciplines grows, enabling them to bring their updated expertise as teachers in the classroom, undergraduate and graduate student research directors and as consultants whenever called upon by either the public or private sector. University administrators support the enterprise, they don’t guide it.

Faculty and regents could form a powerful partnership in this search. The regents on the search committee are prominent, politically connected individuals, chosen for their expertise and leadership positions in Wisconsin. Compared to the faculty, the regents are in a better position to forecast a candidate’s ability to interact with regents, the legislature, and the general public.

Meanwhile, due to the nature of the research mission, the faculty on the committee are in a better position to evaluate the academic credentials of the applicants for the job.

EXPERTISE OF REGENTS AND FACULTY

To balance the expertise of regents and faculty on a search committee seems a tall order, but it was routine before the Walker administration when the project was divided into two committees that operated in sequence. The first was a search and screen committee, composed of 50 percent or more university faculty, while the remainder consisted of staff, students, community stakeholders, two regents and ex-officio members.

Their charge was to advertise the position, solicit applications, evaluate academic credentials and choose several candidates for in-person interviews. Their final task was to produce a list of from delete from three to five finalists. Then, the second “regents select committee” would offer the job to the candidate on that list who, in their estimation, was best able to represent the campus within the complex UW system. This sequential committee design gave both regents and faculty veto power according to their expertise.

This committee design simply divides the tasks according to expertise and has the added benefit of providing the successful candidate ultimate hire with wider support, making for a smoother transition for the next chancellor.

William Holahan is emeritus professor and former chair of UWM’s department of economics.

CRobbie Teel on Shifting the Culture of Milwaukee Community Schools

BY BEN SLOWEY

ommunity schools are defined as public schools that directly cater to the needs of families that they serve. According to the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) website, there are currently 16 community schools in Milwaukee, serving over 7,000 students in the city. These schools partner with different local organizations in order to accommodate students in creative and innovative ways. As a community school coordinator, Robbie Teel embraces the notion that community and education work are inseparable.

“A lot of people think of us as a bridge to resources,” Teel explains about his role. “The majority of what I do is systems development, to make schools equitable places where we’re elevating the voices of students and families.”

Born and raised in upstate New York, Robbie Teel grew up in a small working-class community that he looks back in hindsight as under-resourced. “There was a culture of failure in the school system,” he elaborates. “I was one of very few kids from my graduating class that went to college.”

COMMUNITY BUILDING

Repulsed by the inequities he saw in his hometown, Teel developed a spirit for justice, peace and communitybuilding from a young age. He arrived in Milwaukee in 2015 when he took a job working at a school on the city’s South Side. “I worked with 7th graders, and a lot of kids had behavior issues,” Teel continues. “I fell in love with that class. A lot of them just needed a new chance and have someone advocate for them.”

Since 2023, Teel has been a community school coordinator at a public elementary school in Milwaukee, overseeing the transformational work happening in regard to community partnerships and public education. His vision favors a horizontal decision-making process that incorporates community and student input into all levels of decisionmaking rather than enforcing excessive top-down power dynamics.

When he first came into the role, Teel saw traditional models of schooling failing. Many kids could not read at their grade level, they were not being represented in the materials they received, and traumatized families were not being heard by their districts.

ASSESSING NEEDS

“There was a lot of finger pointing,” Teel recalls. “I almost saw separate schools in one, where there was the bilingual side and the monolingual side, there was a racial divide between the Black and Latino populations, and just a huge culture of distrust that permeated communitywide.”

Once Teel and his colleagues assessed the needs of their school, they highlighted two primary areas of focus—safety and wellness. Subsequently, through their community partnerships, the school was able to bring in air quality monitors, healthcare providers, dentists and vision testing for students. “Every single kid got dental care for free,” Teel confirms. “Some of them had never been to a dentist before. It’s not a thing people all have access to.”

Teel oversees a “walking school bus” program and backpack provision for his students as well. The school also partnered with housing agencies. “A lot of our families are first-generation immigrants, and I connect them with resources to help them during a crisis,” Teel adds. “We’re always pivoting and changing and evolving our process as the needs arise.”

PLANNING ACTIVITIES

Some of Teel’s students recently helped plan children’s activities for the Dia de los Muertos event at Forest Home Cemetery. Other students had the opportunity to do restorative justice training with the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

“These kids are capable of doing incredible things if they’re given a chance and a seat at the table,” Teel attests. “School is a social place; it’s not just a place where you go to learn. It’s a place where you meet your friends and develop relationships.”

Teel’s hope is that these practices and ideas can help shift the cultural mindset around school into a more empowering one where the joy of learning is redefined and reclaimed. He so far has heard positive feedback from students, parents and faculty alike.

He concludes with a call to action, “Go into your local school, see what they need and what is it you can offer. Can you cook? Do you want to teach kids how to dance? Are you an artist? Can you have hot chocolate ready for the kids when they get to school with the walking school bus? You don’t have to do it in the traditional, limiting way that maybe we view schools. It’s not just learning—it’s community building.”

Got a fun, cool idea for students? Email Robbie Teel robertpteel2724@gmail.com to get in touch.

Ben Slowey is a Milwaukee writer and regular contributor to shepherdexpress.com.

In 2008 David Luhrssen spoke about “The Meaning of Survival: 25 Years of the Shepherd Express.” Today, 16 years down the line Luhrssen celebrates his 30th year with the now-monthly magazine.

Luhrssen also co-founded the Milwaukee International Film Festival, played lead typewriter with Violent Femmes and wrote or co-wrote more than a dozen books on subjects ranging from The Vietnam War on Film to Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave and Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984

He also held academic positions at University of WisconsinMilwaukee, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and Milwaukee Area Technical College. A perennial topic of debate is if Luhrssen ever sleeps.

Sidestepping nostalgia, in a relaxed conversation Luhrssen took the time to connect the dots on his winding path from street zine writer to chronicler of film’s shadowy alleys to the importance of independent journalism in the 21st century.

TAPPING THE KEYS

In pre-pandemic times, Shepherd Express hit the street as a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 60,000. Luhrssen’s archaeology with the publication goes back to 1978 when he cofounded with musician Kevn Kinney the music zine X-Press. Luhrssen exited that publication after it morphed into Express, which merged in 1987 with Crazy Shepherd

Luhrssen return to the renamed Shepherd Express in 1994. As managing editor of the magazine and website, he continues to write about a variety of subjects and serves as cat herder over a large crew of freelancers.

BACKSTORY

Luhrssen can point to experiences that, in hindsight, guided his career. Growing up in Milwaukee’s Northwest side, his family had two magazine subscriptions, Reader’s Digest and Soviet Life. He says that his overseas relatives led a “more cosmopolitan way of life” which gave him a different way of looking at the world.

BY BLAINE SCHULTZ

That perspective allowed him to view things from the outside and identify himself as an outsider. “Which in turn lead to punk rock which originally was a gathering of outsiders of one kind or another,” he says.

The summer of 1977 at age 16, Luhrssen traveled to Amsterdam to visit family. He stayed at the Columbus Hotel. “It reminds me of the Plaza Hotel in Milwaukee. It was built in the 1640s, long before there was even an America. My favorite coffee shop, Rochambo, looks like Amsterdam in the late ‘70s,” he says.

“That’s where I heard British punk rock for the first time. I could pick up Radio London—the pirate station—in my hotel room. It was one of the very formative experiences that I had.”

That brief immersion in another way of life struck him with how different was the world was than Milwaukee at the time. Here, Luhrssen pauses to stress a point, “Milwaukee has changed a great deal since those days. It is a different place—it is more like Europe.

WRITING, REPORTING, REVIEWING

As an eight-year-old, Luhrssen was intrigued by news reports of Milwaukee’s “underground newspaper,” Kaleidoscope. “I wanted to know what that word ‘kaleidoscope’ meant. I read through my parents’ dictionary quite a bit as a kid. ‘Underground newspaper’ seemed like the coolest possible thing in the world,” he recalls. “I knew I wanted to do something like that.” At age 16 he got his first check for writing from the Bugle American

“The arrival of punk rock in Milwaukee gave me the impetus and a forum that might not have existed. Older rock critics didn’t seem to get it,” he says. “Somebody had to ‘get it’ so I chose myself as one of the people to do it.” Luhrssen and Kinney were beaten to the punch by fellow Marshall High School alumni Paul Macavaney, Todd Schramel and Clancy Carroll who published the zine Autonomy shortly before X-Press debuted.

Photo of David Luhrssen by Mary Manion.

David Luhrssen Marks 30 Years This Month

at Shepherd Express

X-Press grew within months from a one-sheet zine to a 12-page tabloid. When the publication became Express in 1979 it broadened in scope, with Marty Racine, Cathy Gubin, Downstairs Dan Hansen Dan Kehoe, Judy Hanson and Mark Shurilla among those along for the ride.

GREEN SHEETS, FORTUNE TELLERS AND AIR SUPPLIES

Luhrssen’s reputation as a music writer soon led to 14 years of bylines at The Milwaukee Journal through the early ‘90s. He later heard an apocryphal story of a list at the Journal of people who would never write for the newspaper. Luhrssen supposedly was on the list.

He recalls taking the train from New York with his girlfriend to Asbury Park. As fans of Bruce Springsteen, walking along the boardwalk they encountered the fortune teller Madame Marie—a character from Springsteen’s song “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).”

“There she was, all garbed, and told me my fortune: ‘Something very important will happen to you soon.’ We went back to Milwaukee; the phone rang, and it was editor Steve Byers with an offer to write for the Milwaukee Journal.”

Luhrssen’s initial assignment was to review soft rockers Air Supply at State Fair. “I proved my ability to write quickly, with a fair-mindedness but yet a critical edge. I realized right away I couldn’t just slag off Air Supply the way I would if I wrote about them in the X-Press.” He cites the quick turnaround for deadlines, the necessity to be “hyperprepared” for assignments, as valuable lessons learned at the daily.

SHEPHERD REDUX

Then on Dec. 4, 1994, he returned to Shepherd Express as Arts & Entertainment Editor. Instead of turning into the old guy writing about music that was no longer relevant to him, Luhrssen’s focus as a writer shifted from music to film.

“I used to write as many as three reviews of current films each week for the Shepherd Express, and most of the Hollywood movies were mediocre at best,” he says. “This came after an entire decade, the ‘80s, when I watched nothing new but foreign or indie films. Then I started seeing where Hollywood had gone—and I hated it!” His column “I Hate Hollywood” continues at shepherdexpress.com.

In 2003, Luhrssen and Shepherd Express Publisher Louis Fortis struck up a conversation with folks who were planning a film festival for Lake Geneva.

“After we got back to the office, Louis asked if we could do such an event in Milwaukee,” Luhrssen recalled. “There had never been an all-purpose film festival here, just special focus events—the Jewish Film Festival, the Short Film Festival—so I said ‘yes.’ Then the work began. We debuted the Milwaukee International Film Festival in 2003 and managed it through 2007.” The 11-day event annual screened 140 films from 40 nations in four venues each year. Attendance for 2007 totaled over 30,000.

Among his book projects are collaborations with the late songwriter and poet Martin Jack Rosenblum. Of writing Searching for Rock’n’Roll with Rosenblum he recalls, “We had a 10-day deadline to knock out the first edition: Each day I’d have a conversation with him in the morning about a chapter topic—Country, Blues and so on—take notes, write the chapter that night and email it to him for approval. Marty once called me a ‘Talmudic poet.’ It was the best compliment I ever received as a writer.”

Juggling three book projects currently, Luhrssen sees a time in the not-too-distant future when he moves to fiction. (A close look at his bibliography shows a pair of short stories published decades ago.)

As a young person he was seduced by the paychecks of journalism and put fiction aside. But with a lifetime of experiences, he feels he has made sense of “the patchwork of odd influences” that defines him today. “I don’t think I have anything more of interest to say about music or film history. After these next three books are done, I think at that point I’m going to write a novel in my spare time.”

ROLE OF SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Luhrssen underlines the necessity of independent journalism and Shepherd Express in Milwaukee. He says the publication has had an important role in keeping people informed about the culture of Milwaukee’s food, music, theater and events.

“Milwaukee is a much more active city than it was 30 years ago when I became A&E Editor. That is important because politically speaking I disagree with Karl Marx,” he says. “I don’t think human history moves forward on the wheels of economics—it moves forward on the wheels of culture and ideas. Economics is not irrelevant, but politics comes from culture. If politics came from economics, then the majority of people wouldn’t continue to vote against their economic interests every election.”

That being said, Luhrssen says the political aspect of Shepherd Express has always been important because no one in Milwaukee was doing this. “From the Bugle American on, I saw myself as an activist journalist—someone who is not just sitting back and reporting on the world, but I have the idea that I want to make the world different than what it is, a better place. And that is what the Shepherd Express wants to do. That’s what the Crazy Shepherd wanted to do, and at all points along the way what Louis Fortis wants to do. We really do have the idea that the world could stand some improvement. That’s not Utopianism, it’s not having the false dream of something you can never achieve. It means rolling up your sleeves and taking actions that will make the world we live a better place for more of the people living there.”

Blaine Schultz is a veteran Milwaukee musician and Staff Writer for the Shepherd Express.

Crème Brûlée Flambé with Crunchy Bourbon Sauce

BY ARI LEVAUX

The dark days of winter solstice have a way of making human beings hunger for light. That is probably why, whatever your creed or culture, you have a tradition that involves casting some kind of glow during the period we call “the holidays.” Perhaps you have a lit-up tree, or a menorah on the windowsill, or maybe a string of lights strewn about your house. But sometimes pretty lights alone might not do it. If perhaps we are bidding farewell to a particularly flamboyant dumpster fire of a year. Or maybe because you’re just in the mood. Whatever the reason, sometimes we gotta straight light stuff en fuego.

Fire can be as cleansing and creative as it can be destructive, provided you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes. A group of phoenixes, incidentally, is called an odyssey. That name is appropriate, because the flaming orange custard upon which I’ll be launching you into 2025 is definitely a trip.

This recipe is for all of the people who don’t have one of those silly crème brûlée torches. If you’ve been melting your crèmes brûlée under the broiler, like a sensible person, you get a star. If it never occurred to you to simply ignite a bunch of sugar and booze atop a bowl of solid eggnog, you’re excused. But we can. And we will.

The bourbon and sugar bonfire atop this custard burns not to destroy but with a clear creative purpose: the formation of a penetrating sauce that will soak into the orange eggnog custard below, and then stiffen into a granular topping that’s firm yet soft, and quite distinct from the rock-hard exoskeleton of a typical crème brûlée, which must be cracked in order to get to the soft goods inside. In our case, the bourbon prevents the melted sugar from recrystallizing into that glassy sheet.

And as it burns, we’ll toss a pinch of cinnamon into the flames. It will sparkle like miniature fireworks. A grande finale, as it were, as we show the door to 2024.

Header photo by Ari Levaux. Fireworks photos by GettyImages/Roman Chekhovskoy.

Orange Eggnog Flaming Bourbon Sugar Sauce Crème Brûlée Flambé

The strong flavors of orange juice, nutmeg and bourbon all balance each other out, while adding excitement to this otherwise mild-mannered custard.

THE CUSTARD

This quantity will fill four small ramekins

• 2 cups cream

• 4 egg yolks

• ¼ cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg

• ¼ cup fresh orange juice + 1 tablespoon OJ concentrate, or some similar amount of juice

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 4 buttered ramekins

Optional: thin-sliced shards of orange peel for the garnish

Preheat the oven to 325. Place an edged cookie sheet on the top rack. Pour two cups of water into the sheet (to create steam for the custard).

Heat the cream slowly in a heavy-bottomed pan on the stove. Meanwhile, combine the yolks, sugar, nutmeg orange juice, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl.

When the cream starts to simmer, add it slowly to the mix, stirring in a little at a time to temper the yolks. (“temper” means heat the yolks and combine them with the hot cream in a smooth, controlled way that doesn’t cook and curdle the eggs.)

Add the warm batter to your buttered vessels, place them on the cookie sheet in the steaming water, and bake for an hour, until they are bubbling evenly. The bubbling starts on the edge and moves toward the centers, until the entire surface shrinks and tightens and hardens into a darker yellow.

Remove from the oven. If serving right away, prepare to light your fire. If serving later, allow to cool to room temperature, and add the orange peel shard garnish, if using. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

FLAMING BOURBON SUGAR SAUCE

Covers four ramekins with flambé

• 2 tablespoons white or turbinado sugar

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 4 tablespoons bourbon

• 12 pinches of cinnamon powder for the flame

Serving time could be the minute they come out of the oven, or the next day after the ramekins have properly chilled and the custard has set. Whenever serving time comes, mix the sugars together, and then pour a tablespoon of whiskey into each ramekin. Light them with a long-necked BBQ lighter, and let the flames burn for about 30 seconds while you toss three or so pinches of cinnamon into the flames, enjoying the sight of spraying sparks. Finally, add a tablespoon of sugar mix to each flaming ramekin, and allow the flaming whiskey to dissolve the sugar.

When the fire dies, it’s ready to serve. Happy New Year.

Ari LeVaux has written about food for The Atlantic Online, Outside Online and Alternet.

Holiday Dining: Christmas Day Dining Guide

BY JULIA MARSHALL

With the holiday season kicking off, you may be worrying about when you’ll have time to get everything done. From tree decorating and family events, to cooking meals and buying presents, it can be a stressful time of year. Luckily, some local restaurants are here to help take some of that weight off your shoulders. Below are some of the restaurants offering Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals so you can take cooking right off your list.

ARIA - THE RESTAURANT AT SAINT KATE

139 E. Kilbourn Ave. (414) 270-4422

saintkatearts.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

ASH MILWAUKEE

500 W. Florida St. (414) 374-4766 theironhorsehotel.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

BRAVO ITALIAN KITCHEN

95 N. Moorland Road, Brookfield Square (262) 785-0858 bravoitalian.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

CARNEVOR STEAKHOUSE 718 N. Milwaukee St. (414) 223-2200

carnevor.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and

EMPEROR OF CHINA

1010 E Brady St. (414) 271-8889

emperorofchinarestaurant.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

GRAND GENEVA RESORT

7036 Grand Geneva Way, Lake Geneva. (262) 249-4788 Grandgeneva.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve)

HARBOR HOUSE

550 N. Harbor Drive (414) 395-4900 bartolottas.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

INDIA GARDEN

2930 N. 117th St., Wauwatosa. (414) 235-9220 indiagardenwauwatosa.net

(Lunch – Dinner, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

IRON HORSE HOTEL

500 W. Florida St. (414) 374-4766

Ironhorsehotel.com

(Brunch – Christmas Day)

LEBNANI HOUSE

5051 S. 27th St., Greenfield (414) 488-8033 lebnanihouse.inc.com

(Lunch-Dinner - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

MAHARAJA

1550 N. Farwell Ave. (414) 276-2250 maharajahrestaurants.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

MASON STREET GRILL

425 E. Mason St. (414) 298-3131 masonstreetgrill.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

Header photo by GettyImages-Tongpool Piasupun, Background illustration by GettyImages-elapela, Dinner spread by GettyImages-jchizhe.

MO’S A PLACE FOR STEAK

720 N. Plankinton Ave. (414) 272-0720 mosaplaceforsteak.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

OLD TOWN

522 W. Lincoln Ave. (414) 672-0206

oldtownserbian.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

ONESTO

221 N. Broadway (414) 308-1600 onestomke.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

PACKING HOUSE

900 E. Layton Ave. (414) 483-5054

packinghousemke.com

SAFINA

785 N. Jefferson St. (414) 488-9578

safinamke.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

THE PFISTER

424 E. Wisconsin Ave. (414) 935-5950

thepfisterhotel.com

(Brunch – Christmas Day)

THE SOCIAL AMERICAN TAVERN

611 N. Broadway (414) 271-6611

thesocialmke.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

THREE BROTHERS

2414 S. St Clair St. (414) 481-7530

threebrothersmke.com

(Dinner - Christmas Eve curbside pickup only)

TRE RIVALI

200 N. Broadway (414) 291-3971

trerivalirestaurant.com

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

ZARLETTI

741 N. Milwaukee St. (414) 225-0000

zarletti.net

(Dinner – Christmas Eve and

Our Holiday Cocktail Guide

BY GAETANO MARANGELLI

Our Holiday Cocktail Guide for the season of miracles consists of three magical cocktails from two of our favorite cocktail magi. The Coquito and the Boiler Geezer are from Brandon Reyes, director of operations at Bittercube, and Whatever Gets You Through the Woods is from cocktail and cookbook author Valerie Peterson, author of Peterson's Holiday Helper: Festive Pick-Me-Ups, Calm-Me-Downs, and Handy Hints to Keep You in Good Spirits.

Brandon Reyes Bittercube, Director of Operations

Ingredients:

• 1 pinch Powdered Cinnamon

• 1 pinch Powdered Nutmeg

• 3/4 oz Bittercube Blackstrap Bitters

• 1/4 oz Bittercube Cherry Bark

Coquito

“Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican holiday punch made and consumed from Thanksgiving through Three Kings Day in January. Rum is added to taste, the amounts of which make it a hot topic of conversation at Puerto Rican family gatherings. This iteration is based on my mom’s recipe, but she doesn’t really drink. She carefully adds white rum from the smallest flask

available like a scientist handling dangerous chemicals. Me on the other hand, I like to drink my coquito strong and in small amounts, ensuring it’s as bold as possible. I prefer using an aged rum because the oaky tannins balance out the silky sweet coconut cream and dairy. If possible, I take it a step further with an overproof rum, making each nip packed with flavor. Adding bitters is a great way to layer the spice. I opt for Blackstrap and Cherry Bark Vanilla to echo the traditional vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg additions.”

— Brandon Reyes

Instructions:

• 1 can (9.6 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

• 12 oz Ron Hacienda Santa Ana (Optional)

• Glass: Rocks glass with ice

Combine ingredients in a blender, and blend thoroughly. Transfer liquid into sanitized bottles for serving/gifting. Refrigerate overnight and shake well before consuming. Pour over ice and garnish with powdered spices. Keep refrigerated for up to four months. You may substitute 12 ounces of Ron Hacienda Santa Ana for 20 ounces of Ron Barrilito 2 Stars for a less boozy Coquito.

Photo of Coquito by Marisa Krivitz.

Ingredients:

• 1 dash/dropper Jamaican No. 1 Bitters

• 1 1/2 oz Heirloom Genepy

• 1 1/2 oz 3 Sheeps 15-2 Stout or Guinness

1 1/2 oz Ginger Beer

The Boiler Geezer

“This is a seasonal spritz I created to offer something that was bubbly and refreshing but had the warmth and richness that would be satisfying in cooler weather. Heirloom Genepy is an herbal liqueur similar to Green Chartreuse and has a bit of minty brightness that feels wintry and pairs well with a chocolatey stout and spicy ginger beer. Bittercube Jamaican No. 1 Bitters punctuate the zesty ginger beer and add some woodsy allspice aromatics. This drink is easily batched into a pitcher for a holiday party aperitivo!”

— Brandon Reyes

For a batch of 8 servings:

• 8 dashes/droppers Jamaican No.1 Bitters

• 12 oz Heirloom Genepy

• 12 oz (1 can) 3 Sheeps 15-2 Stout or Guinness

Instructions:

Add ice then build the cocktail in the glass over ice. Briefly stir with a bar spoon, pulling up and down to incorporate ingredients. Garnish by expressing and inserting two or three mint sprigs.

For a batch of 8 servings:

Follow previous instructions, then gently pour ingredients into a pitcher or punch bowl over ice. Serve immediately. For best results, chill the Genepy in the freezer and make sure the stout and ginger beer are very cold.

Photo of The Boiler Geezer by Marisa Krivitz.

Whatever Gets You Through the Woods

“Whoever said ‘getting there is half the fun’ hasn’t traveled during the holidays in a middle seat in coach with the 17 gifts for the extended family, every one of which: 1) weighs a couple of pounds, and 2) is extremely fragile. Luckily, the flight attendant cooperatively supplies the ingredients, plus ice cubes and two plastic cups. Refreshing and not too boozy, this cocktail carries a nice hint of almond, with the rum and the lime to cut the sweetness. Makes a great brunch drink alternative to a mimosa.”

— Valerie Peterson Co-author of Cookie Craft and author of Peterson’s Holiday Helper, from where this drink recipe was adapted.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for 2 servings (you may want to drink both):

1 mini bottle (1 1/2 ounces) light rum

1 mini bottle (1 1/2 ounces) Amaretto

Instructions:

1 can (about 5 1/2 - 6 ounces) orange juice

2 wedges of lime

Instructions: Fill cups with ice. Add 3/4 ounces rum and 3/4 ounces Amaretto to each cup. Squeeze one lime wedge over each cup, then drop the wedge in. Divide the orange juice over the two cups. Stir with metal spoon swiped from First Class. Enjoy with your miniscule bag of dry pretzels. If you’re making this at home, use rocks glasses and serve tastier snacks.

Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.

Photo by Valerie Peterson.

Holiday Gift Guide 2024

BBC LIGHTING

2015 W. St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee 414-933-0808

Shopbbclighting.com

Boasting Wisconsin’s largest lighting showroom, you’re sure to find the right piece that fits your style. The friendly sales staff are readily available for answers to all your lighting questions.

BROKEN BAT BREWING CO.

135 E. Pittsburgh Ave., Milwaukee 414-316-9197

Brokenbatbrewery.com

Book your next private event or gathering with Broken Bat Brewing Co. in their newly renovated state-of-theart event space, 'The Lumber Room' and mention this ad for 20% off your rental fee for bookings made through February of 2025!

C3 DESIGNS

2110 10th Ave., South Milwaukee 414-764-3892

C3-designs.com

C3 Designs is the best jewelry store in the Milwaukee area to help with your holiday gift giving ideas. Store owner Chris Jensen is a nationally award-winning jewelry designer who has won over 25 awards for his custom creations. His design team at C3 Designs can help you choose the perfect one-of-a-kind gift for this holiday season.

CBDELICACY PET PRODUCTS

135 E. Pittsburgh Ave., Milwaukee (414) 502-7127

cbdelicacy.com

info@CBDelicacy.com

Spoil your loved ones and their pets with their new favorite full-spectrum CBD pet treats. Holidays can be exciting and stressful for our companions. Help put them at ease with our treats! Our products are crafted in small batches, keeping your pet’s health in mind by using locally sourced & natural ingredients. Use promo code: SHEPEX for 10% off your online order.

DISCOUNT LIQUOR

5031 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee 414-545-2175

919 N. Barstow Ave., Waukesha 262-547-7525

Discountliquorinc.com

Discount liquor is your one-stop shop for all your gift-giving needs with our expansive selection of 8,000 wines, 4,000 liquors and 2,000 beers. Check out our huge variety of holiday liquor, beer and wine gift sets perfect for friends, co-workers and loved ones. Find out why we have been voted the

GALLERIA GREENDALE

5640 Parking St., Greendale 414-344-8244

Galleriagreendale.com

NO OTHER STORE LIKE THIS!

Gifts galore for the holidays – your one-stop shop to buy one-ofa-kind items. Discover the work of more than 80 talented artists from across the U.S. – plus a gorgeous collection of Women’s Art-To-Wear in all sizes! Discover jewelry, glass, garden art, painting and home décor accessories – all original, handmade and specially selected for the store.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM

400 W. Canal St., Milwaukee 877-436-8738

harley-davidson.com/us/en/ museum.html

Gift the gift of Harley-Davidson this holiday season at the H-D Museum, a place where families can build and continue their own traditions and make lasting memories. Bring the family to Breakfast with Santa on December 8, and 15. We’re offering a full holiday experience including a delicious brunch buffet in Rumble, letter writing to Santa, cookie decorating, holiday movies, and of course photos!

HEALIUM HOT YOGA-WEST ALLIS

6679 W. National Ave., West Allis, 414-616-1106

Healiumhotyoga.com/hhy-west-allis

Photo of presents by GettyImages/Di_Studio, Christmas light background by GettyImages/Abbasy Kautsar. Illustrations by Ali Bachmann.

HEALIUM HOT YOGA-BAY VIEW

2534 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee 414-232-2165

Healiumhotyoga.com/hhy-bay-view

HEALIUM RESTORE

435 E. Lincoln Ave., Milwaukee 414-232-2165

Healiumhotyoga.com/ restore-bay-view

HEALIUM HIIT

2865 Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee 414-309-0472

Healiumhotyoga.com/hiit-bay-view

Give the gift of Healium Yoga and HIIT this season! 10% off gift cards through Dec. 24! 5, 10 and 20 class packs (good at all four studios) plus Month of Unlimited Yoga or HIIT gift cards all on sale! Healium Gift Card Sale: healiumhotyoga.com/sale

HILL VALLEY DAIRY

138 W. Bruce St., Milwaukee 414-273-9711

hillvalleydairy.com

Give the gift of cheese with Hill Valley Dairy! Visit their Milwaukee cheese factory and enjoy all they have to offer in their artisan cheese shop or elevate your cheese experience by indulging in the cheese boards and crafted cocktails offered at their in-house cheese bar! Located at 138 W. Bruce St. in the Walker's Point neighborhood.

KNUCKLEHEADS WELLNESS

2949 N. Oakland Ave., Milwaukee 414-962-3052

Knuckleheads.shop

Slide on down to Knuckleheads Wellness and check out why Knuckleheads won “Best of Milwaukee” Best Head Shop, Vape shop AND CBD Shop 2019-2023! With the holidays coming up, Knuckleheads knows exactly how to help you get into the Holiday spirit. Our Holiday Sale starts Dec 13th – Dec 24th, 15%-75% the entire store! Need something before or after then? Check out our large variety of Wellness products. Visit on a Saturday or Sunday and enjoy 15% off all Wellness.

MARCUS HOTELS & RESORTS

MarcusGiftCards.com

Buy a Marcus Hotels & Resorts

$100 Gift Card and receive a $25 Promotional Bonus Card to keep! Use this Promotional Bonus Card at any participating Marcus Restaurants and Spas. Hurry-this deal expires on December31st, 2024! Shop now at MarcusGiftCards.com. Terms and conditions apply

MILWAUKEE FILM Mkefilm.org

Give the gift of film! Milwaukee Film has gifts for everyone on your list at mkefilm.org, including gift memberships, cinema gift packs, and early ticket packages for the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival.

MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN (MIAD)

273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee 888-749-MIAD

Miad.edu/holidaysale

Join us at the MIAD Holiday Sale, an annual tradition! The MIAD Holiday Sale is your opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind art and design gifts, from sculptures to greeting cards, paintings, photographs, jewelry and more, created by MIAD students and alumni at affordable prices. Preview night: Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m., $10 admission. Free admission Dec. 6, 5-9 p.m. and Dec. 7, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET

MilwaukeeMakersMarket.com

Dec. 15: “Holiday Pop-Up” at Discovery World

Milwaukee Makers Market encourages shopping Small, Local Businesses this Holiday Season! On Sunday, Dec. 15 at Discovery World from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. the Market will feature over 50 Local Businesses including art, jewelry, soaps, clothing, candles, unique gifts, Milwaukee-themed accessories and more! Admission to the Market is FREE! More information online.

MILWAUKEE PAW PASS Fetchpawpass.com

A perfect gift for dog-lovers! Milwaukee's Paw Pass™ is not just a coupon book; it's your passport to a world of dog-friendly businesses in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. Packed with exclusive deals from top-notch businesses, this pawsome book is designed to enhance the bond between you and your furry companion. Visit fetchpawpass.com for more information.

MJ’S APOTHECARY & GIFTS

2008 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee mjsapothecarygifts.com

Specializing in 100% Wisconsin made products and gifts, hand curated from local artisans and farms. We offer natural, handmade, holistic products in a calm and soothing environment on Milwaukee's East Side. Featuring goat milk soaps and lotions, vegan soaps and lotions, natural bath and body products, essential oils, hand crafted soy candles, incense, plants, decor and art and locally harvested herbal teas and honey. We also have what you need to cleanse, purify, strengthen and renew, smudging sage, local crystals, moon water, handcrafted jewelry and accessories Hours: Wed., Thurs., Fri., 11a.m.-5p.m., Sat.-Sun., 11a.m.-3p.m. Closed Mon.-Tues.

MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART

205 Veterans Ave., West Bend 262-334-9638 wisconsinart.org

Champagne Shopping, December 6–8

Find art-inspired gifts for everyone on your list this year at the MOWA Shop during Champagne Shopping! Throughout this three-day event, members sip champagne while they shop and receive exclusive discounts on a wide variety of products from Wisconsin-based artists and makers. Remember, a MOWA membership makes a great gift, too. Beginning at just $15, membership grants access to exhibitions, art making, tours, and so much more. Visit wisconsinart.org/join

OLLIE SKINCARE Ollieskincare.com

Fresh ingredients that hydrate and soothe. Each product is lovingly handmade on our farm in Richfield, Wisconsin, using only the finest natural ingredients. We prioritize ethical and sustainable sourcing, ensuring our soap and skincare lines are free from harsh chemicals and ideal for all skin types. Explore our range of goat milk soaps and skin-nourishing treatments and discover the difference of small-batch skincare designed to care for you and the environment. Shop now and experience the best of Wisconsin’s handmade nourishing skincare! info@ollieskincare.com

TAILS N’ TRAILS PETS

273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee 414- 215-0759

tailsntrailspets.com

mke@tailsntrailspets.com

If you’re looking for ways to get your dogs out and about this winter, look no further! Tails N’ Trails, a Best of Milwaukee Finalist, is an outdoor adventure daycare service. Our team consists of CPR & First Aid certified dog handlers who embrace the outdoors! We operate in small groups to ensure safety and structure for your companions. Offering services that range from 15-minute walks, off-leash hikes, to 6-hour daycare, we’re here for all your pet’s needs. To book a consultation, go to our website and complete our new client submission form.

THE JEWELERS GUILD

2408 E. St. Francis Ave., St. Francis 414-488-2727

Jewelersguild.biz

Milwaukee’s most unique jewelry store has brilliant holiday gifts available for you in their gallery showroom: rubies, opals, sapphires and diamonds. Custom designs, repairs, and appraisals are their specialties as well as their exclusive Make Your Own Wedding Rings! Power rings handmade, locally by masterful designers, Goldsmiths and Jewelers. Check out their Online Store.

THE TOOL SHED: AN EROTIC BOUTIQUE

2427 N. Murray Ave., Milwaukee 414-906-5304

toolshedtoys.com

The Tool Shed believes that loving our bodies is a revolutionary act, and that sexuality, pleasure, and intimacy are central to human well-being and health. For 20 years, we've offered a curated selection of quality sex toys, lubes, body products, books, and gifts in a welcoming atmosphere. Questions? Our friendly staff of sexuality educators is available to help. Drop by our store to shop in person or go to toolshedtoys.com to shop from the comfort of your home.

ULTRATWIST VINTAGE

7730 W. National Ave., Milwaukee 414-488-2727

www.ultratwistvintage.com

Ultratwist Vintage is the place to find true vintage clothing, as well as new retro-inspired and recycled clothing in sizes XS-5X. From classic silhouettes to bold prints and bright colors, we've got style with a twist so you can wear your personality!

Train Smarter, Not Harder! Train Smarter, Not Harder!

HERE'S THE POOP... HERE'S THE POOP...

We all have a lot of things going on: the kids have extracurriculars, work schedules are hectic, physical and/or mental health concerns bog a lot of us down, and so on and so on. Making time for training sessions with our pups can be challenging on a good day, but what if you could make training daily easy? It’s possible!

Instead of asking my clients to pluck hours a week for training out of thin air, I encourage them to look for opportunities to weave the training and practicing of behaviors and functional skills into their daily routines!

• A “Wait” cue at the door can prevent your dog from attempting to shove their entire body through when the door has only been opened an inch.

• Sneaking a couple of “Recalls” into your play keeps the skill fresh and makes training just part of the fun!

• Teaching your dog to settle down on a mat can be super helpful for promoting calm when working from home, eating at the table or couch, cooking in the kitchen, and when guests are over.

• A “Jump” cue can save your back from the effort it may take to give your dog a boost into the car.

• A “Sit-Stay” can help your photos for the holidays turn out really well!

Even if you’re practicing a behavior just once or twice a day, pennies can start to add up to dollars quickly! It’s so much easier to spare a few seconds here and there – especially when the result is a behavior that benefits both you and your dog in that moment and context!

So, how can you train smarter – and not harder - with your doggo?

Jennifer Prill, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA Owner, Lead Trainer & Behavior Consultant 414-207-8060 sidekick-dogtraining.com Monday-Saturday 10AM-8PM

In less than 100 pages, Charles Dickens wrote one of the most enduring literary works of the 19th or any other recent century. A Christmas Carol has become essential to the holiday season, familiar to millions who have never read it thanks to countless adaptations for stage and screen. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater first produced A Christmas Carol in 1976, and it quickly joined ranks with “The Hallelujah Chorus” and The Nutcracker as a beloved performance of the season. It returns to the Pabst Theater for its 49th year.

The Rep’s British-born artistic director, Mark Clements, recalls that his “first encounter with A Christmas Carol was on the radio as a child—it was haunting yet deeply moving. I’ve always been drawn to its themes of redemption and transformation, which felt both magical and meaningful even at a young age.”

The Milwaukee Rep’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ DICKENS’ CLASSIC COMES TO LIFE

ONSTAGE FOR ANOTHER SEASON

BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

As are most of Dickens’ characters, A Christmas Carol ’s protagonist is marvelously named. Ebenezer Scrooge suggests an awful looking tool in a torturer’s workshop, a vise designed to squeeze the last ounce of life (as well as the last penny) from its victims. The cruel uncaring man at the story’s onset is greedy and embittered, a Protestant whose work ethic had eaten away at his heart and poisoned his soul. He is the worst embodiment of the maxim propounded by Britain’s 19th century philosopher of industrialization, Thomas Carlyle, who wrote, “The only happiness a brave man ever troubled himself with asking much about was, happiness enough to get his work done.” Scrooge could have spoken those lines.

A Christmas Carol begins on darkly humorous note, but Dickens’ gift as a storyteller transforms what could have been a bleak novella of misanthropy into a cheering fable of salvation. Scrooge’s dormant soul returns to life after his fateful encounter with four spirits: the shade of his deceased partner in avarice, Jacob Marley, tormented in the afterlife for his misdeeds; followed by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come who remind Scrooge of his childhood, the joy of living and the fate of dying unloved.

KINDNESS, COMMUNITY, TRANSFORMATION

“Dickens’ themes of kindness, community and transformation remain timeless,” Clements says. “As society continues to grapple with social inequalities, Scrooge’s journey toward empathy and generosity is ever relevant, reminding us all of our capacity for change.”

A Christmas Carol evokes its 1843 setting, a wintry London draped in snow and soot, a place of poverty and chill. But like the Ghost of Christmas Present, Dickens’ themes continue to haunt our own society in the story’s depictions of a population burdened by debt and low-wage earners lacking access to good health care. Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, maintains a façade of good cheer to disguise the anxiety of scrimping from payday to payday.

A Christmas Carol, a Milwaukee Repertory Theatre production, photos by Michael Brosilow.

Cratchit can barely sustain a family that includes his chronically ill son, Tiny Tim. Nowadays, the firm of Scrooge & Marley would be a global entity, dismissive of any value outside the marketplace as “humbug.”

Clements is listed in the credits for the Rep’s production as director and adapter. “I delve into Dickens' text to distill its emotional core while enhancing moments that bring depth to characters and keep the story’s spirit vibrant for modern audiences,” he explains. “I especially had children in mind when writing as this production is meant for the whole family. There’s nothing worse than spending time and money on an experience and then your kid keeps asking to go to the bathroom because the play can't keep their attention. This story has enough heart and the right about of spookiness to keep everyone engaged.”

A Christmas Carol’s message of compassion, and the possibility that even the most wounded soul can change direction for good, continues at the Rep with a returning cast that includes Matt Daniels as Scrooge along with a few new faces. “What's so fun about bringing A Christmas Carol to life every year is the young performer cast is always changing, and they bring a sense of wonder to the play that makes it feel new every year,” Clements says.

A Christmas Carol runs through Tuesday, Dec. 24 at the Pabst Theater. For tickets, visit milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-9490.

This Month in Milwaukee

FOURTEEN THINGS TO DO IN DECEMBER

BY SOPHIA HAMDAN, DAVID LUHRSSEN, JAMIE LEE RAKE, JOHN SCHNEIDER AND BLAINE SCHULTZ

THROUGH DEC. 15

Almost, Maine,

Next Act Theatre

“With over 5,000 productions to date, Almost, Maine has established itself as a significant work in the American theater,” says Next Act’s artistic director, Cody Estle. “First performed in Milwaukee at the Rep 14 years ago, this unsentimental romantic comedy returns with a fresh professional production. I’m excited to welcome back Karen Estrada to Next Act to direct this piece for the holiday season. Set in a small town in the far north of Maine, come join us for a cozy winter night out—if you’re lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights!”

THROUGH DEC. 29

Oliver!

Skylight Music Theatre, Broadway Theatre Center

Oliver! concerns homelessness, street crime and bad social conditions. The protagonist in Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist Oliver Twist, escapes from a cruel orphanage. The young thief, Artful Dodger, introduces him to Fagin, ringleader of a criminal enterprise. Fagin’s gang is a surrogate family with the usual familial range of personalities including Nancy, a kindly godmother trapped in an abusive relationship with Bill Sykes, the story’s bad guy.

THROUGH JANUARY 12

Lumberjacks in Love

Milwaukee Rep, Stackner Cabaret

Though Lumberjacks in Love may be a musical comedy about single men and romance, set in 1912 Wisconsin, one need not be an unattached guy, nor even from the Badger State, to get some chuckles from the show. “I had this idea that a mail-order bride was a funny idea for a show: some bunch of men and a mail-order bride,” says the plays author, James Kaplan. “Though there are some geographic details specific to Wisconsin, I think this is a show with nearly universal appeal.”

DECEMBER

3

Violent

Femmes 40th Anniversary with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Oriental Theater

In the early ‘80s the idea that the Violent Femmes—playing on street corners because they didn’t fit the rigid formulas of local music clubs—would one day perform with the MSO would have been unimaginable. But in 2023, to mark 40 years since the release of the Femmes’ enduring debut album, the two ensembles performed together in a sold-out concert. Change to: The event was filmed and will be screened at the Oriental, near one of the Femmes’ favorite street corners. While the screening is sold out, the film will also be broadcast on Milwaukee PBS on Friday, Dec. 13.

Photo

DECEMBER 4

Mike McCabe

Boswell Book Company

“Faith is so small there is no Fourth Street,” writes Mike McCabe in his new novel, Miracles Along County Q. Faith is a blink-and-miss town in rural Wisconsin with tell-tale signs of economic decline. The mill is closed, the pond is polluted, and the population is dwindling. Despite its smallness, Faith is home to many secrets, hidden lives intriguingly suggested in the opening passages. Writing with sharp brevity, Miracles holds a microscope over class and social divisions in heartland America. McCabe’s talk begins at 6:30 p.m.

DECEMBER 4-22

Wauwatosa Holiday Market

The Wauwatosa Holiday Market returns to the Village of Wauwatosa, 7603 W. State Street. This European-style Market features specialty food and drinks from Europe, local vendors housed in authentic chalets and a heated festival tent with live entertainment. Admission is free. Learn about the event at tosaholidaymarket.com.

DECEMBER 5-8

Black Nativity by Langston Hughes

Black Arts MKE, Marcus Performing Arts Center

The production reunites last year’s creative team of Wanyah L. Frazier and Ashley S. Jordan. “We stepped into the shoes of giants,” Frazier says, speaking of such illustrious local predecessors as Dimonte Henning and Malkia Stampley. “A number of hands have touched it, and each year built on the previous year—it’s a Milwaukee legacy show containing lots of perspectives from people who’ve had their hands in the story.”

DECEMBER 7-24

The Nutcracker:

Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium

Milwaukee Ballet, Marcus Performing Arts Center

Many cities across the planet enjoy productions of The Nutcracker during the holidays, but only Milwaukee has the joys of The Nutcracker : Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium.

Artistic Director Michael Pink defines Imaginarium as “a place where anyone can imagine anything they wish.”

Until now, his reimagined take on the tale that inspired Tchaikovsky’s beloved score was constrained by his predecessor’s designs. This new production—completely redesigned and substantially transformed—is Pink’s Imaginarium come full bloom.

DECEMBER 12-17

Into the Woods Jr.

Sunset Playhouse

Stephen Sondheim’s 1986 musical is a tribute to the Brothers Grimm, weaving several of their fairy tales, including Rapunzel and Cinderella, into the story of a childless baker and his wife who hope to start a family. Into the Woods was turned into a 2014 Disney film and has seldom been absent from stages in its theatrical adaptation. The Jr. version is only 50 minutes long with songs transposed into keys suitable for children’s voices.

DECEMBER 26

Chickenwire Empire

The Bend Theatre, West Bend Milwaukee’s Chickenwire Empire are a bluegrass band that looks beyond the music’s Appalachian roots. Last year they released a version of “Disarm” by ‘90s Chicago alt-rock band Smashing Pumpkins. They performed the number with turbulent emotions on the fiddle and lightning speed on the banjo. Jordan Kroeger lends his smooth, rich voice to material old and new.

DECEMBER 31

Harlem Globetrotters

Fiserv Forum

Witness the world record-breaking, trickshot stars of the Harlem Globetrotters live as they bring their signature spins, dunks and slams to the court, taking on their determined rivals, the Washington Generals at noon and 5 p.m. Watch in awe as players go head-to-head in an exhilarating battle of skills featuring epic dunks, jaw-dropping four-point shots and more—it’s friendly competition at its most exciting.

Bee Gees, Bowie, Beatles & Bubbly

Sunset Playhouse

You’ll “B” rockin’ with Johnny Rodgers, groove to hot ’70s tunes, and enjoy a split of cold champagne to enjoy at home after the show.

Your Window to the World on New Year's Eve @ Blu

Ring in the New Year in style at Blu, the Pfister Hotel’s signature cocktail lounge on the 23rd floor. Live music will add to the celebration. Enjoy special packages including reserved tables, premium champagne, party favors, and a dessert display created by the Pfister’s pastry chef. VIP Packages with stellar views are available.

Stellar Spark NYE

Adventure Club w/ Bear Grillz, Nate Derus and more

Party with thousands, and ring in 2025 with Stellar Spark New Year’s Eve featuring Adventure Club, Bear Grillz and more. With numerous achievements under their belts, electronic duo Adventure Club—Leighton James and Christian Srigley—have built an empire within the electronic dance community. Considered one of the forefathers of dubstep, Adventure Club continues to push boundaries and keep the melodic genre of dubstep alive and thriving.

Dear Ally,

Something really weird happened. I’m shocked and have never seen anything like it. My two good friends decided to plan a birthday party for another friend. I’ll call the birthday girl Susan. I totally understand why they wanted to throw a party for her. She’s a generous and supportive person. Once she drove me to Urgent care and left several delicious meals on my porch.

Just a little background on her: she’s had a tough life with an ugly divorce. She lives with her disabled adult daughter, with no financial support from her ex.

For some reason, the birthday party planning brought out another side of her. She became a different person. Instead of being gracious, Susan became demanding. First, she was upset about the place. She sent my friends an email, complaining about the bar and all the reasons why it was a bad choice. To please her, they changed the venue to the bar she suggested.

The drama continued. She insisted that my friends email a special kind of graphic invite. They had to ask another friend to do it. But the invite did not include RSVPs, which Susan really wanted. Then they asked their computer savvy friend another favor to change the invite. Outrageous!

Where was this need to control coming from? Should my friends have said something at that point?

Dear Shocked and Confused,

You are right about all of your insights about Susan. Children of alcoholics feel a need to control situations, because they couldn’t control any of their life circumstances while growing up. They weren’t taught anything about setting boundaries either. As adults, their wants and needs spill onto others.

But as always, it takes at least two or three parties to create a dysfunctional communication dynamic. Your friends also needed to set boundaries and communicate clearly to Susan what they would and wouldn’t do for Susan’s birthday. They didn’t have to suffer in silence. They’re friends, right? Friends talk to each other and try to work things out. They could have given her gentle feedback about how she was communicating with them. Or they could have made a simple request such as: The party will be fun and everyone will have a good time. Please trust that we have all of the details figured out. Try to put your anxiety aside. Can you refrain from texting us about the party?

Susan can decide at that point whether or not she can agree to the request. If she can’t, your friends do not need to reply.

You asked if stress could change behavior. Yes. If Susan’s already living a high stress life, the birthday party could have triggered a PTSD like response where Susan automatically went into survival mode and was not aware of her reactions. Even though, we associate birthday parties as happy occasions to some, it may just be another occasion to worry and try to control the outcome for others.

At the end of this column, I’ve suggested a couple of articles that you might find useful. Please remember that you are friends to all parties and the best thing you can do is to listen to their different points of view. Do not insert yourself or try to solve their problem. Take care of yourself and don’t get caught up in others’ drama. Trust your insights. They’ve been excellent so far!

Here for you,

The only thing I can think of is that her dad was an alcoholic, and she just couldn’t trust my friends to do the right things for her party. Could that be it? Can stress completely change our personalities?

Susan didn’t stop there. She continued to text and email both of my friends about party details. She had all kinds of worries; about whether or not people would show, the food, the drinks, even the weather.

In fact, Susan sent anxious texts until the evening of the party. She completely wore my friends out. They arrived at the party, angry and resentful. I still can’t process this change in my friend. Can you share some insights about what could have happened to her?

Shocked and Confused

Children of alcoholics: https://www.healthline.com/health/ alcohol/adult-children-of-alcoholics

Healthy Boundaries: https://psychcentral.com/ relationships/why-healthyrelationships-always-have-boundaries

Difficult conversations: https://www.psychologytoday. com/us/blog/some-assemblyrequired/201703/how-to-havedifficult-conversations

The Mind of a Hater

BY PHILIP CHARD

While the current socio-political environment suggests otherwise, hateful people and groups are nothing new. Since the beginning of the European colonization of the Americas, haters have victimized many groups, most prominently Native Americans, African Americans and successive waves of immigrants (Irish, Chinese, Poles, Latinos, etc.). At various junctures in our history, these groups, and others, have endured genocide, enslavement, lynchings, violent mobs, discrimination and a host of other wounds, physical, psychological and economic.

Our current version of hate reflects some of these historical tendencies but set in a modern context. In 2023, there were over 12,000 hate crime incidents logged by the FBI. Over half were based on race or ethnicity, and over a quarter related to sexual orientation or gender identity, followed closely by religion (in particular, Jews and Muslims). Analysts point out that hate crimes are widely underreported and assert the overall prevalence is much higher and the trend is sharply up.

Also in 2023, the SPLC documented the presence of over 1,430 hate groups in America. And while haters have long organized into groups, like the KKK and the American Nazi Party, today they are more sophisticated and, thanks to technology, interconnected.

DISINFORMED AND INTERCONNECTED

The growth in the number of haters and their organizations has accelerated in large part due to disinformation across a multitude of media outlets. What’s more, some political leaders give cultural license and encouragement for haters to wreak their havoc on groups they define as “other.”

So, what is the psychology behind hate, and how does it motivate someone to become an instrument of animus toward innocent persons and groups? As usual in my field, it’s complicated, but we are beginning to unravel what’s happening in the psyches of these individuals, and it isn’t pretty.

Here is what we know:

• Othering. Fear and enmity toward those unlike ourselves is a deep, primal impulse in our lineage. Throughout much of our history as a species, unknown tribes or individuals posed a survival risk, engendering a mental default mode of mistrust and paranoia. So, too often, it comes naturally.

• Hate-Love: Haters experience hostility toward feared outgroups while, simultaneously, feeling love toward their own in-group. As the adage goes, there is safety in numbers, so when threatened, whether in reality or imagination, people tend to circle the wagons and cling to those like themselves.

• Absence of Compassion: Haters exhibit a mindset devoid of empathy and caring for anyone outside their in-group, and even sometimes for those in it. While not all are narcissistic and sociopathic, many fit these labels. Some of them harbor disdain for another person and group but don’t act on it (so-called “silent haters”). However, with most, the absence of compassion provides moral permission to strike out.

• Belonging: Many members of hate groups go there to find a “home.” Much of their underlying fear of and animosity toward others creates a sense of isolation and loneliness, a belief that “I don’t belong.” Identifying with like-minded persons generates feelings of kinship and validation, which help assuage the underlying fear that inhabits their psyches.

• Fear of Self: Due to psychological blind spots, haters tend to project what they dislike or fear in themselves onto those they despise. Projection is the way they deny their negativity by assigning it to others. Rather than looking in the mirror and examining their own toxic motivations and intentions, which takes self-awareness and courage, they project onto those they fear and disdain.

Of all these tendencies, projection is often the most challenging to understand, so consider an example.

Trump and Musk are poster children, in more ways than one, for narcissistic projection. Musk was in our country illegally, yet rails against illegal immigrants. Trump meets all the criteria for being a dictatorial autocrat, yet claims his political opponents are a danger to democracy.

Most of all, hate is an exercise in self-destruction, not otherdestruction. While haters’ perceived enemies often suffer the most at their hands, in the end, we all pay the price collectively, including them. As the late, great Maya Angelou told us: “Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in the world but has not solved one yet.”

Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.

DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL

It’s Christmas in Milwaukee, and I couldn’t be happier. The city is buzzing with excitement as the holidays approach, and there’s plenty to do, eat, drink and enjoy. See my December social calendar for some change-of-pace events sure to make your holiday merry and bright. In the meantime, however, let’s read an email from a reader looking for love in 2025.

DEAR RUTHIE,

I’m tired of being alone and have decided to make 2025 my year for love. I’m manifesting a love interest, and I am determined to find Mr. Right. Any tips on how to snag a lover for good?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Determined One

DEAR ONESIE,

Positive thoughts, determination and manifesting good in your life are all great goals for 2025. That said, love often finds us when we’re not looking.

You might try focusing on your happiness instead of a lover. Afterall, you are solely responsible for your own happiness, and isn’t that a great way to enjoy 2025? Being happy?

In addition, you’re more likely to attract people to you if you are a happy person. So let cupid, the universe, God and your higher power know that you’re ready for love but focus on your own happiness and good things are sure to follow.

XXOO

Ruthie

Ruthie's Social Calendar

DECEMBER 1

DECEMBER 1—MILWAUKEE KRAMPUSNACHT AT THE BREWERY DISTRICT (JUNEAU AVENUE, NINTH TO 11TH STREETS): Christmas craziness returns with this alternative to traditional holiday fun. Enjoy live music, vendors, performances from Full Frontal Puppets, tarot readers, the Krampus parade and so much more. See www.milwaukeekrampusnacht.com for details regarding the 3-10 p.m. street bash.

DECEMBER 5

OPENING NIGHT “THE GOLDEN GIRLS HOLIDAY SPECIAL” AT LACAGE NITECLUB (801 S. SECOND ST.): The dinner-theater production that has the city talking (and laughing and singing) is back with an all-new show! What happens when Blanche’s sister visits and Dorothy falls for a fast-talking hottie? Will Sophia help Rose win the Butter Queen pageant? Find out when you get tickets at www.ticketleap.com . Reserve your seat/dinner before the run closes on December 15.

DECEMBER 6

CHRISTMAS IN THE WARD AT CATALANO SQUARE (273 E. MENOMONEE ST.): Cocoa, cocktails, cookies, S’mores, snacks and seasonal cheer abound during this 35th annual celebration. Come for Santa and the reindeer but stay for the tree lighting, fireworks and shopping. The outdoor event starts at 5:30 p.m.

DECEMBER 10

HOLIDAY TRIVIA AT COUNTY CLARE IRISH PUB (1234 N. ASTOR ST.): Put your yuletide knowledge to the test with this free 8 p.m. night. Don your merriest apparel and your team could earn bonus points. Enter the ugly sweater contest and you could be a winner, too.

DECEMBER 14

PRIDE RIDES WISCONSIN MOTOR MAYHEM AT HARBOR ROOM (117 E. GREENFIELD AVE.): A fundraiser for Pathfinders, this monthly 3 p.m. bash always serves up fun. Enjoy raffles, shots, two-for-one drinks and more alongside local LGBTQ+ motorcycle enthusiasts.

DECEMBER 14 & 15

“BRIGHTLY BURNING” OUR VOICE MKE HOLIDAY CONCERT AT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF WHITEFISH BAY (819 E. SILVER SPRING DRIVE): Ring in the holidays with the city’s LGBTQ+ chorus. The heartwarming concert offers two seatings, making it easy to fit the joyful experience into your holiday schedule. See www.ourvoicemke.org for show times and tickets.

DECEMBER 20 & 21

THE BIG GAY HOLIDAY MARKET AT ALLIANT ENERGY CENTER (1919 ALLIANT ENERGY CENTER WAY, MADISON): Spice up your lastminute shopping with a trip to Mad City. This awesome marketplace includes everything from artists and food to drag shows and speed dating. See www.thebiggaymarketllc.com for tickets and schedules.

DECEMBER 25

MCDA GRAB & GO DINNER PICKUP AT MILWAUKEE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER (315 W. COURT ST.): The Community Center is always here for you—even on Christmas Day! Enjoy a comforting meal when you pre-order via ccarter@mkelgbt.org.

DECEMBER 31

GLITTER BALL NYE PARTY AT POP (124 W. NATIONAL AVE.): TRing in the New Year with the friendly team at Pop. Enjoy a DJ, dancing, drink specials, giveaways and a complimentary champagne toast as you countdown to midnight. Wear you best glitter, shimmer and shine for free shots.

My LGBTQ POV: Looking Back at 2024

BY PAUL MASTERSON

Around this time each year, I recall an early New Year’s Eve moment at This Is It a decade or so ago when, hours before midnight, the evening’s party atmosphere was temporarily broken by some maudlin reveler playing Frank Sinatra’s ballad “It Was a Very Good Year” on the juke box. Over the past year our LGBTQ community has certainly had its ups and downs so it may time for a nostalgic Sinatra reprise.

Where to begin? Actually, it is necessary to go back to October of 2023. It was then that the debacle of the appointment of an ill-suited candidate as LGBTQ liaison in the mayor’s office hit the fan. Various entities weighed in, among them the LGBTQ Community Center. Meanwhile, the appointee withdrew. To follow up, I called the center to speak with Executive Director Kevin Turner Espinoza. Turns out, he was no longer in the center’s employ.

Enquiring about his sudden and unpublicized departure, a center representative deferred to “HIPPA confidentiality,” referring me to the new interim executive director, Ritchie Martin. A member of the center’s board of directors and an activist acquaintance of mine from decades ago, Martin was now living and working in Houston and would carry out his functions remotely. I wrote him and requested an interview. He promised to set up a ZOOM meeting for that purpose which he did at the end of April of this year. Better late than never, I always say.

By then, the liaison and executive director situation had been eclipsed by the center’s fiscal problems. During our meeting Martin laid out the plan to get back on financial track that included staffing cuts, possible renting out of the center’s office spaces and other fundraising strategies.

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY

Long story short, it seems to have been successful with a job listing for a new executive director now posted on the center’s website offering a $75,000 to $100,000 salary.

The new hire will be the 14th executive or interim executive director in the Center’s 26-year history. Meanwhile, in November, the center’s aging and disability coordinator, Christi Carter, left to pursue other professional opportunities. Oh, as for the LGBTQ liaison, the City of Milwaukee currently lists the position as a “vacancy to be filled in the near future.”

Cream City Foundation, Milwaukee’s LGBTQ philanthropic organization, made news at its April “State of the Foundation” meeting when it announced its move to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. While remaining an independent entity, CCF now maintains its funds under GMF’s umbrella. Founded in 1982 with $500 in seed money, CCF assets reached nearly $842,000 in 2013, falling to $261,000 in 2022. The successful efforts to rebuild the fund were reflected in 2023 when CCF assets climbed to $348,000. At the April meeting, CCF offered a nostra culpa attributing the loss in part to high staff expenses. It is now an all-volunteer organization.

The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project marked its 30th Anniversary with the dedication of Milwaukee’s first LGBTQ historical marker. Located across the street from the former site of the Black Nite Bar on North Plankinton Avenue, it commemorates a 1961 bar brawl that ensued after drunken sailors were denied entry. The plaque fetes Black trans woman Josie Carter as the clash’s heroine for breaking a beer bottle over an intruder’s head along with 70 bar patrons who fought to protect their safe space. Also, Diverse & Resilient launched a House of History website. Created by Brice Smith in recognition of Black LGBTQ elders, the site fills a long-neglected gap in Milwaukee’s LGBTQ historical narrative.

NEW PASTOR

In church news, the Metropolitan Community Church, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, seeks a new pastor. After serving the Church for eight years, Tory Topjian left at the end of March. According to a member of the church’s board of directors, it might take a year for a new pastor to be installed. Meanwhile, the 30-member congregation is seeking an interim pastor.

Header photo by GettyImages/Sophonnawit Inkaew.

In other related news, transphobic Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki retired. You will recall him blessing the Republican National Convention. Infamous for his protection of sexually abusive priests, His Excellency sought DNA testing for seminarians lest transgender men infiltrate the priestly ranks and issued gender guidelines to codify transphobia in the archdiocese. A year ago, he was forced to investigate the case of a recalcitrant gay rector when a Catholic newspaper, The Pillar (appropriately enough), revealed that the North Shore pastor had been cohabitating with a man for decades. Insisting no priestly vow (celibacy) was broken in the pursuit of their relationship, the priest has been assigned to a parish in the countryside beyond Brookfield.

The LGBTQ performing arts broadened its horizons on stage with Mark Bucher’s Boulevard Theatre and Theatrical Tendencies staging community relevant plays and readings. Outskirts Theatre produced that famous gay French farce, La Cage aux Folles, performed at the LaCage NiteClub, appropriately enough, in celebration of the club’s 40th anniversary. Inspiration Studios celebrated its first decade as a hub of the local arts and as welcoming venue for black box LGBTQ theatre. A Milwaukee Rep production, Nina Simone: Four Women, featured the story of the bisexual Black musical artist and Civil Rights activist although the play omitted mention of her sexual identity.

LGBTQ sports played on regardless with SSBL (Saturday Softball Beer League) holding its 48th season and hosting its 45th Dairyland Classic Softball Tournament. Under the Milwaukee Gay Sports Network, local athletics continue to thrive representing competitive bowling, darts, soccer, tennis, volleyball and rugby leagues.

Of course, ending the year, the victory of ignorance and hate over reason and equality in the November presidential election had gay Republicans gloating and the rest of us in fear, not only for our rights but for our safety in what will likely become a national horror show of Orwellian proportions for the LGBTQ community.

Cue Frank Sinatra.

Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.

From The City That Always Sweeps

BY ART KUMBALEK

I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I hear it’s already the month of December— hot focking toddy time—that includes the Christmas day. Yes, December, the so-called 12th, and last, month of the year according to experts who track this kind of stuff, what the fock.

But hold on St. Nick, and is that your real name? Didn’t we have a “December” just a year ago about this time? Cripes, do I sniff a possible conspiracy concocted by Big Gift so as to empty our wallets and bank accounts to their benefit for, perhaps, sinister purposes? Hey, you tell me.

And then I’ll tell you’s that this can be a stressful time of year, like you didn’t know that already, ain’a? Jeez louise, you’ve got holiday gift decisions to make during these economic times: Could good ol’ great-Auntie Helen really use some nice new doilies again or would a $1 dollar gift card from Yoga You Betcha be more practical. And there’s Uncle Chester, what, a gallon of Old Crow for him under the tree? Yeah, that’ll be gone by the time Christmas dessert is served, I kid you not.

December: the month of the winter solstice, the day and then a season with the fewest daylight hours, certainly a boon to vampires all over the Northern Hemisphere; so I suggest to you holiday gift-buyers out-and-about that you keep a keen eye out for fellow shoppers who may appear to be bat-crazy (numerous, they are).

So many questions, but that’s why I’m here to help you with some answers.

Like the other day, my buddy Ernie gave me a call and asked, “Hey Artie, the wife wants a new puppy for Christmas. I know they don’t sell them at your Best Buy or T.J. Maxx. Any idea where I should go?”

And so I said to Ernie, “Yeah, how ’bout Divorce Court?”

Full disclosure: My scariest thought is whether or not animals get to go to heaven. For christ sakes, that’s all a guy needs is to spend his entire focking life busting his butt, finally gets puking sick, croaks, walks through the Pearly Gates and the first thing that happens is he steps right smack-dab into one heaping, heaving pile of dog-doo. Praise the lord.

And this is supposed to be for eternity ever-after? I’ll tell you’s, I want to be buried with a rolled-up newspaper so that when I’m shaking hands with St. Peter and some canine starts humping my leg, I can give it one good ol’ whack right across the goddamn snout.

I pray they must go to the other place, ’cause spending a couple, three eternities in the company of household pets and assorted animals sure sounds like focking hell to me. Or at least that these creatures would have their own animal heaven where they could all go and sniff each other’s butts and leave mine alone. That I could live with ’cause when it comes to other species—your animal, insect societies and what-not—you can call me a “speciest,” but I firmly believe in a “separate, the hell with equal” kind of arrangement, what the fock.

And speaking of hot focking toddies, allow me to provide a public service to you’s with a nice recipe that will allow you to carry through the perhaps dark and cold weeks/months ahead:

Art Kumbalek’s Hot Focking Toddy Recipe

• 1 ½ jigger (or half-pint, or gallon) of bourbon or whiskey

• 1 lump sugar, or teaspoon of honey

• 2 cloves

• Pinch of nutmeg

• Stir ingredients with hot water in 5-ounce glass or jumbo mug (your call)

• Stick in a cinnamon stick

• Decorate with twist of lemon rind

• Take shoes off, hum “Blue Christmas,” crank thermostat to 83 degrees and get ready to mix up another couple, three, six hot focking toddies. (The nights will be long and dark. Often, I’ll forego the nutmeg, cinnamon stick, lemon rind etc. and just head to a full pour from the Early Times gallon.)

So, there you go. I wish you’s all happy holidays, merry Christmas, joyous whatever-it-is-yougot-deserves-celebrating. And to all: I hope you get what’s coming to you, right here, right now, and I mean that in the best way. Be damn sure to celebrate this holiday time of year good and plenty. You just can’t ever be 100 perfocking-cent sure that it may not be the last one you’ll get; so make it a good one, what the fock, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.