This Just In...

One of the many hats I wear is that I work in my spare time for Milwaukee Public School (MPS) High School Athletics. Since the mid-60’s when I started helping my father take tickets at football games at South Stadium, I’ve been very involved: public address announcing at what I now affectionately call “historic” South Stadium, announcing for basketball, scoring and timing for basketball and soccer.

That’s why I was totally disgusted at the brawl that ensued after what was a fabulous basketball game last night at Bradley Tech between Bay View and Bradley Tech. If you click on the video of what happened, you’ll see how ugly it was.

After Bradley Tech escaped with a thrilling one-point overtime victory, hundreds of fans spilled onto the court, fights broke out, police intervened, and young fans were arrested and handcuffed. The brawlers impeded officers who were attempting to assist a woman believed to be having a seizure.

It reminded me of a game two seasons ago at a jam-packed Vincent High School. I was the timer for the game between Rufus King, at that time the #1-ranked team in the state, and Vincent. King won the game on a three-point shot at the buzzer. As I ran for the locker room, fans poured onto the court. But unlike last night, fortunately there were no fights, there were no altercations, there were no arrests.

MPS has very few positive elements going for their system. Athletics is one of those positives. It is sad that some punks can ruin what obviously was an outstanding night of athletic competition.

Fans attending just about any MPS athletic contest must pass through metal detectors. The policy was implemented after too many close calls, one of them in the 80’s when a gun went off during a basketball game at Custer High School. Go to an MPS basketball game and you may see a lot of security (unarmed) and some police officers. As heated as the Franklin-Oak Creek and Greendale-Greenfield rivalries are, an atmosphere of heightened security just to get to your seat is unthinkable in the suburbs. It’s the norm at MPS.

To be fair, there were many games played at various MPS gyms last night with zero problems. That’s been the case for most of this basketball season. But also to be fair, what took place at Bradley Tech last night shouldn’t happen at any game.

We’re bound to hear all kinds of excuses. I don’t want to hear them. I don’t want to hear that these kids are just kids, they’re poor kids to boot, they were just letting off steam, security officials should have prevented the brawl, the police overreacted, the police used excessive force, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

There were 1,100 tickets sold, more than the cap of 75% of capacity MPS policy calls for. It doesn’t matter. That brawl would have taken place if there were 5-, 6-, 7-, 800 fans in the stands. And if hundreds spill out onto the court, how are 20-25 unarmed security officials, some of them women, supposed to maintain order?

It’s time for strict measures. These punks cannot be allowed to turn a great game into a violent free for all. Find out who the culprits are, and refuse to allow them to attend any athletic contest or extra-curricular activity for the rest of their high school years. Give fair warning that if anyone gets out of line in any way at any game, they’ll never be able to see another game. We remove disruptive students from a classroom. The same should hold true for sporting events.

Some cities in the past have resorted to playing games inside empty gymnasiums because of gang threats. I’d hate to see good coaches, good teams, and good spectators suffer. That’s why we need to keep unruly fans from attending, or toss them out for good if they can’t behave properly.

About an hour after my previous blog on the basketbrawl at Bradley Tech High School Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Public Schools issued a response.

No Bradley Tech or Bay View High School fans will be admitted to basketball games later this week. Each player on the Bradley Tech and Bay View teams will be given two tickets to games on Thursday and Friday nights. The tickets can only be given to parents or guardians.

It is unclear if this ban will be extended for the rest of the season.

A part of me doesn’t agree that good students who had nothing to do with the brawl and who never cause problems will now be punished by not being allowed to attend future basketball games. However, when a full-blown melee breaks out, resulting in an-city call for help by the Milwaukee Police, and police officers and students are seriously injured, it is hard to fault MPS for taking swift, strong measures.

Unfortunately, a lot of innocent kids will now be banned from ballgames. But in this instance, I’d rather see MPS overreact than underreact. MPS made the right call.

I will be the official timer for tomorrow night’s game at Bay View between Bay View and Pulaski. I will report back on what, if anything happens.

By now you’ve heard of Governor Doyle’s plot to save Wisconsin smokers. It includes taxing the living daylights out of smokers with a whopping 163% cigarette tax increase that would supposedly fund anti-tobacco programs. He also wants to ban smoking in all public places, including bars, restaurants, and bowling alleys.

(OK, let’s stop right here. Let’s not be naïve. Does anyone really think that the Governor wouldn’t in the blink of an eye take that cigarette tax money and use it for something else…..for instance, schools? This is a cash grab, folks. Democrats don’t care about smokers. Years ago, I heard kindly, old state Senate President Fred Risser, Democrat from Madison, say on the floor of the Senate that he wished people on welfare would smoke more cigarettes so they would die and the cost of taking care of them would be reduced. I know he said this. I had it on tape).

The proposed ban on smoking in public places is troublesome, a severe infringement on personal and property rights. Governor Doyle has no business telling any bar or restaurant owner that smoking must be prohibited in his/her establishment. That’s a decision for the market to make. If consumers really wanted a totally smoke-free world, every single bar and restaurant would ban lighting up.

Supposing Doyle is successful, and I don’t think he will be, then what next? Where would the next target be? It just might be your own house. Don’t laugh.

In Calabasas, California, you no longer can smoke in any public outdoor space. Now how stupid is that!!?? Not as ridiculous as what’s being discussed in a suburb near San Francisco. Officials in Belmont are seriously considering banning people from smoking in their own apartments and condos. Exceptions to the ban would be detached single-family houses and outdoor yards. That’s downright scary.

Apartments are private property. Owners are already free to implement their own no-smoking rules, as it should be. Big Brother shouldn’t stick his nose in.

It is not too far-fetched to believe the nannies would invade your very living room to decree that for your own good, you can’t smoke. What is this, Russia?

Liberals are skilled at working in increments. Today they ban smoking inside government buildings. Tomorrow they go after all public buildings, even your favorite pub and grill. And then, the coup de grace, the very house you call home.

Think they wouldn’t do it? Think it couldn’t happen here?

First there was Kevin Barrett, the nutcase who thinks America orchestrated the 9-11 attacks as a way to fuel a war in the Middle East. Despite his wacky views, he was still hired as a part-time instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison last fall.

Just as bad, and possibly worse is David Bell, history professor at Johns Hopkins University. Bell claims that while the 9-11 attacks were unspeakable, the American response to that tragic day has been an overreaction. In fact, Bell calls it a “massive” overreaction.

In a column in the Los Angeles Times, Bell minimizes and trivializes the savage murders of 9-11 by comparing them numerically to the 20 million deaths suffered by the Soviet Union in World War II. Sure, Bell says, there have been about 6,500 casualties in the war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Bell scoffs at the totals, claiming the same number of people die on American roadways every two months.

Bell refers to political scientist John Mueller, the author of a book entitled, “Overblown.” Why that title? Because that’s how Mueller sees our reaction to the threat posed by terrorists. Mueller foolishly submits that the U.S. has overreacted to every threat in modern times, including Pearl Harbor. What were we supposed to do? Take the Russ Feingold approach, wave a white flag and hide under our beds?

We’re not supposed to get so emotional or so excited about terrorists, Bell adds, since they may possess the desire to annihilate us, but lack the ability. According to Bell, “not every enemy is a threat to our existence.” Try telling that to the surviving families of the 3,000 or so innocent people who were murdered on 9-11.

I find Bell’s assertions to be outrageous and offensive. And yet I’m not surprised. The extreme left has permeated American campuses. They dominate in teaching roles in college and university classrooms. So the kind of garbage people like Kevin Barrett and David Bell spew is what our students are hearing in lecture halls all across the country. Huge amounts of tax dollars fund their teaching positions, allowing them to spout their nonsense.

I’ve often felt that one of the national network or cable television talk shows or newscasts should open their program with video of the 9-11 attacks as a much-needed reminder. It is incredibly sad that far too many Americans have forgotten what happened on 9-11 and why brave young men and women fight the war on terrorism on foreign soil, so we can be safer at home.

The murders perpetrated on 9-11 were evil and sadistic. Supposedly learned men like David Bell who say America has overreacted ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Here are the top 10 statements you won’t hear Governor Doyle make when he delivers his State of the State address tonight:


10) “The state is $1.6 billion in the hole. Since I am the Governor, I am responsible for this massive deficit.”

9) “We’re very interested in businesses that want to obtain a state contract. All they have to do is write me a substantial check.”

8) “Our taxes and fees in Wisconsin aren’t high enough. That’s why auto license and registration fees and cigarette taxes have to go up.”

7) “We have to lift the QEO so Wisconsin property taxes can remain the highest in the nation.”

6) “Yes I came up with plans to raise fees and taxes and lift the QEO before the November election. Why didn’t I mention them? Are you crazy?”

5) “Unfortunately, the Department of Revenue sent out 170-thousand income tax forms to taxpayers and put their Social Security numbers for anyone to see right on the labels. But I fixed it. I took the Department of Revenue Secretary, and promoted him to Department of Administration Secretary.”

4) “Wisconsin is a state where you don’t have to provide proper identification to prove you are who you say you are when you vote because I vetoed the photo ID bill not once but three times.”

3) “Wisconsin remains one of only two states in the country where law-abiding citizens who have undergone extensive training and background checks cannot carry a concealed weapon to exercise their Second Amendment Rights and protect themselves and others.”

2) “There is a huge deficit in the Transportation Fund. That deficit was created when I raided the fund of $427-million in the last budget to give to schools. WEAC was very pleased. We might need a gas tax increase to plug the deficit.”

And the #1 statement you won’t hear the Governor make in his State of the State address tonight:

“Yes, I am still being investigated by the FBI.”

I want to thank Franklin Alderman Steve Olson for joining me this morning live on Newstalk 1130 WISN as I subbed for Jay Weber. Olson discussed the reaction of some officials to the tough ordinances that have been passed in Franklin and other Wisconsin communities restricting where sex offenders can live. Apparently some hand-wringers worry that the ordinances are too restrictive, making them ripe to be ruled unconstitutional.

Olson was one of the main architects of the Franklin ordinance. It states that no sexually violent person on supervised release may live within two thousand feet of any of the following:

a. Any facility for children which means a public or private school, a group home, a residential care center for children and youth, a shelter care facility, a foster home, a treatment foster home, a day care center licensed under, a day care program, a day care provider, or a youth center.

b. Any facility used for:
1. a public park, parkway, parkland, park facility;
2. a public swimming pool;
3. a public library;
4. a recreational trail;
5. a public playground;
6. a school for children;
7. athletic fields used by children;
8. a movie theatre;
9. a daycare center;
10. the Milwaukee County Sports Complex and grounds;
11. a ski hill open to the public;
12. any specialized school for children, including, but not
limited to a gymnastics academy, dance academy or
music school;
13. a public or private golf course or range; and
14. aquatic facilities open to the public.

No person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children, shall be permitted to reside in the City of Franklin unless the person lived in the City of Franklin at the time of the offense resulting in the person’s most recent conviction for committing the sexually violent offense and/or crime against children.

No person who has been convicted of or has been found delinquent of or has been found not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children shall enter or be present upon any real property upon which there exists the above mentioned areas such as schools, day care centers, etc. Exceptions are when the properties are churches, synagogues or other houses of worship, polling places, and elementary and secondary schools the offenders are reasonably required to attend for educational purposes.

Olson told me on WISN that he and his colleagues on the Common Council consulted extensively with Franklin’s legal team. Five public hearings were conducted. In other words, the ordinance got thorough scrutiny before being approved and Olson believes it would pass constitutional muster. There are, as I mentioned, the hand-wringers.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Mel Flanagan is a member of a special Legislative Council Study Committee working on the placement of sex offenders. She told the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, “If everyone in Milwaukee County adopted these ordinances, the only place that would be left for them to live would be River Hills. I don't think many can afford that."

Forgive me if I fail to shed a tear.

Flanagan said every state in the country is dealing with the pressure for residency requirements. "In one community in Arizona, they set up a trailer at the end of an airport runway because that was the only spot available," Flanagan said.

Again, my heart bleeds.

Is Flanagan truly worried about the legality of these restrictive ordinances, or is she sympathetic towards the offenders and more concerned about finding a place for them to live? At the September 14, 2006 meeting of the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Placement of Sex Offenders, Flanagan said she supported a greater use of Huber facilities to house offenders. Think about it. Franklin has a Huber facility. It’s called the House of Corrections.

Franklin’s ordinance is modeled after a similar law in Iowa. The dispute over the Iowa law has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I applaud Franklin for continuing to fight, not only for its parents and children, but for parents and children statewide. Olson told me Franklin is the model for the state, with many community officials calling Franklin to ask for guidance. If Franklin’s past experience is any indication, if anyone wants to do away with the city ordinance, they’ll have an all-out battle on their hands.

In the end, I share the sentiments of South Milwaukee Alderman Richard Radunez. Seeing what has transpired in Franklin, Radunez is working to pass a Franklin-type ordinance in his city. "My constituents are saying that it's about time,” Radunez said. “They're sick of the state putting these offenders in our city without us even knowing about it. I've heard people say, 'Put them all on an island out in the middle of the lake.' "

Exactly.

There is no doubt Franklin is a booming city, possessing great potential to successfully rocket itself in the right direction. It wasn’t always this way.

As a young child, I recall Franklin was merely a blink of the eye as my dad drove the family from our south side Milwaukee home to Wind Lake. Odds are if you went to Franklin and actually stopped your car, it was to go to the drive-in theater. Thoughts of six-story, 500-thousand square foot office buildings, upscale retail shops and martini lounges were unimaginable. Today, the sky’s the limit for Franklin.

Fueling my optimism is the recent news that Sendik’s plans to open not one, but two supermarkets in the city. This is a major coup considering Sendik’s currently has several grocery stores in the Milwaukee area, but none are located in the southern portion of metropolitan Milwaukee. One of the new locations will be at the ultra-promising Fountains of Franklin near 56th and Rawson. The other will be at the Shops of Wyndham Village at Highway 100 and Drexel Avenue.

Some residents near the Highway 100 site may not be thrilled about an increase in traffic, but I submit it’s not 1957 anymore, and that increased traffic means singing and ringing cash registers welcoming in new revenue, not to mention more jobs.

My friend Doug Wheaton, Economic Development Director for the city of Franklin told the Small Business Times last September that the question has to be asked if the re-zoning of the Highway 100 and Drexel site to accommodate an upscale shopping center that might include Sendik’s, restaurants, retail shops, banks, and a spa is the “highest and best use of the site.” The answer, of course, is yes.

The citizenry of Franklin, one that is growing by leaps and bounds, is crying out for high-quality destination places to dine and shop. I’m not talking Applebee’s and Family Dollar. I’m talking the kinds of places that have people excited about getting in their cars and driving to Mayfair or the new Bayshore Town Center. The point is, wouldn’t it be nice to have those opportunities here so a trip to Brookfield or Wauwatosa wouldn’t be necessary?

I must admit, I am a bit impatient. I want to see these developments sooner rather than later. Construction on both the Shops of Wyndham Village and the Fountains of Franklin is set to begin this spring. And yet a huge gas station is being built right now at a furious pace at the corner of 51st and Rawson. Yes we need places to fill up our tanks. Let’s not wait too long to get going on these other projects.

I had the opportunity to meet David Hintzman, President of Equitable Development LLC, one of the developers of the Fountains of Franklin. He impresses me as being fully dedicated to making the project work, complete with much sought after amenities and attractive architecture and landscaping. My advice to Hintzman: crank up the public relations/marketing campaign. I would venture to guess a great deal of Franklin has no idea how ambitious or enticing the Fountains of Franklin is. Heck, I bet a lot of people have never heard about it, period. Get the word out, pitch your project, and make people aware of what you’re planning in your office where I see the lights on late quite frequently. Get the media to do stories, and update your web site ASAP.

The expansion of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s corporate campus on S. 27th St. and the construction of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare's outpatient medical center at S. 27th St. and W. Oakwood Road are exactly the types of development Franklin needs to pursue. Maintaining a strong business and fiscal climate is critical to attracting such desirable employers and the jobs they create. That means holding the line on taxes and spending.

The citizens of Franklin are blessed to have devoted representatives working on their behalf. Mayor Tom Taylor and the entire Common Council are to be commended for their efforts. More municipalities in the tax hell we call Wisconsin should follow the lead of Franklin in exercising fiscal responsibility.

However, we can do even better. A spending increase next year of 9% with a tax levy increase of over 5%, I feel, is a bit unfortunate. The counter argument of, “Franklin: Our tax increase could have been higher,” just wouldn’t look good on a bumper sticker or a Chamber of Commerce ad. I challenge my friends at City Hall to use their talents to tighten the reins even further. Doing so will help retain and recruit more jobs, and prevent more gifted taxpayers from putting up the For Sale signs. I would issue the same challenge to members of the Franklin School Board. Wisconsin has the highest property taxes in the nation. The people who pay the bills deserve a break.

Franklin has a great workforce, terrific schools, wonderful neighborhoods, and tremendous civic pride evidenced by the outpouring of residents opposed to the construction of a halfway house to place sexually violent persons.

The potential is incredible. In the world of sports, when the term potential is used to describe an athlete, it is usually in the past tense, in that, “he/ she had great potential, but never quite lived up to it.” Franklin has a ton of momentum working in its favor. Let’s keep our energy and focus headed in the right direction by thinking big, by being visionary, by insisting on the high quality Franklin citizens are thirsting for.

Welcome to This Just In… my new blog in the “Community Voices” section of this website.

I want to thank Community Newspapers, NOW Online Editor Mark Maley, and NOW Outreach Coordinator Jeanne Wieland for this great opportunity to offer news and what I hope will be provocative and compelling commentary.

Some of you may have seen me on Channel 10 or heard me on Newstalk 1130 WISN, or remember my earlier broadcast days at WTMJ and WUWM. If you do, thank you for watching and/or listening.

My blog approach will be very similar to what I have done throughout my broadcast career. In my reporting days, I covered the gamut of issues. The same holds true when I appear on a television or radio talk show and I’ll do the same on This Just In….

Topics I intend to explore will include local and state issues, business, sports, societal trends, just about anything. Some will be controversial. Others might stir emotion. My hope is that you find my blog to be interesting and insightful.

I also encourage you, no matter where you live, to check out all the other community websites. There are some very talented, civic-minded writers working to provide you a valuable public service. Read them and learn more about your neighbors.

So, this just in…Kevin Fischer is blogging. Stay tuned.