2011 in Review: November

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 November.

Day 1 in recall effort focused on Tosa

A number of groups supporting the recall of Gov. Scott Walker quietly organized , the first day petition signatures could be collected, in the 500 block of North 68th Street where Walker lives. But word got out, allowing and a few counterprotesters to get organized, too. , and though there were some lively debates, the crowds were orderly and there were no arrests.

Welch out as city merges departments

The city announced to remove her as director of the Community Development Department. The administration was mum on its reasons for doing so, and Welch couldn't say under the terms of her agreement, but administration officials were quick to announce that most of Community Development's staff and duties were being in a single, merged Department of Community and Economic Development.

Serious accident makes school zone safety an issue

An accident the morning of Nov. 7 in which prompted calls for a review of school zone safety. The 12-year-old, Rylan McNally, was hit when a driver failed to see a crossing guard halting traffic and passed a stopped car on the right on Wauwatosa Avenue at West Wright Street. Rylan suffered a compound leg fracture in the incident.

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A proposed pay raise for the next mayor to take office, defeated in July, and recommended in a vote in the Employee Relations Committee. The increase approved by committee members was $7,500 to reach an annual salary of $30,000, up from $22,500 where it had been since 1984.

Concealed carry, city ban go into effect

The state . Wauwatosa had alredy elected to ban weapons in city buildings starting the same day, and some private concerns did, too, most notably Mayfair Mall. But many commercial property owners who had intended to post bans decided not to over the thorny issue of liability and the difficulty of enforcing a ban.

Counterfeiting vexes area businesses

Tosa police said that the had become "rampant" in the area. Of particular concern was a new method counterfeiters were using to make their fakes harder to detect. Real $5 bills were being bleached and then reprinted as $100s, retaining not only the feel of genuine currency paper but also some of the security measures embedded in it. However, close examination would reveal an Abe Lincoln watermark and "USA 5" printed along the security strip.

An alert piece of police work

A Tosa police officer had the presence of mind in the back of an SUV he had pulled over. It turned out that just minutes before the stop, the three men in the vehicle had burglarized a house under construction and stolen building supplies. The burglary was not reported until the following morning. The moment police learned what had been stolen, they knew who had done it.

Also of note...

• Ambitious school plays at Longfellow Middle School (), West High () and East High () hit the stage in November, all to great acclaim.
• Wauwatosa East theatre director Tom Thaney was to the new Wisconsin Theatre Directors Hall of Fame.
• For the second year in a row – and the program is only two years old – Wauwtosa's high schools were named to the College Board's AP Honor Roll, placing among just 367 school districts nationwide for performance in advanced placement college prep courses
• The School District announced that its and no new students would be enrolled under the program next year.