Man charged in Whitefish Bay home burglary attempt

Sept. 03, 2010 5:03 p.m. | A 42-year-old Whitefish Bay man was charged today with two felonies in connection to an attempted burglary in the village, and police say he may be linked to six other similar burglaries on the North Shore.

Jettie L. Davis, was arrested by police after a resident in the 1500 block of North Cumberland Boulevard called at 1:30 a.m. Monday to report a suspicious person. Davis was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with possession of burglary tools and attempted entry to a building.

According the criminal complaint:

A woman who was sleeping her living room on the first floor of her house woke when her dog started to bark. The woman turned on an outside light and saw a man standing in the driveway. The man, who was carrying a black bag, turned and looked at her and then left.

When police arrived at the house, they found a chair outside the house under a kitchen window. The window screen had been cut. The woman told police the screen had been intact earlier in the day.

Suspect may be linked to seven North Shore home burglaries

Aug. 31, 2010 10:24 a.m. | Whitefish Bay police have arrested a Milwaukee man they believe is responsible for as many as seven burglaries in the village and neighboring Shorewood.

Police received a call of a prowler in the 1500 block of East Cumberland Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to police.

Responding officers located a suspect who matched the description provided by the caller and arrested him. The facts of this incident closely resemble recent entries to residences in both Whitefish Bay and Shorewood in which homes were entered by cutting first floor window screens at night while residents slept.

Police Chief Robert Jacobs said there were four incidents in Whitefish Bay and three in Shorewood in recent weeks.

The suspect remains in custody, and charges are being sought through the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

Dean School will be ready Sept. 1 for the start of classes

Aug. 27, 2010 3:56 p.m. | School officials say that Dean School will be ready for classes on Sept. 1.

The start of school for the elementary students in their own building was in doubt for bit, but Community Relations Specialist Barb Fleming said repairs at the school are almost completed. Teachers will be able to get into their classrooms Monday, with students and parents following on opening day Sept. 1.

School officials discovered problems with structural columns during an inspection to determine flood damage in a tunnel under Dean School.

Special football preview section now online

Aug. 26, 2010 12:18 p.m. | We're just hours away from the first official games of the 2010 high school football season and there is no better way to find out the latest news on your favorite team then to check out NOW's comprehensive football preview page.

The page is packed with videos on area teams, a roundtable discussion from our sportswriters previewing the top teams to watch, position by position breakdowns, an interactive poll, photo gallery and more.

Go to NOW's 2010 football preview section.

BD's Novak, BE's Byrne and Nicolet's Sperl ito go into WBCA Hall of Fame

Aug. 24, 2010 12:20 p.m. | Long-time Brown Deer boys basketball coach Mike Novak and Nicolet assistant coach Jim Sperl will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Hall of Fame in ceremonies to be held Oct. 2 at the Marriott Hotel in Middleton.

The pair will be two of 27 inductees to be honored that night. Sperl, who worked at Nicolet for 27 years is the only assistant being entered, while Novak will be one of nine head coaches to go into the hall including Racine St. Catherine's legend Bob Letsch.

Other inductees of note include Marquette's Al McGuire, Governor Jim Doyle, Lomont Weaver of Beloit and Kelly (Byrne) Mueller of Brookfield East.

No injuries reported in Sunday house fire

Aug. 23, 2010 11:58 a.m. | An electrical problem with an exhaust fan is the likely source of a fire that caused $15,000 damage to a house in the 8500 block of North 54th Street Sunday.

According to the North Shore Fire Department, a fire call came in at 3:44 p.m. When firefighters arrived, there was smoke and fire evident in a rear area of the roof. The fire was contained to the attic area.

There were working smoke detectors in the living areas of the house, but the smoke from the fire had not reached them when firefighters arrived. There were no reports of injuries in the fire.

The department received aid from the Mequon and Thiensville fire departments during the fire.

Ice cream and coffee shop gets its outdoor seating

Aug. 17, 2010 2:56 p.m. | V&J Café, a new business featuring Häagen-Dazs ice cream and offering coffee and breakfast and lunch items, will be allowed to have outdoor seating. The shop, at 4301 W. Bradley Road, will have either wrought iron or wooden tables and chairs for up to 30 customers on the Sherman Boulevard side of the store.

Although there were some reservations about the closing time for the outdoor seating area expressed at a public hearing on the request last week, the Village Board agreed to an 11 p.m. closing for the shop and the outdoor seating. The permit will be reviewed in a year and can be modified if there is a problem.

Umbrellas can be used on the patio area but must be a solid color and cannot have any advertising. There will be no loudspeakers or amplified sound outside.

Village honored for water protection efforts

Aug. 17, 2010 12:34 p.m. | Brown Deer became the first community in Milwaukee County to be recognized as a Bronze Water Star Community for water protection efforts.

The Water Star program was launched on Earth Day earlier this year and "honors cities, villages, towns and counties that have taken important steps to protect surface water and groundwater, such as strengthening stormwater controls, ensuring water quality, protecting habitats and encouraging residents to conserve water."

Suzanne Ward, a University of Wisconsin-Extension basin educator and Water Star coordinator, presented the award to the village at its board meeting last night.

The village was recognized for its efforts to improve water quality, notably the porous pavement, rain gardens and bioswales used for its parking lot at the Village Pond and the removal of a concrete liner in Beaver Creek.

The village rebuilt the parking lot in 2007 using high environmental standards. The parking lot is paved with a porous asphalt that has voids underneath. Rain water or melting snow goes into a bed of stone under the asphalt. The stone helps filter out impurities and also slows and reduces the run off into storm sewers.

Last chance to win State Fair tickets on Facebook

Aug. 12, 2010 8:04 a.m. | With just a few days left of the Wisconsin State Fair, you still have time to score free tickets from NOW Newspapers.

All you have to do is "like" NOW Newspapers on Facebook and respond to our last status update and tell us your favorite story from our papers this week.

A random drawing will be held at 8 a.m. Friday and announced on Facebook.

Winners will receive a four-pack of tickets to the fair, which begins runs to Sunday. Winners will have to pick up the tickets in our Waukesha office, 1741 Dolphin Drive, Suite A, 53186.

Sledding in August? Yes, and we've got the photos to prove it

Aug. 09, 2010 7:52 a.m. | Kids who attended Brown Deer's National Night Out at Village Park last week got the rare treat of sledding in the summertime, thanks to some blocks of ice and well-positioned towels. NOW's Peter Zuzga was there and created this photo gallery.

National Night Out is a nationwide, family friendly activity with opportunities to learn about safety and crime prevention.

Dean School to remain closed after flooding problems

Aug. 06, 2010 5:36 p.m. | Brown Deer — Dean Elementary School will be closed to teaching staff and parents until further notice as repairs are made to the school in the aftermath of the storm that doused southeastern Wisconsin two weeks ago.

School officials learned this week that repairs are necessary to structural supports at the school after surveying buildings for possible storm damage. In a statement, officials said a structural engineer has been brought in to study the safety of the building and has recommended repairs be made.

The repairs are expected to be completed before the start of the school year.

Residents voice frustration over flooding

Aug. 05, 2010 10:30 p.m. | A standing-room only crowd of more than 100 people packed a meeting room at the Shorewood Library Thursday night and peppered officials with questions and complaints about the severe flooding that hit the community last month.

Some residents at the meeting, the first of four town hall sessions on the flooding in the village, held signs that read "Sewerwood" or branded biohazard symbols. Complaints also were heard over the lack of seating as residents lined the wall of the room.

Frustrated residents like Mary Jo Kukoda said the village didn't do enough during the floods that caused at least $1.5 million in damage and affected hundreds of homes.

"Shame on the village of Shorewood, shame on you," Kukoda said.

Other residents asked about potential health issues associated with sewer water in basements and wondered why the village didn't answer phone calls on the Monday following flooding.