Council passes option for West Racine grocery store, gas station

The City Council voted 14-1 Tuesday night to grant Tom Tousis an option on land to build a grocery store with gas pumps in West Racine.

The council's vote finalizes a recommendation from the city's Redevelopment Authority to move Tousis' $5 million project forward. Tousis needed the option because the city owns the land he wants to build on at the corner of Washington Avenue and West Boulevard.

Tousis' plan is to build a grocery store and sit-down restaurant with gas pumps. The council's vote forwards Tousis' project to the city's Access Corridor Review Committee and the Plan Commission for further consideration. The proposal needs to pass both committees and the City Council to win approval.

Tousis' plan also calls for a liquor license, which would require approval from the Public Safety and Licensing Committee.

Tuesday's vote was a long-time coming for Tousis, who has been publicly pushing his controversial project since July. While there's been little opposition to the proposed grocery store or restaurant, the gas pumps have drawn criticism as a bad fit for West Racine.

But Tousis has built support by noting his project would help pay off the tax incremental finance district used to clear the West Racine block, would create new jobs and meet two West Racine needs - a place to buy groceries and a sit-down restaurant.

Alderman Jeff Coe was the only vote against the project. Alderman Jim Spangenberg, an opponent of the project, voted for the option but said it didn't mean he supported Tousis's proposal.

Up next is a more detailed review of what the grocery store, restaurant and gas pumps would look like. A key question will be if the project fits with the city's development plans for West Racine. City committees will take up that issue and make a recommendation to the full City Council in the next few months.

Retired 1st grade teacher joins school board race

Four candidates have filed paperwork to run for three seats on the Racine Unified School Board -- three incumbents and one newcomer.

Frances Eulingbourgh of 3801 Spruce St., an adjunct instructor at Gateway Technical College and a retired RUSD teacher, is the newcomer challenging the three incumbents whose terms expire.

Eulingbourgh retired from Unified in 1998; she taught first grade at Jefferson Lighthouse School for 21 years.

"I think I could make some changes," she said. "I know what's needed in the classroom and nobody on the board has that expertise." She said she wants to provide "what teachers actually need -- "instead of making Racine Unified so top-heavy at Northwestern Avenue.

"That's a political statement, but that's how I feel," she said. "At my age, being political doesn't bother me." She is 74, and this is the first time she has run for office.

The three incumbents seeking re-election to new three-year terms are William Van Atta, 127 Morningwood Drive; Julie McKenna, 724 Crab Tree Lane; and Susan Kutz, 4937 Regal Court.

The election is Tuesday, April 6.

Felner, UW-P's almost chancellor, to plead guilty

Way back at the beginning -- in June 2008 -- we used the headline The Neverending story on the saga of Dr. Robert Felner, who was just weeks away from becoming chancellor at UW-Parkside when the Feds rushed in with fraud charges and he withdrew (after shipping boxes of personal materials here).

Well, now the story is about to end: Felner is expected to plead guilty on Friday to charges of defrauding the University of Louisville and the University of Rhode Island of $2.3 million. That's just the smallest piece of what Felner had been accused of: See our recap of the Felner Chronicles here.

The guilty plea is part of an agreement Felner has made with the U.S. Attorney's office. No details were disclosed about which charges Felner would plead guilty to or how much jail time he may receive. He could face 75 years in prison.

A federal grand jury in Louisville indicted Felner and his co-defendant Thomas Schroeder in October 2008, charging Felner with 10 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and income tax evasion. There were other allegations along the way, including selling a Ph.D. and hiring of his girlfriend -- and a no-confidence vote by his faculty, who accused him of being vindictive, manipulative and threatening. None of which were discovered by UW-P's $70,000 search firm or search committee.

All of which led, inevitably to "a detailed review of procedures used to recruit and screen candidates" within the University of Wisconsin system, which dodged a bullet in this instance.

Biz News: WSI once again Entrepreneur Magazine's top-ranked franchise

WSI, a national Internet technology company with an office in Mount Pleasant, was once again named Entrepreneur Magazine's top-ranked franchise.

The honor, announced Wednesday, marks the 10th straight year WSI has earned the magazine's designation.

WSI also ranked No. 13 in the Top Home Based Franchises and No. 49 in America’s Top Global Franchises. The WSI Internet marketing services network increased to the overall 56th spot in the 500 listing in 2010.

WSI Wisconsin offices include the Area Rep Office at 1127 Prairie Drive, Racine and in Franksville, several in the Madison and Milwaukee areas, and other locations in the northern and western regions of the state. Gary A. Smith is head of WSI's Racine area office.

A press release from WSI said:

We are very pleased with Entrepreneur Magazine’s January 2010 franchise listing results. This is a testament to WSI’s leadership position in the technology services category. Coupled with a strong brand reputation and complete training and support, WSI offers one of the few ‘white collar’ franchises today. With companies shifting more of their marketing budgets online, WSI franchisees are experiencing a high volume of business as companies realize the power and potential of Internet marketing.

Have Racine area business news you'd like to share? Send it to RacinePost at: racinepost@gmail.com

Sign exemption questioned for Uptown car dealer

The City Council will vote tonight on whether to allow a used car dealer in Uptown to use a sign that doesn't fit with the area's design guidelines.

Servantez Automotive Inc., 1407 S. Memorial Drive, is seeking permission for a changeable sign to advertise cars and prices, and for inspirational messages. At least one alderman is planning to object to the exemption.

Alderman Greg Helding contends the city should follow the design guidelines created for special districts. Otherwise, he asks, what's the point?

But his objections stand against a city committee charged with reviewing the Uptown design guidelines. The Access Corridor Development Review Committee agreed to grant Servantez Automotive the sign exemption at its Dec. 17 meeting.

Helding said the city had already made an exemption to allow the used car dealer to open in an historic building in Uptown. It shouldn't allow another exemption, even if it is just for a sign.

The council is set to vote on the Servantez sign exemption tonight.

Update: The exemption passed the City Council Tuesday night. Helding voted against the exemption, but didn't raise much debate on the issue.

Alderman Weidner gets a challenger; Mosby running in sixth district

Alderman Sandy Weidner is being challenged for her City Council seat.

Real estate agent Dwight Mosby filed papers to run against Weidner in the April 6 general election. Weidner has been re-elected since 2000. She was not challenged in 2008.

Mosby owns Mosby Real Estate in Racine. Mosby ran unsuccessfully for the City Council's second district in 1993.

Second candidate files to run against Racine Alderman Jim Kaplan

The Insider News is reporting a third candidate will run for the City Council's fourth district this spring.

Sherrie Lawson is jumping into the race to take on incumbent Jim Kaplan and challenger Ken Lumpkin, who also owns the Insider News. Lawson's entry sets up a Feb. 16 primary to narrow the field to two candidates.

The general election is April 6.

Ghuari taking on Marcus in Racine City Council's second district

Jameel Ghuari, executive director of the Bray Center in Racine, is making another run for the City Council. He filed papers to run against Eric Marcus for the vacant seat in the city's Second District, which is located just south of Downtown Racine. Incumbent Bob Anderson declined to run for re-election.

Ghuari ran against Anderson in 2008 and lost 439-373. Anderson was running for re-election at the time.

The Marcus-Ghuari race should be interesting. Both candidates live and work in the Second District, and both have built up name recognition. Ghuari has run the Bray Center for a number of years and has held a public face in Racine for the past decade.

Marcus is a member of the city's Plan Commission and Landmarks Preservation Commission. He's also owner of the Woofdorf-Astoria Dog Hotel and Spa on 18th Street.

Packers honor Barb Rigden for volunteer service

Barb Rigden of Racine will be honored by the Green Bay Packers later this month.

She will receive one of 20 Green Bay Packers Community Quarterback Awards. The award is designed to honor volunteers who exemplify leadership, dedication, creativity and a commitment to improving the communities in which they live through volunteerism.

Rigden has been volunteering through the Volunteer Center of Racine County for 10 years. In the past year, she has logged over 967 hours with the Volunteer Center – 828 in the area of sexual assault support and services.

Rigden will be honored at a recognition dinner on Thursday, Jan. 21, in the Legends Club at Lambeau Field. The Volunteer Center of Racine County will be awarded a $1,000 grant on her behalf.

Attention businesses: We want your news!

One of RacinePost's major goals for 2010 is to expand our local business coverage. Specifically, we're looking for opportunities to report positive Racine business news from Main Street to corporate board rooms. We're envisioning stories and posts about promotions, awards, new products, milestones, acquisitions, expansions and anything else local businesses would like to share.

Racine takes a beating for its high unemployment rate, but we know there are dozens, even hundreds, of local businesses and business leaders succeeding in a difficult economy. These are the stories we want to share this year, and we'll be looking for them.

But we could also use your help. If you have stories you'd like share - particularly if they're from a business, service club or local organization - we'd love to hear from you. Really, nothing is too small. We'll do everything possible to include your story on the Post. Send your stories to: racinepost@gmail.com

Also, we're growing every year, but we still don't reach everyone in the Racine area. If you hear anyone with a story to share, or looking for a place to share it, pass our name along. Our readers are our No. 1 marketing effort. Your word of mouth can help us grow and improve RacinePost in the New Year.

Thanks much ... and Happy 2010!

City warns Racine businesses to pull video gambling machines

Racine convenience stores and gas stations are pulling out their video gambling machines after a city letter warned the machines may be seized.

City Attorney Rob Weber sent a letter dated Dec. 17 to all Class A liquor license holders - mostly convenience stores and gas stations - in Racine warning that possession of video gambling machine was a felony under Wisconsin law. The letter urged removal of any illegal machines by Dec. 31, 2009.

Weber's letter came two days after the Racine City Council voted to enact local fines against businesses that violated the law. Businesses can be fined $500 per machine, and the machines can be confiscated with money in them, under the ordinance, which mirrors state law.

Local convenience stores are taking the letter seriously. Odd Fellows, a convenience store at 817 Main St., has already removed its machines and a handful of other gas stations and stores have reportedly pulled the plug on their small-time gambling operations, as well.

City enforcement of the state law on video gambling does not affect bars, which hold Class B liquor licenses. They are allowed under state law to have up to five video gambling machines. The exemption for Class B liquor licenses has convenience store owners crying unfair. But Bar owners are reaping the rewards of an aggressive lobbying effort to open up gambling in places other than Native American casinos. No doubt locally bars will benefit if video gambling machines are pulled out of convenience stores - ie. the competition.

Alderman Aron Wisneski, who chairs the city's Public Safety and Licensing Committee, is playing a key role in enforcing the video gambling law. He said Monday the city is reacting to complaints its received from residents about gambling in neighborhood stores. He added the machines in businesses without a Class B liquor license is clearly a felony under state law.

Locally, police are concerned that a proliferation of video gambling creates additional targets for crime, Wisneski said. Stores that carry machines presumably have cash on hand to pay out winners. While none of the machines payout big money - the max is around $500 - it could attract criminal activity, he said.

"The police came to us and said, 'We want to do something,'" Wisneski said.

The city has done its homework on the issue. Police officers are trained to identify and confiscate gambling machines (a seemingly simple process, but important for testimony to hold up in court). They also have legal precedent. The City of Milwaukee confiscated video gambling machines about 10 years ago and fined the owners. The owners fought the fines, but lost in circuit court. The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2002.

Wisneski said the city does not want to fine anyone over video gambling machines. It just wants fewer machines in the city.

That said, it's likely the city will move forward against businesses that illegally hold on to video gambling machines.

"When we roll this out, we're going to bust places and we're going to win in court," Wisneski said.

New anesthesiology provider at All Saints starting Jan. 11

A Florida-based company will take over All Saints' anesthesiology department next week, according to a corporate press release.

Anesthetix Management LLC, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., signed an exclusive service agreement with All Saints to replace SEAC, the current anesthesia group at All Saints. Anesthetix will start Jan. 11, the release said.

All Saints described the change as an "expansion" that will improve local service and create a "state of the art" unit in Racine. Among the benefits: Anesthetix will provide 'walking epidurals' to women in labor.

The press release said Anesthetix will use new anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists and current employees to create the new department.

Here is the full press release from All Saints:

All Saints Selects New Anesthesiology Services Partner

Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare–All Saints announced today it is expanding its anesthesia services. The transition is to an exclusive service agreement with a leading national provider, Anesthetix Management LLC (Anesthetix), effective January 11, 2010. This expansion of anesthesia services builds upon the good work of SEAC, the current anesthesia group at All Saints. All Saints, SEAC, and Anesthetix are working collaboratively over the next several weeks to ensure that the high quality surgical service that our patients have come to expect continues and the transition for our patients, surgeons, and staff is seamless.

Beginning January 11, 2010, Anesthetix will coordinate and provide all anesthesiology services at All Saints. The new practice group, to be known as Racine Anesthesiology Services, PLLC, will be comprised of new anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), and members of the current anesthesiology group, SEAC. They will work together to give the Racine community increased access to sophisticated medical care and improved service for All Saints patients and medical staff.

“In addition to implementing a variety of efficiencies, Anesthetix will be adding a new level of care and anesthesia options for our patients undergoing certain types of diagnostic testing,” said Dr. Nicholas Omdahl, Vice President of Medical Affairs, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints. “We are very pleased with the initiative they have already taken in working with us to better approach the needs of our patients and medical staff.”

Beyond forming a new state-of-the-art anesthesia department, Anesthetix is also expanding coverage for obstetric patients, ensuring that any laboring mother will have immediate access to the latest standards of labor pain management, including ‘walking epidurals’.

"We have found All Saints’ administration, hospital staff and physicians to be wonderful people who are highly committed to providing the best medical care possible for their patients and we are honored by their confidence and trust in Anesthetix to deliver on this commitment,” said Steven M. Gottlieb, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Anesthetix. "We look forward to working with them and establishing a new, higher standard of anesthesia care for the patients in the greater Racine area."

Want a mayor and administrator with that latte?

Residents of Racine are each paying less than the cost of a latte to have a mayor and city administrator. (And still they complain!)

We worked out the per capita cost of our top city leadership this morning after seeing a story in today's Journal Sentinel computing the figure for ten Milwaukee-area communities -- New Berlin, Wauwatosa, Waukesha, Brookfield, Oak Creek and more.

It was a simple calculation -- see their story and worksheet here -- just dividing each community's population into the salary paid to the mayor (and city administrator when the community had one of those).

The highest cost is borne by the 32,600 citizens of Mequon, who each pay $4.89 per year toward their part-time mayor's $9,600 salary and their city administrator's $115,600.

The bargain is in Greenfield, whose 36,300 citizens each pay $2.02 a year to support their mayor's $73,472 salary, with no city administrator.

Anyway, here for comparison's sake are our figures:

Mayor John Dickert's salary is $69,400.
City Administrator Tom Friedel's salary is $95,000
Racine's population is 80,806

Which works out to a per capita cost of $2.03, per year.

Wheaton-Franciscan cuts ties with Racine-based anesthesiology group

Wheaton-Franciscan All Saints has cut ties with its anesthesiologists and plans to replace most of the doctors with nurses, according to insiders at the hospital.

At least 11 of All Saints' 14 anesthesiologists are set to leave after contract negotiations broke down. They'll be replaced by certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), who are specifically trained to put people under in surgeries.

But surgeons who work with the anesthesiologists said they're concerned about switching to a system that replaces board-certified doctors with nurses.

"There's a risk of hearts attacks, blood clots ... of coding right on the table," one insider said. "You want a board-certified doc there."

Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints' response: Florida company will expand anesthesiology services in Racine

While the anesthesiologists and All Saints are not talking about the change, people close to the situation have confirmed the hospital is planning the switch. Our calls to anesthesiologists were not returned and All Saints twice promised us a comment, including a formal written response, but then never responded.

The story is particularly difficult to report because Wheaton-Franciscan has a policy that prohibits employees from talking to the media without permission. Anyone who talks to a reporter can be fired immediately, according to insiders.

While some are concerned about the switch to certified nurse anesthesiologists, it's a move that's becoming increasingly common.

Statewide, the majority of hospitals use CRNAs, according to Lawrence Beck, president of the Wisconsin Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

"You probably won't notice a change in the type of care," Beck said about the transition from anesthesiologists to CRNAs. "It's very safe."

Improvements in technology to put people under during surgeries, combined with significant amounts of training for CRNAs, has allowed hospitals to switch to a "team approach" with nurses, surgeons and anesthesiologists working together.

Cost is the big advantage of switching from anesthesiologists to CRNAs, Beck said.

"CRNAs are not paid as much," he said.

But local insiders said they're concerned Wheaton-Franciscan's decision to cut ties with its anesthesiology group is part of a growing trend. They noted several top-notch doctors, such OB/GYN Lenora Brockman and Pediatrician Jennifer Thomas, have left recently, that the Urology department is down to one doctor, that All Saints' dermatology department is gone and that the Medical College of Wisconsin ended its Family Medicine Residency in Racine last year.

Of course, insiders said, there are many good doctors and surgeons still in Racine. But there's a growing sense of frustration because Wheaton-Franciscan has taken away local control and lumped Racine in with Milwaukee, Franklin and other hospitals in the region.

"Why are all the good doctors leaving Racine?" one insider asked. "No decisions are being made here. It's time to bring back Racine health care to Racine."

Update: A Florida company brought in to manage All Saints' anesthesiology department will upgrade services, according to the hospital's chief of staff.

Dr. Nicholas Omdahl, vice president of medical affairs at All Saints, said Anesthetix Management LLC, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will employ eight anesthesiologists and 14 certified registered nurse anesthetists. That's an increase over the previous provider, SEAC, which employed 12 anesthesiologists, Omdahl said.

Two doctors from SEAC will remain with All Saints and Anesthetix will recruit six more anesthesiologists to live and work locally, Omdahl said.

No scheduled surgeries will be interrupted by the transition, Omdahl said. Anesthetix is scheduled to start on Jan. 11.

While CRNAs earn less than anesthesiologists, the new system is not just a matter of cost savings, Omdahl said. Actually, the new group will cost more than the old, he said.

But the additional money will lead to a more efficient operation that saves surgeons' time and improves patient care.

"They (Anesthetix) are nationally known for efficiency," Omdahl said.

He added All Saints and its former anesthesiologists each agreed it was time to go in different directions. Omdahl said it wasn't contract related because SEAC's contract wasn't up for another 18 months.

Omdahl said SEAC had lost three of its members and had a difficult time recruiting replacements, which put a stress on their service.

"They couldn't meet the demands and they wanted to move on," Omdahl said.

He added All Saints did not ask the the anesthesiologists to leave.

"They made the decision to go elsewhere," Omdahl said.

A great day for a (very brief) swim (for a good cause)

First one into the lake is ... gonna be cold!

The 20th annual Splash and Dash -- sometimes known as the Polar Bear Plunge -- went off without a hitch today at North Beach.

Hundreds braved the cold air -- about 17 degrees (10 degrees colder than last year when the splash was cancelled due to dangerous ice on and off-shore) -- and the icy waters of Lake Michigan, at least for a few seconds. The event started at noon with hundreds lined up near a 15-ft-wide cut in the ice along the shore, counted down the last few seconds and then rushed about 30 feet into the water, turned around and rushed out again.

By 10 minutes after the hour, the event was over, except for laggards on the beach trying to strip off their wet bathing suits with a modicum of decorum under blankets, and find dry shoes for the walk to the car and a quick ride home -- um, or to a nearby watering hole for a bracing, and well-deserved New Year's Day libation.

Rescue personnel on the beach said there were no injuries, save for a few skin scrapes. The event raises about $20,000 annually for the Racine County Food Bank and HALO (Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization).

Note to self for next year: I ran into Racine District 1 Alderman Jeff Coe at the beach -- warmly dressed. He said this was the first time he'd been to the event, and I was unable to talk him into even dipping a toe into the water. BUT he said he'd do it next year, if he's able to raise about $5,000 in pledges. "I'll ask each councilman for $100," he said, promising to start fund-raising this summer. John Heckenlively, who was standing nearby, came up with the perfect fund-raising slogan: "Throw Jeff in the lake." Something to look forward to next year!

'Hey, Mom, look I'm on the internet!'

I yelled, 'Hey, Cinderella, turn around' -- and they did!

Doesn't look as though that hat kept her very warm...

Firefighters, who started Splash and Dash, continue to keep it safe

This pink bikini only kept the guys warm...

Penguin snappy dresser in this year's tie-dye souvenir t-shirt

Big Bird reminds everyone what the event is all about

Mike Moore of the JT has a nice story HERE.

Racine County Property Transfers: Dec. 21-23

Interactive map of Racine County Property Transfers, Dec. 21-23

Sadly, another landmark turns into an 'opportunity'

Gerald Karwowski of Oak Clearing Farm sent us the photo above, reminding us of the time when two unique Racine landmarks stood side by side on the 500 block of Main Street. The picture, taken where the Johnson Building stands today, dates from about 1922 (at least, that's the year Bachelor Daddy and The Paleface were released).

Porter Furniture -- we were interested to note that the store's name at the time didn't sport the final "s" it currently has -- later moved to Sixth Street. And now, sadly, like the Rialto, it's going to disappear forever. After 152 years as a Racine landmark and destination shop for (we're guessing now) wealthy Chicagoans with good taste.

Historian Karwowski wasn't surprised to hear that Porters will be closing. "The economy and the rebuilding of Sixth Street at the worst possible time has taken its toll. The handwriting has been on the walls for years now. Business can't survive without customers. If the residents of Racine would follow the Golden Rule of Trade many businesses would still be doing well.

"That rule is simple: Spend your money locally! Invest in your community! Every dollar spent outside Racine is gone!"

It's hard to argue with Karwowski, although clearly there's more to it in an environment where so much commerce takes place locally, but in chain stores whose profits -- Wal-Mart, anyone? -- go out-of-state.

Karwowski suggests that city leaders will put as bright a face on this as possible. "No problem... look at the advantages: More parking for the Court House! Do you realize how valuable that property is for redevelopment!"

Forty years ago it was a million dollar property (well, in 2008 its assessed value was $560,000), but soon the city will be able to get it for pennies on the dollar. Sadly, we've got far more "redevelopment opportunities" available than actual redevelopment.

City Council: Kaplan, Lumpkin ready for another round

No surprise here, but Ken Lumpkin is officially running against Jim Kaplan for a seat on the City Council.

It'll be a rematch of the 2008 race that Kaplan won by about 50 votes. There's no love lost between these candidates, who ran two campaigns against each other two years ago. Kaplan won them both, taking Lumpkin's County Board seat by a single vote.

The only other contested race, so far, is Donald Dwyer taking on Dennis Wiser for the City Council's now vacant 10th District seat. Incumbent Kelli Stein is declining to run for re-election. Dwyer and Wiser both applied for the open seat in August when the City Council picked Stein.

With a week to go before the filing deadline for City Council, Aldermen Sandy Weidner, Aron Wisneski, Ron Hart and newcomer Eric Marcus are running uncontested.

Palmen Buick, GMC and Cadillac in Racine closing

Update 2: We've talked to a couple people, including Palmen President Andy Palmen, about the Racine dealership closing. It's actually a complicated story with local dealerships changing hands and moving.

Here's what we know: Palmen Automotive Group bought LeMay Buick, GMC, Cadillac dealership in Kenosha and will close its GM dealership in Racine. The Kenosha News reported this and Palmen confirmed it Wednesday morning. GM wanted to consolidate the Racine-Kenosha market, Palmen said, explaining the sale.

About 30 jobs are on the line in Racine, Palmen said. Some of those jobs will move to the new Palmen GM dealership in Kenosha, but it's too early to say how many, he said. "We definitely will keep some of our employees," Palmen said.

Palmen added: "We're thrilled to be GM's choice for the regional representation and continue to represent these markets for their new products for Buick, GMC and Cadillac."

The Palmen Dodge Chrysler Jeep location in Racine is not affected, according to the J-S story.

According to sources, LeMay is the big loser in the deal. They're out of business and a bank is on the hook for $5 million in bad debt on the dealership, sources said.

We're also told that Porcaro Ford plans to buy the old Palmen dealership in Racine, which would leave the old Towne Ford building (now Porcaro Ford) vacant, according to sources. Andy Palmen declined to comment on the sale. We're waiting for a call back from Porcaro.

Update: We reported Palmen was closing back in September. We had the story down cold, but Andy Palmen, head of Palmen Motors, demanded a retraction. It made sense at the time. Palmen was still trying to sell cars and wasn't ready to announce the dealership was closing.

"We are a GM dealership today and we'll be a GM dealership tomorrow," he said at the time. "We're in conversations with GM. We don't know what it will look like in a year."

But Palmen employees were told in September GM wasn't allowing the dealership to buy any new cars, and everybody was expecting the dealership to close or convert to a used car lot.

After criticizing our original story, Palmen promised to call when he had more to say. We got a call from him Tuesday night, but haven't connected yet. Palmen said on the message there's a "bigger story" to tell about the dealership closing. We look forward to telling it.

Original post: This morning, General Motors dropped the first shoe, announcing a going-out-of-business "fire" sale on two car brands it is discontinuing, Pontiac and Saturn.

This afternoon, the state Department of Workforce Development dropped the second, announcing that Racine's Palmen Pontiac Buick GMC dealership at 6001 Washington Ave. will close on Feb. 23, putting 33 employees out of work according to the JT.

The sales incentive from GM amounts to $7,000 offered to dealers for each Saturn or Pontiac car they move to rental-vehicle or service-vehicle fleets operated by the dealers. Dealers can then sell the vehicles at a more attractive price, though they must be described to customers as used because the dealers technically will be the vehicles' first owner.Dealers have until Jan. 4 to accept the deal.

GM has also dropped Hummer and Saab.

Earlier this month, US News and World Report wrote about 10 Fire Sale Cars to Steer Away From, based on their expected resale value in five years. A Pontiac and Saturn model are on the list -- but USNWR didn't know how large a discount GM would be offering. Read the story HERE and make up your own mind. Of course, if you're like us, keep a car forever and run it into the ground, then resale value is irrelevant.

Racine stories of the decade

As 2009 winds down the media is spicing its annual "Year in Review" lists by a multiple of 10. "Decade in Review" lists are now in vogue, and who are we to miss a passing fad? We reviewed 2009 here. Now we'll take a look at the last 10 years, which have seen some pretty cool stories.

Consider this story a work in progress. We'll add and subtract as needed, so feel free to jump in with construction/destructive criticism. Also, because dates run together in our brains, these stories are in no particular order of chronology or importance.

Alright then .... here we go:

Sewer deal
We'll expand on this later, but the sewer deal between Racine and the surrounding communities east of I-94 was clearly a big deal. One of the clearest signs of its importance are, well, signs. Mount Pleasant and Caledonia each have their own signs along I-94; those signs used to only read Racine. The villages will be the engine for growth in eastern Racine County for the next decade.

North Beach revival
North Beach started the decade as a forgotten/ignored resource in the city. It ended the decade as one of Racine's jewels. Dr. Julie Kinzelman and her staff cleaned up the water for swimming in Lake Michigan, the community built a playground and supported the North Beach Oasis and the convention and visitors bureau brought in triathlons and volleyball tournaments. The result: North Beach may be the best beach on Lake Michigan.

Laurel Clark
Racine's astronaut was killed in a dramatic shuttle explosion on Feb. 1, 2003. The nation, even the world, turned its attention to Racine following the tragedy.

Becker arrest
Former Mayor Gary Becker's arrest and guilty pleas belongs on this list. Becker was the most influential mayor of the decade - and also the biggest failure.

Battleground Racine
The county remained about as evenly split between Democrats and Republicans as possible throughout the decade. We voted for Presidents Bush and Obama, for Sens. Stepp and Lehman, for Rep. Paul Ryan and Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold. We're not red or blue. We're purple.

Economy
Unfortunately, the local economy is purple from the lumps it took over the last 10 years. The city's unemployment rate was among the top two in the state throughout the decade, the CNH tractor plant is now an empty field and several local manufacturers closed their doors. It wasn't all bad. SC Johnson remains a nationally celebrated employer, Ruud Lighting has some exciting things going on and Modine got its share of praise, among others.

Downtown
But it wasn't all bad news. Downtown Racine made a remarkable turnaround over the last 10 years thanks to the new Johnson Bank Building, the reconstruction of Main and Sixth streets and an influx of restaurants, shops, businesses and events Downtown. We take some heat for focusing coverage on Downtown, but it really is one of the business success stories over the last decade.

Rep. Paul Ryan
Our congressman went from one of the youngest members in the House to one of the most powerful. He's being talked about as a presidential candidate some day, and it's hard to go a week without seeing him on national TV. It was a good decade for Ryan.

Snowdance
The Over Our Head Players created a 10-minute play writing competition that's drawn hundreds of submissions from authors around the world. It's an entirely original theatrical event that's only gotten better of with time. A great addition to Racine's rich theatre scene.

Park, St. Cat's win championships
On the local sports front, Park High's football team won a state championship in 2005 thanks to John Clay, whose gone on to star at the University of Wisconsin. (Interesting side note: Park is the only D1 school in Wisconsin to win a championship in football, basketball and baseball.) Racine basketball continued to be among the best in the state. St. Cat's was one of the state's top basketball dynasty after winning four titles in five years.