Oshkosh Floods

FLOODED STREET ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE ON CITICABLE 10 AND PROBABLY WOCT RADIO.

My wife and I left the house around 1:30p.m. today, to see if the art fair at South Park was canceled, which it was. It was bright and sunny at this point. We decided, instead, to go see the new Indiana Jones film. We cut back to 9th and took it to Koeller, where we noticed the first major flooding... near the Walgreens parking lot. There was an unfortunate purple van stuck in a rather large puddle with the front bumper almost under water. We proceeded north on Koeller to the Marcus cinema where we discovered that the ENTIRE parking lot for the strip mall behind the theater was under water, and there was no way in (and the theater was probably closed anyway). So we decided to head north to Appleton for the movie, and see how things had dried up when we got home. Except when we left the theater it was raining again.

We went back to 9th & Koeller. This time somebody's Toyota was stalled out and they were pushing it out of the water, followed by a police escort. We tried to take 9th into downtown, but the situation had grown much worse. We were forced to turn back, but not before witnessing a scene I will kick myself for many weeks to come for not photographing. On a cross street with 9th, I can't remember which, I saw a group of children floating around on innertubes in the middle of the street and my wife saw a kayaker along with them... in the middle of the street. (Did I mention this was in the middle of the street?) We were in a panic, because we had to get turned around, so that photo is forever lost. We finally made it home after being stopped on several roads. (Hwy 21 was clear, at least when we came into town.)









More Photos

Be careful out there people! Watch your basements. Make sure your storm drains are clear.

Please, feel free to post your own observations in comments or e-mail stories and photos to jmc@mainstreetoshkosh.com

High Tower

My daughter has always been fascinated by the High Tower in Menominee Park, which apparently also has had the function of serving as a water tower.

I thought I'd snag some pics and take the girls by the tower before it falls. I explained to her (she's almost 3) that the tower would be falling like all of her Lego towers inevitably do.

I am sad to see it go, as it is somewhat of a pillar of Menominee Park and it offers the historical feel of Shawshank Redemption in our neighborhood. I also thought that it had the excellent potential to some day serve as a public look-out tower overlooking the park, the community, and the beautiful Lake.

I was not aware that there were plans to destroy the tower, and am confident I wouldn't have been able to do much about it. I, like many in our neighborhood, wish that there would have been a way to preserve the tower, maybe through amazing fundraising work by our historical society chapter or something. The value of the building is well articulated by Terry Laab, which can be found well into the 5/27/08 meeting.

It doesn't seem that the city originally disclosed the architectural and historical value of the building, and once these points came to light, it didn't seem that many in the city or on the council cared much.

Anyway, here's High Tower:

Osh Streets: Slower, Smaller, Safer

With two young children under the age of 3, I find the cars on my street that cruise by extremely fast to be upsetting, frustrating, and annoying. So, hopefully everyone signs up for this, and we crack down on idiot drivers:

Speed Watch is a program where trained volunteers use a radar gun to document speeding vehicles. Speed Watch activities are between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. The radar logs are then turned to the police department. The registered owners of those vehicles are sent a courtesy letter reminding them to slow down.

The Oshkosh Police Department has run the program with Police Explorers and Oshkosh School District volunteers for the last two years. The department is expanding the program and is looking for citizen volunteers to run radar.

Some of the qualifications are as follows: You must be at least 18 years of age or older and pass a background check, you must attend Speed Watch training; radar will be run in your neighborhood or those areas deemed by the department as areas where speeding occurs and extra enforcement is needed.

Speed Watch training will be held on Monday May 19, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. The session will last 1 to 2 hours depending on class size. Presumably the training will take place at the OPD, 420 Jackson St, Oshkosh.

Make sure that when you sign up to be a Speed Watch volunteer that you sign up with a buddy as it takes 2 to run Speed Watch, one to run radar and one to do the radar log.

How do you become a Speed Watch volunteer? First fill out a Volunteer application which can be found either online at www.oshkoshpd.com or pick one up in the Oshkosh Police Department lobby. Then turn it in to:
Sgt. Steve Sagmeister – Speed Watch Oshkosh Police Department P.O. 1130Oshkosh WI 54903. If have any questions, feel free to contact Sgt. Steve Sagmeister at 236-5742 or email at ssagmeister@ci.oshkosh.wi.us.


So, what else could be done in addition to this program to slow traffic and make our neighborhood streets friendly and safe? Smaller street widths. The expansive residential road systems are not necessary, if the intent is residential driving, bicycling, and general residential movement. The wider roads promote faster and less safe driving, reduction of green space which affects water runoff and pavement heat absorption, and neighborhood distance.

With safety being the most important issue, Community By Design states it well (pic below shows wide-left vs livable-right street):

It has become common practice to implement standards similar to those used for highways to design and build our residential streets. Using highway standards in a residential setting increases driving speed. Faster speeds increase danger by intensifying impact. The harder a person is hit, the more likely it is that he/she will be seriously hurt or killed. In addition, the faster a vehicle is moving, the greater the distance it needs to stop. Therefore, at higher speeds, a driver is less likely to be able to avoid a serious accident.

Streets in residential neighborhoods should be designed with the understanding that pedestrians and bicyclists as well as automobiles use them. Thus, vehicular speeds must be decreased to minimize the likelihood and severity of pedestrian/bicycle and automobile conflict. However, merely posting a residential street with low speed limits does little to insure that vehicles will travel at safe speeds.

When it comes to residential streets, narrower streets are better. Narrow streets slow traffic by increasing drivers’ perception of impediments to motion. If a driver perceives more obstructions, he/she is more likely to drive at slower speeds to avoid potential conflicts. The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) asserts in, A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets: 2001, that residential streets are typically associated with short trips and are commonly used as a means of accessing property, so there is no need for high-speed travel.

Wide residential streets contribute to the number of automobile accidents. Swift & Associates conducted a study entitled, Residential Street Typology and Injury Accident Frequency (March 31, 1998), that looked at over 20,000 accidents in the City of Longmont, Colorado. According to that study: “…The most significant relationship to injury accidents were found to be street width and street curvature. The analysis illustrates that as street width widens, accidents per mile per year increase exponentially, and the safest residential street width is 24 feet (curb face).” Narrower roads decrease the likelihood of automobile related accidents. Furthermore, according to the Swift & Associates study: “…Since municipal code generally mandates a 36 foot wide residential street (planned unit development may be an exception), the results from this study indicate that current street design standards are directly contributing to automobile accidents.”

Not only do excessively wide residential streets contribute to the number of accidents, they also add to the severity of accidents. Wide residential streets encourage speeding and in doing so, increase the potential severity of accidents. According to an article by John Anderson entitled, “Framing the Debate on Streets and Public Safety” (New Urban News, July/August 2000): “…wide streets encourage speeding and increase the risk of traffic accident injuries and fatalities.”

Mary Stalker, John Anderson, and Tom DiGiovanni do a great job of explaining the correlations between road width, traffic speed and the severity of injury in the event of an accident. In their article entitled, “Streets and Fire Trucks: Designing Streets for Emergency Response and Neighborhood Safety” (New Urbanism: Comprehensive Report & Best Practices Guide, 2001), they state the following:

“A 24-26 ft. (curb-to-curb) street with parking both sides is considered ideal for walkable streets because it slows traffic (traffic calming through street geometry). The wider the street, the more likely cars are to speed—and with faster speeds, accidents become more likely, and more deadly (pedestrians hit by vehicle traveling 15 mph have a 96 percent chance of survival; at 40 mph, survival chance drops to 17 percent). Walkers feel most comfortable when vehicle speeds are kept to 10-25 mph, because slower traffic means safer streets!”

I think that exceptions should be made for residential areas which serve as bus lanes, as this can potentially provide a safe, environmentally friendly, and affordable avenue of transportation for community members.

2008 EARTH WEEK AT UW OSHKOSH

UPCOMING EARTH WEEK EVENTS AT UW OSHKOSH
All events open to the entire community


WEDNESDAY APRIL 16

CHILL OUT: CAMPUS SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL WARMING
Wednesday April 16, 5:45-7:00 pm, Reeve 220Join us for a nationwide simulcast about what campuses can do about global warming. Produced by the Campus Ecology Program of the National Wildlife Federation.>> Free pizza & pop!!


MONDAY APRIL 21

SUSTAINABILITY IN BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA
Monday April 21, 6:00-7:30: Reeve 221Dr. Maureen Muldoon, Dr. Pete Brown, and students from the Field Studies in Belize course will talk about the ecology and culture of Belize. Panelists will explore how Belize is dealing with challenging conservation issues. Gorgeous slides will be shown of the different ecosystems of Belize. >> Free pizza & pop!!


TUESDAY APRIL 22:

EARTH DAY!SPEED NETWORKING FOR SUSTAINABLE INTERNSHIPS & JOBS
Tuesday April 22, 11:30 a.m-1:00 p.m., Reeve 227AMeet with representatives and make connections for possible internships and jobs: Johnson Controls, Wisconsin Public Service, Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence, Simply Solar, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust, and Habitat for Humanity.

UNVEILING THE UW OSHKOSH CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
Tuesday April 22, 1:00-2:00 p.m., Reeve 227C UW Oshkosh has committed to a new, comprehensive Campus Sustainability Plan. Chancellor Wells will make the announcement, and Steve Arndt (Director of Facilities) and David Barnhill (Director of Environmental Studies) will discuss how UW Oshkosh is working to be a leader in campus sustainability.

DERRICK JENSEN ON CIVILIZATION AND RESISTANCE
Tuesday April 22, 7:00-8:30 pm: Reeve 307 (Theater)Derrick Jensen is a nationally known author of many books about environmental issues and activism. He has completed a magesterial two volume book Endgame, which examines the disasters caused by civilization and what can be done about it.


WEDNESDAY APRIL 23

TOXIC BODIES: ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS AND THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
Wednesday April 23, 6:00-7:30 pm: Reeve 227BCDr. Nancy Langston, environmental historian at UW Madison's Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. This talk explores the ways scientists, industry, consumers, and regulators negotiated growing controversies over synthetic estrogens, and examines the ways that endocrine disruptors in the post-war era changed the internal ecosystems of human, livestock, and wildlife bodies, interconnecting our bodies with our environments in increasingly complex ways.


THURSDAY APRIL 24

CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIP: POSTERS ON SUSTAINABILITY Thursday April 24, 11:00-1:00 pm: Reeve Students in ES 490: Environmental Studies Senior Seminar will display posters on a variety of sustainability issues. Part of the larger annual Celebration of Scholarship.

EARTH DINNER Speaker: John Peck, Executive Director, Family Farm Defenders Thursday April 24, 6:30-9:00 pm: Reeve 227BC6:30-7:00 pm: Reception
7:00-8:00 pm: Organic dinner
7:30-9:00 pm: John Peck on the importance of food and farming
Organic food donated by Organic Valley. Tickets are free, but the suggested donation at the dinner is $5 for students $15 for others. Tickets will be available soon at Titan Central.


FRIDAY APRIL 25

THE CLEAN WATER ACT, STORM WATER, & UWO OSHKOSH
Friday April 25, 1:00-2:00: Reeve 214
Steve Arndt, Director of Facilities, will discuss the Clean Water Act, how it impacts, UW Oshkosh, and how we can help preserve our water.

CAMPUS CLEAN-UP
Friday April 25, 2:00-4:00: Reeve 214
Steve Arndt will lead students on a clean-up of the Fox River by campus.


For more questions, contact barnhill@uwosh.edu

Local Election Results

Oshkosh voted - are you happy with the results?

School Board

Due to the lack of challengers for Common Council, the School Board race took center stage. John Lemberger seems to have surprised quite a few by winning one of the two seats on the School Board along with incumbent Tom McDermott. The race was close - only 550 votes separated fourth place finisher Michelle Monte (3,554) from first place finisher McDermott (4,101). Monte went from finishing in first place in the Primary to fourth place yesterday. Did she benefit from the Presidential preference primary somehow, or was there a change in the electorate's mood between Feb 19 and April 1?

But more importantly, what do these results mean for the School Board and the direction the district will be taking regarding facilities planning, school closings, and boundary changes? Teresa Thiel has already started this conversation on her site. What are your thoughts?

County Board

Of the four contested races in Oshkosh, the incumbents managed to hold their seats in each race except for Donna Lohry, who was redistricted to face off against fellow incumbent Claude Thompson. The results by the numbers:

District 14 (North-central Oshkosh):
Claude Thompson (I) - 369
Donna Lohry (I) - 200

District 15 (Northwest Oshkosh):
Kathy Lennon (I) - 152
Travis Swanson - 114

District 18 (East-Central Oshkosh):
Bill Wyngren (I) - 475
John Daggett - 48

District 21 (South side Oshkosh):
Bob Warnke (I) - 164
Christine Kutnick-Richards - 91

The most interesting race, Thompson v. Lohry, resulted in the Democratic Party and CUT the Board endorsed Thompson defeating first term Supervisor Lohry, who was really counting on support from the portion of the new district in the Town of Oshkosh. I haven't seen the breakdown by district yet, but Thompson's east-side district typically has higher turnout than Lohry's north-central district, and it appears that it was more than enough to give him the victory.

No surprise with the Wyngren - Daggett race, and props to UW Oshkosh student Travis Swanson for putting a good show against incumbent Kathy Lennon. Bob Warnke was targeted by the CUT the Board group, and his win reflects his support among his constituents.

How will this impact the direction of the Winnebago County Board?

Are you happy with the results?

Monitor Elections in Oshkosh, Cutting the Board Question

Election monitors are needed for Oshkosh next Tuesday April 1 for the general election. If you are able to help any time between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., please let me know. It's not difficult, we'll train you, and you learn a lot! Please email Ann at afrisch@voyager.net

The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce posted candidate questions online here. The asked county board members what their stance was on cutting the board. To no surprise, many support the cut. Also to no surprise, their reasons are horrible.

Mike Malchow and Barefoot Charlie

Saturday, April 5 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm, Oshkosh author Mike Malchow will be at Appleblossom Books (513 North Main Street, Oshkosh) for a book signing of his new title, “Barefoot Charlie and the book of dreams”!

Mike is a great guy who I've only known for a little over a year. What I know of Mike I like - he is always biking, he is active in behind-the-scenes local politics, and he is dedicated to community social activism highlighted by his efforts with the homeless community.

To learn more about Mike, his book, and more, visit www.geocities.com/barefootcharlie/

What is it like to serve on a board?

If you've ever wondered what it is like to serve on a city government board in Oshkosh, there is a great opportunity online to familiarize yourself with some of the rules and duties for board members. The recently resurrected Energy & Environmental Board had a meeting a couple days ago, and through the miracle of Oshkosh Community Media Services, that meeting is now available online for streaming.

The first ~45 minutes of the meeting is a sort of "orientation" by Acting City Attorney Lynn Lorenson on Open Meetings Law, Open Records, Ethics, a little bit of parliamentary procedure, and other issues and questions.

Streaming Video of Meeting

To see vacancies or apply for a board, check the city's website.

Somebody owes me a trash can

This morning I happened to be looking out the window when the trash men came to take the trash. I watched them take the first can, empty it into the back of the truck, then toss the empty can over both the terrace and sidewalk into the front yard, a good 20 feet. They then took the second can and threw the whole can, with trash, into the back of the truck, and then drive off.

Yes, they threw my trash can in the back of their truck.

So I put my shoes and coat on and tried to track them down. They went around the block but I caught up with them down at the next corner. I walked into the street and said to the guy on the back of the truck: "You took my trash can!" pointing up the street.

He looked at me and yelled back: "Yeah. The trash wouldn't come out. It was full of ice."

I must have made some face like "Are you retarded or something" and turned around and started walking home. Arguing with him would get me nowhere, I would just call up the city and file a claim for $10 to replace my trash can. He yelled something else to my back but I didn't make out what he said. I kept walking home. He had a job to do, I had a job to do.

But I just keep thinking - couldn't he have just left the trash can, with the trash in it. Why throw it out. Its like throwing out a clock because the battery is dead, or throwing out a typewriter because the ribbon is out of ink. The trash can has some ice in it, the trash bags (apparently) wouldn't come out (I repeat, apparently, because they wiggled just fine last night), so you just throw the trash can out with the trash.

Stupid.

Oshkosh Blogs RIP

I have been mulling this over for about a month now, but I believe that it is now clear that the Oshkosh Northwestern has killed the Oshkosh Blogs.

History

Before 2005, the Oshkosh Northwestern had an absolutely horrible web presence. It didn't even have its own domain name, using a branch of some "Wisinfo" URL. Online it found itself being challenged by a handful of "cutting edge" local websites, including sites like eyeonoshkosh.com and fullofbologna.com, which enabled the public to speak freely and vent on any number of local issues, to sites like tonypalmeri.com and ABVarmytimes, which provided a more static news alternative. When Miles McGuire started the Oshblog and Oshkosh News websites with the Public Library, the Northwestern really started to feel the heat. The Oshblog allowed the public to submit the news, and the website Oshkosh News began to push the envelope in terms of coverage of local political campaigns, a direct threat to the Oshkosh Northwestern's turf. Oshkoshnews.org, in partnership with the Oshkosh Public Library, began to provide a new angle to politics in their coverage of the Common Council race in Spring 2006, and the 54th Assembly District race in Fall 2006. They experimented with video interviews, online debates & forums, and tools that allowed the voters to directly interact with the candidates. Was the Oshkosh Northwestern threatened - you betcha.

Oshkoshnews.org had another affect on Oshkosh Online Culture - it set up RSS Feeds to a number of local blogs, which resulted in a rise of Local Blog Culture in Oshkosh. Beginning in 2006, blogs began popping up left and right in Oshkosh. With Blogger, anyone could create a blog. Michelle Monte's school board campaigns were launched from her blog, and Kent Monte's campaigns for Common Council began as blogs. Tony Palmeri and Cheryl Hentz both expanded their web presence from websites to blogs. My own site, babblemur.com, which began as a static website in 2005 migrated to blog in 2005 and shifted from blogger to the current site in 2006. Elected officials began blogging - including Mike Norton & Bryan Bain, and all were linked to easily from the Grand-father Oshkoshnews.org along with Gary, Jef Hall, and others like the Polly Blog. Oshkosh blogs cross linked to each other, referred to posts on other sites, and dialogs carried over from one site to another.

Blogs were all over the Spring 2007 Common Council race. This site was blatantly promoting Tony Palmeri's campaign. Theresa Theil and Michelle Monte's sites were online battlefields regarding the School Board race. But something started to change. The Oshkosh Northwestern began to make their move. They began with some blogs - including the ill-fated "Everyday Editor" blog by Stew Rieckman. Blogs weren't going to work. So they stepped it up and created the "OshKonversation" forum, and the general northwestern.com forum which allowed users to create accounts and comment on news stories, editorials, local issues and anything else they could come up with. While slow to start, once online users got over sacrificing their anonymity the Oshkosh Northwestern Forums took off.

The Oshkosh Northwestern Forums turned out to have several significant advantages over the blogs. For one, you could comment on any article published in the paper, or at least its online version. Secondly, people comment online because they want their comments to be read, and the Northwestern Forums not only had an automatic larger viewership than blogs, they even took the more colorful comments and printed them in the paper. The Northwestern Forums, by the time 2008 rolled around, has become THE PLACE to go to impact opinion, debate local issues, and most of all find viewers to read what you have to say. And this, in my opinion, is what killed the Local Blogs.

However, while the Oshkosh Northwestern has found a way to draw online readership and engage Oshkosh residents in debate and dialog online, this only challenges one aspect of what made blogs and websites successful in the first place - user engagement. The second aspect is something that the Northwestern can never fill - an alternative perspective to the Oshkosh Northwestern itself.

The Oshkosh Blogs and Websites did more than just involve users in the discussion. They provided an alternative perspective to Local News. They challenged what the Northwestern wrote, and asked questions that the Northwestern didn't seem willing to ask. They brought attention to street level news and events that the Northwestern, with its scaled back press corps, didn't seem to cover. That role - an alternative perspective - is still sorely needed. However, the Oshkosh Blogs are loosing the battle for viewership and involvement and are showing serious signs of fatigue.

Lets take a look at Oshkosh Blogs of late.

The BIG FIVE:

• Oshkoshnews.org, the hub of Oshkosh Blogs, is in the midst of a multi-month redesign that is not showing signs of change yet. The bulk of the site is still RSS feeds to blogs that are being rarely updated themselves. The companion Oshblog has a post up today - the first one in over 29 days.


• Eye on Oshkosh had five posts in February. The companion site is being updated but its bulletin boards have been directly challenged by the ONW Forums.


• Tonypalmeri.com has become more static and less edgy as Tony has less time due to his Common Councilor duties, and since he has moved his commentary (which is what has always drawn people to Tony's site) more to his blog, Talk to Tony.


• Fullofbologna.com appears to be still going strong, although it has always seemed to have its own niche audience immune to blogs or the ONW.


• Babblemur.com has lost a lot of steam. What was once a site pushing alternative local issues, it has struggled to stay current, particularly after the site owner had a second child. The site's Green Party bent hasn't helped with local traffic, but it still maintains a consistent 200 hits per day average.

School Board Sites

• Michelle Monte - Michelle came out as the top vote getter on Feb 19 in her third attempt at a seat on the Oshkosh School Board. Her blog has always been her spokes-piece, and this year is no different. Frequent comments and anonymous capabilities keep Michelle's blog lively despite an average one post per week.


• Theresa Thiel - Theresa's blog arose from her 2007 campaign for School Board, and running against Michelle Monte, her blog directly challenged Monte and offered an additional perspective to school board issues. Thiel's blog only sees a handful of posts each month but plenty of comments.

The Best and the Rest:

• The Chief of Oshkosh posts prolifically but in the last week has been slacking off. Tabbed as "Oshkosh's best blogger" and "Best new Oshkosh Blog" in 2007, The Chief's trademark "post often" policy has fallen by the wayside the last few weeks. Oshkosh waits expectantly for more posts by the anonymous Chief of Oshkosh who is probably just taking a break.


• 53 to 56 has a lot of potential to focus news and information on the 53rd, 54th, 55th, and 56th Assembly Districts (Winnebago County) which have elections coming up this year. The site has not been updated regularly lately but hopefully that will change with election season.


• Jef Hall is a consistent blogger for years. I hope he expands his County Board coverage to go with his Democratic Party news.


• Talk to Tony - Tony is a busier man, but still consistently blogs and comments about relevant news impacting the city.


• Miles 2 Go - Miles McGuire maintains his own blog, which became a high traffic site over the River Mills Sidewalk stories. Miles2go offers unique perspectives on local media, including blog culture. Averaging 3 posts a month.


• Lake Winneblogo - An anonymous university faculty member blog, with topic matter usually reserved for UW Oshkosh issues and stories related to academia and student engagement. Tends to drop off when school is out, but what do you expect.

There are too many others to list them all here, but generally the frequency of blog postings, and the volume of comments on local blogs, both seem to be taking a nose dive. It is a descending spiral as well, because as posts become more infrequent, people check blogs less often, which decreases traffic and bloggers loose interest.

Main Street Oshkosh

It was in this context of the decline of local blogs that a small group started up the Main Street Oshkosh blog. The goal was to try to fill that need for an alternative perspective to local issues from that of the Northwestern, and to also offer some "news from the street". We invited a number of local bloggers and other people to participate, but with mixed reaction.

But the Northwestern out maneuvered Main Street Oshkosh at every turn. We wanted a whole section on Restaurant reviews, and then the Northwestern started a Forum on restaurant reviews. We wanted to profile locally owned businesses downtown, and then the Northwestern started to profile the exact same businesses we were talking to. Everything we tried to do, the Northwestern started to do. What could we do to draw readership and compete with the Northwestern's Forums - what could we say that the ONW didn't either say or let others say.

So posting declined, updates dropped off, and myself with a new child and JC going back to school left poor Main Street without any drivers.

What's Next

While it is easy to concede that the Northwestern Forums have provided the online public a virtual soap box and readership to read the rants, there still remains a need for an alternative media perspective in Oshkosh. Whether blogs will rise again I don't know, but there needs to be something, and there needs to be leaders to lead the charge. Oshkosh needs Independent News.

Please - someone start something! Or join up with Main Street Oshkosh and launch an online revolution!

(crossposted at babblemur.com)

Mapping Main Street

I've been keeping up with a surprisingly lively discussion of what should become of Oshkosh's downtown Main Street area, over at the Northwestern's forums. A lot of ideas for a more vibrant downtown are being tossed around, along with a lot of opinions on what works and what doesn't. But one thing that seems to be nearly unanimous is that there is a problem with knowing what stores are where downtown, what they offer, and when they are open. Therefore, since downtown is full of uncertainty it may be avoided.

Now, the best way to discover what is downtown is certainly to go there and explore. I encourage anyone who can to spend a day downtown and get to know your city a little better. But not all of us have the time for exploring, and some of us would frankly like to know what we are exploring before we explore it.

When I read that nobody knew what was downtown, I thought there must be a downtown map that we could just do a better job of publicizing. So I Googled "downtown oshkosh map" and discovered this. Perfect, I thought. Produced by the BID itself, we'll just have to get it out there more. Except, wait, where are all the businesses and attractions?

It's just a blank street map. Huh?? Oshkosh Downtown: The Heart of what All? I clicked "View interactive map" which goes to the regular Google Maps site with the location set as Oshkosh, WI. So I decided to try the Google Maps "Search nearby" feature to find downtown restaurants. It found three in the downtown Main Street area, one of which was Burger King. Hardly an exciting picture of the dinner options downtown, no offense to the three that were actually found.

Then I remembered seeing a map for the Gallery Walk. It would be incomplete, but a good start. The gallery walk map is actually very close to what I was hoping for in the first place. It's simple and numbered, with a key for each number with more information. In a pinch, it would do as a guide for some simple downtown exploration. However, the information about hours, offerings, etc. is lacking for a more general application.

The point of all of this: Main Street Oshkosh (the website, us) was created to fill some voids in the community, to provide important information and discussions where they are not currently available, and to create the change in Oshkosh that we want to see. (Better neighborhoods, more vibrant downtown, etc.) As part of this, I think it would be great to provide an online map of downtown with all the details people have been looking for. I'm looking for comments and suggestions about the idea itself, possible alternatives that might already exist, and specifics about how to do it.

Right now, there are two options for the "how" of it that I am considering.

1) Create a custom Google Maps page like this. We would need help from the community to get all of the relevant attractions added. Once built, it would be reasonably easy to keep updated.

2) Contact the Gallery Walk map maker about creating a more general downtown map similar to the Gallery Walk map. (Or look for volunteers among MSO readers to get the job done.) This option would likely cost money, and be marginally more difficult to maintain, but would translate to print MUCH better and allow us to put printed maps on the counters of local shops if we had the money and desire for that.

Leave a blog comment or contact jmc AT mainstreetoshkosh.com with an appropriate subject line if you want to get involved or offer comments.

Sawdust Days concerns

It’s -14 outside as I write this but my mind is way ahead thinking about the heart of summer - July 4th AND Sawdust Days. Sawdust Days (so named because Oshkosh was once known as Sawdust City) started out 35 years ago as a summer fundraiser for civic groups. It has, since its beginnings, been located in Menominee Park which is bordered by the lake on one side and an old city neighborhood on the other. (That neighborhood happens to be the one I’ve lived in since childhood. I raised my family here and now my daughter’s family lives just a street away.) Over the years carnivals, concerts, and other attractions have set up at Sawdust Days and the festival has become a summer tradition for many. The 5 day event was well coordinated by the Sawdust Days organization and run mainly by volunteers. Regular park users could still use the park and the fireworks were scheduled (as they had been even before Sawdust Days) in the park on the night of the 4th. For a long time, all was good.

But in recent years, Sawdust Days has attracted more and more attendees and though there is no way to know exactly how many, the number 100,000 has been estimated by the park department and quoted in the Northwestern. More attendees means more attractions and activities so that now Sawdust Days is arguably one of the largest festivals in the area. And over the last few years, there have been problems that one might expect when a week long summer party takes place in a finite area very near a residential neighborhood. The crowds and their “fun” have begun to spill over into neighboring yards and onto the through streets leading to the park. There have been more incidents of public profanity and drunkenness along with some vandalism and theft. There are some privacy and safety concerns. Young families find they can no longer use the park much during the holiday week. When the local residents head for the park for the fireworks display as they have always done, they are now greeted by a crowd already too large for the park. Squeezing into the park is unpleasant and the parking and traffic are a nightmare.

Last summer, I decided to contact Tom Stephany to see if there was a plan to deal with increasing size of Sawdust Days and the accompanying concerns. He graciously met me for lunch and as I did not know anything about the way the festival was run, he filled me in. I also expressed some concerns that Tom countered by reminding me how much he and many others love Sawdust Days. When I emailed him a couple of days later to reiterate my concerns again, he did not seem receptive to any talk of change in the status quo. I became frustrated with the lack of any real discussion and contacted a city council member who spoke with Mayor Tower who was then quoted as saying there would be a meeting set up with appropriate departments and concerned citizens “after the budget process was complete.” We all know how long that process was this year but when it was over, there was no meeting scheduled. Suddenly, on January 7th, Sawdust Days showed up on the council agenda and approval was granted after very little discussion at all! The parks director had told the mayor that approval was needed quickly so that plans for the event could be firmed up. There was no notice to Menominee Park neighbors. Those who had concerns were told that they would be welcome to come to the February parks board meeting to express concerns and questions - AFTER THE FACT! The powers that be operate as if they do not need to be accountable to the public which is an odd attitude particularly after the last year of upheaval at city hall caused mostly by lack of transparency.

Now, I am not out to remove Sawdust Days. I like corn dogs, rides and music (for a day or two). But it seems appropriate for the parks department and the Sawdust Days organization to be less defensive and more open to compromise. If locating the festival in Menominee Park is as important to the civic organizations as they say, I would think that maintaining a good relationship with the neighbors that have hosted the event for 35 years would be a priority.
If you agree that some changes would be appropriate and/or if you believe that citizen input should be handled in a more timely manner, please attend the next parks board meeting on Monday, February 11th at 6:00, room 404 city hall. Bring your questions, comments and concerns.

A Walk Down Jackson Street in March of 1839

I close my eyes and take a walk back in time. There is no Murdock Avenue, and there isn’t even a path were Jackson Street will tread. There is only one lone Bur Oak to the southwest. The landscape is dotted with Bur Oak and a few Shagbark Hickory, but the grass dominates. It’s early in the year for it, but seven male Sharp-tailed grouse have gathered and have begun to practice their dancing. The females won’t come until later, when the season is right for nesting.

I move due south toward the river and cut my own path through last year’s big bluestem, compass plants, asters and coneflowers. Two hundred yards into my trip I cross a trail running east to west. I stop and look both ways, but no natives are coming so I continue south. Not much further there are more trees; they do not crowd together, but politely keep their distance from one another. I’ve walked only a half a mile now but the tall grass has made the going slow. I take a rest at New York and Jackson up against a Black Walnut. A fox squirrel looks down at me.

I head south again, crossing another trail through Saratoga Ave, and then enter a marsh at Prospect Ave. I trudge through the hummocks and pause to watch a mink disappear into the sloughgrass. Then I move on to dry ground at Scott Ave. More scattered oaks the rest of the way to Irving. One mile walked in my imagination.

In the present I stand in the athletic field – East Hall Park on the corner of New York and Jackson a block from my home. I can see a few of those same Bur Oaks now in their prime. They saw the Native American, the prairie, the elk, the cougar, the farmer, the urban sprawl and hugged the hospital that became a dorm that fell to the earth to make baseball diamonds. As I wonder what the trees will see after I'm gone I look up into an oak and see a fox squirrel looking down at me.

Adapted from the field notes of surveyor D. Giddings March 1839

OYSO + Taiko = Awesome

Wednesday night I stayed home sick from my normal commitment down in Fond du Lac. I've had an awful cold for several days (so has everyone else, I think). But since I was in town anyway, I decided to catch the Taiko drum concert on Wednesday night. I've had a fascination with taiko drumming ever since I saw Yamato: The Drummers of Japan at the Fox Cities PAC. They had a drum the size of a VW bug. We were in the front row, and when they started I thought my head might explode. It was unreal, in a very good way.

The Wednesday night concert at UWO's music hall was actually the Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra's annual fundraising concert, which I was initially oblivious to, in my sick runny-nosed taiko frenzy. OYSO was a nice bonus, if you're into that sort of thing. (Which I am, but not enough to show up for that alone.) As an extra enticement for folks like me, OYSO brought in Zenshin Daiko which is a youth taiko drumming group from Maui, Hawaii.

I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd. George Curtis of Curtis Law and Mayor Frank Tower were in attendance, probably among many other notables. The turnout looked pretty good. The hall was almost full.

OYSO started with some "Slavonic Dances," "The Great Locomotive Chase," and "The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring," which seemed to be a medley of all the music from the soundtrack. I was impressed with OYSO's performance and poise. Make no mistake, they may be young, but they will rock you. Sometimes it is fun just watching the conductor, the bows, fingers, and drumsticks all moving together.

Then Zenshin Daiko took the stage. Taiko drumming is just some thing you have to see, and feel (literally), to understand. I never thought that drums alone could make such a complete, powerful piece of music until my first taiko concert with Yamato. Zenshin Daiko lived up to that standard, playing every bit as powerfully, despite their more reasonable-sized (i.e. not vehicle size) drums. Every analogy I can think of to explain what it's like is probably too risque to post here, so I hope you will take my word for it.

After Zenshin's three songs alone, they performed two songs along with OYSO. Both were enjoyable, but I wish there had been more taiko. I've got a fever... and the only cure is more taiko.

When the concert was over we clapped for a really long time, but there was no encore. I found this upsetting, but my wife reminded me it was not a rock concert.

Conclusion: It is the best $5 non-rock concert you will see this year. And you can still see it, because they're playing the same show again on Saturday night at the Alberta Kimball Auditorium at Oshkosh West (375 N Eagle Street). The show starts at 7:30PM, so you should be done just in time to be fashionably late for the Raindogs show at Peabody's.

Also: There are CDs and DVDs of the performance available. $5 of each purchase goes to support OYSO. CDs are $10, DVDs are $15. Send checks payable to "Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra" to:

Mary Borsecnik and Mike Engel
Innovisions
2905 Universal Street, Suite #10
Oshkosh, WI 54904

Include Name, Address, Phone, and specify if you would like your items mailed for an additional $5, or if you would like to be called when the items are ready for pickup from the Curtis Law Office building, at no additional charge.

But don't let the CD option keep you from the concert. You have to feel the taiko.

Double Feature: The Chalice & Two Brothers

It is the time of year when people want their meals made for them. We have enough on our minds, and enough cooking of our own for family gatherings that nobody wants to make their own meals. I'm no exception.

Saturday night, as my wife and I cleaned our disgusting mess of an apartment we developed a hankering for some food. "What food?," we asked each other in circles. "Not pizza." "Not Mexican." "Why not?" "I don't know, we just had it." etc.

A couple things were clear at this point. We were both hungry, indecisive, and getting cranky fast. Because of its most convenient proximity we eventually decided on Chalice which is on the corner of Main and Murdock.

The Chalice is small. The dining room is about the size of a large living room, and there is a bar on the other side. During the summer there is an outdoor patio area with fences and awnings to shelter you from the traffic and the elements, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Chalice is owned by the same people as Pilora's Cafe on Main St., a favorite of my wife and I.

In the evening, the lighting is low with candles on each table. It's a great place for two, for a quiet dinner, or for a small group of 3-4. Larger groups may find seating difficult. The atmosphere is warm, with a fireplace and wood paneling reminiscent of a 1970's cabin-- in a way that is just retro enough to feel familiar, but not so much so that it seems like an "adult film" set.

The service at The Chalice has always been great for us. I have had the bartenders keep the bar open past their normal closing time for us. The owner mixed me a drink once with my dinner which was delicious, and on the house. (By mistake, or not, I'm not sure.) And the waitstaff are usually quick and always friendly. Saturday night was the busiest I have ever seen them, and they handled it very well.

The menu consists primarily of sandwiches, salads, and soups. The menu is small, but there should be something for all but the pickiest of eaters, and there are a number of unique and excellent choices. I had the chicken philly which is essentially a philly cheese steak sandwich with the steak bit replaced with chicken breast. The sandwich comes with "chalice" sauce, which is delicious, and a choice of small side dishes including pasta salad, apple waldorf salad, and something else I can't recall (these options change from time to time). The sandwich is served on french bread (I think) and is quite large. I could not finish all of it, though I came close. (Plan for large servings of every main dish, as well as desserts.) I also ordered a cup of their tomato bisque which, although my wife assures me that it was almost certainly not homemade, almost seemed like it could be. My wife had a chef salad with chicken. The large plate arrived stacked high with chicken and other salad fixings. Her comment was "Where's the lettuce?" This could be good or bad depending upon how you like your salads. I think that she was initially disappointed, but later said the salad was very good... and she eventually found the lettuce. Her only gripe in the end was that they didn't have bleu cheese dressing.

Drinks. Chalice has a pretty full bar. The quality of mixed drinks varies; I have had some great drinks and some not so great. Their root beer is bottled Sprecher. They have a reasonable selection of beers (including some somewhat local options like New Glarus), and a few wines to choose from.

Expect to pay ~$8-12 per person for a drink and dinner. They have desserts, but you won't want one unless you share a single meal between multiple people or go just for the dessert.

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After our Sunday holiday bash, in which we destroyed every bit of clean apartment we had created, we had about five guests sleep over. This morning we didn't just want breakfast, we needed breakfast. We all headed over to Two Brothers on Hwy 21, just east of 41. Not too long ago Two Brothers moved from their old building across the street, to their new building on the north side of 21. In the process they brightened the atmosphere and expanded their hours to be open 24/7. Overall, the change has been good and we have eaten there fairly regularly.

Two Brothers is sort of your standard family restaurant owned by a Greek family. Those familiar with Fond du Lac's Faro's Restaurant will find Two Brothers similar. The food is generally pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Two Brothers has three things going for it. 1) The service, which is generally very good and friendly. 2) The hours/new building-- it's nice and clean and it's open all night. MUCH better than Perkins, by any measure. 3) The desserts, specifically an interesting dessert item made with shredded phyllo dough and a sort of whipped cream topping. Ask them about it-- depending who you talk to they may not know what it is called, but they should know what you're talking about. They also have a selection of something like eight or ten kinds of ice cream.

Today Two Brothers was very busy at breakfast time, which should not be surprising on Christmas Eve. We waited to be seated only a couple minutes, though the wait for our food was a bit longer than usual.

I had the Brothers breakfast sandwich which was the standard egg, ham, and cheese on an english muffin. There were options for other meats and breads (like bagels). The sandwich came with hash browns. It was all good, my only complaint would be perhaps that I was hoping for a thicker chuck of ham on the sandwich rather than a couple pieces of thinner sliced ham. My wife ordered the pancake sandwich which is an ingenious combination of two pancakes and a ham steak. I tried some. It was great.

On the negative side, my wife's sister attempted to order a side of flour tortillas and salsa with her skillet. It seemed a reasonable request, but the waitress came back from the kitchen with the response "We don't do that." Not "We don't have that," (they do). Their unwillingness to satisfy this request took my wife and I aback, because it seemed very uncharacteristic of their usual service level. I also heard from her sister that she was feeling ill after her breakfast. We are chalking it up to a very busy Christmas Eve day, but I find myself slightly less enthusiastic about dining there regularly.

Overall, Two Brothers has good food at pretty good prices. Just go in with reasonable expectations. And for your overnight eating needs, Two Brothers is hands down the place to go.

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas, Oshkosh.

Commentary - Co-Working: A step towards revitalization?

Oshkosh has a wide variety of vacant properties; industrial buildings, office space, retail. I have heard parts of Oshkosh described as akin to "post-World War II Berlin." I don't know if I would go that far, but dilapidation is setting in, to be sure. At the same time the 41 corridor and Hwy 21 West are being inundated with new development the heart of the city is rotting in many areas.

Clearly, the strategy (if there is one) to revitalize our city's core is not working. The global and local economies have changed. It's time to start thinking about innovative ways to breathe some life back into the neighborhoods that were adversely effected by the change.

Enter Co-Working. The idea is essentially to have a number of independent workers in a shared facility, with common meeting areas, reception, kitchen, and other shared resources. The co-workers generally pay a small amount of rent, much less than they would pay to rent a space of their own. Anyone can be a co-worker. The original co-workers were self-employed information workers (computer programmers, web designers, graphic designers, etc.); however the facility could be used by many professions, even accountants and lawyers, with the addition of secure file storage.

Perhaps even more exciting for Oshkosh is the possibility, with the old industrial properties, of co-manufacturing. Small enterprise or "boutique" manufacturers could share a facility with significantly reduced overhead. Successful home workshops could be expanded into full commercial operations without the often crippling need for capital. Imagine one of our abandoned industrial properties housing a screenprinter, an instrument maker, and a specialty machinist. Or one of many other interesting and perhaps serendipitous combinations.

The benefits of co-working (of any kind) are numerous: 1) the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs are significantly lowered, reducing risk, encouraging innovation, and creating an atmosphere where good ideas can thrive; 2) while some of these ventures will fail, many others will achieve success, some probably to the degree that they will need to expand beyond the co-working scenario, further building the city's economic base; 3) working in close quarters with others from the same field or different fields entirely often leads to interesting and unexpected collaboration; 4) co-working facilities can become hubs of community activity; and many other great arguments in favor of co-working can be made.

We don't have to rely on speculation to get some idea of what is possible with co-working, because a number of successful co-working facilities already exist. The most famous is likely the Hat Factory in San Francisco, so-named because of the facility's former life as a hat factory. Another well-known co-working space is Citizen Space.

Closer to home, Citizen Desk is located in Wausau, WI. They were so immersed in the collaboration aspect of co-working that they decided to form a community news site: Citizen Wausau. I had an opportunity to meet Citizen Desk founder Marcus Nelson at BarCamp Milwaukee2 in October. In this recorded presentation, Marcus explains the basics of co-working. Following Marcus in the recording is James Carlson of Bucketworks. Bucketworks is not a co-working facility per se; it is described as a health club for your brain and acts as an incubator not just for business, but for arts and intellectual pursuits as well.

Let me leave you with this: I know this co-working thing is different, and it might sound really bizarre; but would you rather have another new big box store on the highway corridor, or a co-working or co-manufacturing facility near you, contributing to a vital neighborhood and a local, homegrown economy? There are people with co-working experience in our area who would be more than willing to advise an Oshkosh co-working effort. And co-working doesn't have to be restricted to information technology workers. The city has every reason to encourage this sort of alternative development and even to actively seek and facilitate it.

Why don't we?

Jeff's on Rugby - Mmm

Searching for good food in Oshkosh can be a challenge sometimes, but a few weeks ago the wife and I finally went to Jeff's on Rugby and found what many of the locals already know: Great food, Great price.

Tucked in a residential neighborhood on the South Side, Jeff's sits at the corner of 10th St. and Rugby in a building with a rich history. Dropping in on a Friday at dinner time we managed to get seated with a mere 10 minute wait after being offered "cocktail time" first, which we declined.

We both turned down the 'all-you-can-eat walleye fish fry' for $8.95. Instead my wife ordered the Whiskey Grilled Sirloin with baked potato ($11.95) and I ordered one of the "Family Favorites" - the Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy ($7.25). Before the food came out they brought out a very good loaf of fresh baked bread. They don't make the bread there, but it is from somewhere in Oshkosh. I am not exaggerating when I say that the meatloaf was amazing (go with the beef gravy). Two and a half slices of loaf, generous potatoes, and a creamy, rich gravy covering it all. I honestly cleaned my plate - every last crumb. There were no complaints about the steak either, and I tried a bite and it was OK but I was in meatloaf bliss.

The service was good, and the wait staff was pleasant and prompt. There is a bar off the restaurant area which was full and happy. I had a Captain & Coke and found it to be well made but I think they use Pepsi. All in all we could have stayed longer just for the friendly atmosphere but we left about 45 minutes after arriving with full bellies and a mere $24 bill for one of the best dinner's I've had out in Oshkosh.

Jeff's on Rugby's menu

Welcome!

Welcome to Main Street Oshkosh!