Going to War Protests: It's the sixth anniversary of the War on Iraq -- really. The invasion date was March 19, 2003. And there are at least two dozen rallies, marches, vigils and other actions planned to continue the protest. Events across the country marked the anniversary itself on Thursday.

Friday is the Iraq Moratorium observance held on the Third Friday of every month, and Saturday is the day for marches in Washington, California -- and Milwaukee.

The biggest locally will be in Milwaukee at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, located at the intersection 10th and Wells Street, with a rally featuring Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Milwaukee Area Labor Council chief operating officer Sheila Cochran and other speakers, followed by a march. The Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace, which includes more than 25 organizations, is sponsoring.

The demonstration that takes place the third Friday of every month at the corner of Wisconsin and Water Streets Downtown also should have a good turnout.

Some 24 events are planned throughout the state ranging from Ashland, Chippewa Falls and Elm Grove to Dodgeville. In LaCrosse, anti-war groups are calling for a three-day boycott of work, school and local stores. Madison has at least five events planned.

Selling County Grounds: Expect a good turnout for a public hearing scheduled next week on the sale of a good portion of the so-called County Grounds to UW-Milwaukee. The university wants to by 89 acres of the space, including some forest land environmentalists want to protect.

The sale -- hashed out by UWM and County Exec Scott Walker's office -- would be for $11.8 million, but some County Board members think they can get more for the land. Others will argue UWM should be closer to its East Side campus on land in the abandoned Park East Freeway corridor. One board member wants UWM to pay $13.55 million. Environmentalists are concerned about the effect of the sale on newly-built water retention ponds, which are meant to reduce flooding downstream.

The hearing is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 at Zoofari Conference Center, 1001 W. Bluemound Rd. The County Board's Economic and Development Committee will hold the hearing, but will not vote on the sale.

Hearing on RTA: One of the recent fast moves by state government includes a provision to allow cities to determine whether they want to be part of the Regional Transportation Authority and pay taxes towards commuter trains running between Kenosha and Milwaukee -- also known as the KRM Commuter rail. Part of that process includes public hearings to weigh the pros and cons.

The Third District Neighborhood Association is coming to the plate, holding the first public meeting on the issue.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. March 24 at St Mark's Episcopal Church on the corner of Belleview Place and Hackett Ave. Panelists include: the esteemed Ken Yunker of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission; Sharon Robinson, a city representative to the RTA; Kerry Thomas, with TransitNow; and Donna Brown with the state Department of Transportation.

The conservative talk crowd is aghast that cities can opt to get in with the RTA-even if the county opposes it (which it does here in the form of Milwaukee County Exec Scott Walker and Waukesha County Exec Dan Vrakas) -- mainly because it deals the hated concept of easy access to rail transportation and the fear of dreaded tax increases to subsidize the trains.

Port to be Blighted: We can probably all agree the Port of Milwaukee is no scenic backyard and now it's going to be called blighted by the Milwaukee Common Council.

A blighted designation makes it easier for the city to redevelop some of the rotting fuel dumps and unused gravel lots that dot the port's operating area. It could be used in some cases to seize large chunks of land so the city could sell it cheap to developers. It would be called the Port of Milwaukee Redevelopment Project Area and a resolution considered this week would direct city planners to come up with reasonable development ideas for the site.