Milwaukee, WI

I love dumb criminal stories, and this one is so ridiculous that it sounds like something straight out of The Onion. But this isn’t satire, this is news straight from our northern neighbors in West Bend, Wisconsin.

On Sunday, October 28, 2007, Michael Rieger returned home from work to find a burglary in progress. He chased the intruder into the attached garage where Rieger grabbed him and held him in a bear hug while his wife dialed 911. The intruder struggled and Rieger’s grip slipped to the burglar’s legs. The burglar then wiggled himself free of his pants and shoes and ran.

Fortunately, those pants included enough items to identify the burglar as 18 year old Benjamin C. Hoppe, including a cell phone and a GPS system which may have been stolen from another home.

The pants also included, to quote the Journal Sentinel article, “a large quantity of fecal matter on the interior of the pants…on the threshold of the door, too. And on the porch.”

Apparently being caught scared the um, well, you know, out of him. What a crappy burglar.

Our justice system, flawed as it is, does a relatively decent job of keeping criminal behavior in check. But nothing, nothing in this world is as effective as good old-fashioned embarrassment and shame. And the publicity that Mr. Hoppe is receiving for his failed burglary attempt has to be a far bigger deterrent than any jail sentence.

So far, Mr. Hoppe has been charged with burglary, possession of a controlled substance, and receiving stolen property. His next court appearance will be on December 6, 2007. You can track the progress of his case on CCAP, Wisconsin’s Court Access program.

This is the second installment of the continuing examination of thrift shopping in Milwaukee. In Part One we looked at the Goodwill shops around Milwaukee. This installment will feature some of the other larger thrift emporiums, while the final installment will feature an examination of the smaller boutique resale stores.

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army thrift stores are about as well known as the Goodwill shops, and certainly comparable in size. However, where the Goodwill shops thrive with excellent employees with great customer service skills, clean shops and a great selection, the Salvation Army has always offered me the opposite experience. The employees have ranged from less than helpful to downright rude. The shops tend to be far more dingy than Goodwill, and the selection does not appear to rotate quite as much. However, the sheer amount of items available make it worth the stop because with that much junk to look through there just might be something worth buying. My experience is primarily limited to the Salvation Army store on 27th Street (6341 S. 27th St., Franklin) but I have had the same experience at other Salvation Army shops as well.

American Council of the Blind Thrift Stores

Do not miss this huge thrift store at 6731 West Greenfield Avenue. The selection is huge and changes often. The daily specials are fun (recently I saw “buy one plate get three free”), the store is clean and the staff is friendly and helpful. I have found more brand name clothing at this thrift store than any other thrift in Milwaukee, and the prices are excellent - most clothes are under $3.00. While clothes are the real find here, there is typically a good selection of furniture, as well as nice household goods.

Value Village

There are a few Value Village thrift shops in the Milwaukee area, but the one most centrally located is in the shopping center at the intersection of Layton and National - 729 South Layton Boulevard. Value Village is, unfortunately, the most unclean thrift store I have ever been in. I couldn’t help but feel dirty just walking into the place. The items are displayed poorly and everything is in disarray. The store has an unpleasant odor - far more than most thrift stores. The only thing that this Value Village really has going for it is that it is located centrally and is easily accessible, but if you can get to any other thrift store, do so. This one isn’t worth a drive at all.

USA Family Thrift

Located at 4470 South 108th Street in Greenfield, USA Family Thrift is one of my new favorites. The store is very clean and the staff is helpful. The clothing selection is inexpensive and wonderful, and if you are looking for a winter coat for under $20 you will have plenty of beautiful choices here. Holiday items go on sale early, and I purchased some great Halloween finds at 50% off a full week before Halloween. This is not the place to find furniture, although they do offer some furniture items, but there are nice household goods like dishes and glassware. This place may be worth the stop just to see the hundreds of not-for-sale Barbie dolls they have tacked to the walls around the shop.

Don’t miss our final installment of Thrifting in Milwaukee, where we will review some of the smaller boutique resale thrift shops.

If you like the name, you’ll love Bay View’s Tip Top Atomic Shop. This cute little vintage boutique on Kinnickinnic is the place in town for cool cats and kittens to find hip rockabilly clothing and retro-kitch decor for the home.

You’ll find everything from the latest Lucky 13 shirts to vintage dresses to shoes, purses and hats in their clothing collection. Hawaiian shirts and bowling shirts are always plentiful.

If knick-knacks are your thing, you’ll find plenty of that at Tip Top as well. Kitchy ashtrays, retro drinking glasses, wacky lamps - there’s a little bit of everything, and the inventory is always changing.

Although the store is on the small side, there is an awful lot packed into the available space and there’s always something new to check out. On a nice day it’s not unusual to see a few retro chairs or a table outside on display.

I have found the shop’s owners to be incredibly friendly every time I’ve gone in, even if only to window shop. My only complaint about the shop is that its weekday hours make it difficult for first shift folks to do much shopping, but fortunately their weekend hours make the store accessible to us poor souls who work until 6p.m. daily.

If you can’t visit in person, Tip Top is all over the web as well. They have a great website with photos of the shop, and a nice Myspace page as well.

Tip Top also typically has a fun selection for sale on eBay. On more than one occasion I have been browsing eBay only to find that I was admiring something from Tip Top.

If you go:
Tip Top Atomic Shop
2343 South Kinnickinnic Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207
Tel: (414) 486-1951

We’re no Florida, but we certainly get our share of weird news originating from this State.

A Town of Eagle man went on a binge at the Mukwanago Wal-Mart, drinking seven bottles of Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg Lemonade straight from the shelves in a span of about fifteen minutes. Although he initially denied the retail theft, Wal-Mart security cameras caught him on tape and he confessed. He later told police that he was a recovering alcoholic, and his actions that day broke a sixteen month dry spell. GMToday has the full story.

Seven drinks in fifteen minutes seems like an awful lot, but I’m a bit of an amateur when it comes to drinking. And who hasn’t wanted to crack open a cold one (or seven?) in Wal-Mart? I suspect it would greatly improve the overall shopping experience.

I went into Honeydip Donuts on South 27th Street expecting nothing more than a good Bavarian Creme doughnut and some hot coffee. What I got, however, was an unexpectedly wonderful experience.

Honeydip Donuts has a short counter seating area that immediately reminded me of an old time drugstore soda fountain. My companion and I took our place at the crowded counter and ordered our coffees and doughnuts. The counter and tables were populated by the over fifty-five set - some husbands and wives, some just older gents by themselves - all enjoying coffee and conversations about the day’s news. CNN was playing on the television, but most people were so engaged in the conversations among themselves that the news went ignored.

We were there for just a few moments when a white-haired gentleman sat by us and commented on my companion’s “Vietnam Remembered” jacket. As it turns out, the gentlemen was himself a veteran of Vietnam. A wonderful discussion about the state of the military both then and now ensued, as did the nearly obligatory swapping of service stories. Before long the gentleman’s lady companion joined the conversation and put in her two cents on St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy’s decision not to march in Milwaukee’s Veterans Day Parade. What was supposed to be a brief stop for doughnuts turned into a very nice exchange between strangers.

I suspect that sort of thing used to go on a lot, back in the “good old days” that existed long before my memory. I also suspect that sort of thing continues to go on daily at places like Honeydip Donuts where people can gather comfortably and enjoy coffee and company without being rushed or pressured by the worries of the day.

If you go:
Honeydip Donuts
3506 S 27th Street, Milwaukee
Open 24 Hours
Friendly staff, great coffee and doughnuts

Today’s Journal Sentinel featured a rather disconcerting article about St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy’s change of heart about marching in Milwaukee’s Veterans Parade. Apparently the Academy had committed to doing the parade, but then backed out because of a scheduling issue - they are marching in Milwaukee’s Christmas parade the following week. Sound like a case of mixed up priorities? It is according to the Journal Sentinel, which claims that the school decided that it would get more exposure at the Christmas Parade which is traditionally more well-attended than the Veterans Parade. Journal Sentinel’s opinion on the school aside, of all of this I think I’m more saddened by the fact that the parade honoring Santa has better attendance than the parade honoring our Veterans.

So many people claim to support our troops - those omnipresent little yellow car ribbons say so, don’t they? How is it that the Christmas parade is so much more well attended? Santa doesn’t need our support. Parents, take your kids to the Veterans Parade. Save Santa for Christmastime and let the Vets have November.

This year’s parade posters are surprisingly edgy and make that point clear:

For you good folks who want to go:

Milwaukee’s Veterans Day Parade takes place on Saturday, November 10, 2007. The parade starts at 11:00 a.m. Fred Broussard, a World War II POW, is the parade’s Grand Marshall this year.

Due to the ubiquitous construction downtown, the parade route this year will be as follows:

* 4th and Kilbourn east to Plankinton
* Plankinton south to Wells
* East on Wells to Prospect
* South on Prospect to the Mason Street Bridge
* Mason Street Bridge past the War Memorial and into Veterans Park

Visit the Parade Website for all of the details.

I had a close encounter with extreme rudeness last night.

I live very close to a tavern in Bay View. Even though the tavern is usually pretty busy and often features live music, my street is primarily residential and remains surprisingly quiet as the bar patrons are usually impressively well-behaved.

Until last night.

At 12:30 a.m. I was attempting to get some sleep when this horrible rhythmic sound shook my second floor bedroom windows. In my sleepy state, it took me a moment to discern what was going on, but I realized quickly that it was a car stereo being played very loudly. That’s not so unusual. Occasionally a car with a loud stereo will drive down Kinnickinnic, but the offensive noise usually passes fairly quickly.

But not this time.

The pounding and window rattling was incessant. Ridiculously incessant. It went on for a good ten minutes before I couldn’t stand it any longer. I looked out the window and saw that the offending car was parked directly in front of my house, right below my bedroom windows.

Kids, I assumed. Stupid, drunk kids. I was feeling might old as we tried to determine what to bring with us to tell those kids to get off of my lawn. Flashlight? Baseball bat? Stun gun? Air horn?

Heh. Air horn. Totally. That will scare them.

We went outside to give the damn kids the universal sign for “turn your terrible music down, you inconsiderate twits” and were surprised at what we saw.

This wasn’t a bunch of kids who were too young to know common courtesy. It wasn’t some drunk college guys out having a good time. It was an older couple. Not exactly elderly, but a far cry from the frat boys we expected to find.

My point is that they were certainly old enough to know better.

People: it is great that you like your music. I’m glad you have something in your life that brings you such pleasure that you are willing to risk injury to your hearing over it. It is just fan-damn-tastic that you even like your music so much that you feel you should share it with those around you by blasting it forth from your vehicle whenever you can. But playing your loud music in a primarily residential neighborhood in the middle of the night on a weeknight? Love of music or not, that’s just plain rude.

112 West Mineral Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204
(414) 382-0006

Located at the corner of South First Street and Mineral, the Fox Skylight Gallery of Antiques is easily one of Milwaukee’s most impressive antique stores. Featuring three stories of shopping, this former paint factory building holds some real treasures. Be sure you set aside a few hours for your visit - there is a lot to see here!

The lower level alone is worth the visit. Featuring an incredibly diverse selection of furniture and decor, there is truly something to match all tastes and styles. The highlights on my visit included two hand carved chairs and matching table from Thailand and a very kitchy red and white kitchen table with matching chairs. While prices varied wildly, there were some surprisingly good deals waiting for the right person. Watch for the red and yellow sale tags - there were lots of markdowns on this level.

The middle and upper floors feature less furniture and more home decor, vintage clothing and jewelry, military collectibles, glassware and other standard antique shop fare. The sheer amount of items on these two floors makes it difficult to see everything in just one walkthrough, and I found myself eager to return just one week after my first visit.

The consignment structure helps explain some of the very good bargains. Prices are reduced by 25% and then by 50% if they go unsold for a specified period of time. For that reason there are some great deals to be found, with a number of booths listing all items at 50% off.

There are a number of antique stores on First Street - enough to make a fun afternoon filled with antique shopping - but this one stands out from the crowd. With a friendly staff and reasonably good hours, Fox Skylight Gallery has become my favorite antique shop in the city.

I have been misled by companies. I have been amazed at the utter incompetence of companies. But I can’t recall ever being a part of such a perfect storm of stupidity, disorganization and ridiculousness as I have witnessed with AT&T this week.

I have AT&T for my home telephone and DSL service. I don’t really want or need a home telephone, but it was the only way I could get my much-loved DSL, so I signed up for both at a cost of about $40.00 per month.

I thought I had scheduled an online payment on my AT&T bill, but somehow I hadn’t completed or confirmed the payment process, so the payment wasn’t made. Imagine my surprise on Tuesday, October 16 when I logged on to view my AT&T bill online and found that there was a past due amount! I immediately scheduled a payment for the following day and expected no problems.

That night a letter from AT&T arrived in my mailbox advising that my DSL service would be discontinued on 10/17/07 (the following day!) if I didn’t pay my bill. It further advised that if I had already paid my bill, I could disregard that notice. I disregarded the notice, as I had scheduled my payment and expected all to be hunky-dory.

On October 17, 2007 the payment was taken from my bank account, as planned, and applied to my account.

And my DSL was shut off that night.

Well, that must be some mistake. I called AT&T but there was no one available to assist me that time of night, so I was advised to call the following morning.

What transpired was a series of amazingly ridiculous events.

Call #1: Thursday morning, 9:00 a.m. The nice lady on the telephone acknowledged the payment, apologized for the interruption of service, and advised that we should be back online in about four hours.

Call #2: Thursday afternoon, 4:00 p.m. Seven hours had elapsed, and the internet was still not working. We called back and were advised that they could not determine the problem at that time, but would call us back shortly with more information.

Call #3: Thursday evening, 7:00 p.m. After three hours of no callback, we called again. This time the woman on the telephone advised that the order to reinstate the service was placed on October 16 and completed October 17, so we should have internet access at this time. But we don’t, so she transferred me to tech support.

Call #3, Continued: Tech support says everything on their end indicates that we have service running, so we must have a problem with our hardware or configuration. Wait a minute, our hardware was running just fine two days ago…how can that be? He assured me that everything was a-okay on AT&T’s end of things and that once we jiggle a few wires we should be good to go.

Call #4: Thursday night, 8:00 p.m. The guy from Call #2 calls back to advise that service will be back up and running on Monday. Wait, we were told that it was running now. Okay, he says, just disregard what I just said.

Call #5: Thursday night, 10:30 p.m. Still no internet, and another call to tech support. We are advised that everything we were told during the day was incorrect. In fact, no work order has been placed to reinstate service at all. And no, one can’t be placed now…we’ll have to call back in the morning. He has no idea why we were told that our service was up and running and has no idea why we were told that work orders were placed and processed.

Can someone please tell me why we should stick with AT&T at this point?

Call #6: Friday morning, 9:00 a.m. We call back to find out that our service will not be reinstated until we allow them to auto-debit their fees from our bank account every month. although we can immediately cancel the auto-debit service. Um…okay. Then, and only then, will a work order be placed and we may get internet again in the future, unless they are mistaken once again.

Forget it. Service canceled. This just isn’t worth it.

I already miss the internet at home, but what are the alternatives?

The Fall Color Report indicates that this weekend is going to be the prime time for fall colors in Southern Wisconsin, and with the temperatures reaching the low 70s this weekend this is the time to take a little road trip. Here are a few fun Wisconsin destinations outside of Milwaukee.

The House on the Rock
Located in Spring Green, Wisconsin (just West of Madison) the House on the Rock is easily one of the state’s most unusual attractions. The House itself is incredible and a sight to see all on its own, but the collections - everything from dollhouses to apothecary supplies to self-playing musical instruments and much more - are almost overwhelming.

The Cave of the Mounds
Also West of Madison between Mount Horeb and Blue Mounds lies the Cave of the Mounds, an incredibly beautiful cave with guided tours on the hour. The Cave is one of the most beautiful in the Midwest, and its constant 50 degree temperature makes it a very reasonable destination for most of the year. BONUS: As long as you are in the area, be sure to visit Mount Horeb as well. It is known as the Troll Capital of the World for all the wonderfully odd little trolls that decorate the ciity.

Columbus Antique Mall
Easily the largest antique emporium in Wisconsin, plan on spending a few hours at the Columbus Antique Mall if you want to take it all in. Bring your wallet: with books, glassware, military collectibles, vintage clothing, furniture, and much much more, this Antique Mall features 82,000 square feet of shopping.

Freddie T. Dudley, an inmate at the Milwaukee County Community Correctional Center, has been charged with the murder of Douglas Mitchell on September 20, 2007. Dudley seemed to have a great alibi - he appeared to be in jail at the time of the murder. In reality, however, he has exposed a huge flaw - and giant danger - in the management of the facility’s work release program.

Dudley called in to the Correctional Center that day to advise that he was working late and would be checking back in after hours. He then had a friend sign him back in on the work release log, making it look like he returned to the Center earlier than he did.

Apparently, standard procedure allows an inmate to extend his work release hours with a simple telephone call. They are then required to bring in a letter from their employer after the fact.

But in this case, after the fact was too late - the crime had been committed.

In his confession, Dudley admitted that he did not even go to work that day. Instead he spent time at a hotel doing drugs. He and his friends then decided to rob Mitchell, and ultimately ended up shooting him. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more details.

The Milwaukee Count Circuit Court Access program shows that Dudley has been charged with first degree reckless homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court records, Dudley has a history of criminal behavior dating back to 1995.

Dudley described the practice of having his name forged in the work release log as “not uncommon.” Will that change now that this incredible flaw has been exposed? Work release is a serious matter - allowing criminals who are serving sentences to be on the streets for any reason is something that cannot be taken lightly for the very reasons that Dudley has illustrated.

Are we going to see some tighter restrictions on work release now? The coming weeks will be telling.

Milwaukee, prison, murder, crime

I try not to drive down Wisconsin Avenue. Don’t get me wrong - it can be quite a scenic trip. The houses along Wisconsin are incredibly beautiful, the lawns impeccably manicured, and on a nice sunny Friday morning there are even some really good rummages sales. But ultimately Wisconsin Avenue ends in the dreaded downtown, land of constant construction, orange road cones and terrible traffic, and so for that reason I make every effort to avoid Wisconsin Avenue in its entirety.

On Saturday, however, I decided to take the trip from Highway 100 all the way down to 35th Street via Wisconsin Avenue, and I was awestruck by the number of “For Sale” signs on houses in the nicer parts of Wisconsin Avenue. Shorewest, First Weber, For Sale By Owner - nearly every block had someone’s tag on the lawn, and more than just a few blocks had multiple properties for sale.

What happened to Wisconsin Avenue? Did I miss something?

When I was a student at Marquette, I obviously spent a lot of time on Wisconsin Avenue. Those houses were always very desirable, and with good reason. They are beautiful, large, single family homes with a lot of character. So why is everyone leaving?

I won’t pretend to have the answer to that question. I’m still too astounded to really form a reasonable opinion on it. Is the neighborhood “transitioning” to something less desirable? Are these homes becoming unaffordable due to increasing mortgage rates? Is everyone leaving for warmer weather? And if so, why have they waited so long?

I wouldn’t want to be trying to sell a house in today’s market, but obviously something on Wisconsin Avenue is motivating a whole lot of homeowners to risk the market and put their homes up for sale.

And what is this mass migration from Wisconsin Avenue going to do to that area in the coming years?

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Urban, Home Selling

Everyone loves a bargain, but where do Milwaukee’s bargain hunters go for thrift shopping? Milwaukee is home to a number of great (and not-so-great) thrift shops, and in this three part feature will take a look at the best and worst of Milwaukee’s thrift shops. The first segment will feature the thrift behemoth Goodwill Industries. The second segment will examine some of the other large thrift shops like the Salvation Army. The final installment will take a look at some of the smaller, boutique thrifts.

Part One: Goodwill Industries

Perhaps the most well-known and widespread of Milwaukee’s thrift stores are the Goodwills. Since Goodwill has the advantage of being so well-known, they receive many more donations than other thrift stores and accordingly the selections they feature do not get so stale. Staff at Goodwill is on the whole friendly and helpful, making shopping at Goodwill a consistently pleasant experience.

The Milwaukee area has four Goodwill locations, but not all Goodwills are created equal.

Franklin Store
6941 S. 27th Street in Franklin (located behind Gander Mountain on S. Riverwood Blvd.)
While not quite the cream of the crop, this Goodwill is always relatively neat, clean and usually good for a nice clothing find or two. For some reason, casino shirts and rockabilly wear turn up here on a regular basis, so if that’s your thing, this is your place. This location also seems to have an unusual amount of name brand purses at any given time. Furniture shopping can be hit or miss, as some days they have lots of nice offerings, and others they don’t have much of anything. Decor and glassware are fairly strong here. Overall, this is a nice Goodwill and worth a drive.

Oklahoma Avenue Store
11000 W. Oklahoma Avenue in West Allis
If you only have time for one Goodwill, this should be it. The clothing tends to be good quality and great variety. Record heads will find a nice selection of vinyl. The furniture is some of the best at any of Milwaukee’s thrift stores, and for some reason this store seems to have the most incoming furniture daily. The workers at this location are always extra helpful and extra friendly too.

Palmer Street Store
3900 N. Palmer Street
Unless you live in the area, this Goodwill is not a good bet for clothing or furniture. Items tend to be lower quality and the selection doesn’t seem as varied. The store itself is a bit cluttered as well. If you are desperate for some thrifting, give this one a try, but if you are in a hurry your time is better spent at any of the other three locations.

Milwaukee Store
6055 N. 91st St.
This store is another great Goodwill. Well lit and clean, this store is the opposite of what most people think of when they imagine thrift shopping. Clothing is very strong at this location and the variety is impressive. Furniture is not always a strong suit but some good finds can be had if your timing is right. Knicknacks and decor are always available in great quantity, and more often than not there are quality items hidden among the rest.

For more information on Goodwill Industries in Southeastern Wisconsin, including all locations and store hours, visit the Goodwill SEW website.

The next installment of Thrifting in Milwaukee will feature some of the other larger thrift stores, including the American Council of the Blind and the Salvation Army.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Thrift, Resale