Woman who followed wrong car home nabbed for OWI

March 09, 2010 9:22 a.m. | City of Brookfield police arrested a 24-year-old Pewaukee woman for drunken driving early Saturday morning when she pulled into a parking lot on Bluemound Road after realizing she was following the wrong car home.

According to police reports:

An officer saw the woman's vehicle parked in a handicapped parking spot at a shopping center in the 15300 block of Bluemound Road about 3 a.m. Saturday.

When questioned, the woman said she had been following a friend home and eventually realized that she was following the wrong car, so she pulled into the parking lot. She admitted to drinking, and officers administered field sobriety tests, which she failed.

It was the woman's second drunken driving arrest, and her blood-alcohol content was 0.13.

Revised Red Robin plan gets panel's OK

March 09, 2010 9:20 a.m. | The city's Plan Commission on Monday unanimously approved plans for a new Red Robin restaurant at Brookfield Square, a month after they told designers to come up with a more creative look for the building.

Red Robin, a gourmet burger chain with nine locations in Wisconsin, plans to build a 5,700-square-foot restaurant and bar at the site of the former Houlihan's restaurant on the mall's east side between Barnes & Noble and Mitchell's Fish Market. The Houlihan's building will be razed.

Members of the Plan Commission last month tabled any action on the plans, but representatives from Red Robin presented revamped plans Monday that increased the size of the restaurant's entryway and added more architectural elements on the building's north side.

The Common Council will vote on the Plan Commission's recommendation Tuesday.

Buy Buy Baby coming to Brookfield

March 09, 2010 8:00 a.m. | Buy Buy Baby, the division of Bed Bath & Beyond that is devoted to baby products, will open its first Wisconsin store in Brookfield, in the Fountain Square shopping center.

The store will go in the space formerly occupied by Circuit City, according to local sources. A spokeswoman for Bed Bath & Beyond said she couldn't confirm the new store plans, but acknowledged that the company is advertising on its Web site for a manager for the store.

Buy Buy Baby's format is similar to the parent company, with merchandise for babies through age 3. The company offers a wide range of brands, including high-end items such as Stokke strollers for $1,000, and designer diaper bags that sell for over $300.

Buy Buy Baby has 29 stores around the country. The chain was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2007.

Brookfield man arrested in suspected assault of teen

March 08, 2010 5:44 p.m. | Wauwatosa police have arrested a 48-year-old Brookfield man suspected of abducting and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl Saturday, a police spokesman said Monday.

Police expect to refer the case to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office Tuesday, Lt. Dominic Leone said. The man is in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail, Leone said.

The girl, a resident of Menomonee Falls, told police the man abducted her and then sexually assaulted her in an apartment near N. 111th St. and W. Meinecke Ave., police said.

The girl was able to get out of the apartment and call police.

The man was arrested Saturday night while he was driving near the apartment, police said.

Large senior apartment development proposed in Brookfield

March 08, 2010 11:32 a.m. | A Middleton-based developer is proposing a 186-unit apartment community for seniors in Brookfield.

Nakoma Development LLC wants to build the apartments on 30 acres at 1300 S. Barker Road, said Dan Ertl, city planning director. The project would include six two-unit townhouses, with the remaining 174 units spread among four larger buildings, he said.

The project site has been used as a landfill for clean construction industry debris, Ertl said.

There is increased demand for senior apartments in Waukesha County because of the county's aging population, said Robert Schwarz of Nakoma Development. The apartments will have market rents, and be conventionally financed.

The plan will have its initial conceptual review at tonight's Plan Commission meeting, which begins at 6:30 at City Hall.

Brookfield Central vs. Whitnall, Tosa West basketball photos now online

March 08, 2010 10:30 a.m. | This weekend featured a number of closely contested regional-final boys basketball games and we've posted NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo galleries from two of the top matchups.

Brookfield Central defeated Whitnall, 73-65, in a regional final Saturday to advance to a sectional semifinal and our photo gallery features more than 20 images from the game.

We also have shots of Wauwatosa West's 78-67 loss to Milwaukee Washington that included a post-game tribute to West coach Mike Landisch.

Brookfield Central vs. Whitnall gallery

Wauwatosa West vs. Washington gallery

Mortag, Lancers defeat Falcons in regional

March 06, 2010 4:49 p.m. | The Brookfield Central boys basketball team overcame a 37-point effort from Whitnall senior Will Pelkofer to defeat the host Falcons, 73-65, in a WIAA Division 1 regional final Saturday.

Central sophomore Seth Mortag had team-highs of 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to lead a balanced Lancer attack that included five players with double-digit points.

His key block of a layup attempt with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left prevented the Falcons (15-7) from tying the score at 63-63 and gave Central (14-10) one final momentum boost to close out the contest. The Lancers put the game away with a 10-0 following the block.

Pelkofer's 37 points were a season-high and boosted his season total to 515. He finished with 1,166 for his career.

Balance, however, was an issue for the Falcons, who did not have another player with more than nine Saturday.

Pick 'n Save Metro Market to open March 20

March 05, 2010 10:30 a.m. | Pick 'n Save's new Metro Market will open March 20 in Brookfield.

Crews for the last several months have been working to convert the former Pick 'n Save store at the Brownstones Shopping Center on Bluemound Road to a high-end Metro Market, similar to the one in downtown Milwaukee.

The revamped store will have a drive-through pharmacy, and owner Roundy's has added 10,000 square feet of space to the property. A 15,000-square-foot building was razed to make room for additional parking on the site.

Vote for the All-Suburban Basketball Team and you could win Bucks tickets

March 04, 2010 7:43 a.m. | Want to weigh in on who you think are the best boys basketball players in the suburban area?

Now's your chance, as we're asking high school hoops fans to help us select the annual NOW Newspapers All-Suburban Boys Basketball Team, and the Player of the Year.

We've nominated 14 players to fill 10 spots on the honors team and we're asking you to pick the player that you think is the top basketball player in the NOW Newspapers coverage area.

When the fan voting is over, your votes - along with the votes of our sport staff - will determine the makeup of our All-Suburban Team. And one lucky person will win a pair of lower-level tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game just for voting!

Vote here.

VK Development sells Brookfield office building for $5.8 million

March 03, 2010 1:46 p.m. | Executive Center IV,  a three-story, 85,612-square-foot building located just west of Brookfield Square Mall, has been sold for $5.8 million.

Endeavor Cos., a privately held Chicago-based firm, bought the building, at 235 N. Executive Drive, from an investment group affiliated with Brookfield-based VK Development Corp. The sale was brokered by Inland Cos. and Inland principal Tom Shepherd.

Endeavor owns commercial properties in Illinois and other states.

VK Development, owned by the Vincent Kuttemperoor family, has developed housing in Brookfield and elsewhere, but is facing foreclosure on a large development in Florida.

Central gets gritty win over crosstown rival

March 02, 2010 10:48 p.m. | An ugly win is still a win

Brookfield Central advanced to the regional final with an unattractive 44-32 win over visiting crosstown rival Brookfield East on Tuesday.

It was playoff basketball at its best: hard-nosed defense throughout with clutch play down the stretch.

"The hardest game is always that first tournament game," Central coach Mike Adams said. "We have 10 guys on varsity that have never been here before and they don't know what it's all about. Until you actually get on the floor, then you start realizing that everyone is playing for their basketball life."

Despite being limited to a season-low 13 first-half points, the Lancers rallied behind the three-point shooting of junior guard Alex Olsen in the second half.

Elm Grove residents say 'no' to municipal water project

March 02, 2010 2:22 p.m. | By an overwhelming majority, Elm Grove property owners in an area targeted to receive municipal water from Brookfield have rejected the proposal.

The municipal water project would have provided water to properties along a loop around the downtown area. Only property owners along the proposed loop would have paid a special assessment for the project, and those not connecting would have had a lien placed against their property.

However, the price tag was set at a maximum of $7,900 per unit, with one unit representing the average home. Commercial properties were based on estimated water usage to determine their number of units.

Of the commitment letters returned to Village Hall by the Monday deadline, 601 units said "no" to the water, while 94 units favored the project. Village officials have said they will not go through with the project unless more than half of the units agreed to participate.

There were 837 units in the proposed water loop. Residents who haven't yet returned commitment letters are asked to do so to enable the village can have an idea of where all the residents stand on the issue.

House fire causes $150,000 in damages

March 02, 2010 1:40 p.m. | A fire early this morning caused $150,000 in damages to a home near Burleigh Elementary School.

The Brookfield Fire Department responded to the home at 15800 Sky Cliff Drive about 3 a.m., after police were called to the home for a burglar alarm. Police officers noticed smoke coming from the attic and called the Fire Department.

When crews arrived, they found the second story of the three-story home on fire. Firefighters entered the home, which was unoccupied, and found that the fire had been contained to a second-story bathroom and the attic.

Crews extinguished the fire, which caused severe damage to the attic and roof.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not believed to be intentional.

Public meeting scheduled on Capitol Drive improvements

March 02, 2010 11:46 a.m. | Brookfield - A public information meeting about planned improvements to Capitol Drive between Mayfair Road in Milwaukee County to Highway 74 in Waukesha County is scheduled at the Brookfield Public Safety Building from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation staff will present information in an open house format and will answer questions and record comments. No formal presentation is planned.

The state plans to resurface the road, replace bridges over the Fox River, rehabilitate bridges over Duplainville Road, re-deck the westbound bridge over the Menomonee River Parkway, upgrade traffic signals and make some operational improvements at signalized intersections and medians.

The construction is expected to cost $12.5 million. The stretch of Capitol Drive from Wauwatosa through Brookfield carries from 32,800 to 42,900 vehicles a day, according to DOT spokesman Dennis Shook. That's expected to increase to 51,900 cars a day in 20 years.

In the city of Brookfield, a sidewalk will be constructed along the road between 124th St. and Brookfield Road. In addition, Calhoun Road will be reconstructed for about 800 feet north and south of Capitol Drive.

Marcello backs Ponto in mayoral race

March 01, 2010 2:54 p.m. | Former mayoral candidate David Marcello has endorsed Alderman Steve Ponto in the race to be Brookfield's next mayor.

Marcello, who also has served on the Elmbrook School Board member and the Common Council, was eliminated from the mayor's race in February after he finished third in the primary election.

Incumbent Mayor Jeff Speaker finished first with 2,116 votes, and Ponto tallied 1,556. Marcello received 1,051 votes, and Waukesha County Supervisor Thomas Schellinger finished fourth with 457 votes.

Ponto and Speaker will square off in the general election April 6.

Marcello said Ponto "clearly has the skills to lead the community" and will offer much-needed leadership as mayor.