The Open Book co-op has announced that the bookstore will soon close its doors. I just got off the phone with Keith Schmitz, who helped to organized the venture. He said sales were going up. "However, along with the memberships we had taken

News is out that Joseph Zilber, legendary developer and philanthropist, died this morning at the Zilber Hospice in Wauwatosa at the age of 92. Zilber needs no introduction, as he was a household name in Milwaukee for decades—decades past, th

I’m about as frustrated with the pace of health care reform as everyone else (well, except the tea partiers). But it looks like an end may be in sight, with a vote on the most recent bill coming soon. One last hurdle has been clear

This just in: the state Supreme Court has just accepted the Milwaukee Paid Sick Days case. The District IV Court of Appeals kicked the case to the Supreme Court, saying that there were bigger issues surrounding the enactment of the measure that shoul

From his perch in Washington, Chris Cilizza puts a Tommy Thompson senate run at 50/50. Shepherd readers gave it a solid 65% chance. Me, I’m giving it a zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch. I think the former governor’s current flirtation wit

Remember Advocates for Student Achievement, the so-called “reform” group that recruited and raised money for candidates for the MPS board elections held in April 2009? It took almost a year, but the district attorney’s offi

Emilio de Torre from ACLU of Wisconsin is tweeting about a silent vigil at UWM. It’s peaceful, but police are parked nearby, Emilio says. About 75 students and faculty are demonstrating while Chancellor Carlos Santiago meets with three stu

It’s too bad that the Department of Children and Families didn’t respond to my questions before press time. I would have loved to have included their perspective in my article on the injunctions filed to halt child care license revocations bas

We’re number one! We’re number one! But it’s nothing to be proud of. The Wisconsin DNR issued another air quality warning today, the fourth day in a row. Fifty-four of the state’s 72 counties are affected, including

Let’s face it: if medical marijuana is going to be legalized in the state, it must be done now. The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, a good, solid bill, has been introduced in the state Legislature. Gov. Doyle said he’d sign it if it&

Way back in November 2008, Milwaukee County voters approved a measure to raise the sales tax 1% to support our mass transit, parks, cultural assets and emergency medical services. In return, those entities would be taken off of the property tax. That woul

Have you heard that 35 senators have signed on to a letter supporting the effort to pass a public option via reconciliation? According to Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet’s letter: "We respectfully ask that you bring for a v

Tom Luljak, spokesman for UWM, told me the following about today's protest: Sixteen people in custody, 15 will be charged, one student was arrested but it was determined that he wasn’t part of the protest and ultimately was released. They&rsquo

I’m chained at my desk this afternoon but I’m getting word about arrests resulting from a protest at UWM. I just spoke with Mike Gold, a UWM student, who reported that the campus police used mace on 7 to 8 students and at le

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has totaled up lobbyist activity on the various payday loan bills pending in the state Legislature. The various lobbyists spent a whopping $669,000 on trying to derail reform. And that was just in 2009. Wait unt

Let me get this straight: the state submitted an application for Race to the Top (RTTT) funds, to be disbursed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Duncan's criteria did not include mayoral takeovers of public school districts. Ye

Wisconsin’s two senators, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, have sent a letter to WellPoint CEO Angela Braly, asking her to reconsider the giant insurer’s 17% rate hike on some individual insurance policies in Wisconsin. While the hike isn&rsq

Leave it to the Journal Sentinel’s Steve Schultze to find a victory for Scott Walker in the midst of a budget meltdown of Walker’s own making. Once you stop chuckling at the JS’s front-page spin you’ll realize that the 2010

I am so sick of the Journal Sentinel writing puff pieces about Rep. Paul Ryan. Today’s valentine, “Ryan Scores Points At TV Health Summit,” lauds the Janesville Republican and allows him to criticize—unchallenged—t

In a closed session, the Milwaukee County Board approved County Executive Scott Walker’s plan to increase unpaid furlough days for 1,468 workers to 22 days this year. This whole mishigoss is due to Walker’s refusal to submit an honest

Aren’t Republicans supposed to support choice within the free market? Don’t they believe that competition is the best way to provide goods and services efficiently? So why did US Rep. Paul Ryan vote to protect health insurance giants

The state Assembly approved a bill that would allow parents to take time off to attend their kids’ school-related activities, like conferences and classroom activities. Hopefully the Senate will follow suit and support working parents who want

I got tons of positive feedback from my recent article on the folks who created Life After Hate, an online journal devoted to bridging the gaps between us. I really admired the writers’ candor—two of the founders are former white supremacist s

Thought the outrageous 39% premium spike for WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in California was an anomaly? We’ll that spike is starting to show up in Wisconsin. Starting April 1, some Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shi

Internet payday lender Arrowhead Investments Inc. lost a class-action suit brought by almost 1,300 people in Wisconsin who say the lender didn’t comply with the Wisconsin Consumer Act and the federal Truth in Lending Act. The UW Law School’s C