Marcoux Offers Rapid Fire of Big Thoughts on Milwaukee’s Future

“If we’re a city on the move, we’ve got to think big.”

Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development, said that — and did his best to demonstrate that – in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Eckstein Hall on Tuesday. His excitement about big ideas for Milwaukee’s future was strong enough to get him literally getting out of his chair at one point and talking throughout the hour-long session with speed and enthusiasm.

What kind of big thoughts?

Perhaps the one that was freshest was his suggestion that construction of a new sports and entertainment complex should be tied to improving life along W. Wisconsin Ave. from the Milwaukee River west. Emphasizing that he was not speaking for Mayor Tom Barrett or the Common Council and not taking a formal position, Marcoux said Wisconsin Ave. is an important asset for the city that needs help, and the closer a new arena is to that area, the more likely it would be to trigger other good developments for downtown. This would suggest locating an arena south of the vacant Park East land north of Juneau Ave. that has been suggested by others. Marcoux said perhaps the site could be several blocks to the south, where the Milwaukee Arena and Milwaukee Theatre stand now, with some or all of the block occupied by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel included. That would be from N. Third to N. Sixth Streets and from Kilbourn Ave. to State St.

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The Controversial Optimism of Henry Tyson

Henry Tyson is as controversial as he is optimistic as he articulate as he is driven. All of those traits were on view when Tyson, the superintendent of Saint Marcus Lutheran School, 2215 N. Palmer St., Milwaukee, was the guest last week in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Marquette Law School.

Despite what Tyson called “crazy battles” among advocates for different schools and streams of schools, the most significant trait about Tyson may well be his optimism about Milwaukee education in general, including his confidence that student achievement levels can and will rise across the city.

Since Tyson arrived in Milwaukee a little over a decade ago, he has become a force on Milwaukee’s school scene, both as an advocate for the private school voucher program and as an advocate for high expectations and the approach to urban education sometimes given the label “no excuses.”

Tyson is currently at the center of a controversy in which Saint Marcus is seeking to buy the closed Malcolm X school building at 1st and Center Sts. owned by Milwaukee Public Schools. The Milwaukee School Board has been united in opposing that, although it appears willing to consider selling other school buildings to Saint Marcus.

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SEC Issues Rule on CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio Disclosures

money_bag_svgLast week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a rule requiring companies to disclose the CEO-to-worker pay ratio.  Despite objections by many corporations, the rule covers all employees including seasonal, international, and part-time workers.  The SEC provides companies the option of using the entire workforce or a representative sample in the calculation.

There will now be a 60-day comment period.  The SEC voted for the rule 3-2, with the two Republican Commissioners who voted against the proposal calling it a special interest provision and proclaiming “shame on the SEC.”

Proponents of the rule argue that it will give shareholders and other stakeholders a clear line of sight into human capital management and worker pay. 

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