{image1} It's January, and the buzz is back. Read what's new, what's going to happen, who's doing it and other tid-bits that you just might not find anywhere else. Got buzz? Now you do.
DETROIT IS FAT, MKE IS FIT
After three years of holding the title as America's fattest city, Houston shed the weight of the title. The city dropped to No. 2 on the Men's Fitness list of "fattest cities" in America. Detroit moved to the top spot. Men's Fitness uses 14 categories to determine the fattest cities, including the number of health clubs and sporting goods stores and the number of fast food and ice cream and doughnut shops per capita, air quality, climate, television viewing trends and availability of health care. Texas had five of the 10 fattest cities, including Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Arlington. Others in the top 10 were Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Columbus. Milwaukee, on the other hand, ranked 21st most fat last year, and 21st most FIT this year. Good job, Milwaukee, way to get fit. See all the fit and fat rankings in the Feb. 2004 edition of "Men's Fitness."
MO TO GO ITALIAN
Johnny V is exploring a family-style Italian restaurant concept for his Plankinton Ave. strip of restaurants. The Small Business Times reports that he's also looking to open 200 Mo's Irish Pubs across the country.
HAPPY 158th
The City of Milwaukee will celebrate 158 years on Thurs., Jan. 29 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the MATC Downtown Milwaukee Campus Cooley Auditorium. The big party, hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, features food from Pandl's, Café Vechhio, Heaven City, Beans and Barley, Gil's Café, Crawdaddy's, Bartolotta's, Elm Grove Inn, The Grove, Cempazuchi, Sanford and Jerry's Old Time. Entertainment from a special guest and the announcement of the top Milwaukee newsmaker form 2003. Movers, shakers and more too. Victor DeLorenzo, founder and drummer of the Violent Femmes and Mike Hoffmann of the local band E*I*E*I*O will be performing a set prior to the start of the program, as well as singing Happy Birthday. It's only $25. Call (414) 588-9571 to reserve your ticket or check out the downloadable reservation form at milwaukeepressclub.org.
MILWAUKEE STREET CONTINUES TO BUZZ
Milwaukee Street between Mason and Wisconsin Ave. continues its amazing growth with a coming-soon Japanese/sushi joint called Sake Tumi, the recently opened Tangerine and another in-the-works club called Fresh.
WUWM TO ROCK WITH OLDIES ON SUNDAYS
89.7 WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio will air "Let The Good Times Roll," a fabulous 26-part documentary series from Public Radio International that chronicles rhythm and blues, from its origins in 1940s onward. The show will begin airing Sundays at 7 p.m. on Jan. 11. The series tells the stories behind the songs that have kept America singing and dancing for decades. Hosted by Chicago soul singer Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, the series profiles the lives, times, and creative output of artists who rocked the world, from Wilson Pickett to The O'Jays, Chuck Berry to Little Eva.
FRESH FROM THE FARM
Before the downtown Milwaukee Public Market gets built, there are plenty of area farmer's marketing to choose from. And now, there's a new Web site too. Secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Rod Nilsestuen, unveiled SavorWisconsin.com, the state's new online marketplace, on Jan. 6, 2004, during the annual conference of the Wisconsin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers Assn. The site will make it easier for consumers to find agricultural and specialty food products distributed directly from the farm or processor.
RUN THE FILM FEST
OnMilwaukee.com was a proud sponsor of the Shepherd Express' First Annual Film Festival last year. It was a huge success and now it's looking for a full-time director to run the event. Think you have the skills? Call Dave Luhrssen at (414) 276-2222 or send a cover letter and resume to the Shepherd.
PFISTER HOTEL ONE OF "WORLD'S BEST"
Conde Nast Traveler magazine has named The Pfister Hotel to its 2004 Gold List of the world's best places to stay. The only Wisconsin hotel to receive the prestigious honor, The Pfister is among 700 hotels and resorts worldwide that have been selected by readers of the magazine as superior.
PHIL COLLINS AND LONI ANDERSON?
Public Allies will host its Fourth Annual Celebrity Doodle Auction and Raffle on Feb. 7 at Renaissance Place, 1451 N. Prospect Ave. OMC is a proud sponsor again this year. A unique event, the auction lets you bid on one-of-a-kind framed doodles from many big-name celebrities including Phil Collins, Richard Pryor, Al Pacino and Loni Anderson. Call (414) 264-5616 for tickets.
WICKED HOP COMING IN SPRING
The Buzz first told you about this coming-soon Third Ward join on the corner of Broadway/St. Paul a few months ago. We hear it will open in late February.
M
Milwaukee LifeStyle Magazines are now called M Magazine.
ANOTHER NEW PUBLICATION
Trails Media Group has launched another new "Milwaukee magazine," called "Milwaukee Home." It features tips, trends, fine dining, decorating, entertaining, gardening and more and will be published bi-monthly.
MILWAUKEE VENUE PROJECT
You may begin to hear more about a new group called the Milwaukee Venue Project. It's a group of musicians, music fans, artists and others dedicated to opening a non-profit, consumer co-operative space for live music and art. Many cities have similar spaces and this group hopes to add to Milwaukee's buzz through grass roots fundraising that may make this new space happen.
BLISS
A new upscale women's makeup and facial salon is coming to the Third Ward. It will be called Bliss. We hear there's another women's clothing store opening in the Ward soon, too.
DAN TO MKE THEATRE
With a repertoire encompassing pop, rock, country and Irish ballads, Irish-born vocalist Daniel O'Donnell has garnered critical acclaim and an enthusiastic fan base stretching from the United Kingdom to the American heartland, sold millions of albums, videos and DVDs, and starred in three PBS specials. Now he is preparing to launch a tour of theaters across Middle America, including a stop at The Milwaukee Theatre at 7 p.m. on April 17, 2004.
NEIL, TOO
Neil Young plays the Milwaukee Theatre on March 2. He has influenced an entire generation of young rock fans by exploring virtually every style and genre of music. His latest release, the concept album "Greendale," is a portrait of small town America as it struggles to come of age in the 21st century. As Neil Young narrates between songs, Greendale tackles themes such as family, crime, the media and the environment. In addition to Greendale being performed in its entirety, Young will also perform a variety of the fan favorites that have made him a cultural rock icon.
BASEBALL BUZZ
The Milwaukee Brewers will open their second spring training camp under Manager Ned Yost on Sat., Feb. 21 when pitchers and catchers report to the beautiful Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Ariz. As usual, OMC will bring you coverage from Phoenix. Lucky us.
JAZZY BUZZ
Jazzy Media, a local design firm, is compiling a full-figured calendar for 2005. Got a nice back, baby? Click here,
http://www.jazzymedia.net/JMCalendars.html
TRANSPORT ART
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Union Art Gallery, located at 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., invites artists to submit artwork to be included in the Transport Milwaukee display in UWM's Union Concourse. Artwork must pertain to local and regional artist's depictions of the methods in which people are traveling in and around Milwaukee, including the methods of transportation and transportation scenes. All media and installations will be considered for the exhibition. The display will be open to the public from March 8-12, 2004 in the Union Concourse. Contact Steven Jaeger at (414) 229-6310 for prospectus. Deadline for entries is Feb. 27, 2004.
SUMMER BUZZ
Bastille Days has booked Big Bad Voodoo Daddy for Sat., July 11. Go Daddy-o!
MILWAUKEE GIRL DOES GOOD
Black Meetings and Tourism magazine recently recognized Genyne Edwards, Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, as one of the most influential African Americans in the meeting and tourism industry.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
