And here’s why hoop houses are good for your garden

Want to extend the growing season by a good few months in the upper Midwest? Hoop houses are the way to do it. They’re good either in the city, such as at Milwaukee’s world’s-first rooftop CSA, or out in rural farmland, as in the MPR story.

All-City People’s Parade to happen on Labor Day

All-City People’s Parade, first canceled by rain, will be joining Milwaukee’s working men and women at LaborFest. The following is from my droogs at Milwaukee County First:

On Aug. 8, the skies washed away the cover story in the Shepherd Express. Rain did away with the elaborate plans for the All-City Parade and Pageant designed to celebrate the community’s hopes and fears with dance, clown skills, various artisans and everyday people.

All those hand-crafted masks and puppets, giant or intricate, all the wacky costumes, offbeat marching bands and people-powered floats are not gone forever, though Mother Nature did force some repairs to papier-mâché and cardboard.

Even before the downpour, MALC’s chief operating officer and Laborfest planner, Sheila Cochran, had visited the group’s storage area and workspace – the Parade Space, 2210 W. Clybourn Ave. — and was impressed. This event’s creators, Barbara Leigh and her Milwaukee Public Theatre, and Max Samson and his Milwaukee Mask and Puppet Theatre, are highly regarded Milwaukee theater veterans and activists on issues that dovetailed with Milwaukee organized labor.

She approached them about incorporating the leftovers from their Aug. 8 event into Laborfest.

Now there are no leftovers but a full meal.

So the groups got together and agreed to re-create the parade that wasn’t with the Laborfest parade that will be – rain or shine, with everyone praying for clear weather this time.

The article goes on to mention that some of the people that were able to be available for August 8th are not able to again be available on Labor Day, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the puppets and floats.  If you are interested, please follow this link to see how you can help.

On a side note, look for MCF at LaborFest.  We’d be darn glad to meet you.

Soviet States of America? I don’t think so.

Despite what right-wing blogs are now screaming about and claiming to be pravda, I have yet to say any specific claims of what exactly has beeb made “Marxist” by the Obama Administration.

The government offering health insurance is not marxist.

The government bailing out failing financial institutions and car companies is not marxist.

The government criticising the commercial system that has elevated America to its current state, for better or for worse, would be marxist. But that’s not happening.

The government eliminating all political parties except one (a la Karl Rove’s vision of lifelong Republican rule) would be Leninist. But that’s not happening.

The government is not making us learn lengthy dialectics that crticize capitalism. If anything, it may have saved capitalism for the time being. Capitalism being capitalism, it goes through cycles of highs and lows. We just may have been saved from a very deep and very long “low.” But it’s too soon to tell.

So, my dear and only friend, if you want to find out what Marxism is about, please visit marxists.org. Hopefully it will set you straight about Marxism vs. Obama’s relatively conservative course of action and Bush’s radical deeds.

Spreading the urban gardening idea in Milwaukee

Via email today:

“Hey! The garden at Herman St is doing well, [the tenants
who tend to it are enthused. Hope you’re well.”

While I had no involvement with running the garden, I can say that I gave the impetus (and a little free labor) to the property owner to get it started. Consider also that a neighbor was so inspired by the building of our raised beds that she and her daughter built one for themselves. We’re going to build a few more in the coming weeks, and this year or next I’ll be helping a buddy in Cudahy build some for his family. Growing food is addictive in the best of ways.

In other urban ag news, I learned today that the north side Fondy Market that provides farm-fresh food to the economically segregated north side has recently secured farmland for its farmers to use. The land is not in Milwaukee, but is close by none the less. More high-quality food coming into the poorer neighborhoods is a good thing. God knows they don’t need another fast food joint up there. And holy cow, I had no idea it was so big! According to their site, Fondy Market covers 38,000 square feet and is open six days per week, making it the “largest market in the Milwaukee area.” Wow! And bravo!

I know where we’re going next weekend!

Summer has gone AWOL in Wisconsin while wildfires burn in Cali

The Capital Times is reporting that “a record chill is possible in the Madison area Sunday night, as August comes to an end with weather more fit for late October.” That’s a fitting summary, and exactly what I was thinking. Weather Underground is saying that we’ll have a low of 43 here in the lakeside micro-climate, while over in Madison things may get as low as 37 degrees F. It’s not a frost, but it’s close enough for most people.

Meanwhile, southern California is having wildfires, as so often happens over there. A friend of mine said that he and his wife were evacuated from their house located a ways north of L.A. You can see smoke in the air around his house via the webcam he has mounted there. Good luck, Chuck!

Later: Chuck says “Both my web cameras died simultaneously at 8:37 AM, hopefully that’s just a glitch in the uploading software and not an indication that the house has lost power …. or worse. (if the house lost power, in theory the roof camera would run for an additional half hour or so, and thus capture at least six more images than the back yard camera. I’m thinking positive thoughts, positive thoughts, positive thoughts.)”

Closer to home, my daughter is going to start second grade next week, while I will be starting the last semester of my undergraduate college education. She’s almost seven years old, while I’ll turn 35 next year. Hopefully she’ll make it through college a little faster than I have.

Cap Times: Barrett “doesn’t rule out run for governor”

While I think very highly of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, I like him right where he is: in the mayor’s office. Of course it’s his right to pursue a bid for governor if he so wishes. Barrett has a real record to point to, both in Congress and in the mayor’s office. He’s been a fine administrator of our city government. And a real hero. I suppose he’d make a good governor. I’m still on the fence as to whether I’d like him to give it a shot. But why not? What’s he got to lose?

Lovely new “learning commons” at UWM Golda Meir Library

Back in the 1960s, the UWM library was something to brag about. For not only was it the first entirely air conditioned building on campus, it was at the time one of the few fully carpeted libraries in the country. [Emphasis added.] But the new digs in the west wing of the library are something to behold. The Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons has “increased seating space from 120 places to 400 on the first floor,” and has almost 200 computers scattered around, including a good number of lovely iMac (20″ 2 GHz) public kiosks, several dozen desktop PCs, and 50 laptops for students to check out.

According to UWM’s information about this space, “A Learning Commons which will accommodate collaborative and group learning styles… New group study rooms as well as flexible study areas with the latest technology to accommodate team-based assignments… Learning Café to provide a welcoming environment for students and faculty.”

It’s simply a really cool space. However, aside from the librarians, there’s only one Help Desk Consultant staffing the whole place right now, which could be me at some point in this semester. (Assuming I can escape the business department computer lab.) Heck, I just helped a nice old man while I was sitting here writing this. Goes to show you that the open design of the “Learning Commons” may play out well.

You just have to be careful to log out from all open accounts on the public web kiosks.

In closing I must say that your $1.75M gift has gone to very good use, Mr. Soref. Judging by the number of shiny new chairs, the Estate of Herman Miller would like to thank your estate.

Milwaukee Public Museum; County’s Income Maintenance Program

Some tentatively good news surfaced today: the Milwaukee Public Museum is back in the black more than a decade after a failed attempt at privatization nearly killed it. The downside of the museum’s new-found surplus is that it came at the expense of many jobs and only after worker furloughs and crowd-drawing exhibits were in place. I focus on all of this in a new post on Milwaukee County First. The MPM was a big part of my childhood here Milwaukee for the brief time we lived here in the 1980s, and it’s been a part of my daughter’s life in the 2000s. I’m glad it’s still here to enjoy and learn through.

Also, Chris “capper” Liebenthal has a detailed examination of the State’s rejection of a County bid to house the County’s Income Maintenance Program offices in a County building. This relic of our socialist past is a government program that you will likely never see, unless you fall into poverty, or are born into poverty. Or you may get older and retire and live on fixed income. (Damn socialists, providing income for retirees. How dare they!) As I think that’s what happens to most of us eventually, this bears paying attention to.

We also have lengthy pieces about the dangerous PCB contamination in many Milwaukee-area rivers and parks, including Estabrook Park in Shorewood.

Gov. Doyle: Your work is not done yet

Chris Liebenthal, the benevolent leader of Milwaukee County First, has a piece published the Milwaukee Biz Blog calling on Gov. Doyle to make good on his vow to keep working for the people of Wisconsin and to help enact the property tax relief referrendum that county voters passed in huge numbers last year. It’s a solid piece, and Chris has done well by pointing out the huge economic cost that would come with a failure to fund our transit system.

Rep. Moore has another opponent

Samantha Carter is running for Gwen Moore’s seat in the U.S House of Representatives on the Independent American Party ticket. While I get a little edgy when people display an interest in mixing religion and politics, I wish Ms. Carter the best of luck.