Members of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission will update the city's Public Safety Committee on its progress this week. The commission was put in place in 2005 to research nearly everything related to homicides in the city, ranging from the background of victims and perpetrators to the elements surrounding the homicide.

In the past the commission found -- not unexpectedly -- that 90 percent of homicide suspects and 77 percent of victims had prior arrests. It also found that more than half of the suspects and victims knew each other and 40 percent of the homicides were the results of arguments.

The commission was initially funded with about $600,000 in foundation grants for the three-year effort. But when it was time recently for the city to produce $200,000 for the consultants to the commission -- namely Mallory O'Brien, a Milwaukee-based Harvard School of Public Health researcher, and research assistant Laurie Woods -- Ald. Robert Puente questioned what, exactly, the commission was doing.

He wondered why consultants would be worth $200,000. Recently, Puente also tried to corner new Police Chief Ed Flynn as to what the commission was doing in exchange for the city's money, but Flynn, new to the job, evaded a solid answer. Expect Puente to ask that question to O'Brien herself when she appears this week in person.

Selective Subsidies: The City of Milwaukee development office has been nearly consistent in taking a stand against giving potential Park East developers public hand-outs for their projects -- with a few exceptions.

Local favorite Barry Mandel has gotten millions in subsidies for his ambitious effort to turn the Pfister and Vogel Tannery into condos and retail shops. But a Chicago-based developer was rejected in his quest for city help.

Because of the few efforts at largess, there have been few efforts to get things going in the Park East corridor, former site of the Park East Freeway, which practically dumped commuters into the East Pointe Pick 'N Save parking lot.

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Posted by compujeramey on March 13, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. (report)

The proposal requiring city money for Curto and his Chicago company was for building a parking garage so people could come shop at a mini-mall of places like McDonalds, PotBellys, etc. That clearly wouldn't have been a good use of city money, as opposed to spending money to expand the riverwalk and create a organic street level market at the bottom of mixed-use buildings.