What a beautiful Labor Day weekend -- warm and sunny, absolutely gorgeous!
There's still plenty of nice weather ahead, but the holiday marks the end of Summer 2007.
Summer is always too short. No summer has ever been long enough for me.
It's back to school already. Halloween decorations are popping up in the stores, as well as some Christmas decorations.
Summer is over.
I guess it's fitting that summer in Milwaukee would go out with a violent bang, ending as it began.
The weekend began with the discovery of a body. The individual was shot on Friday.
An 18-year-old man whose body was found Friday evening in a vacant house in the 4400 block of N. 50th St. died from a gunshot wound, Milwaukee Police Capt. Darlene Jenkins said today.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office said Joseph Rogers had been dead for about eight hours before his body was found.
There were five shootings in the city on Saturday night and another four on Sunday night.
First, the Saturday violence--
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A 19-year-old man was shot in the right arm about 7:50 p.m. Saturday as he was walking in the 4300 block of N. 26th St. The man told police he heard several shots and then felt pain in his arm.
A 19-year-old man was shot five times about 11:10 p.m. Saturday in the 1800 block of W. Fairmount Ave. The victim, who is in stable condition at a local hospital, told police he was outside when a man walked past him, then turned around and fired several shots. The victim said he did not know why he was shot and did not know the suspect.
A 19-year-old man was shot in the left foot about 11:30 p.m. Saturday while he was walking in the area of N. 14th St and W. Ring St. He told police he heard several shots and noticed a bullet had hit him in the foot.
A 20-year-old man was shot in the back about 1:30 a.m. today while he was walking in the area of N. 24th St and W. Medford Ave. He had just dropped a friend off, heard shots and dropped to the ground. One of the bullets struck him in the back.
A 19-year-old man was shot in the back about 2 a.m. as he was heading toward his residence in the 6700 block of N. 75th St. He told police he heard three or four shots and fell to the ground after he was hit by a bullet.
And the Sunday night shootings:
A 20-year-old man was walking in the 2400 block of S. Burrell St. at 7:45 p.m. Sunday when an armed suspect jumped out of a vehicle and fired at him, hitting him in the lower back with shotgun pellets, Zibolski said.
At 1:20 this morning, a 30-year-old man was parking his car on N. 31st St. and W. Villard Ave. when two males with guns approached him. One fired a shotgun, hitting the victim in the head.
Police believe the incident may be related to a shooting at 5:15 this morning in the same area in which two armed suspects demanded money from a 28-year-old man who was sitting on a porch. The victim grabbed a gun and one of the suspects shot him in the left arm, Zibolski said.
A 22-year-old man was driving in the 6100 block of W. Medford Ave. at 1:44 this morning when a vehicle with three males in their 20s cut him off. There was an altercation, and the victim was shot in the upper torso. He was in surgery this morning at Froedtert Hospital. A passenger in the victim's car also was robbed, Zibolski said.
Here's news of Monday's violence:
• A 19-year-old man and his 20-year-old friend were shot near N. 37th St. and W. Garfield Ave. about 3:30 p.m. Monday. Their injuries weren't believed to be life threatening, and police had one man in custody.
• A 16-year-old boy was shot in the foot during a drive-by shooting in the 5000 block of N. 42nd St. about 5:45 p.m. Monday.
• Another shooting was reported in the 400 block of E. Burleigh St. about 8 p.m. Monday. Police did not immediately provide information on the shooting, but police radio traffic indicated a man in his 30s had been shot in the arm by someone he knew.
As reported in the Journal Sentinel, "At least eight people were shot during a 24-hour span that stretched from Sunday into Monday."
So where's the outrage over the explosion of violence?
Why is it not a big deal that SO much shooting occurred over the long, last weekend of summer?
It's the unusual that's worth noting.
There's nothing unusual about what happened in Milwaukee over Labor Day weekend.
_______________________
There's a few more shootings to add to Monday's total.
Here's an update:
* At 9:25 p.m.: A 38-year-old man was shot in the 8200 block of W. Medford Ave. He was admitted to a hospital in serious condition, police said.
* At 10 p.m.: A 20-year-old man was shot in the 2100 block of N. 37th St. He is in stable condition.
And though this homicide during a double shooting technically happened on Tuesday, I'll include it as part of Monday night's violence.
A 20-year-old man died and a 22-year-old man was seriously injured in a double shooting the end of a violent Labor Day holiday.
The double shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. today in the 1400 block of N. 21st St.
The only bloodshed that should be the topic of an otherwise beautiful Labor Day weekend is what was shed due to mosquito bites.
People do seem to be more bothered by the explosion of those pests and the damage they've done than the actions of the thugs and their gunfire in the city.
Where are Milwaukee's leaders?
August recess is over, right?
Mayor Tom Barrett surfaced yesterday to raise an American flag in honor of workers. He commented on unemployment and crime in the city.
Mayor Tom Barrett raised the city hall flag in honor of workers today, especially the Union Labor Force. The mayor talks about job growth, but unemployment is getting worse. A new report out from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce shows more people are without jobs than a year ago.
“Any time you have high unemployment, it ultimately leads to crime because people lose hope. We have more crime, that creates disincentives for companies to locate or expand here,” Barrett said.
Mayor Barrett went on to say: “I would always love to do more, but we have reversed the trend of job loss that had occurred in this community for literally decades. That’s something I’m proud of. Do I want it to go faster, absolutely. Am I satisfied, not at all.”
The unemployment rate in Milwaukee is worse than the Wisconsin and national averages.
The city is in crisis.
Nonetheless, Barrett likes to look on the bright side. He touts the lower homicide rate as his achievement. He talks about the progress he's made in the job loss trend.
That's putting lipstick on a pig.
What he has done as mayor is not enough.
If I were Barrett, I wouldn't have the nerve to utter that I'm proud.
Another Barrett term would not bode well for Milwaukee's short-term or long-term future. He needs to go.
Milwaukee desperately needs change.
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