Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke and new Milwaukee Fire Chief Doug Holtongo way back. The first cousins went to Marquette University High School together in the early ’70s. As Clarke tells it, Holton tried talking him into becoming a firefighter. But Clarke joined the Milwaukee Police Department instead and became sheriff in 2002. “You figure out which one was smarter,” says Clarke.
Sam Rowen, grandson of former Sen.George McGovern, is considering a move into politics. Rowen is the son of longtime East Siders Susan McGovern, daughter of the 1972 Democratic nominee for president, and Jim Rowen, former chief of staff to MayorJohn Norquist and onetime reporter at theJournal Sentinel.Sam, 31, is said to be pondering a run for the 22nd Assembly District seat being vacated by Democratic Rep.Sheldon Wasserman, who will attempt to unseat state Sen.Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, in 2008. Sam now works as a legislative aide for Milwaukee Alderman Mike D’Amato.
Former WISN-TV news anchor Marty Burns-Wolfe left Milwaukee in 1995 for Denver, where she became a developer and co-owned a restaurant. She’s developed a total of 18 commercial and residential buildings, including the loft she lives in now. “I’ve flipped more houses than I care to remember,” she says. The go-go 57-year-old traded her trademark Porsche for a classic 1963 Studebaker Avanti and has let her bleached-blond hair go gray.
Why the long-running feud between Milwaukee Journal Sentinelcolumnist Eugene Kane and Jessica McBride, whose “joke” about a drive-by shooting in a faux interview with Kane resulted in her termination from WTMJ-AM? Kane says he thinks pundit Charlie Sykes egged her on. “He never has been able to get the best of me, so he needs a female robot to do it,” Kane jabs. Sykes punches back: “What a surprise. Kane is a sexist as well as a racist. Who knew?”
Carnevor restaurant owner Omar Shaikh was recently spotted making multiple trips to the lunch buffet at Korean restaurant Seoul. Shaikh used to eat at his own Korean/Japanese restaurant, Sake Tumi, which he opened with his aunt. But they had a falling out and he’s no longer involved with the business. When we called Sake Tumi looking for Omar, his aunt said she had his phone number, but she threw it out. Ouch.
Designing the latest Harley-Davidson – the $10,000 2007 Harley XL 1200N Nightster – was no small job. In June’s issue of Men’s Journal, an entire page dissects the design by Rich Christoph, 27, and tells how he hopped on his homemade bike to travel from Iowa to Milwaukee for the interview. Other press clippings include The New York Timesand Fast Company.
Ride on, Rich.
Celebrity Sightings
Packers director of player development George Koonce was spotted recently at Bacchus with state fair honcho Marty Greenberg,also an adjunct law professor at Marquette, where Koonce is getting a doctorate. More Packers were spotted at Carnevor, when Mark Tauscher, Chad Clifton and Jason Spitz dropped in with former Badger Jack Weiss, who said he wanted a blonde waiter. His server Geoff said he’d wear a wig next time. Also at Carnevor was R&B singer Eric Benet, who the owner describes as “real chill.”
When Cubs manager Lou Piniella was in town, he enjoyed beating the Brewers and eating at Moceans. Mayor Tom Barrett had lunch two days in a row at Savoy Room in the Shorecrest Hotel. Savoy is frequented by prominent business people, including Don Smiley,head of Summerfest.
