Community Corner

Shorewood Patch Week in Review

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories from last week, you need to know about.

Dozens of people braved the rain at Whitefish Bay's Friday afternoon to hear directly from Rep. Sandy Pasch that she is launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Alberta Darling for her 8th District Senate seat in a July recall election. Both Pasch, of Whitefish Bay, and former state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman had considered running against Darling in the election, but Pasch emerged as the Democratic challenger when .

Find out what's happening in Shorewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill drove educators to Madison, but is it driving teachers out of the Shorewood School District? Shorewood's School Board has approved the retirement requests of 10 district teachers since the beginning of the school year. In comparison, four have retired since the 2009 school year, according to Business Manager Mark Boehlke.

Find out what's happening in Shorewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One Shorewood band teacher’s passion for music and teaching has been recognized. The Civic Music Association recognized Shorewood Intermediate School band teacher Robert Hughes this month as Music Teacher of the Year.

is closed to the public until at least mid-July as construction crews start work on a $800,000 project to get Shorewood's lakefront park up to par. The park sits at East Capitol Drive and North Lake Drive and as a result of the devastating July floods and erosion of the park’s bluff, it needs to be stabilized. An access road for service and emergency vehicles needs to be re-done and construction of a new boardwalk is also part of the project.

One Shorewood High School senior's story of a traveling photographer will be made into a film this summer, after winning a local film contest for best screenplay. Milwaukee Film announced Celia Carroll as the winner of its 2011 Collaborative Cinema Screenplay Contest for her story of a traveling photographer called “The Magical Camera."

Shorewood High School's graduation rate remains well above Wisconsin's average, according to data released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Access full reports here. With the state graduation average at nearly 90 percent, Shorewood High School saw 97.5 percent of its students graduate in 2009-10, using a traditional legacy rate formula, which measures all who graduated in a given year.

A group of progressive activists showed up at state Sen. Alberta Darling's  Menomonee Falls office Tuesday to protest what they said was her refusal to meet with constituents. The group, the Grassroots North Shore, wants Darling to hold listening sessions on the state budget in her district. The group of about 15 people left letters at Darling’s office in Menomonee Falls. Darling, who supported Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed state budget, is one of several state senators facing recall.

Saturday marks the start of the farmer's market season and finding locally-grown food is easy, thanks to a plethora of nearby markets. Local caterer, Kathy Papineau, of MKE Localicious, features locally-grown produce as often as possible, often driving to farms to get chickens and other items directly from the farm. She says that this Saturday’s start of the outdoor farmer’s markets will be a great way to bring home the bacon, as well as eggs and mushrooms. Special to this part of the growing season is spinach, green onions and asparagus.

The Village Board plans to appoint a new trustee to a board seat left vacant, after because she purchased a home outside of Shorewood. Trustees Ellen Eckman, Michael Maher and Jeff Hanewell volunteered for a committee tasked with defining procedures for the appointment and establishing a timeline.

Despite the tanking economy, Shorewood’s business potential is unusually good, Jim Plaisted, executive director of the Shorewood Business Improvement District, says. “The way Shorewood has positioned itself, there aren’t many examples like that (in the city),” he said. “There’s a lot of people jealous of our resources, especially since the economy tanked. Shorewood hasn’t shied away from its goals.”

The auditorium building is bustling, as the drama department prepares to unveil "Ragtime" on Friday. The show includes 52 student actors, approximately 47 student crew members and multiple professionals and volunteers, all collaborating to put on the largest production Shorewood High School has ever seen.

State Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Jim Ott announced on Friday proposed legislation that would increase the penalties for drunken driving offenses, including criminalizing some first time offenses. The proposed law would make a driver with .15 blood alcohol content a misdemeanor rather than a municipal offense. A second proposal makes a third time offense a felony. A blood alcohol content of .08 is considered evidence of drunken driving.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Shorewood