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By ISRAL DEBRUIN
Feb. 02, 2010 9:56 a.m. | An updated set of financial projections show that the Elmbrook School District's budget crunch is not quite as bad as previously thought.
The final version of the district's annual financial projection, prepared by PMA Financial Management, decreases Elmbrook's five-year deficit to $15.64 million. The gap shrank $2.56 million from the $18.2 million deficit estimated in a rough draft of the projection released in December.
The new projections show a smaller deficit because several of the assumptions used in the calculations have been made more accurate, said Keith Brightman, district assistant superintendent for finance and operations.
"We obviously have to check the projections and check the results and make sure everything makes sense in it," he said.
When reviewing the calculations used to create the projection draft, Brightman said he noticed that estimates for the cost of the district's staff salaries and benefits were too high. The draft also lowballed a revenue limit exemption the district receives to help pay for special education students.
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By ALAN HAMARI
March 09, 2010 9:22 a.m. | City of Brookfield police arrested a 24-year-old Pewaukee woman for drunken driving early Saturday morning when she pulled into a parking lot on Bluemound Road after realizing she was following the wrong car home.
According to police reports:
An officer saw the woman's vehicle parked in a handicapped parking spot at a shopping center in the 15300 block of Bluemound Road about 3 a.m. Saturday.
When questioned, the woman said she had been following a friend home and eventually realized that she was following the wrong car, so she pulled into the parking lot. She admitted to drinking, and officers administered field sobriety tests, which she failed.
It was the woman's second drunken driving arrest, and her blood-alcohol content was 0.13.
By ALAN HAMARI
March 09, 2010 9:20 a.m. | The city's Plan Commission on Monday unanimously approved plans for a new Red Robin restaurant at Brookfield Square, a month after they told designers to come up with a more creative look for the building.
Red Robin, a gourmet burger chain with nine locations in Wisconsin, plans to build a 5,700-square-foot restaurant and bar at the site of the former Houlihan's restaurant on the mall's east side between Barnes & Noble and Mitchell's Fish Market. The Houlihan's building will be razed.
Members of the Plan Commission last month tabled any action on the plans, but representatives from Red Robin presented revamped plans Monday that increased the size of the restaurant's entryway and added more architectural elements on the building's north side.
The Common Council will vote on the Plan Commission's recommendation Tuesday.
By
Doris Hajewski of the Journal Sentinel
March 09, 2010 8:00 a.m. | Buy Buy Baby, the division of Bed Bath & Beyond that is devoted to baby products, will open its first Wisconsin store in Brookfield, in the Fountain Square shopping center.
The store will go in the space formerly occupied by Circuit City, according to local sources. A spokeswoman for Bed Bath & Beyond said she couldn't confirm the new store plans, but acknowledged that the company is advertising on its Web site for a manager for the store.
Buy Buy Baby's format is similar to the parent company, with merchandise for babies through age 3. The company offers a wide range of brands, including high-end items such as Stokke strollers for $1,000, and designer diaper bags that sell for over $300.
Buy Buy Baby has 29 stores around the country. The chain was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2007.
March 08, 2010 10:30 a.m. | This weekend featured a number of closely contested regional-final boys basketball games and we've posted NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo galleries from two of the top matchups.
Brookfield Central defeated Whitnall, 73-65, in a regional final Saturday to advance to a sectional semifinal and our photo gallery features more than 20 images from the game.
We also have shots of Wauwatosa West's 78-67 loss to Milwaukee Washington that included a post-game tribute to West coach Mike Landisch.
Brookfield Central vs. Whitnall gallery
Wauwatosa West vs. Washington gallery
» Read Full Article
March 04, 2010 7:43 a.m. | Want to weigh in on who you think are the best boys basketball players in the suburban area?
Now's your chance, as we're asking high school hoops fans to help us select the annual NOW Newspapers All-Suburban Boys Basketball Team, and the Player of the Year.
We've nominated 14 players to fill 10 spots on the honors team and we're asking you to pick the player that you think is the top basketball player in the NOW Newspapers coverage area.
When the fan voting is over, your votes - along with the votes of our sport staff - will determine the makeup of our All-Suburban Team. And one lucky person will win a pair of lower-level tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game just for voting!
Vote here.
By Dan Deutschendorf
March 02, 2010 10:48 p.m. | An ugly win is still a win
Brookfield Central advanced to the regional final with an unattractive 44-32 win over visiting crosstown rival Brookfield East on Tuesday.
It was playoff basketball at its best: hard-nosed defense throughout with clutch play down the stretch.
"The hardest game is always that first tournament game," Central coach Mike Adams said. "We have 10 guys on varsity that have never been here before and they don't know what it's all about. Until you actually get on the floor, then you start realizing that everyone is playing for their basketball life."
Despite being limited to a season-low 13 first-half points, the Lancers rallied behind the three-point shooting of junior guard Alex Olsen in the second half.
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March 02, 2010 2:22 p.m. | By an overwhelming majority, Elm Grove property owners in an area targeted to receive municipal water from Brookfield have rejected the proposal.
The municipal water project would have provided water to properties along a loop around the downtown area. Only property owners along the proposed loop would have paid a special assessment for the project, and those not connecting would have had a lien placed against their property.
However, the price tag was set at a maximum of $7,900 per unit, with one unit representing the average home. Commercial properties were based on estimated water usage to determine their number of units.
Of the commitment letters returned to Village Hall by the Monday deadline, 601 units said "no" to the water, while 94 units favored the project. Village officials have said they will not go through with the project unless more than half of the units agreed to participate.
There were 837 units in the proposed water loop. Residents who haven't yet returned commitment letters are asked to do so to enable the village can have an idea of where all the residents stand on the issue.
» Read Full Article
By ALAN HAMARI
March 02, 2010 1:40 p.m. | A fire early this morning caused $150,000 in damages to a home near Burleigh Elementary School.
The Brookfield Fire Department responded to the home at 15800 Sky Cliff Drive about 3 a.m., after police were called to the home for a burglar alarm. Police officers noticed smoke coming from the attic and called the Fire Department.
When crews arrived, they found the second story of the three-story home on fire. Firefighters entered the home, which was unoccupied, and found that the fire had been contained to a second-story bathroom and the attic.
Crews extinguished the fire, which caused severe damage to the attic and roof.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not believed to be intentional.
By
Dan Polley
March 01, 2010 1:50 p.m. | The 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show starts Friday, and you could win a pair of free tickets by entering our Twitter and Facebook contests.
On Twitter, simply follow MyCommunityNOW and tweet "I want to win free tickets to the #MKE Golf Show from @MyCommunityNOW. RT to win. Details: http://bit.ly/cPficZ"
A random drawing will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday for the three sets of free tickets, with each winner receiving four tickets. Winners must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.
On Facebook, become a fan of the MyCommunityNOW fan page and respond or write on the wall about a story, photo or some other staff work you saw in one of our papers or on one of our Web sites and tell us what you liked or didn't like about that work. Two winners will be picked during a random drawing at 10 a.m. Thursday with each receiving four free tickets. Winners will be contacted through Facebook and must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.
For more information on the golf show, visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show Web site.
March 01, 2010 8:53 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery featuring more than 20 images from Saturday's WIAA Division 1 Arrowhead gymnastics sectional.
The gallery features athletes from Brookfield Central/East, Germantown/Menomonee Falls, Homestead, Nicolet and West Allis Central/Hale.
The hosts won the event with 143.725 points and Homestead was second with 140.7. West Allis' Emily Fuchs won the all-around competition and Brookfield's Katelyn Malcore was second.
See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.
Feb. 26, 2010 10:15 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery featuring more than 20 images from yesterday's opening round of the WIAA Division 1 individual state wrestling tournament.
Competitors from Brookfield, Franklin, Germantown, New Berlin, Nicolet, Muskego, Oak Creek, West Allis, Whitnall and Whitefish Bay are featured.
See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.
By ALAN HAMARI
Feb. 25, 2010 2:16 p.m. | Mattress Firm will open its new Brookfield store Monday in the former Krispy Kreme store on Bluemound Road.
The national chain has more than 500 stores across the country and plans to open 10 stores in Wisconsin this year.
Mattress Firm, 19165 W. Bluemound Road, also plans to donate mattresses, sheets and pillows to Waukesha County's Hebron House of Hospitality and The Women's Center.
Feb. 24, 2010 5:48 p.m. | If you're thinking about avoiding the freeway this evening and taking some alternative routes to get to your destination, you're still likely find yourself struck in traffic.
We've just received a call from a motorist traveling near Greenfield Avenue and Moorland Road in New Berlin that the street packed with traffic in both directions.
There also is wall-to-wall traffic headed north and south on Moorland Road, we're told.
However, the side streets still may beat the freeway system, where some commutes take be up to an hour.
By ISRAL DEBRUIN
Feb. 24, 2010 11:30 a.m. | School Board members tonight approved new learning goals and a textbook for the district's middle school human growth and development curriculum, which includes sexual education lessons.
The textbook, called Holt Decisions for Health, and a few supplementary materials will cost the district $25,000. The new material is expected to be put to use beginning with the 2010-11 school year.
The curriculum likely will be taught as a nine-week elective at each middle school grade level, though exactly when that will occur and who will do the teaching are still to be determined, said Eileen Depka, assistant superintendent for educational services.
The Holt curriculum was the closest match to the district's proposed learning goals of six prepackaged curricula reviewed by a district team, administrators said.
Board approval came after a review of the proposed textbook, called Holt Decisions for Health, by several committees and interested parents and staff members last month. Tonight's vote represented the first official approval in the curriculum review process that began more than two years ago.
» Read Full Article
By ISRAL DEBRUIN
Feb. 24, 2010 9:06 a.m. | Forty-one Elmbrook teachers are receiving preliminary layoff notices.
State statute requires school districts to notify teachers of contract renewal by March 15. Because staffing needs for the 2010-11 school year cannot yet be precisely determined, the district must issue preliminary layoff notices to any teacher who may not be needed next year. Many of the preliminary layoffs will be recalled as staffing needs are clarified throughout the spring staffing and budgeting process. This practice occurs annually.
About 20 district teachers attended tonight's School Board meeting, where the notices were approved. Speaking as both parents of district students and as teachers, three of the staff members urged the board to carefully consider the potential impact layoffs could have on student learning. One student and one alumni voiced similar concerns.
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Voters guide
State wrestling tournament 
The sports season is in full swing at Brookfield Central and East high schools and, if you're a prep sports fan, we'll have you covered in basketball and more!
