Shepherd Express - March 2021 Issue

MARCH 2021

ENDORSEMENTS FOR APRIL 6TH ELECTION ON PAGE 10

MILWAUKEE’S INNER HARBOR: PAST AND FUTURE

PUBLISHER'S LETTER

America Appears to be

COMING BACK STRONG

On the domestic front we are moving rapidly to get vaccines in people’s arms, and we are seeing a decline in new COVID cases and deaths from COVID. Hopefully this trendline will continue even as new variants of the virus are slowly entering the US. The economy is still struggling primarily due to the virus, and we desperately need some government stimulus to help people and small businesses through the next several months. Unfortunately, this recession has disproportionately hurt women, people of color and lower income workers quite hard.

Unlike the Great Recession of 2008 which was caused by a collapse in the financial sector, this recession will recover faster once we get to some level of herd immunity with COVID-19. We will, however, need government stimulus and we will need the $1.9 trillion stimulus package. We need some of this stimulus money to help pay for our teachers, firefighters and police; put food on the tables of some of our struggling families; enable more spending to support our local small businesses and begin to rebuild our country’s failing infrastructure. Recent opinion polls at the time of this writing show that 68% of Americans support the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan.

PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES WHILE SOME CHILDREN ARE NOT EATING Unfortunately, the stimulus package has

become a political game with Republican congresspeople arguing we can’t increase the deficit despite the fact that too many of our fellow citizens are becoming food insecure. Children are going without meals in the richest country in the history of the world. This is occurring while recent numbers show that the billionaire class has increased their net worth by well over $1 trillion in the middle of this pandemic.

Ironically these same Republicans who are complaining about increasing the deficit eagerly voted for the Trump tax cut of 2017, which primarily went to the top 1%ers, many of whom are the check writers to the Republican campaigns. Also, in 2017, our economy was just doing fine and did not need stimulus; now it does. As a former economics professor, I always had to point out to my students that a nation’s budget is different from their household budget, a business’s annual budget or even a state’s budget.

A nation can and must run deficits when we are in recession or it will end up in a depression like we had in the 1930s. We need a very robust stimulus package. Whether it is $1.9 trillion or a little more or less is a fair debate, but we need major stimulus and we can definitely handle the increase in our national debt. What we can’t afford is to not provide this stimulus. Anyone who tells you differently, politely ask them if they would support reversing the 2017 tax cut that went almost entirely to the wealthiest people in our country in order to lower the deficit.

month we have rejoined the Paris Climate Accords, the World Health Organization and are discussing reworking the Iranian nuclear deal. Despite the fact that we need to exert more soft power with aid and assistance, Biden and his team understand these actions are more than just kind gestures, they are self-preservation.

In our highly integrated world, we must provide positive leadership or we will see another 9/11 or worse.

Finally, on the political front, we are seeing reasons for progressive Democrats to be optimistic. Things are slowly moving in our direction. Just three years ago, Georgia and Arizona were considered solid Republican states each dependably delivering electoral college votes to the Republican candidate for president, having two Republican senators and a Republican governor. In 2020, we saw both states vote Democratic for president. Both states now have two Democratic senators and in two years both Republican governors will be in tough fights for re-election. This is all happening as the Republican party struggles to hold together their two factions, the old fashion, small government conservatives and the rightwing, conspiracy-believing populist Trump wing. That is going to be a real challenge.

Please stay safe, Louis Fortis Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

TAKING THE LONGER VIEW On the international front, Biden is working to mend our relationships with our allies and to restore America’s leadership in the world. With Russia and China getting more aggressive on the world scene, our democratic allies seeing rightwing populist parties growing in their countries and “democratically elected” authoritarians in a number of large countries tightening their grip on power, America is the only country that can provide strong, international, democratic leadership. In the past

Photo by Tyler Nelson

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t is great to have a president again who knows how to act like a president rather than an autocrat. We are seeing America coming back to the country we learned about in school, a healthy, vibrant democracy that actually encourages peaceful demonstrations and governed by our constitution and the rule of law. Slowly and in the usual chaotic manner of a vibrant democracy, America is again moving forward toward a more fair, equitable and just society. We, of course, have a way to go, but we are again moving in the right direction. Biden’s appointments might not be exciting to some, but right now we need a very bright and experienced team and that’s who Biden has brought onboard.

MARCH 2021 | 3

NEWS 06 Milwaukee’s Inner Harbor: Past and Future

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10 Shepherd Express Endorsements for the April 6 Election Photo Courtesy of Jill Underly

14 What National Unity Means Under President Biden — Taking Liberties 15 This Modern World 16 Taking on Climate Change at Home Issue of the Month 18 Melody McCurtis is Working for Metcalfe Park — Hero of the Month 18 ‘Communities That Are Bike Friendly Are Better Places to Live’ Off the Cuff

Photo by Yana Tatevosian/Getty Images

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FOOD & DRINK 22 A Little Slice of the Caribbean in Tosa at Wauwatiki 24 While Waiting for Spring, Tend Your Winter Mushrooms — Flash in the Pan

SPECIAL SECTION 26 Home & Garden 30 Spring Drink Guide 30 Milwaukee's Irish Pubs 36 The Spirit of Calvados

SPONSORED BY

Photo by KatarzynaBialasiewicz/Getty Images

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CULTURE 38 Marcus Center is Ready for the Return of the Performing Arts

18 Photo by Erin Bloodgood

40 Milwaukee Rock History: Ten Memorable Clubs 46 This Month in Milwaukee

LIFESTYLE 48 The Mystery of Consciousness Out of my Mind 50 By Blocking Marijuana Reform, Wisconsin Republicans Worsen the Drug Crisis — Cannabis

HEAR ME OUT

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SPONSORED BY

54 Tryst with a Trainer — Dear Ruthie 56 Biden Presidency Bodes Well for a Return to LGBTQ Progress My LGBTQ POV

ART FOR ART'S SAKE 66 From the City that Always Sweeps Photo by Ezhukov/Getty Images

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Cover Illustration by Ali Bachmann

14 Photo by Joecho-16/Getty Images

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Louis Fortis (ext. 3802) GENERAL MANAGER: Kevin Gardner (ext. 3825) MANAGING EDITOR: David Luhrssen (ext. 3804) STAFF WRITER/COPY EDITOR: Jean-Gabriel Fernandez (ext. 3818)

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Image Courtesy of Marcus Performing Arts Center

38 Photo by Yarygin/Getty Images

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ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER: Blaine Schultz (ext. 3813) EVENT SALES COORDINATOR: Carrie Fisher (ext. 3823) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Bridgette Ard (ext. 3811) Andy Roncke (ext. 3806) EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE SALES DIRECTOR AND PUBLISHER: Jackie Butzler (ext. 3814) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Chuck Hill (ext. 3822) IN MEMORY OF DUSTI FERGUSON (OCTOBER 18, 1971 – NOVEMBER 20, 2007) WEB EDITOR: Tyler Nelson (ext. 3810) WEB WRITER: Allen Halas (ext. 3803) BUSINESS MANAGER: Peggy Debnam (ext. 3832)

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CIRCULATION COORDINATOR: Blaine Schultz (ext. 3813) Distribution: Shepherd Express is available free of charge. The Shepherd Express may be distributed only by authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of the Shepherd Express, take more than one copy of each monthly issue. Mail subscriptions are available. No refunds for early cancellations.

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MARCH 2021 | 5

NEWS

MILWAUKEE’S INNER HARBOR: PAST AND FUTURE

BY MATTHEW J. PRIGGE

6 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Illustration by Ali Bachmann

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ilwaukee’s waterways have long been the city’s passageway to the world. It was this proximity to the bounty of what Ojibwe-speaking peoples called michigami (meaning Great Water, later known as Lake Michigan) that attracted its first settlements. It was the lakefront’s wide natural harbor and the navigable riverways extending deep into the fertile inlands that brought the first Europeans here. And when those Europeans decided that this land was better suited to their needs than to those of the peoples who lived here for generations, the waterways were remade to function as engines of capitalism.

The past few decades have seen yet another evolution of the waterways. Rivers that were once polluted and trafficked almost exclusively by commercial vessels began to draw recreational users, and communal gather spaces replaced decaying industrial plots on the lakefront. Today, these areas are thought of almost exclusively as places for fun—an outcome that was considered likely only by the most ardent of city boosters as recently as 50 years ago.

But today, when considering the future of Milwaukee’s Inner Harbor—where industrial space still exists and still contributes to the city’s economy—there is reason for great optimism. The Inner Harbor remains a bit off-the-radar for many Milwaukeeans. Hidden away between Walker’s Point and Jones Island, the area was the result of some of the earliest engineering of the natural landscape. In the 1850s, the modern-day point of entry for the rivers into the lake was dredged to create a more attractive passage for cargo and passenger-carrying ships (the natural entry point, at the south end of Jones Island, was soon after filled in). While Jones Island developed as a fishing village, the shorelines of the mainland became populated with cargo docks and shipbuilders.

Photo by AlenaMozhjer/Getty Images

MILWAUKEE'S INNER HARBOR

MARCH 2021 | 7

NEWS

Into the 20th Century, as shipping on the Great Lakes increased in both overall volume and in the size of its cargo ships, Jones Island was cleared of its residents and remade for a modern sewage treatment facility and increased cargo docking space. Multiple car ferry lines— including those carrying cargo-loaded railroad cars across the lake—also came to call the Inner Harbor home. In 1959, the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, made Milwaukee an international port, and boom days were predicted for what was already one of the Lakes’ busiest terminals.

While the port of Milwaukee remained a cargo transportation hub for the region, to many Milwaukeeans, the area became something of an afterthought, even as they were busy rediscovering the city’s waterways.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT “Five years ago, this was a place where you felt more like you were trespassing than visiting,” said Lilith Fowler, executive director of Harbor District Milwaukee, of the

area near the Inner Harbor. Fowler’s organization has been working with the city and other community stakeholders to spearhead the revitalization of the area, which— by way of an officially designated Business Improvement District—includes nearly 900 acres of waterfront and near-waterfront property. In 2019, the group opened Harbor View Plaza, the area’s first waterfront public park, near the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.

With its location at the foot of Greenfield Avenue and outfitted with a public canoe and kayak launch, the park functions both as a literal and symbolic connection point between the city and water. Indeed, improved accessibility is key to Harbor District’s vision of the area. “More public access and more activities that bring people down here,” said Fowler, “These are two of our main points of focus, they need to go hand-in-hand.” A big part of this plan will be realized this year, when a significant expansion to the city’s Riverwalk will begin construction along the west bank of Inner Harbor, eventually to run from the public boat launch at E. Bruce St. south of Lincoln Ave.

The District got another boost in January, when plans were finalized for a $100 million, six-year project to remove metals and other chemicals pollutants from the riverways—the unfortunate legacy of the area’s industrial past. “It’s fantastic and amazing that Milwaukee has this opportunity,” said Fowler. “We cannot get to fishable, swimmable rivers when there is heavily contaminated muck sitting at the bottom of them.” The Harbor District also plans to purchase a “trash wheel” for skimming floating debris from the Kinnickinnic River before it reaches the Inner Harbor or lake. They hope to have the device installed by 2022.

The future of the Inner Harbor will involve a balance of new uses and its industrial roots. Despite the obvious challenges of the pandemic, Port Milwaukee saw its highest cargo volume in seven years.

Ground was broken last September on the Komatsu Motors’ $285 million headquarters project, which will cover 46 acres of land that was, until recently, too populated for development. On the Jones Island side of the harbor, Michels Corporation is expanding their footprint at the former car ferry site, and DeLong Company is moving forward with a $30 million export facility. Both the Port and the Harbor District embrace the concept of places of work and places of recreation coexisting along the water.

Despite some disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term goals for the area remain unchanged. Jeff Fleming, Port Milwaukee spokesperson, said that cruise ships are scheduled to return to Milwaukee in 2021, and Fowler hopes that the Harbor District can once again host in-person events by the summer.

Matthew J. Prigge is a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s speakers bureau and is the author of several books on local history including Milwaukee Mayhem: Murder and Mystery in the Cream City’s First Century and Damn the Old Tinderbox! Milwaukee’s Palace of the West and the Fire that Defined an Era. Photo by AMCImages/Getty Images

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NEWS

Shepherd Express Endorsements

FOR THE APRIL 6 ELECTION Another example of how the pandemic changed our lives is that people are now voting early in much greater numbers. As a result, our endorsements must come out earlier. In the last general election, fewer than half the votes were cast on election day.

In addition, the endorsements printed in the March Shepherd Express magazine will also be posted on our website, www.ShepherdExpress.com and run multiple times over the next four weeks on our Free Daily e-Newsletter. If you are not getting our free daily newsletter, please sign up at shepherdexpress.com.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction: Jill Underly The Shepherd enthusiastically endorses Jill Underly for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Dr. Underly is a strong advocate for high quality public education and has spent her entire career in education and public service. She has proved herself to be a true leader as a teacher, a principal and a district superintendent. She understands the challenges we face in our state to provide a quality education for every student and has shown that she can produce excellent results within the constraints of whatever budget she is given. Underly has also brought her education experience and her leadership and innovative skills to the Department of Public Instruction where she worked for several years. She is a true educator’s educator. Please vote for Jill Underly for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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JUDGE JEFFREY DAVIS

Incumbent Jeffrey O. Davis is the clear choice for the District II Court of Appeals bench. He brings three major strengths to the campaign: his thoughtful approach to the law; his broad experience at Quarles & Brady; and his commitment to community service. At Quarles, Davis focused on insurance, commercial, and appellate law. He also was the coordinating partner of the firm’s extensive pro bono practice.

He has served on numerous boards, including those for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Milwaukee, COA Youth and Family Centers, and the Milwaukee Bar Foundation.

He has won the endorsements of judges across the political spectrum. Court of Appeals Judges M. Joseph Donald and Lisa Neubauer are backing him, as are State Supreme Court Justices Patience Roggensack and Annette Ziegler. The ability to work with different kinds of people is crucial to judges, who must build alliances to develop coherent, defensible opinions. Davis has the legal and personal attributes a good appellate judge needs.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 3: Katie Kegel There is only one contested judicial race in Milwaukee County, and the voters are fortunate to have two good candidates, Susan Roth and Katie Kegel. Susan Roth is a well-respected attorney with a strong endorsement list, but we believe Katie Kegel to be truly exceptional, and that is why the Shepherd is enthusiastically supporting Kegel. We were very impressed with both her professional accomplishments as an attorney but also her personal story.

Kegel grew up in a Wisconsin small town in a working class family where everything she had ever gotten in life, she earned through being smart and being willing to work hard. While a freshman in high school when most small town kids are not thinking about college, Kegel decided she wanted to go to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As many of you readers know, acceptance to West Point requires not only being a stand-out high school student, but also being nominated by a Congressperson. Kegel was nominated by two: Democratic Senator Feingold and Republican House member Tom Petri. She embodies the best of Wisconsin’s rural, working class values. She’s the real thing. She went on to Marquette Law School where she continues to give back to Marquette as an adjunct law professor.

As a highly skilled trial attorney, Kegel could have chosen to work for a large corporate law firm and earn the big bucks, but devoted her skills and energy instead to defending those who can’t afford a lawyer but still deserve fairness and equal justice. Kegel lives in the Riverwest neighborhood and has worked for the past 10 years as a public defender in Waukesha County.

With the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, we are experiencing a re-awakening of the need for greater social justice in our country. Part of that movement requires the election of judges who have a real understanding of the obstacles that many of us experience because of poverty, tough neighborhoods, lack of good educational opportunities and racial discrimination. As a judge, Kegel will be respectful of all those who come before her court and will work to apply the law to make sure everyone gets a fair trial regardless of their position in the community.

Photo Courtesy of Katie Kegel

Photo Courtesy of Judge Jeffrey Davis

Court of Appeals District 2 Judge: Jeffrey Davis

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NEWS

MPS District 5: Jilly Gokalgandhi The voters in MPS District 5 are fortunate to have two candidates for school board who each have a strong commitment to public service and a strong sense of social justice. The Shepherd endorses Jilly Gokalgandhi because of her career choices and experiences and her life story as a young girl who came to America from India as a small child and worked hard to succeed. She took advantage of the opportunity and received a good MPS education. As an adult, Gokalgandhi spent her career working to improve the educational opportunities for MPS students.

As Community Schools Coordinator at Bradley Tech High School, she brought together stakeholders including students, teachers, administrators, neighborhood residents and community partners to support the students with their various individual needs to enhance their chances for success.

In addition to her work with students and teachers, she participated in decisions on the bigger issues like budgets, curriculum development and assessments. These are the areas where she could be a huge asset to our Milwaukee Board of School Directors. Our clear choice is Jilly Gokalgandhi.

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors District 10: Dual Endorsement Priscilla E. CoggsJones and Darrin B. Madison Jr.

MPS District 4: Dual Endorsement Aisha Carr and Dana Kelley Two very strong candidates came out of the Feb. 16 primary, Aisha Carr and Dana Kelley and the MPS board would do well with either. Both are committed to public service and both are strong progressives.

Aisha Carr has two Master’s degrees: one from UW Madison in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and a second from Cardinal Stritch University in Urban Special Education. Carr is a special education and English teacher. We are impressed with the fact that she led a Restorative Practice program to promote civil resolution to any form of conflict.

She also has experience on Capitol Hill where she worked for former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold.

Dana Kelley, a proud alumna of MPS, attended UWM and MATC and has an Associate degree in biblical studies from the Midwest Bible College. She’s a mom and has been a successful community organizer/activist with such groups as North Side Rising and the highly regarded Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Kelley is running for this position as a democratic socialist which for her means, “That we will have a world where regular people have the power to make the economic decisions that affect all of us.”

We believe that the Milwaukee Board of School Directors will be well served with whomever wins this race.

The upcoming special election for District 10, called to fill the seat left by Supreme Moore Omokunde, who is now serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly, is going to be a truly competitive race. Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones of the Coggs family, a Milwaukee Black political dynasty in years past, garnered over 42 percent of votes in the five-candidate primary election in February, but Darrin B. Madison Jr. is set to put up a good fight, with some pretty notable organizations backing him.

Madison started working at the Urban Ecology Center when he was 14 and began leadership development training at Urban Underground the next year. He’s served as a Public Ally for two years and is a member of the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America. Part of Madison’s platform focuses on his goal to create a local food production and distribution network based on the parks system that will fund maintenance and cultivate a green career pipeline for residents.

Coggs-Jones founded Urban Grassroots Inc., an organization that has worked to beautify neighborhoods, organize community cleanups and work to rid hunger and food insecurities for the last 10 years. She’s been a board member for King Advisory Inc. for 10 years, served on the City of Milwaukee Bronzeville Board for five years and has worked as coordinator of Fourth of July City Programs at Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Park for the last five years.

The Shepherd believes that the 10th Supervisory district will be well represented with either candidate.

NEWS TAKING LIBERTIES

WHAT NATIONAL UNITY MEANS

Under President Biden

BY JOEL MCNALLY

H

as this nation ever witnessed a more brazen display of political dishonesty than post-Trump Republicans attempting to portray their party as the protectors of national unity and Joe Biden as a divisive president? Excuse us while we all share a unifying laugh.

Conveniently, that allows Republicans to oppose everything Biden and Democrats do to begin repairing the wreckage from the cascading failures of Donald Trump’s presidency to protect public health in a deadly pandemic and prevent the destruction of the U.S. economy closing down hundreds of thousands of businesses and creating tens of millions of jobless Americans.

And if there’s one thing we learned about Republicans during Trump’s presidency, it is that they’re really good at doing nothing to deal with all those national crises.

It’s shamelessly self-serving for Republicans to accuse Biden of violating his campaign promises to bring Americans together and restore national unity simply because they refuse to join the effort. Clearly, they don’t understand the meaning of national unity.

Here’s what it doesn’t mean: It doesn’t mean Biden, a Democrat, won’t pursue Democratic policies and roll back the most

14 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

unpopular, divisive practices of his predecessor, even if Republicans don’t like it.

In fact, that’s exactly what Biden promised to do in his pitch-perfect inaugural address pledging to restore an American democracy in which we treat each other with respect relying on truth instead of lies, because “politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path.” Most of us heard that as a positive, upbeat description of everything America should be. Republicans heard it as a divisive attack on everything their party has become. “If you read his speech and listen to it carefully,” Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul complained to Fox News, “much of it is thinly veiled innuendo calling us white supremacists, calling us racists, calling us every name in the book, calling us people who don’t tell the truth.”

DESTRUCTIVE LIES

Sen. Paul was wrong. Biden wasn’t using any thinly veiled innuendo at all. He was openly denouncing Trump’s explicit, virulent racism and his constant stream of presidential lies, a world record of 30,573 lies documented by fact-checkers.

That included Trump’s biggest and most destructive lie—that he actually won the

presidential election and had his victory stolen from him through election fraud. It led Trump’s supporters to violently attack the U.S. Capitol, temporarily halting certification of Biden’s election on January 6th, the most recent historic day that will live in infamy.

Republicans clearly didn’t understand the most important part of Biden’s speech about how national unity has always gotten America through such national crises.

“Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World Wars, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our better angels have always prevailed,” Biden said. “In each of these moments, enough of us have come together to carry all of us forward.

And we can do that now.” The key phrase was “enough of us.”

It’s understandable that Republicans failed to grasp the value of national unity. Trump would have fired any better angels who objected to his offensive rhetoric and divisive policies aimed at keeping Americans at war with one another. That’s what got Trump elected the first time, and he was confident he could keep his supporters angry and hateful enough for it to work again.

Photo by Joecho-16/Getty Images

That’s why Trump couldn’t believe it when he lost. Even worse in Trump’s view, he lost bigly to a decent guy spouting a lot of namby-pamby Sunday School talk. Most Americans welcomed Biden’s optimism about restoring human decency in national politics: “We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace—only bitterness and fury. No progress—only exhausting outrage. No nation—only a state of chaos.”

Biden and Democrats knew they couldn’t wait for Republicans to get to work on restoring our democracy. Biden was President Obama’s vice-president when Republicans refused to help rebuild the U.S. economy the last time a Republican president destroyed it. Republicans believe the longer they can keep Americans struggling under Democratic presidents, even after Republican political disasters, the better chance Republicans have of returning to power. When Trump, a truly terrible candidate, was elected to succeed Obama, Republicans saw their lack of patriotism rewarded.

But why do Republicans feel safe from the violent political fringe groups and outright domestic terrorists Trump attracted to their party? Weren’t they calling their loved ones to say goodbye during the Capitol riot just like Democrats were? Do sane Republicans still control their party? How do they know? If President Biden is right that enough of us have always come together as a unified nation to assure the survival of our American democracy, are Republicans sure they’re still part of it?

Joel McNally was a critic and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal for 27 years. He has written the weekly Taking Liberties column for the Shepherd Express since 1996.

NEWS ISSUE OF THE MONTH

TAKING ON

Climate Change at Home

BY KEVIN KANE

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limate change. While stopping it may seem like a gigantic task, the place to start may actually be close to home.

President Biden believes so. His administration’s climate strategy features residential energy efficiency prominently, both in upgrading 2 million homes to be energy efficient and building 1.5 million new homes to a higher standard.

This challenge builds off research highlighting residential energy efficiency as one of the top steps our society must do to reduce emissions. The National Resource Defense Council calls it the number 1 carbon reduction opportunity. And of course, it creates jobs. While a real climate commitment is promising for 16 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

what we consider green jobs in solar, wind and electric vehicles, it also means we will need the construction trades: insulators, HVAC techs, plumbers, electricians and glaziers to seriously cut building emissions.

GREEN MORTGAGES? But what if we could make other jobs connected to the housing sector green also? What if realtors, appraisers, and mortgage lenders could have a critical role in reducing carbon emissions and energy bills for their clients?

That is the approach put forward by a number of us who urge “green mortgages, both for purchases and for refinances that could actually cost you nothing.

Green mortgages work by rolling in the cost of energy

Green mortgages work by rolling in the cost of energy improvements into the mortgage. improvements into the mortgage. With the monthly utility bill savings more than the additional cost on your monthly mortgage payments, and nothing extra upfront, it is effectively no-cost. It allows those who thought they could never afford to do right by the planet to both do so and be rewarded for it with solar panels, air sealing and high efficiency plumbing, to name a few examples. If your mortgage would cost $20 more per month to reduce your utility bills by $50 per month, and you’d be helping the planet, would you do it?

ties. The bank accepts contractor quotes, incorporates them into the mortgage at the low interest rate during purchase or refinance, and the borrower uses this extra money to pay for the projects. For every $1 invested, the home’s utility bills are slated to reduce by more than $1. Homeowners move their payments away from utilities, splitting the savings with the bank.

All this is possible because of new “green mortgage” programs offered by mortgage backers such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA and FHA. These quasi-public and government agencies have changed the rules to make it easier to go green. Before, those with lots of home equity or large down payments could add in solar panels when buying or refinancing, but most people can’t. Or at least they couldn’t. Now thanks to the green mortgage they can.

But it makes the job of realtor and mortgage lender invaluable. Those looking for a green mortgage can’t do it without their lender or agent's support. Some banks like Associated Bank provide them, but most don’t, even though doing so would not be difficult and they would be able to lend more, safely.

Over 50,000 conventional mortgages are offered annually in Wisconsin that could be green mortgages. Available data suggests over 75,000 homes in the state are likely eligible to refinance that could be green. Our era’s climate challenge is a great opportunity for mortgage lenders, realtors, and contractors.

HOW THEY WORK Green mortgages start with a home assessment to find energy-saving opportuni-

Her panels were installed by Dairyland Energy, one of the few minority-owned, union solar installers in the Midwest. Dairyland Energy's workers are affiliated with IBEW 494 and Plumbers 75. They areh igh-skilled union jobs that cut carbon emissions and make living in Milwaukee more affordable.

“It really opens up conversations with people, especially my students, who are anxious about climate change,” Hibbert says about her home upgrades. “The problem can feel so big, but it gives others hope to show we can start right at home!”

Green Homeowners United helps people like Hibbert who thought major action to curb emissions was out of reach. It turns out you may be able to, and you should start at home.

4 WAYS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE IN HOMES • Share this article with realtors so they can help buyers become green homeowners.

MPS educator Michele Hilbert knows we need to show others how we can fight climate change right here. She worked with Green Homeowners United to cut her Bay View home’s emissions through a green refinance that reduced her utilities bills and mortgage interest rate. Green Homeowners United navigates lenders, provides energy assessments and economic modeling, and coordinates construction.

Hibbert’s green mortgage covered water efficiencies, LEDs, duct sealing, reducing attic heat loss and a 7-kilowatt solar system that most months will mean no electric bill at all. Her interest rate fell below 3%, and her monthly mortgage changes are less than utility savings, effectively making this no-cost for her. Roll in a $3,000+ federal renewable tax credit, and Hibbert is being rewarded for protecting the planet.

Background Image by natrot/Getty Images | Photo by shironosov/Getty Images

• If your mortgage interest rate is over 3% contact Green Homeowners United about a “green refinance.”

• Get an energy assessment of your home.

We can help.

• Ask your bank or credit union if they offer green mortgages, and if not introduce them to us to start.

Let's make a difference, together. Visit us at www.GreenHomeownersUnited. com or email me at Kevin@GreenHomeownersUnited.com to help.

Kevin Kane is a frequent contributor to the Shepherd Express, a board member of Citizen Action of Wisconsin and works for Green Homeowners United.

MARCH 2021 | 17

NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH

MELODY MCCURTIS

Melody McCurtis

IS WORKING FOR METCALFE PARK

BY ERIN BLOODGOOD

M

etcalfe Park Community Bridges (MPCB), a neighborhood organization that services Metcalfe Park residents, truly embodies the meaning of community. Melody McCurtis, the deputy director of priorities and lead organizer of the organization, explains that everything they do is based off of the input and direction of their residents.

Whether that be surveys they conduct going door to door or following the advice given by board members that live in the neighborhood, the community speaks for their needs and the organization listens.

18 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A leader in her community and in the organization, Melody McCurtis grew up in Metcalfe Park. She started as an organizer and canvasser with MPCB and eventually grew into the role she holds now.

Her mother, Danell Cross, was one of the five founding residents that started the organization back in 2012. Now, McCurtis talks with a smile as she describes working alongside people that watched her grow up. “They love me, they hold me accountable, they show me grace. They teach me how I need to be and how I need to interact with people. They really keep me grounded,” she says.

THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT Few organizations can claim such a close bond with the people they service. So, when public health crises like COVID-19 disproportionally hurt their community, they take it personally. In March, when the pandemic started spreading more rapidly in Milwaukee, MPCB reached out to their residents with a survey to see what they needed.

What they found was that many people didn’t understand how bad the disease was because most safety information was circulating online. However, a large amount of the community doesn’t have computers or internet to access that information.

Photo by Erin Bloodgood

MCCURTIS: "WHEN YOU SIT BACK AND LOOK AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE—NOT ONLY IN THE CITY, BUT IN THE STATE— NINE TIMES OUT OF 10, IT REALLY EXCLUDES OUR FOLKS.”

McCurtis and the organization responded quickly by creating printed safety information and handing out care packages that included masks and hand sanitizers.

In December, the organization officially launched the Metcalfe Park Freedom Shop, which allows residents to receive a mutual aid package via contactless pickup. There is a list of items on their website that people can donate for these packages.

NEXT CAME REMOVING LEAD FROM DRINKING WATER In July, MPCB followed up with another community survey to see if they were fulfilling people’s needs. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with most people

saying they don’t know what they would have done without the help of the organization. The survey also told MPCB that residents need lead filters to protect them against the high amounts of lead and harmful chemicals in their drinking water.

After hearing that call, they found funding to buy lead filters and kits, and they added them to the mutual aid packages they continue to hand out, along with printed information on lead and voting in the April 6th election.

The community continues to drive the initiatives and long-term programs that Metcalfe Park Community Bridges works on. “2020 was eye-opening,” says McCur-

tis, “and when you sit back and look at the infrastructure that we have—not only in the city, but in the state—nine times out of 10, it really excludes our folks.” Look out for their 2021 programs including their civic engagement work and their new housing initiative that is focused on creating safe, livable homes in the neighborhood.

To help Metcalfe Park Community Bridges’ COVID-19 efforts, visit metcalfeparkbridges.org.

Erin Bloodgood is a Milwaukee photographer and storyteller. Viisit bloodgoodfoto. com to see more of her work.

NEWS OFF THE CUFF

‘COMMUNITIES THAT ARE BIKE FRIENDLY ARE BETTER PLACES TO LIVE’ Wheel & Sprocket’s Amelia Kegel talks about their new Bay View hub and the growth of biking

BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

A

s the number of bicycles on city streets continues to grow, Wheel & Sprocket has kept abreast. Last December, the Hales Corners-based chain moved its headquarters to their new Milwaukee flagship location. The Bay View Wheel & Sprocket (187 E. Becher St.), occupying the former Cream City Iron Works, is an airy, expansive place with exposed metal support beams and Cream City brick walls. There is ample space for bikes and accessories, as well as offices for bicycle advocacy groups. Off the Cuff

20 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

caught up with co-owner and vice president Amelia Kegel for a conversation about the business and meaning of selling and riding bikes.

Did you and your siblings “grow up” in the business—were you working at Wheel & Sprocket from an early age?

Noel and I, along with our two siblings Julian Kegel—who now runs Kegel’s Inn German Restaurant—and Tessa Kegel— who is W&S’s creative director—all grew up in the bike shop. In our young years,

we helped out in any way we could—from helping pump up tires and fix flats on our weekend ride support events to working in the shops as cashiers, salespeople, mechanics, anything that was needed as soon as we were coordinated enough to do so. It was a wonderful experience—the bike shop always was a place to learn, interact with amazing people and help out the family. We always joked that farmers have kids to help milk cows, and our family had kids to help provide amazing customer service to bike folks.

Photo by nd3000/Getty Images

How has business of cycling changed over the past few decades?

Wheel & Sprocket has been growing slow and steady since 1973. We started as a one-shop operation in Hales Corners to a seven-shop retail chain when our dad passed away in 2017. Since our father’s passing, Noel and I wanted to send the message to our staff, vendors and customers that we are here to stay and have been going “pedal to the metal” with a “one shop a year” growth strategy for the next decade.

We truly believe that W&S has a special business model, and our aim is that in every community we serve, we help make that area more bike-friendly. We believe communities that are more bike-friendly are better places to live and recreate in.

Our father was very involved in bike advocacy on a local, state and national level, and Noel and I have vowed to follow in his footsteps. Between the two of us, we sit on a variety of boards and committees that aim to improve cycling infrastructure and make the world a better place for bikes, because we believe bikes make the world a better place.

We believe that selling bikes isn’t good enough. We need to make sure people love riding and have safe, accessible places to do so for bikers of all ages, abilities and ambitions. This wave of increased ridership since COVID has only amplified this need. Last year, we sold a record number of bikes in all of our markets and have never seen more people riding—not just adults, but kids too! We think that this is just the beginning of a phase change in our culture for families and folks who are enjoying the outdoors and staying active.

Nowadays people can buy bicycles on Amazon. How does a brick-and-mortar bicycle shop compete with the global giant?

It is true that you can buy virtually everything online these days. We believe that bikes are a category where people still really benefit from interacting with traditional brick-and-mortar stores. There’s a common bike industry meme stating “the internet can’t fix your bike,” but it’s more than that. Biking can become a lifestyle for folks that transforms their lives in the best of ways. The more you ride, the more

you appreciate the high-quality products that only bike shops can offer.

A and B brands of bikes sell exclusively to bike retailers because we offer professional assembly of bikes which cannot be guaranteed when a box arrives on a customer's front stoop. Turns out bikes are a bit more complicated than an Ikea box. In addition, bike shops are community hubs for all things bikes. Bike shop employees enjoy educating and getting our customers excited to ride more. From recommendations of all the necessary accessories to enjoy their rides to great suggestions of places to ride, sometimes there is nothing better than just talking to a real person and creating genuine connections. When it comes to bike repair, there is nothing like the peace of mind knowing that your bike has been professionally worked on by career mechanics who stand behind their work.

Until you opened the Bay View shop, your Milwaukee area venues were in the surrounding suburbs. What prompted the move into the City of Milwaukee?

Wheel & Sprocket has always run under the motto “bikes for everyone.” We truly love serving the whole family of riders.

While some bike shops cater to more niche categories such as triathletes or pro-mountain/road shops, Wheel & Sprocket has always loved being able to have bikes for riders of all ages, abilities and ambitions. Many bike shops can give off an aura of intimidation, and we have worked really hard to create shops where everyone feels welcome.

As Milwaukee is growing, we were seeing demographics changing as more people are now living in the cities. In addition, bike infrastructure here in the City of Milwaukee is improving as well with more bike lanes, bike paths and road engineering making more safe and fun places to ride. It’s great, and we are really excited to have our flagship Bay View location have more of an urban focus and product offering.

Our vision for this new Bay View location is to be a hub for all things bike. In addition to our 10,000 sqft bike shop, we have the Joy Ride Café, offering great food and drink from local vendors that is tailored especially to bike riders—with all profits going to

the Chris Kegel Foundation, which supports bike infrastructure projects—two bike advocacy organizations the Wisconsin Bike Federation and Rails to Trails Conservancy, as well as Wheel & Sprockets operations headquarters with all of our office employees. We cannot wait to host group rides from our parking lot and host bike events in our event space. My hope is that a person who is not yet into riding bikes walks into this building and gets inspired!

2020 was an especially challenging year for most businesses and a tough year for any business to contemplate expanding.

Did you ever consider postponing your move into Bay View?

2020 was incredibly challenging. The safety of our staff and customers was in jeopardy, and there were extremely tough waters to navigate. We worked extremely diligently to come up with a plan to take health and safety very seriously, while being able to keep up with the huge wave of demand for bikes.

Many outdoor industries saw interest spike this year in a way we have never seen before. Availability of some products sold out completely last summer. We are excited for the upcoming season and to head into spring with our stores well-stocked and having bikes back on the menu! Opening our Bay View location in December of 2020 was certainly an anticlimactic time to open to the public, but we are excited for the season ahead.

Wheel & Sprocket is accustomed to hosting big events, sales and big grand openings, and we know that once it’s safe to do so, we will celebrate opening this new store with our community in a fun way. Until then, we welcome folks to come check it out for themselves in smaller groups. We are extremely proud of the result of this three-year construction project. It’s been an amazing journey breathing new life and relevance into this historically impressive space. As bikes and biking become more relevant and intertwined with our communities, Wheel & Sprocket is proud to help make a positive difference in our community.

David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express.

MARCH 2021 | 21

FOOD & DRINK

A LITTLE SLICE OF THE CARIBBEAN IN TOSA AT

Wauwatiki

BY SUSAN HARPT GRIMES

I

f the Wisconsin winter or travel restrictions are making you melancholy for sunny days and warmer climates that are currently out of reach, consider heading over to the Wauwatiki Bar & Grill in Wauwatosa for a seasonal mood pick-me-up. In the warmer months, the spacious outdoor patio is a fun spot to grab a tasty bite or cocktail and take in some North Avenue nightlife. But as winter turns to early spring, the Caribbean-inspired interior presents a delightful escape from seasonal dreariness with island-themed décor, lots of bamboo and a thatched “roof” over the bar area and some booth spaces.

On a recent visit, restaurant staff were appropriately masked, and social distancing measures were in effect. Service was prompt and friendly.

Somehow, it’s easier to imagine a warm breeze and salty ocean air when you’re sipping a potent tropical concoction, like Wauwatiki’s super tasty Blue Zombie ($10), featuring two kinds of rum, orange Curaçao, falernum, cinnamon and lime.

If you’re in an adventurous mood and with people you can share with safely (or visiting during a post-COVID time), try one of the impressive, shareable drinks like the Nectar of the Gods ($55), which serves 22 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

3-5 people and boasts three kinds of rum, falernum, honey syrup, pomegranate syrup, lime, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, bitters and orange sherbet. There are many delicious options in-between as well, most in the $8-$12 range, all served in appropriately tiki-style glassware or cups.

The food at Wauwatiki is Caribbean and Hawaiian inspired, so everything on the menu has at least a little touch of the islands about it. Begin your meal with an appetizer of tender, soy-glazed Pork Belly ($10), served with Wauwatiki’s signature serrano coleslaw. Or, if you are sharing with the table, go with the generous Nachos plate ($10) which includes the standard “supreme” toppings, but for a few dollars more, you can add jerk chicken, BBQ brisket or pork belly.

Entrées range from sandwiches to full dinners. Burger lovers will be satisfied with the Wauwatiki Burger ($12), piled high with grilled pineapple, onions, swiss cheese, bacon and slaw. Or for a yummy meatless option, sample the seared Portobello Mushroom sandwich ($12), topped with swiss cheese, sautéed onion, lettuce and balsamic aioli. All sandwiches come with a mound of Wauwatiki’s addicting sweet

and salty Crack Fries and a pickle. To sate even the biggest appetite, tuck in to a mouth-watering Brisket Plate ($15), slow-cooked beef brisket, cornbread, pineapple or spicy BBQ and a choice of two sides—Crack Fries, roasted potatoes, slaw, seasonal veggies or macaroni and cheese. Lucky diners who choose to visit on Fridays will love the Friday Fish Fry ($13), which offers a choice of lightly battered, deep-fried, blackened or baked, cilantro-lime cod, served with a side of serrano slaw, cornbread, amazing house tartar sauce and a choice of Crack Fries or roasted potatoes.

Special note about the excellent food at Wauwatiki, everything is gluten-free. Gluten intolerant folks, or people with Celiac disease, feel free to choose anything on the menu and eat without fear. Luckily, the food is so good that gluten eaters won’t even miss it.

WAUWATIKI BAR & GRILL 6502 W. North Avenue (414) 323-7555 | wauwatikis.com $$-$$$ | Handicaped accessible: Yes. Susan Harpt Grimes writes about Milwaukee food and culture for the Shepherd Express.

Image by Shepherd Staff | Pattern by LizaLutik/Getty Images

MARCH 2021 | 23

FOOD & DRINK FLASH IN THE PAN

WHILE WAITING FOR SPRING,

Tend Your Winter Mushrooms

BY ARI LEVAUX

S

eed catalogs, house plants, frozen broccoli from last year’s garden—all reminders that life goes on and will come back around. Let’s add mushrooms to the list of wintertime ways to plug into the cycle of life. They can be grown anywhere, which is why small mushroom farms are sprouting up everywhere, like mushrooms after a rain, connected via a large subterranean brain.

At the farmers market a few months back, I bought mushrooms from a serious-looking grower with a stand full of differently shaped and colored shroomage. They were displayed in baskets like floral arrangements, each type of mushroom with a different shape and color, including lion’s mane, chestnut and several varieties of oyster. The mushroom grower was noticeably cleaner than the dirt farmers, and after I learned a bit more about mushroom farming, that made sense.

Mushrooms, the fruiting bodies of underground fungal mycelia, don’t need light to grow, which makes them an obvious part of a well-rounded winter garden, and also a bit more of a science project. Family farms, you could argue, are kind like a giant compost pile, where bacteria move freely from dirt to compost to crops. This is not an unsafe situation, as bacteria and fungus spores are everywhere, and we live with them—a truth that is especially obvious on the farm. But mushroom growers, while riding the same chaotic lifeforces, must be vigilant against contamination, so the wrong spores don’t take hold. While a farmer plants seeds in dirt that is essentially an extension of the compost pile, a mushroom grower inoculates substrate under aseptic conditions.

As we paid, my son asked if the mushrooms could be eaten raw. “I believe mushrooms should be cooked to do justice to their flavors, and also to make their nutrients more accessible,” said the grower. “Mushroom cells have rigid walls that keep the nutrients from being absorbed, but heat will break down these walls and release the nutrients.”

24 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Photo by Yana Tatevosian/Getty Images

There is an important distinction between commercial mushroom varieties like white button and portobello, he shared. Both types belong to species agaricus. Agaricus grows on compost, which could be made of a lot of different things, including manure, which raises the question of where the manure was collected. If it’s from the stable at track where the racehorses do their business, there could be antibiotics, steroids and other chemicals. Whether the nitrogen comes from manure or chemical urea, using compost adds uncertainty.

Our mushroom grower only works with mushrooms that grow on sawdust-based “woody substrates,” which are dirt-free, which explains why he looked cleaner than his dirt-farming neighbors.

The mushroom farmer left us with a final tip for cooking. If you want more of a raw feel to the mushrooms, he suggested, give them a light sauté in oil or butter with white wine or balsamic vin-

egar, and serve them on a salad, where you can still feel that raw freshness while also accessing all of the nutrients.

change, and you get so many mushrooms. We brainstormed for friends to give kits to as presents.

I was looking to serve my mushrooms with meat, so I wanted something lustier. I ended up cooking them in butter, with minced onions and nutmeg, deglazing alternatively with dry sherry and chicken stock, and finishing with a squeeze of lemon and some drops of cream. I cooked them with sliced button mushrooms to bulk it up, like I always do with precious fungal fruiting bodies. You end up with more, and it won’t dilute the flavor.

Wherever you are, locally grown mushrooms and grow kits are probably available at the local farmers market.

So keep your eyes peeled. They will brighten the last weeks of winter as we wait for spring.

Last fall, he began selling mushroom growing kits at the indoor farmers market. The rough size and shape of a loaf of bread, these logs of compressed wood chips and mushroom mycelia are wrapped in plastic and ready to sprout when spritzed. They are fun and satisfying to grow, like any garden. You watch it develop and

On the longest, darkest night of the year, we left grow kits on the doorsteps of friends. A few weeks later, a jar of mushroom pâté showed up on our own doorstep, made by one friend who had successfully grown and harvested her own mushrooms from the kit. She said the recipe came to her in a dream, which seems fitting. These are, after all, the days of darkness. And these are the dark arts.

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

MAKES ABOUT A CUP

Peyla’s

DREAM PÂTÉ Smooth, thick and meaty without the aid of cream cheese, this pâté is lovely on toast or crackers. If you don’t have a food processor and have to chop, you might not achieve pâté status. In that case, call it a mushroom salad.

½ pound of oyster or chestnut mushrooms 3 cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely ¼ cup oil ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest ½ cup chopped green onions Toss the mushrooms in the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Let cool. Add the lemon and onion, and purée in a food processor or by chopping. The blender makes it too smooth.

MARCH 2021 | 25

SPECIAL HOME & GARDEN

FINDING THE PERFECT CONTAINERS

for Your Garden

BY MARK HAGEN

W

hen the temperature begins to rise, you can walk into nearly any garden center and find impressive floral containers ready to dress up Milwaukee’s decks, porches and balconies. From containers bursting with sunny blooms to those of lush greens for shady spots, these eye-catching planters are the stuff home gardeners dream of.

While it’s tempting to purchase gorgeous, fully-grown planters, that convenience comes at a cost. Depending on the size of the arrangement, some planters cost as much $200. The price obviously includes the pot, but it’s usually a thin, plastic planter you’ll discard once summer ends.

Save money instead when you create your own masterpiece that’s customized to your space, style and sensibilities.

26 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

CONTAINER CRAZE Start by selecting a pot or planter. There’s something exciting about finding the perfect container. Maybe it’s the variety to colors, shapes and sizes to choose from; perhaps it’s the idea of adding another fixture to your backyard décor. Regardless, choose a container that fits your space as well as the aesthetic you’re trying to achieve. If purchasing a plastic or resin pot, be sure you have a spot to store it come winter. Plastic and resin planters can crack if left out in severe cold. If you’re converting something such as a tub or galvanized bucket into a container, you’ll need to drill a hole in the bottom for drainage.

Some believe that setting stones at the bottom of the container helps with drainage. This is a bit of a gardener’s tale, but

adding such a layer does help reduce the amount of potting soil you’ll need. Fill the container with soil and get ready for the fun to begin.

PERFECT PLANTS Picking flowers and plants for your container is easy when you divide the plants into three types: thriller, filler and spiller. Start with a single thriller. Make it big, bold and beautiful because this is the focal point of the arrangement. It should have a decent height, as you’ll need room for plants to grow under and around it. Consider ornamental grasses, Henna coleus or caladium.

Now, it’s time to add a few fillers. Planted around the thriller, these plants fill out the pot with foliage. You can stick with one type of plant for a streamlined look or alternate different fillers to add texture and Photo by HannamariaH/Getty Images

interest. Begonias, pansies, coleus, dusty miller and impatiens make great fillers.

Finally, plant spillers toward the edge of the container as these will dangle or “spill” over the container as they grow. Potato vines, glacier ivy and wave petunias are popular choices.

When shopping for your thrillers, fillers and spillers, be sure to combine plants with the same sun and water requirements. This can be the most trying part of creating a container garden, but a little determination (and some help from a garden-center employee) pays off in the long run.

Group the plants together in your cart while shopping to see how the combination looks. And if shopping for more than one container, choose your plants one container at a time. While this might cause some backtracking, shopping this way keeps you focused on each container and can help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

Your planter might look sparse at first, but once the thriller grows and the fillers take off, you’ll have a container garden on par with the most expensive planters on the market. Simply sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of your custom-made container garden.

Mark Hagen is a décor enthusiast whose home has been featured in numerous national publications. His work has appeared in Fresh Home and Your Family magazines.

Photos by robertprzybysz/Getty Images

MARCH 2021 | 27

SPECIAL HOME & GARDEN

10 Tips to Get Your

HOUSE READY TO SELL… FAST! ABOUT TO PUT YOUR HOME ON THE MARKET? BLOW THE COMPETITION AWAY WITH A FEW TIME-TESTED STRATEGIES.

BY MARK HAGEN

START IN THE KITCHEN. The kitchen is one of the top (if not the top) considerations for most home buyers. Start by clearing the countertops of appliances and organizing pantries and cabinets. Repaint kitchen walls in neutral tones, and update hardware. This is one room where it pays to do a bit or remodeling to truly compete in the marketplace. The cost of new countertops, flooring, backsplashes, cabinets and appliances will likely pay off in the end.

MAKE THE MOST OF STORAGE SPACES. Buyers will open closets, cabinets and pantries, so give them what they’re looking for—space! Reduce the contents in your closets, cabinets and other storage areas by 25% to 50% so the spaces look larger and easy to utilize. Don’t forget any storage spaces in the basement and garage.

DECLUTTER AND DEPERSONALIZE. It’s time to turn your home back into a house so buyers can easily envision putting their own mark on it. Little things add up and quickly turn to clutter, so remove books from nightstands, hide phone chargers and keep desks clear. Decluttering also means getting rid of bulky, oversized furniture. Talk to your realtor about which piec-

Photo by Artjafara/Getty Images

I

f you’re thinking about setting a “for sale” sign in your front yard, don’t let the stress of the situation stand in the way of getting top dollar. Consider these easy ideas that make your home stand out in a crowded marketplace.

es need to move into storage and which rooms may need staging. Depersonalize the home by packing away family photos, the kids’ crafts, religious items, collections, heirloom keepsakes and any unique artwork that might raise eyebrows.

REPAINT VIBRANT COLORS WITH NEUTRAL TONES. This is also part of depersonalizing your home. Your limegreen powder room might be cute, but it could also be a turn off for buyers. Neutral colors not only make a room feel airy, but simple hues help buyers visualize how their furnishings will work in the space.

KEEP IT CLEAN… ALWAYS. You never know when buyers might pop in, leaving you no time to tidy up. This means no dishes in the sink (or the dishwasher, for that matter), no overflowing trashcans and no piles of laundry, litter or Legos. Keep bathrooms sparkling clean, and make sure hardwood floors shine. Consider getting a jumpstart by hiring a maid service to do a deep clean, and then do your best to keep things clean.

Photo by hikesterson/Getty Images

28 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Photo by CreativaStudio/Getty Images

REPAIR THE LITTLE (AND BIG) THINGS. Unless they’re looking for a fixer-upper, most buyers aren’t interested in a home with a long list of repairs. Your realtor will point out any large repairs he or she feels you’ll need to make before putting your house on the market, but don’t miss the little things as well. Replace broken or missing tiles, fix leaky faucets, repaint scuffed walls, clean carpets, and oil creaky doors.

AMP UP CURB APPEAL. Buyers catch a vibe from your house before even getting out of the car. Create an inviting yard even if it means a bit of landscaping, and you’ll instantly start the sale on the right step. Spruce up the front door and porch, and be sure entryways are clear and well lit.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN. Selling your house is not the time for dim, sexy lighting. You want your home to appear as bright and cheery as possible. Pull back the curtains, keep the blinds up, increase the wattage of light bulbs, swap out dark lamp shades for lighter options, and add light to dark corners. Replace light fixtures if it means brightening things up a bit.

MAKE SURE YOUR BROADBAND ROCKS. Do whatever you need to make sure visitors can easily get a signal when using phones in your home. With our extraordinary reliance on all things digital these days, no one wants to worry about moving into a dead zone.

HIDE ANY EVIDENCE OF PETS. Sorry, Fido, but homes reeking of pet dander, litter boxes and stale dog food don’t sit well with many buyers. Regularly remove dog doo from the yard, clean the litter box and vacuum pet hair. Find a pet sitter who can watch your little critters at a moment’s notice in the event your realtor wants to drop by with potential buyers at the last minute.

Mark Hagen is a décor enthusiast whose home has been featured in numerous national publications. His work has appeared in Fresh Home and Your Family magazines.

SPECIAL SPRING DRINK GUIDE SPONSORED BY DISCOUNT LIQUOR

Celebrating our 60 th Year

M I LWAU KEE ’ S

Photo by Ezhukov/Getty Images

IRISH PUBS

30 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

THERE MAY BE FEWER EVENTS THAN USUAL THIS YEAR, AND COVID RESTRICTIONS WILL PROBABLY REMAIN IN PLACE, BUT ST. PATRICK’S DAY WILL ARRIVE AS ALWAYS ON MARCH 17. COLOR THE DAY GREEN BUT DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

A.J. O’BRADY’S IRISH PUB & GRILL

N88W16495 Main St. (Menomonee Falls) 262-250-1095 | theajobradys.com IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Kilbeggan, IRISH FOOD: Reuben

BELFAST STATION IRISH PUB & GRILL

N64W23246 Main St. (Sussex) 262-246-3457 | belfaststation.com IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Kilbeggan, Jameson, Tullamore Dew IRISH FOOD: Reuben, Shepherd’s pie

BUB’S IRISH PUB

N116W16218 Main St. (Germantown) 262-255-1840 | bubsirishpub.com

COUNTY CLARE

FLANNERY'S

IRISH BEER: Kilkenny, Murphy’s, Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Smithwick’s

IRISH WHISKEY: Bushmills, Kilbeggan, Tullamore Dew, Redbreast, Jameson, John Powers, The Quiet Man, Tyrconnell, Knappogue Castle

IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson

IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef and cabbage, Shepherd’s Pie

1729 N. Farwell Ave. 414-278-9290 | Halliday's on Facebook

1234 N. Astor St. 414-272-5273 | countyclare-inn.com

ERIN INN IRISH PUB

6102 Donegal Rd. (Hartford) 262-419-9060 | www.erininn.com IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Powers, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew

FIVE POINTS PUB IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson

314 W. Main St. (Waukesha) 262-549-3800 theclarkehotel.com/five-points-irish-pub

IRISH FOOD: Reuben

IRISH BEER: Guinness

CAFFREY’S PUB

IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson, Bushmills, Paddy, Proper 12, Kilbeggan

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp

717 N. 16th St. 414-933-9047 | caffreyspub.com

IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef and cabbage

425 E. Wells St. 414-278-8586 | flannerysmilwaukee.com

IRISH FOOD: Reuben

HALLIDAY’S IRISH PUB IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp

IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew

HANNON’S FINE FOOD & COCKTAILS

357 W. Broadway (Waukesha) 262-547-4272 | hannonspub.com IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

THE HARP IRISH PUB

113 E. Juneau Ave. 414-289-0700 | theharpirishpub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew IRISH FOOD: Reuben

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Paddy

CAMPBELL’S IRISH PUB

4068 S. Howell Ave. 414-483-4546 | campbellsirishpub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

CHAMPION’S

2417 N. Bartlett Ave. 414-332-2440 | championspub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson

Photo by Malsveta/Getty Images)

MARCH 2021 | 31

SPECIAL SPRING DRINK GUIDE SPONSORED BY DISCOUNT LIQUOR

Celebrating our 60 th Year

HOUSE OF GUINNESS

354 W. Main St. (Waukesha) 262-408-2710 | houseofguinness.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s

MCGILLYCUDDY’S

1135 N. Water St. 414-278-8888 mcgillycuddysmilwaukee.com

IRISH WHISKEY: 2 Gingers, Bushmills, Connemara, Dead Rabbit, Dubliner, Jameson, Kinahan’s, Tullamore Dew and more

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Smithwick’s

IRISH COTTAGE

MCKIERNAN’S IRISH PUB

11433 W. Ryan Road (Franklin) 414-427-3569 facebook.com/Irishcottagejim IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew IRISH FOOD: Shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage

KAM’S THISTLE & SHAMROCK 3430 N. 84th St. 414-871-3977 thethistleandshamrock.com

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Paddy IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

2066 S. 37th St. 414-226-6761 | mckiernansirishpub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Redbreast, Bushmills, Green Spot, Sexton, Paddy IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

MO’S IRISH PUB

IRISH BEER: Guinness

142 W. Wisconsin Ave. 414-272-0721 | mosirishpub.com 10842 W. Bluemound Road (Wauwatosa) 414-774-9782 | mosirishpub.com

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s

IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Temple Bar, 2 Gingers, Bushmills

MCBOB’S PUB & GRILL 4919 W. North Ave. 414-871-5050 | mcbobs.com

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef

IRISH FOOD: Reuben, Shepherd’s Pie, Boxties

MORAN’S PUB

912 Milwaukee Ave.(South Milwaukee) 414-902-0148 | moranspub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew

MULLIGANS IRISH PUB AND GRILL

8933 S. 27th St. (Franklin) 414-304-0300 | mulliganson27th.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Flight of the Earl’s, Powers, Redbreast, Greenore, Green Spot, John L. Sullivan, Kilbeggan, Paddy, Redbreast, Teeling, Yellow Spot, Knappoque Castle, Midleton, The Temple Bar, Quiet Man, Wolfhound, Barr an Uisce IRISH FOOD: Shepherd’s Pie, corned beef and cabbage

32 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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Celebrating our 60 th Year

MURPHY’S IRISH PUB

1613 W. Wells St. 414-344-0116 | murphysirishpub.net

O’CONNORS PERFECT PINT

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s

8423 W. Greenfield Ave. (West Allis) 414-395-7468 facebook.com/OConnors-Perfect-Pint-108878139589/

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp

NETTIE’S IRISH PUB

733 W. Wisconsin Ave. (Pewaukee) 262-695-6477 | nettiesirishpub.com

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew

O’DONOGHUE’S IRISH PUB

IRISH BEER: Guinness

13225 Watertown Plank Road (Elm Grove) 262-641-2730 | odonoghuesirishpub.com

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s

O’BRIEN’S PUB

4928 W. Vliet St. 414-453-6200 | obriens-irishpub.com IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Powers IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef, Shepherd’s Pie

IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Midleton, Tullamore Dew, Powers, Kilbeggan, Knappogue Castle, Pearse, Greenore, Ballyhoo, Concannon, Bushmils, Slane, Irish Manor, Sexton, Irishman, Temple Bar, West Cork, Dubliner, Lord Lieutenant Kinahan’s IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef and cabbage

O’LYDIA’S

338 S. First St. 414-271-7546 | olydias.com IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, The Knot, Paddy, Bushmills, IRISH FOOD: Reuben, Shepherd’s Pie

O’SULLIVAN’S PUBLIC HOUSE 12525 W. North Ave. (Brookfield) 262-784-1656 facebook.com/ospublichouse

IRISH BEER: Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Redbreast, Bushmills, Powers, Teeling IRISH FOOD: Irish stew, Reuben, corned beef

PADDY’S PUB

2339 N. Murray Ave. 414-223-3496 | paddyspub.net IRISH BEER: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s IRISH WHISKEY: Tullamore Dew, Jameson and more with tastings first Monday of month

TRINITY THREE IRISH PUBS

125 E. Juneau Ave. 414-278-7033 | trinitythreeirishpubs.com IRISH BEER: Guinness IRISH WHISKEY: Jameson, Tullamore Dew IRISH FOOD: Reuben, corned beef and cabbage

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Celebrating our 60 th Year

THE SPIRIT OF

Calvados

Photo by Svetlana-Cherruty/Getty Images

BY GAETANO MARANGELLI

36 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

W

hen Susan and I lived in New York City, on the second day of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, we would take the day off to watch the various breeds compete for berths in the show’s championship round.

Some breeds are meant for shows like these. The terriers and the hunting dogs have won 64 Westminster titles. Some breeds aren’t. The hounds and the herders have won nine. They’re playful, sly and smart, but they don’t seem to like dog show rules. When I drink Calvados, I think of them.

Calvados is the name of the brandy, as well as the place it’s from in Normandy, in the northwest of France. Like Cognac and Armagnac, Calvados is distilled from a mash of fermented fruit and aged in barrels. But where Cognac and Armagnac are distilled from grape wine, Calvados is distilled from apple or apple and pear cider. It’s the qualities that separate cider from wine, which are the qualities that make Calvados playful and wild.

A typical Calvados distiller cultivates and combines 20 to 25 varieties of apples into a proprietary blend. (Up to 200 kinds of apples comprise the spirits and ciders of Normandy.) The apples are divided onto four flavor categories, each offering specific qualities to the blend: sweet apples, giving sugar for fermentation; bittersweet apples for tannins; acidic apples for freshness; and bitter apples for flavor. In autumn, the distiller gathers apples from the grounds of their groves and presses them into juice. They ferment the juice from one to three months into a dry cider, then they pass the cider through a still. The distiller then ages the spirit in oak barrels, where it develops color, aromas, and flavors.

Calvados is divided into three sub-regions: Calvados Pays d’Auge AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), Calvados Domfrontais AOC and Calvados AOC. Requirements for fruit compositions and distillation methods distinguish the three sub-regions:

• PAYS D’AUGE AOC: The heart of the Calvados region and producer of the best Calvados. Double distillation in Charentais pot stills, with a minimum of two years of aging in oak casks.

• DOMFRONTAIS AOC: Minimum of 30% pears. Single distillation in single-column stills, with a minimum of three years of aging in oak casks.

• CALVADOS AOC: Single distillation in a single-column stills, with a minimum of two years of aging in oak casks.

Distillers label Calvados with a variety of age statements, which quantify the oak barrel aging of the youngest brandy in the blend: • Fine, VS, Trois Étoiles or Trois Pommes: Aged for a minimum of two years.

• Vieux or Réserve: Aged for a minimum of three years.

• VSOP, VO, or Vieille Réserve: Aged for a minimum of four years.

• XO, Extra, Napoléon, Hors d'Âges, Très Vieille Réserve, Très Vieux, or Age Inconnu: Aged for a minimum of 6 years.

What shows the spirit of Calvados best is its liberty from ties and trusses. It plays beautifully with any Norman cheese, like Camembert, Livarot or Pont L'Évêque. Iit

can be wonderful when served as un trou normand—a Norman hole—a dram of Calvados over apple sorbet between the courses of a dinner. It also pairs well with any kind of fruit dessert, or after dinner by itself. And—Comme c’est beau!—in your morning coffee.

WHERE TO BEGIN? Availability of the best quality Calvados in the State of Wisconsin is poor. These are among the best at local spirits shops.

They represent a great way to begin exploring the beauty of Calvados: • Daron Fine Calvados Pays d'Auge (from about $40) • Père Jules, 3 Years Old Calvados Pays d’Auge (from about $40) • Père Magloire VS Calvados Pays d’Auge (from about $32) • Comte Louis De Lauriston VSOP Calvados Domfrontais (from about $50)

Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was the 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.

MARCH 2021 | 37

CULTURE

UIHLEIN HALL DIGITAL RENDERING

Marcus Center

IS READY FOR THE RETURN OF THE PERFORMING ARTS FACILITY UPGRADES AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONTINUE DURING COVID

BY HARRY CHERKINIAN

I

t’s now called the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, but the landmark on the banks of the Milwaukee River has long been immediately recognizable to Milwaukeeans. The facility was built in the Brutalist architectural style with a blocky feel characterized by a well-defined geometry and small windows. But inside the monolith, an imaginative wealth of arts and entertainment flourished.

Originally called The Performing Arts Center, the facility opened on July 26, 1969. The Marcus name was added in 1994 when the founder of Marcus Corporation, Ben Marcus, made a $25 million donation

38 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

In the years since, it became apparent that it was time to upgrade the facilities.

A $4 million renovation was originally scheduled to begin in 2020. Then came the unexpected specter of COVID-19.

However, despite cancelling programming, the Marcus Center continued to move forward through the pandemic.

“When it became clear that the Center would be closed for many months, we reorganized the projects in the Campus Master Plan timeline,” explains President and CEO Kendra Whitlock Ingram.

“Originally, the seat renovations in Uihlein Hall were not scheduled to take place until 2024. However, the closure gave us the opportunity to do the seat renovations

now, since this work requires the venue to be offline for several months.”

The renovations include creating more aisles, reducing the current number of seats from 2,305 to 2,110. Seating locations will increase for patrons that use wheelchairs, says Ingram, while sight lines will remain the same.

RESCHEDULE AND HOPE The unplanned closure certainly has a major downside: Live programming came to a standstill, and with that came the economic challenges that inevitably follow.

Long home to the Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Marcus Center worked to do Image Courtesy of the Marcus Performing Arts Center

what every other performing arts organization began doing—reschedule. And hope.

“After March 2020, when it became clear that we were likely to be closed for an extended period of time, we began looking at everything we had booked to determine if it would be possible to reschedule,” explains Heidi Lofy, vice president for experience and engagement. “Initially, everyone hoped it would only be a shift from spring and summer to fall, and we began working under that scenario. As the pandemic worsened, we realized that we were in a situation where the 20-21 season was not going to happen.”

There are some programming notes of hope for 2021: Lofy points out that they’ve been able to reschedule the majority of events including the Broadway Series—and in particular, the return of the theatrical phenomenon, Hamilton. In the meantime, fans of live performances have been making the best of this virtual world. But that meant that the Marcus Center needed to get up to date quickly for live streaming.

UPGRADING TECH “The need to upgrade our technology infrastructure was a need that emerged as a result of COVID,” Ingram emphasizes.

“We needed a more powerful streaming capability, as well as equipment to produce higher-quality digital content.

As a result, we added upgrades of fiber networking and investment in live streaming technology to the original plans.”

Audiences have been able to see shows during the shutdown that otherwise would not have been possible without the added technologies, including those well outside the Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin markets.

“Live streaming has been a great way to keep our audiences engaged and for artists to offer up new and creative content during this shut down,” says Lofy. “It has allowed us to continue offering access to our student programs and broadened the number of people who could participate significantly. For example, for a typical year, we would reach about 5,000 kids with our KidZ Days events. Virtually, the events have had over 46,000 views.”

And many organizations like the Marcus Center have found that live streaming is a viable way to connect with audiences even after we can all return to live perfor-

mances. “It is likely that a live streamed component will exist going forward in some form, particularly in regard to education programming,” Lofy says. “We see it as offering access to audiences that, for whatever reason, are unable to attend in person or as a way to offer access to performances for a longer period of time.”

Live streaming as well as streamed (recorded) performances have become the lifeline for many performing arts organizations working to “stay open” while facilities remain physically closed.

And there’s an upside as well. The current downside of being closed has accelerated the need to update technologies to reach audiences virtually.

BROADENING THEIR REACH “We’ve gained some really valuable insight regarding live streaming technology over the last 10 months. It’s helped us to continue to stay engaged with our audiences when we couldn’t convene large assembly, but it is not a viable revenue stream,” Ingram points out. “I think, when it comes to ‘must-see’ special programs, there’s a lot of demand. However, we keep hearing from our audiences that they can’t wait to return to live arts and entertainment events.”

She explains how live streaming technology played a critical this past 2020 holiday season. “We produced several short concerts to be broadcast in local hospitals for in-patients,” Ingram says. “We hope to build upon this project for when we return to live performances. Live streaming technology will also help us to broaden our reach into schools, particularly those located in rural places or which aren’t able to make the trip to the Marcus Center.”

For all the concerted efforts to reach audiences, there is still the daunting task of dealing with the financial havoc the pandemic has wreaked, particularly on arts organizations like the Marcus Center that depend on audiences year-round.

“The closure due to COVID has dramatically impacted our revenue, resulting in a 75% loss of revenue since we closed,” explains Ingram. “As we return to full operations again, we’re going to need time to recover financially over the nest two to three years. We’ll have to consider a number of factors (e.g., financial, project work timeline, etc.) as we look to embark on Phase 2 projects.”

One of the economic losses has nothing to do with COVID-19; it results from the pre-pandemic decision by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra to move to its own space after over 50 years of renting at the Marcus Center. The Milwaukee Ballet also chose to shift some of its performances to the new Baumgartner Center. However, the “deafening silence” left by the MSO’s move does present other opportunities for new programming, according to Lofy.

“The MSO’s departure does impact our revenue but also creates a significant opportunity to bring new cultural programming to Milwaukee,” Lofy points out. “We expect to announce several new series later this year that will feature some incredible nationally and internationally touring artists, some of whom have not performed in Milwaukee for a very long time, as well as some who may be making their Milwaukee debut.”

As we move past the pandemic, Ingram says that the Center will be ready and up to date: “Our prime objective is to make the Marcus Center a welcoming and state-of-the-art facility for the community to enjoy for many years to come.”

For more information on the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, visit: marcuscenter.org.

Harry Cherkinian covered music and the arts for the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel and taught writing in local colleges.

MARCH 2021 | 39

CULTURE

Milwaukee Rock History: TEN MEMORABLE CLUBS

BY DAVID LUHRSSEN AND BLAINE SCHULTZ

They weren’t just bars that booked bands or halls with stages. They were gathering places for devotees of particular genres or focal points for entire subcultures. Perhaps that’s why many of them were known as rock clubs, not rock bars, even though they served alcohol. The Milwaukee area was home to many vital rock clubs over the past 50 years, so many that we limited ourselves to 10 clubs within the Milwaukee city limits. These are places of memory for many Milwaukeeans, and several are invisible today, erased by the wrecking ball.

THE BOARDWALK/THE GLOBE There was a time when you could hear live music at several East North Avenue clubs. Bands played Vitucci’s back room, BBC’s upstairs and even atop Hooligan’s bar every Monday night. But the Boardwalk, along with its later incarnation, The Globe, was the East Side’s musical hub. The Boardwalk’s shotgun-shack layout, with the bar and stage facing each other, added that sense of rock and roll claustrophobia. The labyrinthian basement and green room was truly a scene from This is Spinal Tap. Thursdays through Sundays, the venue booked a healthy diet of locals; Voot Warnings’ Fresh Sounds held down a memorable Sunday residency. Evolving into The Globe, the club moved the stage to the far wall and elevated it for a more big-time feel. Under new management, it was successful in booking all-ages shows, as well as out-oftowners like Chicago’s Mighty Blue Kings. For a while, the location was open as Hotel Foster and most recently as Snack Boys.

CAFÉ VOLTAIRE/ODD ROCK CAFÉ For performance artist Scott Schanke, Café Voltaire was an art project—an ongoing and evolving installation with patrons, videos and cutting-edge local and national bands in a setting of DIY Bauhaus with a dash of Russian Constructivism. In 1987, Schanke handed the keys of the Bay View location to concert promoter Jack Koshick, who turned it into the Odd Rock Café, a bar for beer and bands, including some notable out-of-towners such as Hawkwind and Bo Diddley. The Odd Rock closed in 1990, and the old frame building (a sailor’s brothel in the early 20th century) stood empty for years before being torn down to make way for the Milwaukee Road townhouses.

popular restaurant (great fish fry!) where Snopek and other local bands performed. In its final incarnation, it was a popular East Side tavern and—up the stairway—a venue for touring acts ranging from Johnny Thunders to Jonathan Richman, as well as popular locals such as The R&B Cadets and Those X-Cleavers. In 1988, Century Hall exploded in a five alarm fire. A strip mall now occupies its Farwell Avenue location.

HUMPIN’ HANNAH’S What better location for an underground rock club than a basement? Under the name O’Brad’s, the Riverwest dive had been the home for the city’s best-remembered psychedelic garage band, The Shag, in the ’60s. As Humpin’Hannah’s, the joint became was a destination for once or future legends: Cheap Trick (before they were signed) were practically the house band, and the rafters shook to shows by the MC5 and Lou Reed as well as Milwaukee proto-punk band In a Hot Coma. No surprise that penny beer night was also an attraction. The building was torn down and is now a vacant lot.

CENTURY HALL The 1890 building had a long history (it had been a bowling alley) before becoming a performance space in the ’70s—a place where musicians and avant-garde theater found a home. Management and focus kept changing. During the early ’80s, Century Hall was a

(Top Left) Steely Dan playing at Humpin Hannah’s in 1972. (Top Right) Luther Allison playing at Humpin Hannah’s in 1972. (Bottom Left) Manfred Mann playing at Humpin Hannah’s in 1972. (Bottom Middle) Tiny Tim playing at Humpin Hannah’s in 1975. (Bottom Right) Eddie Harris playing at Teddy's in 1974. All Photography by Rich Zimmermann.

MARCH 2021 | 41

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THE PALMS Originally a cinema, it was called The Electric Ballroom in the ’70s—an ideal name for a rock club, but for some reason, the owners changed it to The Palms. From 1979 through 1986, the big hall on State Street was Milwaukee’s place to go for emerging new music—The Boomtown Rats, The Police, U2 and XTC (on their only North American tour) played The Palms, along with Yipes and other regionally popular bands. The Residents staged the club’s memorable final musical performance.

Afterward, it became a strip joint until a fire gutted the building, leaving it to resemble a set from The Third Man. In 2019, ambitious plans surfaced to rehab the empty shell as a neighborhood music and cultural center.

THE SCENE The Milwaukee Journal called it the place “where the action is.” From 1965 through 1971, Frank Balistrieri ran the Scene in the old Antlers Hotel, transforming the

big-band ballroom into the city’s hottest rock venue. Local acts such as Junior and The Classics played in the lounge (sometimes accompanying go-go dancers). The ballroom became the setting for a fully integrated lineup including Dick Gregory, Smokey Robinson, Little Richard, Sam and Dave, as well as new rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Cream (complete with an in-house psychedelic light show company).

The Downtown building was razed in 1981, giving way to the construction of the Grand Avenue Mall.

THE STARSHIP The Downtown club arrived in time to midwife the explosion of punk/post-punk in the ’80s. Shepherded by drummer Kenny Baldwin, the former disco (owned by his father) became ground zero for a revolving door of locals and touring acts. Today, it’s a parking lot, but The Starship hosted a who’s who of cult favorites including Pere Ubu, Captain Beefheart, the Ventures, D.O.A. and locals like the Oil Tasters and

the Stellas (who grew up to become Die Kreuzen). At times, the club even served as an off-hours practice room for local bands in need of a space. Can we start a petition to get Kenny Baldwin’s image on a postage stamp?

TEDDY’S The New York Dolls played there on their 1975 tour, even though it was mostly a jazz and blues club. Fifteen years later, a mechanical bull was installed during the short-lived Urban Cowboy craze. And then, Teddy’s went through several phases of eclectic booking, with mainstream rock acts eventually giving way to newer music and edgier performances by groups such as Those X-Cleavers, Plasticland and Wild Kingdom. In 1989, the building was purchased by promoter Peter Jest and renamed Shank Hall in honor of the mythical Milwaukee concert venue in This is Spinal Tap.

UP & UNDER PUB On September 27, 2020, the Up & Under Pub closed its doors.

Long known as a music club, it initially got its blues rep when Steve Cohen and his group, Leroy Airmaster, moved their weekly Sunday jam session to the Brady Street pub.

Owned by Peter Wolbersen (of Riverwest’s The Tracks), Up & Under welcomed national acts like Otis Rush and offered everything from comedy to jam bands to open mics during its run. The 1885 building currently sits vacant, but with plenty of prime pedestrian traffic, the smart money is this space will one day again be a vital business. Read music fans’ memories of the Up & Under Pub at shepherdexpress.com.

ZAK’S NORTH AVENUE Strategically perched like a castle, complete with a watchtower, on the corner of Humboldt and North, Zak’s had been a venue for touring blues bands, bluegrass acts and whatever else came through until Jerome Brisch introduced himself to owner Damian Zak. The guitarist for The Haskels, a pioneering Milwaukee punk rock band, convinced Zak to give the new music a chance. As a result of the club owner’s open mind, Zak’s became the Cream City’s CBGB from 1978-1979, the hub of the emerging local scene and a tour stop for everyone from Pere Ubu to Magazine. The building now stands empty.

What is your favorite defunct Milwaukee rock club? Send your suggestions and memories to dav e@shepex.com.

We will follow up with an article on our website, shepherdexpress.com.

Blaine Schultz is a Milwaukee musician and music writer. David Luhrssen has coauthored books on local music including Milwaukee Rock and Roll 1950-2000 and Brick Through the Window.

Photography by Rich Zimmermann | Background Image by ysuel/Getty Images

CULTURE

Illustration by Scott Radke

To advertise on this page, contact BRIDGETTE at 414.292.3811 or email her at bridgette@shepex.com

CULTURE

This Month in Milwaukee 11 THINGS TO DO FROM MARCH 3 TO MARCH 26

BY ALLEN HALAS, DAVID LUHRSSEN, TYLER NELSON AND MICHAEL MUCKIAN

and March’s lineup includes performances from singer-songwriter Derek Ramnarace, Nazario Chickpeazo, Dig Deep and Gin Mill Hollow. More information and weekly streams can be found on Wise Farm Productions’ Facebook page.

THROUGH MAY 23 “CROSSING BOUNDARIES: THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE, GOODS AND IDEAS” HAGGERTY MUSEUM, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY Boundaries can be either limiting or freeing, creating barriers or enabling passage. In fact, “Crossing Boundaries: The Movement of People, Goods and Ideas” explores all those concepts and more through pairs of images curated by Marquette faculty from across the campus. The exhibit, which closes May 23, reflects the Crossing Boundaries theme that’s part of the university’s Core curriculum, embracing ethical and responsible communications, collaboration and leadership that lead to moral action and citizenship with purpose.

THROUGH MAY 30

“VIRTUAL: THE BAUHAUS, LÁSZLÓ MOHOLY-NAGY, AND MILWAUKEE” MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM The “and Milwaukee” tie-in is because one of MAM’s predecessors, the Milwaukee Art Institute, mounted the first U.S. exhibition of Moholy-Nagy’s photographs back in 1931. The Bauhaus, where he taught, was one of the most distinctive and influential art schools of the last century, responsible for trends in architecture and design meant to mirror and magnify the modern age of machines—to reunify art with technology. Moholy-Nagy produced dynamic work across many media; the exhibit includes a desk he designed for Parker Pens.

“TO PAINT IS TO LIVE: THE ARTWORK OF ERICH LICHTBLAU-LESKLY” MILWAUKEE JEWISH MUSEUM “He had to create to live,” says curator Molly Dubin of the artist behind the museum’s current exhibition. For Erich Lichtblau-Leskly, it was no cliché. The commercial artist was deported to Theresienstadt, the “model concentration camp” designed by the Nazis to showcase their claim that Jews were well treated during the Holocaust.

Lichtblau-Leskly applied his cartooning skills, satirizing his captors with colored pencils on paper. The exhibit juxtaposes postcard-size images drawn at Theresienstadt with larger replications painted by the artist decades later in Israel. Open by reservation only.

TUESDAY NIGHTS ACA MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT’S ACA LIVE ACA Music & Entertainment have been producing regular weekly live streams to keep artists playing during the pandemic. 100% of the proceeds from the shows benefit the artists, and utilization of ACA’s studio space makes for a top-notch streaming experience. March’s calendar includes performances from Jon Rouse, Elephonic, Dan Lepien and many more. The event starts at 7 p.m. on Facebook.

SATURDAY NIGHTS WISE FARM PRESENTS: BREWS & TUNES At 7 p.m. every Saturday, Wise Farm Productions presents Brews & Tunes, a live music series giving an online platform to local musicians of various genres. The stream is produced by Instrumental Motion,

46 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

All Sidewalks Will Be Scrubbed. Israeli period, 1970 – early 1980s.

Image courtesy of the Milwaukee Jewish Museum.

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, AND SATURDAY, MARCH 13 NORTHERN LIGHTS: VIRTUAL PLANETARIUM SHOW UWM PLANETARIUM Tickets for this behind-the-scenes YouTube tour are listed as “pay what you can,” so there’s no excuse not to attend this virtual tour of the science behind one of nature’s most remarkable light shows. Tickets are listed as $0, $5 and $15, but those who pay $15 will receive an individual membership to the planetarium, valued at $50! There are two chances to participate, so sign up and enjoy the radiance of the night sky.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9

FRIDAY, MARCH 26

ANURADHA D. RAJURKAR BOSWELL BOOKS In her debut novel, the Milwaukee author explores young love across cultural boundaries through the life of her protagonist, a young artist. The protagonist of American Betiya, Rani Kelkar, has never lied to her parents until she meets Oliver. The same qualities that draw her—his tattoos, his charisma, his passion for art—make him her mother's worst nightmare. They begin dating in secret, but as Oliver’s troubled home life unravels, he asks more of Rani than she knows how to give. When a twist of fate leads Rani from Evanston, Illinois, to India for a summer, she has a reckoning with herself— and what’s really beneath the surface of her first love. Rajurkar will discuss American Betiya with novelist Lauren Fox (Send for Me) via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17 GHETTO CHRONICLES WITH HISTORIAN SAM KASSOW By mid-1941, nearly all Jews in Poland had been forced into ghettos. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest with around 490,000 prisoners. Sam Kassow, historian and author of Who Will Write Our History? Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto, will share his knowledge in a 7 p.m. Zoom conference focused on the Lodz ghetto, setting for Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s 2020 exhibit, “Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto.” Kassow is the child of Holocaust survivors and was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany.

“OUT WITH THE COLD, IN WITH THE NEW” PRESENT MUSIC Present Music returns with a virtual concert by the full ensemble with a guest star, New York soprano Lucy Dhegrae. “The basic premise reflects the current reality for musicians,” says Co-Artistic Director Eric Segnitz. “After a whole year, we’re still confined to our living rooms fantasizing about a return to live concerts. The program will intercut living room scenes drawn from FLUXUS works with concert hall scenes progressing from the dead of winter to a vibrant spring.” The diverse program ranges from John Cage to Erik Satie and Joe Byrd plus a half-dozen younger contemporary composers.

FRIDAY, MARCH 26

SATURDAY, MARCH 20  DOG DAYS AT LYNDEN LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN Walking the dog can be a chore on a busy or bad weather day, but it can also be a time of shared enjoyment between you and your canine companion. It’s good exercise for both of you, as well as a chance to experience the natural world. The wooded, sculpturestudded grounds of the Lynden Garden are just about the best place imaginable for walking the dog in winter. Dogs must be leashed and considerate of other visitors, canine and human. For more information, visit lyndensculpturegarden.org/dog-days.

Northern Lights photo by sumos/Getty Images | Dog image by IRYNA KAZLOVA/Getty Images

GRACE WEBER’S MUSIC LAB Since its inception, Grace Weber’s Music Lab has been able to combine elements of open mics, workshops for aspiring creatives and live performances as a community resource for up-and-coming artists in partnership with 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and Milwaukee Public Schools. The virtual editions of those events have made their way to Facebook Live, streaming on the last Friday of every month. March’s featured performer is Tiffany Miranda, founder of Girls Make Beats. There will also be giveaways for teens to win an iRig setup for their Apple devices just by being present in the live stream.

MARCH 2021 | 47

LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND

48 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

THE MYSTERY OF

Consciousness

BY PHILIP CHARD

I

s there really magic in our world? Or do we simply delude ourselves into such imaginings, perhaps to assuage our fears or attempt to cheat fate? Is enchantment simply a fanciful mental refuge shielding us from the vagaries and banalities that sometimes populate daily existence? Challenging questions. But, while hiking the rugged Burren National Park in southwest Ireland, I was fortunate to happen upon my own answer.

That day, a light mist swirled over the landscape while I made my way up a rocky trail that climbed steeply above the valley floor. Ahead, I spotted a woman and little girl on their way down, their chatter punctuating the quiet of the Irish countryside. When the girl spotted me, a stranger, she scurried warily behind her mother, who turned and knelt to face her. I was within earshot of their exchange.

“I’ll put a spell on us,” she told the shy child, smiling brightly. “And then the gentleman won’t be able to see us. We’ll be invisible!”

Then, Mom rose and solemnly waved her hands over her daughter’s head, chanting in Gaelic. The girl stood spellbound, and when the incantation was complete, she looked toward me again, by which time I had assumed my role in this fable we were collectively creating in the wee one’s psyche. My gaze was up and away from her toward a distant escarpment that towered overhead.

Seeing my eyes averted, the mother bid her daughter to proceed past me. As they neared, in my peripheral vision, I saw the lassie stop and look straight at me, but I didn’t return her stare or acknowledge their presence in any fashion. In her mind, I saw them not.

“You see, darling, we’re invisible,” the mother reassured her. “The man can’t see us. It’s magic!”

For a short time, the little girl stood mesmerized, awestruck by her mother’s magical power to seemingly shape the world to her will. As they rambled off, the woman looked back at me with a bright smile and a wink. Nodding to each other in recognition, I recalled that, through our perceptions, we humans are the makers of magic, just as we also participate in creating its opposite—the real world of nuts, bolts and balderdash. Don’t buy the notion that so-called reality is, in part, a product of our minds rather entirely that of the external world out there?

Image by francescoch/Getty Images

PARTICIPATORY REALITY Well, consciousness is perhaps the most mysterious and least understood whatever-it-is in the human experience.

And, increasingly, neuroscientists and even physicists recognize that our experience of reality is participatory—meaning it is shaped by our awareness and ways of perceiving, as well as by the external world itself. We are not dispassionate observers objectively and accurately detecting a hard, immutable reality out there.

Color, for example, is not just a property of what is in the physical world, but it is created through our senses and, ultimately, within the visual cortex of the brain. The mind takes the raw visual inputs from outside and concocts a recognizable image, a representation of reality, a kind of mental map rather than the external topography itself. And, as has been stated many times, the map is not the territory.

As such, the realms of imagination, dreams and spiritual experiences reflect another sort of reality, one far less connected to the pragmatic world that rules our daily lives. When we invest in and cultivate these magical mental spaces and states of awareness, they become more authentic, not in a way that nullifies the so-called real world, but in a way that balances and, hopefully, enriches it.

So far as we can discern, the magical does not transform or rule over the realness and limitations of the external world we inhabit, as the young girl on the Burren may have concluded. Rather, it creates its own inner reality, one that lives in the human spirit in a way that isn’t tangible or quantifiable. Does magic exist? It existed there and then in the mind and spirit of that little lass.

And that’s good enough for me.

For more, visit philipchard.com.

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

MARCH 2021 | 49

LIFESTYLE CANNABIS

PART ONE OF A SERIES

BY BLOCKING MARIJUANA REFORM,

WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS WORSEN THE DRUG CRISIS ROBIN VOS PRETENDS TO SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA: IT’S A BOLD-FACED LIE

BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

50 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Legal marijuana, far from adding “more drugs in society” and worsening the opioid crisis, would actually help alleviate the disastrous effects that legal but harmful substances have had.

A

s the option to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin through the budget looms close, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos speaks for Republican legislators, adopting an anti-progress stance repeating worn-out fear mongering arguments.

Vos will not support marijuana reform through the budget, he announced on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Despite the fact that a bipartisan supermajority of voters chose to support the adoption of recreational marijuana when the question was asked as an advisory referendum in 2018, Vos chose to go against the will of the people. “I am still trying to find a way to [legalize medical marijuana] so that people accept the fact that we are not going to legalize recreational marijuana,” Vos declared.

Vos’s professed support of medical marijuana could seem enthusiastic, as he was recorded saying, “I am open to that idea, [...] I’ve told people before. I supported it, I have been as public as I can be; I think I was one of the first legislators in the Capitol saying I am open to that idea.” To a casual observer, this could be interpreted to mean that Vos supports marijuana reform, which is not quite true. In an October 2019 interview, his stance was made clearer.

When asked if he’d support a bipartisan bill to legalize medical marijuana, he answered, “No.” Despite the bill in question being quite restrictive compared to what has become the norm in states that have enacted cannabis reform, Robin Vos and his cohorts found it “way too broad.”

Image by Yarygin/Getty Images

If any form of medical marijuana is adopted, it should be a “very limited version” that cannot be smoked or be edible, Vos said; “it should be taken in pill form.” Vos explicitly wants marijuana to be treated and regulated like a prescription painkiller. This undermines one of the key aspects of medical marijuana, which is that it must be easily accessible—often grown at home for free—and out of the hands of traditional medicine providers.

Most egregious is the lie surrounding the reason why Vos and Republican lawmakers claim not to support cannabis reform: “I do not think that we have a need to have more drugs in society, especially with the opioid crisis and all the rest,” he claimed. This plays into the Reefer Madness terror that claims that legalizing marijuana would flood the streets with drugs. This relies on a fear that is irrational and has been demonstrated to be false.

To keep marijuana illegal, an indecent amount of propaganda has drilled into Americans’ heads the idea that marijuana is a gateway drug leading to more serious addictions. Thought leaders, both political and religious, have prophesied apocalyptic consequences if marijuana were to be made legal—none of which ever came true in the 35 states that have taken that step.

Anti-pot advocates, such as Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin, hide behind the idea that marijuana is a drug, supposedly like opioids, and that it would add oil to the metaphorical fire of the drug crisis that has been sweeping America.

MARCH 2021 | 51

LIFESTYLE CANNABIS

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA DOESN’T BRING MORE DRUGS

A telling example is California, but this applies to every other state that legalized weed. SAMHSA reports that in California, where legal weed is available and cheap, 40.4% of people ages 18-25 consume it.

In Wisconsin, where legal weed is emphatically not available, 32.6% of residents in the same age group consume it with the same frequency. Among the entire adult population, 14.8% of Wisconsinites consume marijuana, and 20.4% of Californians do.

It is important to point out that the rate of marijuana use has been increasing across the board regardless of legalization or the lack thereof. In 2011, half a decade before it would be legalized for adult use in California, and a year before Washington and Colorado kickstarted the legalization movement, 14.1% of Californians reported consuming marijuana. That same year, 9.5% of Wisconsinites did. California’s consumption rates increased by six percentage points; Wisconsin’s increased by five percentage points.

In other words, legalization had a tenuous effect on increased consumption of marijuana—whatever little impact it had is almost certainly attributable to the increased safety of legal marijuana and the reduced risk of legal consequences.

Consumption did increase, but it is due to

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Image by HighGradeRoots/Getty Images

The first lie of all is the claim that marijuana legalization significantly increases the amount of marijuana being consumed by the population—in Robin Vos’ words, leads to “have more drugs in society,” with the implication this is a problem to be avoided.

Marijuana is already the most popular intoxicating substance by far, alongside alcohol. In its latest national survey on drug use, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that more than 17.1% of American adults already use cannabis despite the fact it is federally illegal and banned in many states. Among the 18-25 age group, which is consistently the biggest user of marijuana, that number is consistently higher than 30%.

new, more progressive generations freeing themselves from the harmful and objectively wrong belief that marijuana is evil.

If marijuana has one harmful effect, it is a potential stunting effect on developing brains. Marijuana should not be consumed by children, and legalization is the best way to ensure the safety of our children.

SAMHSA data shows clearly that when marijuana becomes legal, its use among people younger than 18 decreases. In California, it went from 17% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2019. In Washington, it went from 16.9% to 16.3%. This is true in all legal states.

While rates of use in all other age groups increased, use among youths decreased.

By creating a legal supply chain with oversight and regulations, where a dispensary can be held accountable for selling weed to kids, it makes it easier to control who can access cannabis; drug dealers are not as attentive to respecting the law or morals. Additionally, the quality and safety of legal marijuana is far superior to street-level weed; just like the quality and safety of alcohol improved when it was taken off the hands of the mafia and given to government-regulated producers

and retailers, who will ID customers, once Prohibition came to an end.

Last year, a U.S. study found that states that legalized medical marijuana saw a drop—up to 20%—in opioid prescriptions.

Most recently, a Canadian study found that introducing marijuana as an alternative to opioids significantly reduces the use of prescription opioids.

Allowing patients (and their caretakers) grow their own medicine for free has become a norm in states with medical marijuana. It is also something that Wisconsin Republicans, Robin Vos first of all, explicitly refuse to support, even when they pretend to support medical marijuana. If medical marijuana were to come to Wisconsin, Vos declared, it would be a “very limited version” in “pill form,” and of course managed by big pharmaceutical corporations.

Legal marijuana—be it recreational or properly implemented medical, both of which Wisconsin Republicans fight against—would seriously cut into the profits of a few powerful health care corporations. The only version of medical marijuana that Republicans defend is the sort

that is inefficient, impossible to grow at home, hard to access, expensive and serves the interests of the very same people who manufactured the opioids crisis in the U.S. In other words, Vos and his co-conspirators are voting to protect the profits of the predatory health care industry, even at the cost of countless innocent lives.

Can you guess how much money Robin Vos receives from lobbyists in the health care industry? No, you can’t. Neither can anyone else, because that information is purposefully obfuscated. But even among donors that are not hidden through PACs and party schemes, the health industry remains Vos’ top donor, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

The fact that pharmaceutical companies invest immense sums of money to oppose cannabis reform is a well-documented reality seen both at the state and federal level. “To them, it's competition for chronic pain, and that's outrageous because we don't have the crisis in people who take marijuana for chronic pain having overdose issues,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand decried in support of marijuana legalization. “It's not the same thing. [Marijuana] is not as highly addictive as opioids are. [...] The opioid industry and the drug companies that manufacture it are just trying to sell more drugs that addict patients and addict people across this country.”

Legal marijuana, far from adding “more drugs in society” and worsening the opioid crisis, would actually help alleviate the disastrous effects that legal but harmful substances have had on America. It would offer a safer path to recovery for addicts, and a harmless painkiller rather than addictive opioids to people in need.

If Republicans lawmakers in Wisconsin, who have been blocking the legalization of marijuana by going against the will of the voters, really cared about drug-related deaths, they would seek to legalize weed, and they would do it properly. But that is a big “if.”

Next month in the April Shepherd Express: Marijuana Is Not Opioids, Comparing Them Is Dishonest.

Jean-Gabriel Fernandez is a journalist and Sorbonne graduate living in Milwaukee. He writes about politics, cannabis and culture for the Shepherd Express.

MARCH 2021 | 53

HEAR ME OUT DEAR RUTHIE | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

TRYST WITH A TRAINER DEAR RUTHIE, I’m a gay man who has fallen for my straight trainer at the gym. It’s not just his incredible body and handsome face that has me gaga, but it’s his humor, good nature, caring heart and more. He’s the man of my SCACZCXZC dreams, but he is (very) straight. In fact, he’s engaged to a woman. Any words of advice?

THANKS,

Looking for Love DEAR LOOKING (IN THE WRONG PLACE), Start by sending me his number, the name of the gym and his photo (we’re talking locker room shots here). Next, move the hell on! It ain’t gonna happen, sweet cheeks, so get over it. I’ve had a crush on Burt Reynolds for as long as I can remember, but I’m not sitting at his grave site, crying a river over him. You don’t mention a friendship with your trainer outside the gym, so if your attraction to him is becoming an issue for you, find yourself a new trainer. While you’re at it, find a new man who can cherish you the way you deserve to be loved.

I hate to be hard on you, honey pie, but I just don’t want you wasting any more time on something that’s not going to happen. Life is too short! Your happiness is waiting for you, so go out there and find someone who can make it happen!

XXOO

Ruthie Have a question for Ruthie? Want to share an event with her? Contact Ruthie at dearruthie@shepex.com.

Follow her on social media, too!

Facebook: Dear Ruthie | Instagram: RuthieKeester | Twitter: @DearRuthie

54 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

DEAR RUTHIE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Ruthie’s Social Calendar MARCH 4 DIVAS DE LA NOCHE AT HAMBURGER MARY’S (730 S. FIFTH ST.): Thursday nights just got hotter with this new Latinx night! Kick off the weekend a pinch early with $5 margaritas, Corona and Modelo specials, and with an 8 p.m. drag show featuring the Latina divas of Hamburger Mary’s. Make your reservation at hamburgermarys.com/mke.

MARCH 6 EXPLORING VOICE FEMINIZATION (ZOOM) WORKSHOP: Hosted by the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, this workshop addresses voice and vocal identity while offering vocal exercises and techniques. The class is free, and participants are encouraged to be as interactive during the Zoom meeting as they’d like. Contact acorona@mkelgbt.org to register.

MARCH 12 VIRTUAL YOUTH EQUALITY PROM: Covid-19 isn’t going to stop kids from having a prom! The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin created this free online bash for anyone between the ages of 14 and 19. No matter what school you attend, you’re invited to dance the night away at home to the magic of DJ Omé Lopez. The prom runs 7 to 8:30 p.m. See the prom’s event page on Facebook. Once you register, you’ll receive a Zoom link to the prom.

MARCH 12 VIRTUAL LUCKY LEPRECHAUN RUN: You don’t have to miss this ninth annual 7K run because it’s gone virtual!

The luck of the Irish (and a bit of sweat) keeps this Milwaukee tradition alive to benefit the MACC Fund, fighting childhood cancer. Jog over to irelandpubcrawlchallenge.com to learn how to get involved.

MARCH 13 BREONNA TAYLOR DAY AT DOWNTOWN RACINE MONUMENT SQUARE (500-574 MONUMENT SQUARE, BETWEEN FIFTH AND SIXTH STREETS, RACINE): Help raise social awareness in the name of Breonna Taylor on the anniversary of her death. Stop by the square anytime between 12:30-6 p.m. to help keep Breonna’s name alive and present in Wisconsin.

MARCH 19 BOMBSHELL THEATRE COMPANY’S ARTIST VIRTUAL CABARET: Milwaukee’s newest theater company kicks things off with this 7 p.m. online concert. Ten local performers sing tunes from Chicago, Les Misérables, My Fair Lady and other showstoppers from the Great White Way. See the “BTC Spotlight Artist Virtual Cabaret” event page on Facebook for the YouTube link to attend the free show.

MARCH 25 “TATA THE TAA-TAAS!” SHOW AT THIS IS IT! (418 E. WELLS ST.): Billed as a “trans celebration benefit,” this 9:30 p.m. show includes raffles, drink specials and so much more. Host JJ ORyder takes the helm with a bevy of top performers, including special guest Cee-Cee LaRouge.

The 21+ event is free, and masks are required.

MARCH 28 EASTER BABY GOAT YOGA + CUDDLES AT BEST PLACE PABST (901 W. JUNEAU AVE.): Yoga with baby goats? No, it’s not a John Waters’ film, but it is exactly what you think it is! See why Milwaukee’s yoga enthusiasts love this delightfully cute (although seemingly unique) mashup when you grab your yoga mat and mask and head to the 9 a.m. class. For $49, you’ll enjoy the 30-minute yoga session, followed by another 30 minutes of playtime with the baby goats.

See bestplacemilwaukee.com for tickets. to learn how to participate.

Illustration by Tess Brzycki

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

Biden Presidency Bodes Well

FOR A RETURN TO LGBTQ PROGRESS

By Paul Masterson

A

s 2021 began, the LGBTQ community (and perhaps much of free world) breathed a sigh of relief.

On January 20, the inauguration of Joseph Biden as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris as Vice President signaled a respite from hate. A hopeful celebration of democracy and diversity, the event heralded an optimistic return to compassion and social justice. For many, including myself, it elicited tears of joy and pride.

For all its many moments of inspiration, the inaugural fête also revived our sense of humor. An image of a chilled Bernie Sanders in winter array continues to provide a relentless stream of bemittened Bernie 56 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

memes, including one of him perched on the stalwart shoulders of our very own Milverine, in St. Christopher’s manner, resolutely carrying his charge. By the way, a Vermont lesbian mom knitted those now immortalized mittens.

It was not mittens alone marking the change of fortune for LGBTQ Americans.

That morning after “we’re not in Kansas anymore” afterglow saw Joe Biden setting about to reverse the previous regime’s efforts to restrict LGBTQ rights. An executive order has already overturned the transgender military service ban declared in 2017. LGBTQs are among the many new and diverse faces in both the cabinet and high government positions: Pete Buttigieg

as Secretary of Transportation, Rachel Levine, a transwoman, as Assistant Secretary of Health; Ned Price as spokesman for the U.S. State Department; Karine JeanPierre as the administration’s principal deputy press secretary; Carlos Elizondo as the administration’s social secretary. More are, no doubt, yet to come.

The Rainbow flag will again fly at U.S. embassies. Acknowledgement of genre diversity has reached even to the extent of an official administration request for White House staff members to name their preferred pronoun. Meanwhile, as if to underscore the new administration’s commitment to inclusion, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited an LGBTQ community health clinic.

OVERCOME THE POLITICS OF DIVISION For the time being, we can bask in the optimism of the moment. However, as much as it might seem as though a transition from the nation’s self-destructive politics of division to a common goal of rule by compassion and justice for all is taking place, hate is not banished so easily.

We cannot forgive and forget the thwarted insurrection perpetrated by storm-trumpers incited by the former president and his GOP cabal. One shouldn’t be tricked by the calls to move on and that an impeachment trial would further divide the country. For their part, implying the guilt of their GOP leaders, gay Log Cabin Republicans of Wisconsin are praying for President Biden to pardon them.

In any case, the real fear among Republicans is that an impeachment trial would further expose the broad network of accomplices. Not surprisingly, even the inauguration has not kept Republicans from perpetuating the lie of election fraud.

Meanwhile, a new extreme rightwing political party seems to be in the offing.

The original hint of its formation suggested calling it the Patriot Party. However, it apparently dawned on someone to ride on the brand and call it the MAGA Party, especially since there are no doubt stockpiles of unsold MAGA merch lying around.

The thing is, with his lingering power over the base, the ex-would-be potentate can hold over the heads of Republican incumbents the threat of being primaried if they do not kowtow to the leader. His proponents’ vocabulary du jour includes such authoritarian favorites as “denunciation” and “purge.”

Meantime, for LGBTQs, it appears as though, at least for the duration, we are back on track towards equality.

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.

ART FOR ART'S SAKE

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 can’t believe it’s the merry month of March 2021 already and that the White House still has that new-president smell, god bless America. Yes sir, in like a lion, out like a lamb, goes the March as they say.

Or is it in like a lamb, out like a lion? And in some quarters, does she go in as a lamb and come out as lamb chops? Jeez louise.

And speaking of presidents, I’d like to tell you about my Presidents’ Day experience the other week. And just so you know, Presidents’ Day is the highlight of the year to me and my gang ’cause that’s the day that coincides with our social event of the year—a gala costume confab in which we get masqueraded up as a U.S. president and then convene over by the Uptowner tavern-slash-charm school (this year, socially distanced and masked, ’natch) where a bartender is usually kind enough to award a shot of bourbon for whichever of us guys looks the most like the president he’s supposed to look like. And I tell you, things can get pretty testy ’cause we’re all competitors, what the fock.

There was quite a brouhaha when Little Jimmy Iodine got really upset ’cause he would’ve won but got disqualified on a technicality. What happened is Little Jimmy came as William Henry Harrison, our ninth president who croaked one month after he got inaugurated. It was the best goddamn William Henry Harrison you could ever hope to see ’cause Jimmy came as ol’ “Tippecanoe” a month and a day after the inauguration—he even smelled like a guy who’d been dead for 24 hours, I kid you not.

But when the bartender wanted to know what the hell it was stinking up the place so bad, Jimmy said, “It’s Benjamin Harrison from the Old Dominion state of Virginia, sir!” Little Jimmy had William Henry mixed up with his grandson-president. But in our group, getting mixed up on your presidents is grounds for disqualification from the costume contest. And to make it doubly

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hard on Little Jimmy, the bartender then had him impeached from the premises ’cause he smelled worse than the election of 1888.

The bartender awarded the winning shot to Ernie, who came as Thomas A. Edison.

(Yeah, I know. Go figure.) Some of the scholars in our group questioned the historical accuracy of Ernie’s outfit, not quite recalling ever seeing a photo of Edison wearing knickers, but we were all sick of the contest by then and agreed it was time to stop arguing and to start drinking like Warren G. Harding.

I went as James Polk. I chose Polk, our only president to die from diarrhea as far as I know, ’cause I wouldn’t have to wear a fake beard all night; so what the fock.

And as the distinguished former president from North Carolina, I was honored to field a host of questions and comments from assorted patrons who wandered in and out through the evening. One guy asked what I thought it would take for Art Kumbalek to be elected president. I considered our 45th “president” and wondered how the goddamn that orange bag of clown ever got elected. Eureka! He had a university named after himself. And it dawned on me like the Allies storming Normandy: Art Kumbalek Public University. I had my buddy Herbie Hoover get me another two cocktails ’cause I had a lot of thinking to do, you betcha.

The first thing I had to figure was what Art Kumbalek Public University would stand for, other than grifting a quick buck. I decided the mission of AKPU would be to civilize the wild beast and QAnon acolyte. For christ’s sake, haven’t these creatures ever heard of evolution, or vice-versa? Take these apes, please. Us humans and them started out about the same time some millions of years ago.

However, whereas we are sending spaceships into space, these big hocking primates are still spend-

ing 36 hours a day in search of bananas, and they don’t seem the least tad embarrassed by it.

And yet, we’re supposed to save the planet for them? Cripes, these animals bear as much brunt for the destruction of Mother Nature as we humans do, especially the ones we keep in our homes and call housepets. I can only imagine how much of our ozone gets spent for the making of squeakies and the manufacture of olive-green plastic water bowls. I’d sure as hell like to know where Fido thinks he’s going to get his rubberized Snoopy squeaky if the Homo sapiens goes the way of the green man from Mars, ain’a? You tell me.

Yeah, there’s a lot to think about when you start a university from scratch, but it would have to wait ’cause right then I had to buy my buddy Chester A. Arthur a nice cocktail as I wished you all the best on your march to the month of April showers, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.