Milwaukee News

Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com says motorists should be aware of the likelihood of a sharp rise in gas prices in the Milwaukee area through this weekend. DeHaan says prices could rise as much as five to 20 cents per gallon by the end of the weekend.

The price spike is due to a refinery fire in Washington state that’s boosting prices significantly through the West Coast region, and rising spot prices in the Great Lakes is boosting prices 30 to 45 cents per gallon Wednesday in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Milwaukee aldermen complained over their lack of participation in the city’s negotiations with Kohl’s Corp.regarding its headquarters project, drawing a response from Mayor Tom Barrett’s office that confidentiality was essential to the discussions.

Barrett on Wednesday, for the first time, publicly discussed details of efforts to attract Kohl’s headquarters to the Park East with a roughly $125 million incentive package. Officials at the city and Milwaukee County, which put together a $20 million incentive package, for the past year have refused to discuss the negotiations to honor Kohl’s request for confidentiality.

Milwaukee’s Roman Catholic archdiocese will ask a judge on Thursday to throw out hundreds of sexual abuse claims that have thrust it into bankruptcy, triggering a court battle and rekindling anger at the church’s mishandling of abusive clergy.

The aggressive stance taken by the archdiocese reminds victims’ advocates how leaders of the U.S. church long resisted pleas to deal harshly with offenders and fairly with victims during the decade-long scandal.

About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case. More >

Milwaukee’s City Hall was repaired in 2008, and those repairs cost around $76 million. Now, the building is falling apart again, and many are wondering who is going to pay for repairs, this time around.

In February of 2011, a piece fell from the top of the building and hit a car parked below. The city has now spent about $400,000 trying to figure out why the building continues to fall apart.

I wonder if it crossed Prince Fielder’s mind how many questions he’ll get, and how many stories will be attempted to connect him and his father, Cecil ? More >

Gov. Scott Walker announced today that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will invest $750,000 over the next three years to underwrite start-up water technology companies’ tenancy costs in the Water Technology Research and Business Accelerator Building in Milwaukee.

“As recognition grows of the critical role water plays as a human and economic resource, Wisconsin is fortunate to have already positioned itself as one of the few water technology leaders that world policy- and business decision makers can look to for answers,” Walker said.

A former Milwaukee police officer was found guilty Wednesday on a federal civil rights charge brought in the rape of a woman who had called 911.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a release Ladmarald Cates, 44, was convicted in the July 16, 2010, sexual assault of a Milwaukee woman who had called for police assistance. More >

Two people, including a former close aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker when he served as Milwaukee County executive, were arrested on felony theft charges Thursday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation that centers on people who served in the county during Walker’s tenure.

A third person, who worked six months for the state Department of Public Instruction until being fired Thursday, was charged with two counts of felony child enticement in a case the county prosecutor said was discovered while investigating the others.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office is taking a drastic and admittedly desperate step in its effort to clear cold cases, some stretching back to 1970. More >