High-speed Passenger Details

Here's more information on high-speed passenger rail service from Madison to Milwaukee (and Beyond!). I emphasize the 'beyond' because this service will not just be about taking the train from Madison to Milwaukee, but probably more importantly connecting to passenger service to major Midwestern cities like Chicago (good-bye Northwest Tollway! - err, Jane Addams Memorial Tollway).

Another point to note: The Wisconsin effort is part of a long-standing larger Midwestern effort called the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI).

The following is an excerpt from the overview section of Wisconsin Department of Transportation's application for funding to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The overview is at:


[Begin excerpt]:Main features and characteristics of the Corridor Service

Wisconsin's corridor service plan (together with Illinois and Minnesota) is to implement 110 mph passenger rail service between Chicago-Milwaukee-Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago-Milwaukee-Green Bay. The implementation of this corridor service is planned in phases, which are consistent with the Midwest Regional Rail System (MWRRS) phases:

Phase 1 of corridor service plan: Milwaukee-Madison (Extension of Chicago-Milwaukee)
-Initially 7 round-trips between Chicago and Milwaukee with 6 continuing on to Madison in 2013 (Final design and construction applied for October 2, 2009 HISPR Track 2, project 5 on table).
-Increase to 10 round-trips between Chicago and Milwaukee with 6 continuing on to Madison upon completion of improvements between Chicago and Milwaukee. This includes three track 1a improvements (see project table).

The other improvements will be applied for in 2010 following completion of the Service Level NEPA. Phase 2 of corridor service plan: Milwaukee-Minneapolis/St. Paul
-10 round-trips between Chicago and Madison, with 6 round-trips extending to Minneapolis/St. Paul (via Madison route alignment depends on results of Service Level NEPA study. Funding for Service Level NEPA applied for August, 2009 HISPR Track 3 by Minnesota)

 Phase 3 of corridor service plan: Chicago-Milwaukee-Green Bay-Increase to 17 round-trips between Chicago and Milwaukee with 7 continuing on to Green Bay-Increase speed between Chicago and Milwaukee to 110 mph

Existing passenger service operating over the area of the corridor service plan as defined above includes Amtrak Hiawatha Service with 7 round-trips per day between Chicago and Milwaukee, and Amtrak Empire Builder with one round-trip per day between Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Madison and Green Bay currently have no rail service.
…

Implementation of the corridor service plan could potentially serve most of the Wisconsin's most populous and fastest-growing regions. Approximately 76% of Wisconsin's total population lives within 30 miles of proposed Midwest Regional Rail System stations.

Based on MWRRS, Wisconsin service characteristics include:
Travel Time:
- Chicago to Milwaukee: Existing = 1:29 / 2020 = 1:05
- Milwaukee to Madison: Existing = N/A / 2013: 1:14 (1:09-Express)
- Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul: Existing = 8:37 / 2020 = 5:37
- Chicago to Green Bay: Existing = N/A / 2020 = 2:58

The participating states of this corridor service plan, which include Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, have a long history of coordination and cooperation, which will continue with the implementation and operation of the corridor service.
The Midwest Regional Rail System (MWRRS) has been under development since 1995, when the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri in partnership with the FRA and Amtrak, began to evaluate the potential for high speed rail in the Midwest."


[End of excerpt]

***

If this post doesn't do it for you, then you can find enough info for even the frothiest foamer at:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/recovery/railroad.htm

Glass in the Garden

You've seen the signs around town, now get on over to 1111 Birch Haven Circle for the Glass in the Garden Art Show and Sale.

(Better late than never, but not much when I don't post an event until its waning hours.) Anyway, a very cool local art show has been taking place and you should rush over to see it before it ends at 6 pm on Saturday, August 8.

The show is sponsored by local artist Pamela Cremer at her Pam-de'mOnEum Studio located at 1111 Birch Haven Circle. The show benefits the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence and features nine artists from Monona, Madison, Chicago, and...Saskatchewan.

Catching Up on Monona Stuff

In brief, catching up on old news:

Bob Miller Withdraws I talked to Bob yesterday on some other stuff and had to ask if he was really sure that he is out of the race (and won't accept it even if he wins). Unfortunately for us, his answer was definitive. He's out and not coming back.

"Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President." Robert Schlesinger: "I Shall Not Seek, and I Will Not Accept..."


Monona LRC Gives Bourbon Street a Pass The Monona city council will review the LRC's decision to take no action against the Bourbon Street Grill on Tuesday, January 20. The city attorney objected to the finding that BSG has not been operated at any time as a "disorderly house." Packet is not yet posted.

Wind turbines may be installed in Monona. I have not blogged this question before, but did get an inquiry from a local resident. State law severely limits the ability of local government to regulate solar and wind power installations. See sections 66.0401 and 66.0403 Wisconsin Statutes:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0066.pdf


Hickory Lanes Mobile Home Park. The city administration granted the owners of Hickory Lanes an extension of time to clear the site (this item did not come to council - I would likely have opposed it). The new deadline is January 31, 2009. Concerns had also been raised about environmental contamination. City staff reports that DNR reviewed the work and found no problems.


Monona Ice Skating Update Nothing new to report. No shortage of ice.

Oh, and one last thing:

The Cubs Still Suck! 100 Years of Suckiness

So Long to a Great American

The sad news came across the teletype tonight that Studs Terkel had passed away at the age of 96. Terkel was best known for his interviews with ordinary Americans that he turned into best-selling books like Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do and Division Street: America and Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression.

Terkel got his start in the Federal Writers Project after graduating form the University of Chicago Law School in 1934.

You can also buy his interviews Voices of Our Time: Five Decades of Studs Terkel Interviews, but you don't need to because the Chicago Historical Society has an amazing collection of material including his interviews at Studs Terkel: Conversations with America.

Brewers Final Word

Unlike the Cubs, who choked on high expectations, the Brewers actually had a successful season, if only moderately so. After a 26-year absence from post-season play the team was expected to make a run at the playoffs and did so. The Cubs or their fans or the Chicago media or all three somehow decided that this year the Cubs would win the World Series after a 100-year drought or they would be a failure. In baseball that is just plain crazy talk. Regular season baseball success does not always equate to post-season success. Weird things can happen in the playoffs and when a team has accepted absurd expectations weird things become likely to happen.

***

But what do the Brewers need to do this off season to stay in the 90 win neighborhood?

First, they need to add starting pitching. Sheets and Sabathia are free agents. Sheets gets hurt too often for Brewers to risk the money he will still command. Signing Sabathia is a dream that won't come true. How much will he command? Johan Santana made $17 million for the Mets on his new $137.5 million, six-year contract this year.

The Brewers return Dave Bush, Manny Parra, Yovani Gallardo, and Jeff Suppan. In descending order, that's one proven starter, two guys with tons of potential neithert of whom has pitched 200 innings total in their career, and an expensive has-been. Soup has just gotten too easy to hit: his opponent batting averages jumped over 20 points the last two years.

Depth in starters is invaluable because injuries will occur and some players will fall below expectations. The Brewers may have potential starting pitching depth in Seth McClung, but need more. Carlos Villanueva is probably not part of that answer.

Lacking from that list is a real number 1 starter - an established number one not potential - and that is the team's major need. They can obtain one by free agency or trade.

Here's a list of viable free agent starting pitchers from Cot's Baseball Contracts: 2009 Free Agents:

A.J. Burnett TOR (may opt out)
Ryan Dempster CHC
John Lackey * LAA (Team option)
Braden Looper STL
Derek Lowe LAD
C.C. Sabathia MIL

A trade for a number one would require giving up major talent, the most likely being Prince Fielder. There are several good reasons to trade Fielder: his weight has ballooned, he is arbitration eligible and will get a multi-million dollar raise from his current $670,000, and his agent is Scott Boras so the chances of signing him as a free agent in three years will be, err, slim. I recently saw a 2005 picture of Fielder and was shocked to see just how huge he has gotten. Yikes!

But trading Fielder also would create a hole at first base.

The Brewers next biggest need is a high average, high on-base percentage everyday player. They have too many guys that strike out a ton, hit for a low average, don't walk, and do not hit enough homers to make up for all that, to wit: Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, and Mike Cameron. Cameron fanned a staggering 142 times in just 444 at bats! That's 32%! Bill Hall is close behind with 124 KO's in 404 AB's or 31%.

Bill Hall is untradeable and unplayable and a expensive - a bad trifecta.

Mike Cameron provides very good defense and a little power. If he was the only one of his ilk on the team, maybe you could live with him. He's not and has to go.

Corey Hart was just godawful for the last month. Michael Hunt at the MJS thinks he may have been hurt. (See our email exchange below). Let's hope there was something specific going on that can be healed or fixed. You cannot trade him now and he may very well rebound to become a solid hitter. Hart basically never walks. He had the second worst BB/K ratio in the NL and pitchers took advantage.

A small warning sign: Ryan Braun rarely walks either.

Rickie Weeks, the player fans love to hate, is about the only guy who know on to work a count. He still whiffs too much, flubs easy plays in the field, and doesn't hit for average. Still, Weeks could fix his shortcomings by raising his batting average just 25 or 30 points to the .260-ish range. His OBP would then be in the top 20 in the NL.

Moving J.J. Hardy to 3B and promoting Alcides Escobar to starting shortstop could improve the team in three ways: better defense, better batting average, and keep Bill Hall on the bench. That all hinges on Escobar being able to make the leap from AAA to the Show.

Some may think the Brewers need to add a closer, but I don't. Torres was serviceable, McClung might be able to do it. Even Gagne, but not at $10 million a year. Teams can get 90% of the saves that a top closer would get while spending about a 1/4 of the dough. It is too easy to blow money on a closer and the Brewers cannot afford it.

Last, for now anyway, they need to add a left-handed bat - a good one, not Craig Counsell - preferably a starter. Hmm, Mat Gamel could fill the bill (Mat Gamel Statistics (Minor Leagues) - Baseball-Reference.com), but he's probably a year away and he's another third baseman who can't field either.

The Brewers have 12 free agents, but only four of consequence: Mike Cameron, Eric Gagne, CC Sabathia, and Salomon Torres.

***

Here's the email exchange I had with Milwaukee JS columnist Michael Hunt:

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Wood [dougwood57@charter.net]
Sent: Mon 10/6/2008 1:42 PM
To: Michael Hunt
Subject: Dave Bush??

Hi. I just read your Monday end-of-the-season column and agreed with most if it with a quibble or two. And one large-sized exception to your omission of Dave Bush from the future of the pitching staff.

Bush had the 5th best WHIP in the NL at 1.14. Look at the list to appreciate how good that is. Bush was also second on the Brewers in innings pitched. Manny Parra has tons of potential, but he hasn't harnessed it yet.

I have a much lesser disagreement with your call to dump Rickie Weeks. As frustrating as Weeks is, he is about the only guy on the team who knows how to work the count. His OBP this year was 108 points above his batting average. He scores a lot of runs. A small improvement in batting average would make him a pretty decent offensive player.

Bill Hall on the other hand should get about 404 fewer at bats next year (and I'm not one of the Bill Hall haters). Your idea of moving Hardy to 3b and Escobar in at SS is intriguing.

And Corey Hart? What happened to him? Something is not right when I can sit at home and call for a 2-strike off-speed pitch low and away and well outside the striek zone. The pticher throws it, Hart swings, Hart sits. The guy was a mess. I could not figure out why Yost/Sveum did not let somebody else play a couple days a week. No good options? They could not have done any worse than Hart.

Regards,
Doug Wood


You're right about Bush, Doug. I'm encouraged by his finish and didn't mean to leave him out. Hall's contract is a big problem - I think they owe him about $14 million over the next two, but maybe they'll be a taker. It's just that I get so frustrated with Rickie. He's got HofF ability, just can't seem to get it together. I'm guessing Hart was playing hurt. If not, wow, what a spiral. Thanks, Doug.

Michael Hunt

Cubs Lose, Cubs Lose

Just a few hours after the Brewers win, the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs again. Cubs' latest failure is worse than ever - Columnist

This is almost too painful even for me to make fun of the Cubs. Almost. Sorry, I just can't quite feel your pain. Or are the Cubs and their fans just in committed sado-masochistic obsessive relationships?

On the other hand, this guy is happy: Cubs Lose T-Shirt Store

Somebody check on Ron Santo. (In Cubs’ Luckless Lore, the Story of a Baseball Life)

Brewers Win, Brewers Win

The Brewers extended their playoff series to a fourth game with a 4-1 win over the Phillies at Miller Park. GAME 3: Brewers stay alive in Miller Park's playoff debut . They discovered a thing called the "base on balls": Brewers 4, Phillies 1: Patience at plate pays off

Here's a headline you don't often see here or anywhere else: Bush meets challenge

A one-day headline or prophecy: Jayson Stark: Brewers continue to never say die

Just as I suspected, Robin Yount tipped Dale Sveum to the interference call in the 9th that took a Phillies' run off the scoreboard. Yount gives assist on obstruction play

Manny Parra warmed up in the 8th inning just to scare the fans. It worked. Is something wrong with Brian Shouse? (Very strange web page: The Unofficial Brian Shouse Fan Club)

Game four features Jeff Suppan against Joe Blanton. Neither one did much this year, but Suppan has a very good post-season track record. It's amazing how one game can change the attitude from fatalistic acceptance of defeat into a rendition of Tomorrow!

ESPN: Phils-Brewers page

Buckle Up!

As I predicted back on July 18 (Brewers, Cubs, and Cards), the Brewers face what may be the biggest series of the season starting tonight in Philadelphia. Neither team is what you'd call hot. The Brewers are 3-7 in September, the Phillies 4-5.

The matchups:

Thursday Sheets (13-7) vs. Moyer (13-7)

Friday Parra (10-7) vs. Hamels (12-9)

Saturday Bush (9-10) vs. Blanton (7-12)

Sunday Suppan (10-8) vs. Kendrick (11-9)

The good news is that Moyer and Hamels are lefties and the Brewers kill lefties, but those guys are two of the better left-handed starters in the NL. Geoff Jenkins returns from the DL just in time for his old team.

No CC? He tees off the next series at Chicago (Chi Cubs) next Tuesday.

If the Cubs make it home: Hurricane Ike puts cloud over Cubs-Astros series

The Scenario

The Brewers are 4.5 games behind the Cubs and 4 games ahead of the Houston Astros (huh?) and Phillies and 4.5 ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Brewers, Phils, and Astros have 16 games remaining, while the Cubs and Cards have 17 games left.

If the Cubs win 9 and lose 8, then the Brewers would need to go 13-3 to tie them for the NL Central title.

If the Brewers win 8 and lose 8, then the Phils and Astros would have to go 12-4 and the Cards 13-4 to catch up.

Brewers have a tough schedule with 10 games against the Phils and Cubs, but that is also a schedule that allows them to knock out the Phils and catch the Cubs. The Astros have an easy schedule with 3 games against the Cubs, 3 against Florida and the other 10 versus the Braves and Pirates. And they are hot. On August 1, the Astros were 6 games under .500 and 13 games out of first (9 behind the Brewers). Since then the Astros are 28-10. Scary good.

After playing the Brewers, the Phillies cruise with 6 against the Braves and 3 against the Nationals. The Cards have 8 against winning teams and 9 against losers. The Cubs schedule is brutal - make that B-R-U-T-A-L - with 6 against the Brewers, 4 against the Red Birds, 3 against the Astros, and 4 against the NY Mets. Moreover, the Cubs play their last seven on the road.

Bottom line:

With even a mediocre stretch run, the Brewers are quite likely to make the playoffs, but....play ball!

Photos

The photos from the Museum of Science and Industry are at http://mononapark.blogspot.com/

Chicago Trip - Museums, Parks, and Walking

Doing - Museums. This trip we went to Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, which i had not been to in many years. It is located about 10 miles south of the Loop in Hyde Park (Hyde Park Community) (an easy trip on the LSD or take the Metra Electric train from Van Buren Station. Metra / Electric Line Schedules) Did I mention you can ride Metra all weekend for five bucks American?

The Museum of Science and Industry is the "granddaddy of interactive museums" and excels for kids of all ages. The Coal Mine is a classic - go there first thing to avoid the lines. Likewise the the U-505 German sub that was captured in 1944 (this is the real thing). A special exhibit is the Smart Home: Green + Wired, which requires a separate ticket with timed entry. (A separate post is coming for that). Our scheduled tour was delayed because the President of the museum was taking some VIP on his own tour. As we waited I looked out the window and saw that the VIP was hizzoner da' mayor, little Richie Daley!

LSD :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicagopedia Exploring Hyde Park For a neat sidetrip head over to the The University of Chicago campus and the Robie House.

I would rank the MSI third in my pantheon of Chicago museums behind the Art Institute of Chicago (www.artic.edu) and the Field Museum of Natural History. I like the John G. Shedd Aquarium, but went there at least three times on middle-school field trips (that will scar you if you don't have earplugs).

Some places and trips that are going my list: Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago ArchiCenter Museum/Attraction Review Chicago, and Shoreline Sightseeing and their Architecture Cruise.

Shoreline's water taxi is a fun cheap way to get from Navy Pier to the Chicago Museum Campus - Chicago Attractions - Chicago Museums.


Doings - Parks and Walking

Do not miss Millennium Park. If you do, turn around and go back. Then there's Grant Park, Chicago home of the big festivals and the Clarence Buckingham Fountain. I like to stay in the South Loop for easy walking access to these parks and the museum campus. (The Lincoln Park Zoo is pretty cool (and free), but it's hard to justify a zoo trip on limited time.)

Walking in downtown is a great way to see the city and the people-watching is first rate. The top of the class is the Magnificent Mile, Chicago on N. Michigan Avenue. Be sure to stop at the Chicago River Michigan Avenue bridge. Admire the Wrigley Building and the Tribune Building. The shopping is rich. On a late August Saturday afternoon, the crowd was almost overwhelming - made it hard to stop and look. A side trip to tiny Seneca Park was a wonderful break - shady and quiet and amazingly just a block off Michigan Avenue east of the Old Water Tower. Chicago Park District: Seneca Playlot Park.


That's all for now. I hope to post some pix later.

Please share your favorites.

Chicago Trip - Eats and Music

Chicago 2008 Trip Continued.

The Eats. A special part of the enjoyment of going to Chicago is the food. I should say that I consider myself a moderately experienced Chicago traveler, but I found it very useful to buy a copy of Frommer's Chicago 2008 (You can also read a lot of it for free at Chicago : Introduction Frommers.com). We ate at Shaw's Crab House and Blue Crab Lounge (Shaw's Crab House: Fresh Seafood, Steak, Sushi, Crab in Chicago ...). Wonderful, if you like steaks and seafood. Great service, bustling atmosphere, Chicago casual dress.

On Saturday, we lunched at Athena's (Athena Greek Restaurant - Greektown - Chicago, IL 60661 Metromix ...) in Greektown on Halsted just two minutes from the Loop (map: GreektownChicago, IL). Very tasty.

One of my favorites is Carson's for ribs at 612 N. Wells Street also in River North (http://www.ribs.com/). A place that looks very interesting is Russian Tea Time at 77 E. Adams Street in the heart of the Loop (http://www.russianteatime.com/).

And of course there is the famous Chicago deep pizza at Edwardo's, Gino's East, and Pizzeria Uno. If you want a "cheezeborger, cheezeborger, cheezeborger, fries, No Coke, Pepsi", head to Billy Goat Tavern. John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd did.

River North Association : River North

Doings - Music. We did not make it to Buddy Guy's Legends as we planned, but I can vouch from previous trips that it is well worth a visit if you like the blues. It is conveniently located at 754 S. Wabash Ave in the South Loop just a couple blocks west of Grant Park. Another blues club that looks interesting is Blue Chicago with two locations at 536 and 736 N. Clark Street.

Check out Millennium Park :: Park Events and try something I didn't know about until we saw the crowd leaving on Friday night. Free music in an incredible setting.