Some Milwaukee aldermen want to crack down on teen curfew violations and want to force business owners to get in the game, too. An ordinance proposed by Alds. Tony Zielinski and Willie Hines would also allow police to ticket curfew violators without actually having seen them violate curfew. Curfew in these parts is 10 p.m. weekdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Curfew rules would be expanded to include places that serve refreshments and other businesses, essentially banning teens from public after curfew hours. Business owners would be required to ask teens to leave after curfew and to call police if they don't go. Police could then write a ticket even though they never witnessed a thing. Curfew fines would also increase to a range from $200 to $400. The new penalties will be considered at a Common Council committee meeting in early January.

Mo-tel? It looks like Downtown Milwaukee will get another hotel, if a parking deal can be arranged. Johnny Vassallo, owner of Mo's steak joint and other Mo-ventures, bought the Posner Building, 152 W. Wisconsin Ave. two years ago, with the promise of rehabbing the structure possibly as an extended stay hotel.

Vassallo has hooked up with Milwaukee Hotel Associates LLC on a $21 million rehab for a 160-unit mid-rate hotel. The hotel group wants to lease spots in the city lot at 724 N. 2nd St., conveniently located next door to the Posner Building. The resolution before a Common Council committee does not specify the number of spaces, only that they would be leased at market rate for 25 years.

The seven-story Posner Building was built in 1908 and is assessed at $2.9 million. Part of the $21 million makeover is also headed to redoing the first floor retail.

Keg Crackdown: Here's a good hobby for law enforcement. Beer kegs will now be registered in Racine so police can track which store sold them and to whom. The onus will be on stores to log when and who bought the keg so when the cops find an under-age party they can also, in theory, go back and bust who sold it.

No matter that the kegs' hands could have changed several times. The fine for not having a registered keg could be as high as $500 and police can seize any unregistered keg, as well. So make sure the party papers are in order.

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Posted by CoolerKing on Dec. 24, 2007 at 9:22 a.m. (report)

I'd completely forgotten we'd dropped curfew years ago. I remember seeing that curfew message scroll on the bottom of the TV screens late at night, asking parents if they knew where their children were. Considering the ages involved in recent violent crimes a curfew couldn't hurt. MILWIRISH - I wouldn't worry about Tony Z continuing on as an alderman. I suspect he's got a different agenda for his career. THAT'S the one I'm worried about!

Posted by MILWIRISH on Dec. 22, 2007 at 8:42 p.m. (report)

it would be nice to see tony z treat everyone alike..... it would also be nice if he did something real to make life in milwaukee better. tony never saw a headline he did not love. is there anyone in bayview with guts enough to run for alderman??

Posted by mitchgat on Dec. 21, 2007 at 4:21 p.m. (report)

Superfluous? Nah, over due? Definitely!!! When they cracked down on cruising, the lakefront was again a nice place to visit at night. Perhaps enforcing the curfew will help lower the crime rate in certain parts of the black community; Lord knows these parents are failing their children. I'm especially happy to see that Hines is endorsing this. If McGee was out and about, we'd surely hear how racist this crackdown is and how it's "the white man keeping us down" BS. The bottom line about the curfew is this: most of the shootings and a lot of the violence in MKE is perpetrated by young black men, against other black men. Often these individuals are young. I'm black and I had a curfew until I was 21 and I turned out fine. Setting boundaries never hurt anyone. The only thing I would say is they need to make sure parents are being held accountable for this as well... which is sometimes MUCH easier said than done.

Posted by sijan_heights on Dec. 21, 2007 at 1:27 p.m. (report)

If there is a hollow gesture or superfluous legislation to grandstand upon, rest assured that Tony Zielinski is never far from the press release/cameras. How about some REAL changes in this city?