2011 in Review: April

As 2011 comes to a close, Wauwatosa Patch looks back at the top stories of the year, month by month. Here’s a recap of the news that made headlines in April, our first month of publication.

As it turned out, April was a heck of a month to launch a news site, with big stories coming one on top of another, including what many would consider the biggest story of the year.

Union contracts take center stage

Wauwatosa had its own intense version of the Capitol's budget repair bill blowup over contracts negotiated with three public workers' unions. The Wauwatosa Common Council had voted down the contracts in March in the face of a public outcry, but in mid-April five aldermen introduced saying the city would lose money without them.

The controversy came to a head April 19, in a meeting attended by an overflow City Hall crowd estimated at more than 400, split about evenly between those for and those against. Old hands called it the largest crowd and the longest public debate – four hours – in living memory.

At the end, the council on an 8-7 vote, with angry opponents shouting "Recall, recall!" after the roll call. There were no recalls. The next morning, Mayor Jill Didier with her rarely used veto power.

Schools face $6 million shortfall

For the Wauwatosa School District, it must have seemed like living in a parallel but reverse world where similar circumstances produce opposite effects.

While City Hall swarmed and seethed over union contracts, School Board meetings took place in an empty echo chamber as members heard that the schools faced looming in less than three months unless they quickly forged and ratified new contracts with their four unions.

Again, nobody – not even , in her ninth four-year term on the board – could remember a crisis of such proportions.

Burleigh Triangle finally gets proposal

April also produced some of the best news of the year on the business and economic development front. A long hoped-for was brought forward by HSA Inc. with prospects for an to be called The Mayfair Collection, featuring stores that the developers said might include a Nordstrom Rack.

The plan was , with more retail and less professional office space than desired, but it was certainly better than the eyesore abandoned Roundy's distribution center that was taking up 70 acres of highly visible space.

Another long-awaited project got off the ground with for land that used to be a city landfill and will eventually be a new neighborhood of mixed residential development including condos, apartments and senior living units.

On the other hand, the expected move of Eaton Corp. from the 30th Street Corridor in Milwaukee to the in Tosa on the failure of the company to get New Market Tax Credits to underpin the plan.

Zoo Interchange plan gets mixed reviews

The public got its first look at the state Department of Transportation's massive Zoo Interchange rebuild project, and . The preliminary plan called for taking land on the County Grounds and two parkways in Tosa for detention basins.

Plans for the County Grounds, at least, have since been amended due to the efforts of Barb Agnew and her Friends of the Monarch Trail, who for rerouting some roads in ways that could help wildlife habitat.

Burglary, car thefts will lead to violent end

A crime report that seemed worthy only of topping the semi-weekly Police Report roundup of incidents woud reverberate later. On April 2, , and the home had been burglarized.

The thief had hotwired one car but abandoned it only a field goal away when the steering locked up. But he found house keys in the car, let himself in to the home, then found keys to the SUV also parked in the driveway and took off in it.

It just seemed odd, interesting and a little unnerving at the time, but evidence collected and an investigation begun that night would lead to the in June of a 30-year-old Wauwatosa man who had been a habitual criminal since his mid-teens.

Also of note...

• dropped about an inch of grainy ice on April 3.
• Tosans lamenting the loss of Drew's everything store in the Village got some comfort that with new shop including the now-beloved Yo Mama! frozen yogurt store.
• Tosa in impressive numbers in an election in which there was no city candidate or issue. The strong polling was for the high-profile state Supreme Court and county executive races.
• A 10-year-old McKinley Elementary School kid won hearts for he found at school. He was rewarded when nobody claimed it and the Wauwatosa Police gave it to him.
• The Tosa East Players put on the full Broadway/London production of including the huge, crashing chandelier, the life-size elephant, and Tony Award-worthy performances from talented students under the direction of Tom Thaney.
• After only 425 million years, Wauwatosa proposed taking an interest in and . About time. The ancient reef, stretching east from West 68th Street to around West 60th Street, is known around the world for its contributions to the understanding of the development of geology and biology on Earth.
• The state Supreme Court between the city and Wheaton Franciscan Health Care. The case wouldn't be decided until July, but when it was – not in the city's favor – the damage would come to $8.5 million.