'First Friday' leaves Downtown Racine jumpin'

Beautiful weather drew a huge crowd to Downtown Racine Friday night for the "First Fridays" event on Main and Sixth streets. Parking was scarce and Monument Square was jumping as people gathered to hear bands, shop in Downtown stores and hang out with friends. Above is a slideshow of photos from a great event!

Downtown Trolley begins running in June

The Downtown Trolley begins its 19th year of summer service the day after Memorial Day, making continuous loops along the lakefront from the Racine Zoo on the north to 7th Street on the south.

Hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. No trolley service is provided on Monday. Perhaps the best deal in town, the 25-cent fare per person is half of the adult fare charged back in 1991 when the trolley first started. Residents, downtown workers, visitors and boat owners use the shuttle service to get to a variety of destinations, including restaurants, pubs, shops, the art district, the Racine Public Library, museums and the Racine Zoo. 



"The Downtown Trolley is one of Racine’s gems, giving locals and visitors a convenient, inexpensive method to visit many of Racine’s major attractions while experiencing a touch of street car nostalgia," says Stephen Rogstad, Executive Director of Professional Transit Management of Racine in charge of the trolley and the BUS.

Brochures containing the trolley route map, a schedule of trolley stops and scheduled Downtown events are available from merchants, Real Racine at Hwy 20 and I-94, the Downtown Racine Corporation at 425 Main St. and from the Belle Urban System (BUS) Operations Center, at 1900 Kentucky Street, or by calling the BUS at (262) 637-9000.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, it's almost timefor Downtown's art project, Hour Town

Artist Sherri Shaver, right, turns over her two clocks to Terry Leopold;
Dragonfly design at right is called Time is flying

Racine's summer-long Happy Hour began Tuesday morning, as artists from all over the city brought their clock creations Downtown, in preparation for the Downtown Racine Corporation's Hour Town public art display.

By noon more than 20 of the large clocks were on hand, and the clock was ticking: the deadline is 5 p.m. today. The 60 clocks will be displayed Saturday night on the lawn of  "Club Wingspread" at a cocktail party for artists and sponsors. Then they will be distributed Downtown for public display beginning Monday.

Puns were much in evidence among the early arrivals. Plaques with names such as Time is flying, Sands of time, It's always time for tea, Big Time, Timepieces, Time flies and Time to sow were affixed to each clock's base. We'll leave it up to you to guess which name fit which clock: for example, one of a large fish trying to select his lunch or one with farm equipment marking the hours.

Terry Leopold, DRC’s special events coordinator, checked in the clocks as they arrived, listened appreciatively to artists' explanations of their designs, and noted that Racine's public art project -- now in its ninth year -- has gone on longer than any other city's.

Time flies when you're having fun, eh?

Richard Harris and Craig Aude mount Time to Sow on its base

Here's a closeup of Time to Sow, by Jayne and Grace Siler

Natasha Miller brings in Marilyn, by her son Mike Miller, 16, of St. Cat's

Time for Change?, left, recreates artist Shepard Fairey's Barack Obama portrait 

-- made out of painted pennies. Its artist Jeff Levonian, won 1st prize

when fish were the subject of DRC's contest a few years ago.
Center, Sun, Moon and Stars, by Mary Lou Dettmer;
at right, Sun and Moon by Lloyd Swager

'Make us an offer,' the Porters salesman said...

There was an air of melancholy at Porters of Racine today, the final day of the fine furniture emporium's going-out-of-business sale, the end of a 153-year history that during its prime had customers lined up around the block to see its room displays.

The irony is that Porters has been mobbed the last few weeks. Micah Waters, last generation of the store's owners, said -- with a wry smile and gallows humor -- "If we'd had 10% of this business, we wouldn't be closing."

A salesman who didn't want me to use his name said, "It's a shame we're going out like this." He'd been with the store for 18 years and said he won't think of the future until taking the summer off. Another salesman, this one planning to move to Florida, said customers -- even those who didn't shop at Porters before this final, price-busting sale -- aren't yet aware what they will miss. "Where our quality began, other stores' ended. But our reputation scared some customers away."

As customers wandered the store's three floors today, looking for that one final bargain, many shared stories of favorite pieces from past years. And it was hard to have a conversation about fine furniture without someone bringing up the Queen's Bed from the Titanic, which for a while had pride of place in the first floor showroom.

It wasn't really the Queen's bed. The queen -- we're talking about Queen Mary, wife of King George V of England, who took the throne in 1910, two years before the Titanic's maiden (and final) voyage -- never actually slept in it. The bed was in her stateroom on the Titanic but she -- luckily, as it turned out -- did not take the trip.

That original bed, we can assume, is at the bottom of the Atlantic. But a replica of the massive Victorian bed was for sale at Porters, with a pricetag over $20,000. The headboard alone -- ornate carvings, lots of gold leaf and all -- was some four feet by eight feet in size. That's one of the reasons it was displayed on the first floor and not with the other beds upstairs. Its size was also the reason why few could seriously consider it -- your house needed double-wide doors throughout, at least 45" wide, just to get that headboard inside.

And yet, it sold during this final sale. I heard two stories: One said that a couple from Milwaukee bought the bed. Another said the buyer was a Baptist minister. (The stories are not necessarily contradictory.) The price, reportedly, was about $7,500. The bed was at Porters less than eight months, according to a salesman.

That bed was a bargain compared to a beautifully inlaid dining room table and ten chairs on the second floor that I'd been watching (purely out of curiosity!) for a while. It started out at $131,000, and had a sales tag of $112,000. As of this afternoon, no buyer. Ditto for the matching china cabinet with its own $40,000-something price tag. A salesman told me the set had been on display for at least six years, "but although nobody bought it, we sold a lot off of it. It was the kind of thing people came to Porters to see." A customer who saw me looking at it noted that she'd bought her first house for less. Much less.

And so the sale wound to a close. A woman was trying, unsuccessfully, to convince her husband to buy a couple of chairs. A mother and daughter wandered around carrying a cushion from home, trying to match its fabric to a couch, any couch. They weren't having much luck. A man offered $700 for a cabinet that had a $2,700 sale price. The salesman called the stock number and customer's offer in to his manager. After a moment he looked up and said, "Congratulations."

And we had one more happy Porters customer.

Portraits of Porters early owners; that's Ted Gottlieb right, creator of the modern Porters on Sixth Street

Walden parent floats moving high school to Monument Square

Is this the future home of Walden III School?

A group of Walden III School parents are exploring ways to save or move the alternative school, which is housed in Racine Unified's building most in need of renovation.

PTSA President Jane Finkenbine, Rebuilding Committee Head Michelle Ortwein, and Fundraising Chair Patrick Flynn are leading efforts to revamp the school without harming its alternative style of education.

Flynn, who has two children at Walden and himself graduated from the school in 1981, is floating an interesting possibility for moving Walden to the former Zahn's Building (see an old photo of the Zahn's Building here; and a newspaper article about Zahn's closing here) on Monument Square. The proposal would move Walden to a new building and fill an eyesore in Downtown Racine. It's just an idea at this point, but could be promising.

Here's Flynn's idea, which was written to Walden's Parent Teacher Student Association:

RE: FINAL REPORT REGARDING THE ZAHN'S BUILDING:

This is pure speculation, but based on information I have obtained, renovations to the Zahn's Building would run less than $3 million to host a new Walden III, not including the 14,000 sq ft addition that could be built on the empty lot next to the building. My guess is that could be done for a fraction of what it would cost to renovate and rebuild on the current site where Walden currently resides. I believe this site merits more research and if desired, we should consider what if any interest Unified would have and pursuing this option.

Unified's proposal to add an addition to the existing building is aprox. $15 Million plus repairs to the existing structure which could mount to well over $20 Million when combined. It would be in Unified's and the Tax payers best interest to pursue this option. It will be very unlikely that an opportunity such as this one will ever present itself again in Racine's future. This would be a win for everyone!

Zahn's offers numerous benefits because of it's proximity to public resources, the RAM, Museum, Lake Michigan, Etc. The Solar panels could easily be relocated to this building. The increased activity to Downtown would be an economic boom to the Downtown area. And the new school could offer all the modern conveniences a school should offer today.

Dr. Shaw's vision (Based on what he has told me directly) is our schools should remain small (Less than 600). This building would meet his vision as well as ours. Our goal would be to house up to 550 Students: (This is Key... it must be designed to hold enough classrooms to support say 22 students - 25 classrooms?) Walden has 32 teachers, 1 part time principal, two office staff , Security personnel and would need at least 4 offices for counselors, etc. And a VERY nice Office for the PTSA.

John Murphy of Architectural Associates did the plans for the Imaginarium. The net usable space for all four floors and the basement is approximately 29,000 SF. This would assume that the columns would line up for the proposed layout. The remaining 19,980 square feet is being utilized for elevators, hallways, mechanical rooms, etc.

Figuring that a standard classroom size is approximately 750 square feet (Based on RUSD's online Report) that would leave approximately 10,000 square feet for teachers lounge, cafeteria, fitness area, theater, etc. The lot to the south can accommodate a 14,000 square foot addition with approximately 70% 10,000 sf) of that for net usable space. This would include a basement, 1st and 2nd floor.

Here's some stuff I'll throw at the wall to see what sticks....

The downtown would become an extension of the classroom. Utilizing the library, museums, YMCA, the lake and businesses as educational extensions.

Create an emphasis on creating business and community leaders within the school... maybe even politics. (Our community leaders would LOVE this!)

Convert the front of Zhan's into an actual school store that supports all the apparel needs for sports, spirit wear etc for all of Unified.!

Basement would facilitate the lunch room, fitness center, and classrooms

1st floor could include a possible Lecture hall / Theater, Offices and classroom.

2nd thru 4th designated as classrooms (with 4th floor primarily related to the arts (Music / Art / theater, etc?))

4th floor existing room as a music room

Empty lot could be a parking and basketball court, Possibly able to build an extension to house a gym, racquet ball courts or fitness center.

Roof to support our solar panels (Move from existing building) Etc. etc.

Some interesting sites:

http://www.schoolfacilities.com/_coreModules/content/contentDisplay.aspx?contentID=%202915

http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/classroom_design.cfm

OUR VISION (work in progress):

http://www.waldeniii.org/rebuild_walden_iii.htm



Please let me know if and how you would like to move forward with this.

R.I.P. Window-shopping at Porters ends April 26

Surely, my memory is playing tricks, but I distinctly remember my first visit to Porters soon after I moved to Racine in 1995. My wife and I walked through the store, admiring the furniture and room settings. Then we  came upon a particularly beautiful dining room table, china cabinet and six chairs.

Idly I reached for the price tag on one of the chairs; it said $4,000, more or less. "Wow," I said. "That's a nice dining room set, but $4,000 is way out of our price range!" My wife gave me that look -- one I've come to recognize many times over the years. It means, "You idiot; I can't take you anywhere." And so I looked again at the price tag, and discovered that $4,000 was the price of one chair. Whoops.

Sadly, I won't have to worry about being embarrassed by the price of quality furniture any more, at least not on Sixth Street. Porters has been holding its Going Out of Business sale for three months now, and it announced today that its final day will be April 26. The store is 152 years old, a victim of either the national economy or the two-year reconstruction of Sixth Street outside its front door that didn't end until last November. (It was Bob and Micah Waters of Porters who were handed the  time capsule for burial at the ceremonial finish of that reconstruction. Ah, the irony.)

Many other, lesser, Downtown stores blamed their failure on the economy or the roadway disruption. But Porters' problem dates back further. The monied class -- Racine once had plenty, as each of those industrial giants that once stamped out tractors, cars, wagons, office furniture, malted milk, lawn mowers, small appliances -- was run by executives, the folks who built those mansions along Main Street and Lake Michigan. Well that was then, this is now. The factories are mostly gone, along with the executives who shopped at Porters and the factory workers who just window-shopped. The store could not depend upon Chicagoans venturing north in their Benzes and Cadillacs.

First floor display in March, left

The Aug. 12, 1938, front page of the Journal Times -- it's framed and  hanging in the store's showroom -- heralded the Porter Furniture Company's move to Sixth Street, with a three-column picture and the lede story.  The business was already 80 years old when Ted Gottlieb, president, sat down in his lawyer's office to sign the papers buying "five old rat trap buildings"  owned by the Wisconsin Gas & Electric Company -- 120 ft. of frontage on Sixth Street and 88 feet on South Wisconsin --  in "an area described as one of the most desirable business districts in the city."

The story didn't say how much Gottlieb paid for the property, which needed extensive remodeling. (It's doubtful the price would seem like much today; the paper itself carried a price of 4 cents.) But it did say the sale was "the biggest deal of its kind in ten years." Well, yeah; ten years earlier the Great Depression began.

Gottlieb said: "We will erect a store, which from the standpoint of beauty and skillful planning for merchandising, will compare favorably with any store in the country, including those in metropolitan areas." The store was already known for its outstanding window displays -- even though it had only 40' of window in its Main Street store, one door down from the old Rialto Theatre; Gottlieb was looking forward to having 208' of windows with which to entice us to come inside. Entice they did: when the store reopened in 1939, 40,000 people toured the store, according to the company history. "People would line up around the block... for  the yearly unveiling of the Guild Galleries," says the store's history, showing a lovely picture of the waiting crowds.

And now it's all-but-over. I went through the store last month, and already many of the displays were gone. Lots of fine furniture remained, all sporting big discounts that were still not enough to bring much into my price range. A $45,000 Oriental rug for $19,000; a bedroom suite that once went for $26,000 now going for under $13,000. Yes, a visit to Porters was often like that; the unreachability overshadowed the fine workmanship.

Still, I'll miss it. It's always nice to be able to dream.

The Aug. 12, 1938, Journal Times announced Porters' arrival on Sixth Street

Just 48 hours left to get scammed again by a JT ad...And what this all means to a small businessman

If you saw an ad in the newspaper that said: "Just 48 hours left..." would you believe it?

Well, just such an ad is in today's Journal Times. Only problem: It also appeared in the JT on March 6,  almost 800 hours ago. So was it lying then or are we just lucky to have a second chance?

Worse yet, the ad is promoting a bogus "collectible" -- genuine $2 bills with a sticker saying "Wisconsin" -- for the low, low price of about $15 apiece. I guess we should be happy there's no mention of the Brooklyn Bridge. This scam has been thoroughly debunked. Here's our story from March. Don't fall for it this time, either.

Or, send me just $5 -- you save 67% !! -- and I'll write the name of any state you want! on a $2 bill.  and send it to you. No limit; buy as many as you like! A complete set for each of your grandchildren! (+Shipping and Handling) Call our toll-free number; operators are standing by...

Actually, there's a serious side to this story -- beyond the warning to simply ignore this ad from the impressively named World Reserve Monetary Exchange -- and that is the precipitous decline of newspaper advertising over the past few years, and what it means. According to figures from the Newspaper Association of America, U.S. newspapers' print and online ad revenue dropped 27.2% in 2009 -- a loss of about $10 billion overall. Total newspaper ad revenues have fallen to where they were in 1986; how'd you like to live today on the salary you earned 24 years ago?

A number of newspapers and magazines have folded; all the rest are cutting expenses and scrambling to get by one way or another. So it should come as no surprise when that leads to the acceptance of hinky advertising like the $2 bill scam that would have been rejected in more prosperous times. Or the loss of journalists everywhere, and the out-sourcing of  even key services (the Kenosha News is now printed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Sometimes, too, the pain is shifted to local, unrelated businesses, as newspapers scramble to earn any bucks they can, even from work they once disdained ... like photo restoration? Yes, in what must be the most minor of sidelines -- and perhaps even a distraction to the paper's three remaining photo-journalists -- the Journal Times has entered the photo restoration business.

To the dismay of Douglas Wick -- the mustachioed, pony-tailed, sometimes-dressed-as-Uncle Sam proprietor of Main Street's Olde Tyme Photography store, who's been doing photo restoration for the past 26 years. Longer, actually; Doug's father, Ray, opened his first photo business in Racine in 1946, located at the Venetian Theatre, 507 Main St.  Doug worked for his dad since childhood, "as a grasshopper emptying garbage cans." After Ray sold the business in 1983,  Doug opened his own store in 1984 at 303-303 1/2 Main St. (in what had been a cheese and sausage store called Port Gilbert), using mostly borrowed and scrounged equipment. "I had nothing. I was making popcorn and eating popcorn. I had just the front part of the store, lots of recycled stuff. The camera was borrowed, as were the trays, the enlarger."

Doug Wick at Olde Tyme Photography, with his trusty 4x5 camera

He did portrait photography as well as photo restoration: copying and restoring photos, air brushing out defects from customers' old pictures.

And now he feels threatened by the Journal Times, a former customer (and the medium in which he placed much of his advertising, when he could afford to.) Looking around his three-part store (He answers phones like this: 'Common Scents, Pack 'n Ship, Olde Tyme Photos.'), Wick says, "It's like a circus in here. And while I know all about taming the lions, the latest sock in the gut is a media that can't survive on its own, but wants to destroy everything in its path."

OK, that's a bit hyperbolic. Even Wick concedes the point. Still, he says, "Just because their media is dying, why take down somebody else's market? Who else will they attack next?"

Photo restoration used to be an artist's domain, done with paint and airbrush. Now, like so much else, it's gone digital; every computer comes with at least basic photo retouching software. Wick, who used to use a 4x5 sheet film camera to make a glossy, high-resolution copy of photos for retouching artists to airbrush, and then re-photograph the result on sepia-tone fiber-based paper, has been digital for nine years. "Restoration has always been a good component of my business," he says. Less so now -- and he fears even less than that in the future, now that the Journal Times has entered the business and undercut the prices he hasn't raised for more than 10 years.

"They scan negatives for 29 cents," he says. "They have the equipment to do it and make a nickel. I have to charge 60 cents to make a dime. They have all the technology. They don't have to pay for advertising. They have people there anyway; keep 'em busy."

Wick said he called someone at Walgreens, which does a lot of photo developing (for those few Luddites who still use something called film), and photo printing for many digital photography hobbyists, looking for an ally against the Journal Times. "But Walgreens doesn't care," he said. His contact there merely shrugged and said, "That's competition."

Says Wick: "That's 'big' vs. 'big.' It's different for the little guy." Which, of course, it is... as little retailers have known for decades. Wick knows the drill: "Mom and Pop opened a small grocery just to be able to feed their family. Then Kohl's and Kroger came in and all those little corner grocery stores are gone. Open Pantry is a big business; their size and power drives out all the others and takes over.

"It used to be Elmwood Shopping Center, then that was put down by Regency Mall. Then the outlet malls came along, and now the internet is eating up everyone's market share."

Wick knows there's nothing he can do. He's tried calling the powers-that-be at the Journal Times, but doesn't really expect any satisfaction. A display shows before-and-after examples photos he's restored. You'd never know the original had been torn into half-a-dozen pieces. "We do better work than everyone else. With us, it's done right," he says.

But for how long?

Is there really a villain here? Just as Wick bought the adjoining Common Scents soap and fragrance store in 1987, and later added Pack 'n Ship to his Olde Tyme Photo business -- he runs them all simultaneously, by himself -- the Journal Times is also forced to become entrepreneurial in areas far removed from its core mission  (whether you see that mission as disseminating news or selling advertising).

Meanwhile, from different edges of Downtown, both continue scratching out a living. Realistically, Racine needs both to survive.

Expect a For Sale sign on the Main Street Post Office

Wanna buy a Post Office?

Although there's no "For Sale" sign in front of Racine's Main Street Post Office, it appears one will be in the near future, one of the "innovative solutions" the US Postal Service is adopting to cope with a "precipitous" drop in mail volume blamed on the economic downturn and the internet.

Describing the U.S. Postal Service's "most critical period in its history" (...a history that began in 1775 when the Second Continental Congress appointed our first Postmaster General) ... with "unsustainable deficits due to a drastic decline in mail volume and resulting loss of revenue," USPS Milwaukee spokesman Marge Oehlke said, "the Postal Service must seek ways to cut costs and reduce the size of its infrastructure.

One of those ways "involves putting Post Office buildings up for sale, leasing less space in the building from the buyer or in a building nearby, for retail lobby operations, and relocating carriers to a neighboring Post Office with excess workroom floor capacity."

Oehlke calls such a sale "an innovative solution ... to address the need to collapse our infrastructure while continuing to provide customers with excellent mail service and convenience access to retail products and services."

"The Racine Main Post Office located at 603 Main St. is a candidate for this innovative solution. We are looking into the opportunity to sell this building with the stipulation that we can continue to provide retail counter services in the same building or at a new location nearby. If a decision were made to sell the property, we would lease from either the building purchaser or a lessor / owner of another location in the immediate area."

The relocation of carriers took place in February when 23 city and rural mail carriers who worked out of the Main Street facility were transferred to the Four Mile Road postal facility in Caledonia. The Main Street Post Office currently houses only a service counter and postal boxes in its lobby. In addition, the Postal Service is debating whether to eliminate Saturday delivery everywhere.

So how much does the Postal Service want for the building? (I can hear you, flush with your tax refund, asking.)  The price hasn't been set yet. The Postal Service is obtaining an independent appraisal to provide the fair market value of the property with the help of the commercial real estate brokerage firm of Julien J. Studley Inc. Then it will hold a "Racine Town Meeting to provide details concerning the process."
 

The existing Post Office building was built in 1930, at a cost of $320,000. On its front facade is a small, green oxidized plaque from Preservation Racine, right, noting that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Oehlke notes that the Postal Service "receives no tax dollars for its operating expenses...(and must) rely on the sale of postage and products to generate revenue."

If the sale goes through, she says, "nothing will change from our customer’s perspective. If we can find a buyer who accepts the conditions for the sale, Racine postal customers will continue to purchase stamps, mail and ship packages or rent Post Office boxes in the same building or at another location close to the current Post Office. We will continue to provide excellent mail delivery to residents and businesses."

Postal boxes in the lobby

Historic photos from Gerald Karwowski's Oak Clearing Farm and Museum collection show the Post Office, City Hall and the County Courthouse during their dedication week in 1931 -- what a great year that was for major construction in Racine! -- and, below that, the Post Office during its first two decades of service.

Here's the Post Office in the late 1930s...

And in the 1940s; are those streetcar lines overhead?

Becker hearing in photos

(Photo - above) Gary Becker waits for Tuesday's plea hearing to start in the (ironically?) Juvenile Court Room. He was there to plead guilty to child enticement and attempted sexual assault of a child. He's sitting next to Channel 12's Colleen Henry.

(Photos - above, below) The media out-numbered lawyers, judges and plaintiffs in the courtroom Tuesday. All of the Milwaukee TV stations, the JT, the J-S, WRJN, WGTD and (of course) RacinePost were all represented at the hearing.


(Photo - above) Becker's fate now rests with this man. Judge Stephen Simanek will sentence the former Racine mayor on March 3. Simanek is leaving the bench in April after deciding not to seek re-election.

(Photo - above) Following the hearing, Henry asked Becker "Do you have anything you want to say to the people of Racine? How about to your family?" Becker stormed past without saying a word.

Holiday shopping deals in Downtown Racine

You may have heard: Friday is something of a major shopping day.

While Best Buy, Walmart and other major stores are inundating us with deals on flat screen TVs and MP3 players, every store is counting on the legions of "Black Friday" shoppers to make some money this year.

Being a local source for news, we like to focus on the local stores and businesses trying to compete with the major retailers (that's no knock on the major retailers, it's just judging from TV, radio, email, mail, etc. they don't need much help on the publicity front).

Below is a list of the Friday deals we know of at Racine-owned shops. If you have deals to add, post them in the comments or contact us at: racinepost@gmail.com

Upurea, 304 Main St., Get a $10 gift card to give as a gift for every $50 spent.

Piranha Gaming, 234 Main St., 15% off games, 10% off gaming systems and 15% off of gaming system repairs all weekend.

Copacetic, 409 Main St., 20% off Smart Wool socks, 20% off Life is good socks, 20% off EarMitts bandless ear muffs, 20% off Men's leather belts and wallets.

Artistry, 512 Monument Square, 20% off everything in the store. Not valid on custom artistry pieces, custom orders, and already reduced or previously purchased merchandise.

Elegant Pauper, 433 Main St., Free custom monogram cashmere scarf for men or women if you spend $100 (a $35 value). 25% off all holiday boxed cards and invitations.

Molly Magruder, 330 Main St., 20% off all sweaters, excluding consignment, all weekend.

Art Metals Studio, 332 Main St., 30% off any loose colored gemstones from our extensive collection to anyone who mentions that they saw this notice on Racine Post. Friday only.

Racine Art Museum store, 441 Main St., All books in the Museum Store are 20% off, RAM Members receive 25% off. Plus, Special sales for Black Friday customers, like 50% off on all Echo of the Dreamer jewelry and more. And, for every $100 you spend, receive 2 complimentary passes to the RAM.

Dimple's, 416 Main St., Free gift with any purchase of $50 or more.

Uncorkt, 240 Main St., For every $50 spent, shoppers will receive $10 "Bottle Bucks" vouchers that can be redeemed in January.

Fired Up Racine, 320 Main St., Open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Come in before noon and receive 20 percent off any holiday piece, like Christmas mugs and plates.

Inside-Out, 406 Main St., $10 off purses and scarves over $50; 10 percent off new jewelry, discounts throughout the store and a free gift if you spend more than $50

Northern Lights Gallery, 423 Main St., One Day Sale on Friday. Philadelphia jeweler Ian Gibson mixed metal jewelry 25% off; Derek Alexander Purses 40% off; Select pottery, including Bill Cambell’s 25% off; Story People by Brian Andreas 10% off. Plus, many gifts under $30.

Dover Flag and Map, 323 Main St., begins its annual Globe Sale on Friday: 20% all globes in stock. 25% off all Toland art flags when you mention you saw it on RacinePost.com.

Construction winding down on Sixth St.; DRC announces winners of its 'barrel boys' naming contest

"The Three Constructioneers" - Cautious Clay, Gorge Foreman and Monument Ali - are standing watch as construction work winds down on Sixth Street.

Those were the winning names chosen in Downtown Racine Corp's contest to name "The Barrel Boys," large sculptures created out of orange construction barrels and displayed in the construction zone on Sixth Street.

The contest was a bit of levity in a summer-long construction project on one of Downtown's major shopping streets. Fortunately, work is near conclusion, DRC Executive Director Devin Sutherland said Tuesday.

Road construction is scheduled to be done by Friday, Sept. 25 and the brick pavers for the sidewalks will start going in on Sept. 28. Enough work will be done for the street and sidewalks to be open for Party on the Pavement on Oct. 3, Sutherland said.

The rain last month didn't slow construction, Sutherland said. The area's sandy soil kept the ground well-drained, and the crews only stopped working when it was actually raining. That allowed them to make up a lost week of time from earlier in the summer when complications with telecommunications lines slowed work.

Once Sixth Street is finished Downtown's two major streets will be completed, though some work is still scheduled for next two years. State Street into Downtown is scheduled for work next summer and Seventh Street the year after, Sutherland said.

Next year, Wisconsin Avenue also will be resurfaced, he said.

The Barrel Boys naming contest started in late August when the 9-foot-tall sculptures were commissioned to remind people that Sixth Street businesses are open.

The winning name, which will replace Barrel Boys, is The Three Constructioneers, which was submitted by Cameron Fair of Racine.

In addition Sherri Myers Wray of Racine submitted winning individual names for each sculpture -- Cautious Clay, Monument Ali, and Gorge Foreman.

Both Cameron and Sherri were awarded Downtown gift certificates. Over 40 suggested names were submitted to the DRC.

Update: Weed & Seed behind robo-calls about crime to city residents

Update: We talked with Tanya Canady, of the local Weed and Seed program, Tuesday morning about the phone survey. It was conducted by a UW-Milwaukee researcher, but not by the university itself. The researcher was working on a contract-basis with Weed and Seed.

The survey was conducted using the Racine Police Department's robo-call system, which is used to broadcast a pre-recorded message to residents in targeted areas. In this case, it was used to conduct a survey to evaluate Weed and Seed programs, Canady said.

The phone survey was part of several efforts by Weed and Seed to evaluate the effects of several local programs it funds including: Cops N Kids, gang diversion programs, truancy prevention programs, extended hours at community centers, and basketball leagues. (There are several more Weed and Seed-backed programs; Canady just gave us a few examples.)

Other tools used to evaluate programs include: a survey of high school students, observation of the programs at the Bryant and Tyler-Domer community centers, interviews with police officers and evaluation of crime data.

Canady said the phone survey may have been confusing to residents because they weren't familiar with the name "Weed and Seed," which is a federally funded program designed to address crime (weed) and support preventative programs (seed). She said she didn't have much control over the survey, and wishes it had more clearly stated who was conducting the survey and why they were doing it.

But she said the intention was good. "We evaluate our programs each year," Canady said. "We want to hear the voice of the people."

Here's a comment from another RacinePost reader on the survey:

I did answer the robocall but did feel rather annoyed that more contact or follow up info wasn't given at the end-- it did seem to not be as comprehensive as it could have been.

Original post: Some Downtown residents received robo-calls over the weekend seeking feedback on the "perception of safety" in their neighborhood.

An unidentified electronic caller contacted residents for a phone survey, according to a RacinePost reader. Here's what they wrote:

Today, Sunday, my husband and I received two (2) robot calls on our answering machine. Both claiming to be from the City of Racine and wanting our "perception of safety" in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is downtown, expanding out from Seventh (7th) Street, between Grand and Villa.

The recording repeated and then hung up.
NO call back number.
NO reference to a city department.
NO way to follow-up to give an opinion when returning and hearing message.
NO phone number to call during normal "business hours/days".
Why only on Sunday afternoon?

The phone survey appears tied to a UW-Milwaukee study, said City Administrator Tom Friedel. The Racine Police Department OK'd the calls for a study on the perception of crime, he said.

The survey seemed OK, our reader said, but there were a few problems. First, it was unclear who made the call and what the answers would be used for. Second, there was no call back number. The reader said they would have answered the questions, but only received a recording of the message on their answering machine.

We feel that the calls will result in misleading, capricious, arbitrary and unfounded data (responses). Why? Because many of us not home on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

And, for the record, they wrote that they feel very safe in their Seventh Street neighborhood:

WE feel very safe.
WE do feel that there needs to be more businesses open.
WE would like to see more people walking, at all times of the day. And night.
WE'd like to see more people living, working and socializing in our neighborhood.
Especially building owners that live and work here. That will lead to greater security.
WE have seen changes in the neighborhood during the past 30 years - good and bad.

We're working on learning more about the UWM study (who paid for it?) and how it was approved. Hopefully we'll have an update tonight.

City Notes: Coe warned over public comments; Main St. club in 'doghouse'; Tousis readies proposal

Alderman Jeff Coe took the unusual step last month of making a statement during the City Council's public comment period criticizing how negotiations over City Administrator Tom Friedel's contract were handled. Coe alleged July 21 that he voted for the contract believing Friedel would make $85,000 per year, only to later find out the contract was for $95,000.

The response to Coe's statement? A four-page letter from the League of Municipalities explaining why it's against the law for aldermen to participate in the public comment period. Doing so amounts to a violation of the open meetings law, which requires council members notice items they wish to discuss at public meetings. By using the public comment period, Coe basically circumvented this requirement.

Coe had a number of alternative options he could have legally pursued. Writing a letter to the council members, publishing an editorial on RacinePost or in the JT, or simply putting the item on the agenda all would have been legal.

Nicholson in city's 'doghouse'

The structure on top of the building at 316 Main St. has to be removed or redesigned, according to the city.

Doug Nicholson's plans for his "Envi" night club at 316 Main St. hit a minor glitch when the Downtown Area Design Review Board denied his plans for a small square building on the roof of the building. Nicholson built the structure without city approval and failed to win committee support. He now needs to redesign or remove the structure, which he referred to as the "doghouse." The structure apparently would have provided rooftop access, though apparently there were no plans to have the roof as part of the club. The committee objected to the construction because it was visible from Main St.

Here's Nicholson's response to the issue:

I had building plans approved and stamped by the city that contained a doghouse on top of the roof. I didn't know it had to go to design review. My mistake, this is my first building that I own and I am new to all of this. I asked the guys who built it to check with the city, they said they did, when in fact they didn't. They then built the thing way oversized. So I went to design review, they said tear it down, move it, or hire a designer to make it look acceptable. So we are in the process of moving its local and redesigning it. my intention was never to get away with anything, as I have been in touch with the building department on a regular basis.

Tousis seeking 'Class B' license

Tom Tousis has yet to submit his plans to the city to build a grocery store, restaurant and gas station in West Racine. The local builder has been soliciting neighborhood support and says the response has been overwhelmingly favorable. His plans also include a bank and a permanent home for the West Racine Farmer's Market. (In response to comments, Tousis said he had no intention of shutting down the market. Actually, he intends to buy produce from local farmers to sell in the grocery store.)

Tousis also confirmed he's seeking a 'Class B' liquor license for the restaurant, which would allow him to have a bank of video slot machines on site. Tousis said he's considering having the machines; if he does, unlike some businesses, he intended to have them legally. Some businesses simply install the machines and take their chances that no one will force them to take them out, he said.

Look for the West Racine plans to be submitted to city development this month. That will kickoff the approval process for the proposal.

Housing Authority 'surprised' by negative reaction to Sixth Street plan

314 Sixth St., built in 1886

It's clear where Downtown business owners stand on the Housing Authority of Racine County's proposal to convert an historic Sixth Street building into low-income apartments.

"Who's in favor of this thing?" Monte Osterman asked a group of about 30 business owners Tuesday during a Downtown Connections meeting.

No one said a word.

Linda Ring Weber, executive director of the Housing Authority, said she was stunned by the reaction to the idea of renovating the former YMCA and Red Cross Building at 314-324 Sixth St.

"Surprised is such an understatement," Weber said. "There has to be some misunderstanding."

At issue is the need, or desire, for low-income housing on Sixth Street. Devin Sutherland, executive director of Downtown Racine Corp., is leading the opposition to the proposal. He said Sixth Street, or really anywhere Downtown, isn't a good site for additional low-income housing.

"It's market-rate apartments we don't have enough of," Sutherland said.

But Weber said she has a five-year waiting list for people seeking affordable housing from her agency. People who qualify for her program pay 30 percent of their income for rent - well under the low-income housing rates in places like the Arcade Apartments or Belle Harbor Apartments in Downtown.

Weber said the Housing Authority has received an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the proposal. "Had we known, this would not have been a place I would have pursued," she said.

But the Housing Authority has an option to purchase the building for $425,000 and an architect is drawing up plans, she said.

Money is a concern. The 1886 Queen Anne-style building was built as the Racine branch of the YMCA. Its ground floor is now home to the Sixth Street Theatre, but its second and third floors have been vacant for years. Renovating the upper floors into apartments and offices for the Housing Authority, now located at 837 Main St., could be too expensive.

But Weber was optimistic. Her agency's plan is to revive an historic building that's been largely ignored over the years. The Housing Authority even intends to retain a large, open ballroom on the second floor to serve as their offices.

"Many private developers would divide (the ballroom) into offices," she said.

Weber and the Downtown business owners had a missed connection on Tuesday morning. The Downtown Connections group had scheduled Weber to speak, but Weber said she'd only offered to address the group when she had information to share. Since they're still waiting for the architect's report, she didn't feel she had much to say about the project. She said she hopes to meet with the business owners in a few weeks.

It'll be a tough crowd.

The group is already lobbying city officials, with some success, to oppose the project.

"I don't feel any support for this at City Hall," Sutherland said.

But the opposition may not matter. Since city zoning is set up to favor residential developments there's little the city can do to oppose the development. The major obstacle for the project could be the Housing Authority's own charter, which requires city approval for low-income housing developments.

But what city approval means, and how much of an obstacle the requirement is, remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen is the Housing Authority's plans to breathe life into a dormant -- aside from the Sixth Street Theatre -- building in need of restoration.

"This should be so welcome," Weber said. "We're preserving an historic building."

Ivanhoe owner unveils plans for 'ultra lounge' on Main Street

An "ultra lounge," like this one in Birmingham, Mich., is coming to Downtown Racine

Doug Nicholson, owner of the Ivanhoe Pub and Grille, revealed plans for his new club, Envi, on Monday night while trying to secure a liquor license from the city's Public Safety and Licensing Committee.

The club is actually an "ultra lounge" planned for 316 Main St., the former home to Downtown's porn shop, Racine News. Nicholson is gutting the four-story building with plans of turning it into an upscale bar with a dance floor he hopes to open later this year. He's targeting Envi at an older crowd with a combination of pricier drinks, a more mature music selection and no smoking.

For fans of the Ivanhoe, the smoking ban may come as a surprise. But Nicholson said the first thing focus groups asked for was a smoke-free lounge. He added a smoking ban would differentiate Envi from Ivanhoe. If you want to dance, go to Envi. If you want to smoke, go to Ivanhoe, which is a block away. Nicholson is also building an outside deck on the back of Envi that will accommodate smokers.

The idea for Envi is based on ultra lounges that are popular in Las Vegas and other big cities. The model is spreading to smaller cities as an alternative to traditional bars, and is particularly attractive to women. Nicholson said he would target Envi toward women ages 30 to 55, with the belief that if they come, everyone else will follow.

The name Envi comes with an environmental twist Nicholson is putting on the concept. He's working to make the club "green," starting with the renovations. He's reusing most of the old flooring in the building, and recycling or reusing many of the interior fixtures. When finished, Nicholson plans on obtaining the "Travel Green" designation from the state of Wisconsin. He's hoping the combination of a sensual and environmentally conscious design will draw in a crowd willing to spend some money on a night out.

The proposal breezed through the city committee on a unanimous vote. Committee members raised questions about security and the general model, but seemed satisfied Nicholson knew what he was doing. And why not? He's running one of the most successful bars in the city (Ivanhoe) and holds a second liquor license for the Masonic Center.

Envi would employ about 10 people to start and would run 5:30 p.m. to close, Wednesday through Saturday. High-end appetizers would be served, but there wouldn't be a grill to support a full menu. Nicholson will still need a restaurant license to open the club, which may also include theme nights.

Nicholson said he's thinking about bringing Country-Western dance nights to Envi on Wednesdays, followed by an '80s night on Thursdays and a live DJ playing house/dance music on Fridays.

He addressed concerns about safety with plans for video cameras and an attempt to attract an upscale adult crowd that typically doesn't run into many problems. With Nicholson acknowledging Envi would be "risque" in nature, Alderman Jim Kaplan asked if he planned on bringing strippers back to Main Street. Nicholson said no, but didn't shy away from describing Envi as a place for adults.

"Sin city is what's working now," Nicholson said. "Who's kidding who? Sin and a provocative nature will occur."

Regency Mall pursuing year-round, indoor pool

Curt Pruitt, manager of Regency Mall, wrote us with an interesting response to the brewing controversy over whether kids will be able to continue splashing around in the Laurel Clark Fountain in Downtown Racine.

I'm still seeking an operator who is interested in taking the 27,500 square foot front-facing bankrupt Linens 'N' Things space to create a huge indoor (read - year-round!) water park. I'm totally unfamiliar with water park "requirements" and "needs," but would appreciate the opportunity to negotiate with someone who might agree that the Racine community would support such a facility.

Mayor Becker has turned me down as he's seeking much more acreage than I have available. Additionally, he's not interested in taking any of our parcels "off" the tax roles (understandable). Consequently, if there's an enterprising investor who would like to break new ground in a regional shopping mall, feel free to have them contact me.

Pete reported on this awhile back.

Positively Racine: Downtown Racine Corp works daily to build Racine's businesses, pride

This summer's "Spheres" is just one event Downtown Racine Corp organizes throughout the year.

By Bill Griffiths

In my travels, I’ve driven through a lot of dead downtowns. These are towns that have been decimated by the presence of national retailers that have a tough time remaining nameless.

Racine’s downtown is family-friendly and aspiring, and anything but dead. That is no accident. There are a lot of people working hard to keep our downtown viable.

Last year, someone outside the country wanted to send me a gift, but wasn’t familiar with Racine. They contacted the Downtown Racine Corporation (DRC) and arranged to send me some Downtown Gift Certificates. These were indeed a welcome gift and helped introduce me to several stores downtown.

At the same time, I could not help but notice that many of the activities downtown (First Fridays, Public Art, Summer Nights on the Square, holiday parades, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Party on the Pavement, etc.) are all partnerships between DRC, the downtown merchants and hundreds of volunteers.

It’s a common mistake to think the DRC is busy from Memorial Day to Labor Day. For a small organization, the DRC is a beehive of planning, meetings, fundraising and recruiting, all year long…and all focused on promoting the image of Racine and drawing more people downtown to visit and shop.

The two full-time people at the DRC are its Executive Director, Devin Sutherland, and Director of Marketing, Jean Garbo, who work along with several part-time people and volunteers.

The DRC works proactively promoting downtown to retain existing businesses as well as recruiting new businesses. In doing this, the DRC:

· Writes grants and creates fundraising activities to help underwrite its activities and programs,
· Manages the Business Improvement District (that funds ‘clean and safe’ initiatives, the Public Service Ambassador program, downtown landscaping and seasonal decorations),
· Continually evaluates the effectiveness of events they have managed and performs (or commissions) ongoing research to identify new ideas to further enhance the quality of life in Racine, and
· Works with organizations like Leadership Racine to provide downtown businesses and their employees with new or refreshed skills and approaches to being more successful.

Mr. Sutherland says, “We did a retail/entertainment study to identify the types of businesses that we need to add. Hardware stores certainly made it to that list. And a grocery store is certainly near the top of the list. That need becomes greater as more and more people occupy the new apartments and condos downtown. Recently, we’ve had a prospect, who seems very eager to open a grocery store at the southeast corner of Main and State, and we are involved in ongoing negotiations.”

The DRC is also studying, as an initiative for 2009, ways to improve the signage from the Interstate to downtown. Many a traveler has mistaken several parts of Racine for downtown and never found their way to downtown.

According to Mr. Sutherland, “Racine has a lot of great qualities that people living elsewhere just aren’t aware of. An image campaign is something we feel strongly about, and is also on the minds of the Racine County Economic Development Corp. and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. It’s not moving as quickly as we’d like, but it’s certainly on everyone’s’ radar.”

He continues, “Local shoppers have also told us they want more consistent hours and days of operation from merchants, and we’re developing a plan to address that.”

This year, on the first three Saturdays of December, the DRC is introducing ‘Santa Saturdays’. You’ll no doubt be reading more about those.

If you haven’t been downtown lately, come downtown and see that people are putting a lot of thought and effort forward to make it a place to take pride in. And, to make it a lovely place to shop, eat, listen to music or just get together.

To learn more, take a look at the DRC website at www.racinedowntown.com . If you want to order some of those Downtown Gift Certificates, you can call (262) 634-6002.

Sphere Madness auction ends with surprise 'winner'

Bidders compete for their favorite spheres

After a summer dispersed throughout downtown Racine, the 74 art spheres that made up Sphere Madness were together Saturday afternoon for the last time -- all assembled in Memorial Hall for their final event: their auction.

Barely two weeks ago, a team of two judges pronounced their assessment of the spheres, awarding $6,000 to three prize winners and also naming five honorable mentions. Saturday, the public spoke -- with its wallet, and named its favorite spheres.

They weren't the same. The auction-buying public paid top dollar for a sphere not mentioned at all by the judges. Selling for the highest bid drawn out by Auctioneer Bob Hagemann was a sphere totally overlooked by the judges. Princess, designed by Lynn Spleas and Jeff Dolezal and sponsored by S.T.A.R.H.S., was a fanciful recreation of Cinderella's carriage. It was bought by Ronald E. Jones, vice president of manufacturing, at Styberg Engineering.

Although Lynn Spleas didn't win the judges' praise, she was pleased by "winning" the auction ... and happy with the $2,150 her artwork earned for the Downtown Racine Corporation, which puts on the annual street art promotion. "The money all goes to Racine, so it's a good thing," she said.

The second-highest auction price went for A Starry Night, a re-creation in more than 8,000 mosaic pieces of Vincent van Gogh's painting, done by Sherri Shaver, and sponsored by Monfort's Fine Art Gallery. It went for $2,050. It had received honorable mention by the judges.

Botanical Bubble, by Kathleen Lippold, sponsored by Photographic Design and Donald and Gabriella Klein, sold for $1,500.

The auction was in two parts: 25 of the spheres were sold through a voice auction, and the rest through bids accepted in a silent auction. The voice auction raised more than $15,000 for DRC, but 15 of the silent auction spheres did not attract the $350 minimum bids required. A list of the unsold spheres will be available Tuesday, and they will be on display at 413 Main St., available for sale through Friday for $350 each. Any spheres remaining after Friday will be part of a raffle whose winners will be picked at Party on the Pavement on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Update: And here's the list of the unsold -- and still available -- spheres. First $350 takes whichever you like:

Magic Bead Ball, Shine, Growing Green, Fireworks Fanfare, Cherry Flavor Paver, Death Star, Knots Landing, Big Fish Bowl, Sorcerer's Spell, The Rose Ball, Color Burst, HEADerLINES, Pond, Sweet Treats, Around the Yard, M C Escphere, Escargooo, Mod Pod and Ball of Yarn.

Stop in the DRC office at 425 Main Street or call 262-634-6002. The spheres are pictured online.