Want free Bucks tickets for tonight's game? We've got 'em

7:29 a.m. | If you're brave enough to head down to the Bradley Center tonight to see the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks take on the Detroit Pistons, we've got a pair of tickets for you.

The first person to e-mail us at mmaley@cninow.com will get the freebies. You have to come to our office in Waukesha to pick them up today.

Red Robin eyes Houlihan's site at Brookfield Square

Feb. 08, 2010 8:30 p.m. | Red Robin plans to build a new restaurant on the former site of Houlihan's at Brookfield Square, but Plan Commissioners on Monday tabled any action on the proposal and asked the gourmet burger chain to come back with a more distinctive architectural design.

Red Robin would raze the Houlihan's building, which sits north of Barnes and Noble on the mall's east side, and build a new 5,700-square-foot structure.

Houlihan's closed late last month.

Red Robin, which has nine locations in Wisconsin, would have a capacity of just more than 200 people, and would be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The restaurant also plans to have a full-service bar.

Central athletic director resigns

Feb. 08, 2010 1:56 p.m. | Dan Anderson, athletics and activities director at Brookfield Central High School, is resigning his position effective June 30.

Anderson, age 51, is in his third year in the position. He said he is leaving to pursue other ambitions, likely in educational leadership.

The School Board is expected to approve Anderson's resignation at its meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at the district's central offices, 13780 Hope St., Brookfield.

Teen injured when WWII rifle goes off

Feb. 08, 2010 1:34 p.m. | A Brookfield Central student was cut above his eye and suffered gunpowder burns to his forehead when a World War II rifle that had been on display as art fired as he looked at it Friday.

According to Wauwatosa police:

A year ago, the boy and his mother moved into her boyfriend's home in the 100 block of North 121st Street in Wauwatosa. During that time, he has expressed interest in the vintage bolt-action wood rifle that hung over the fireplace. The Japanese World War II rifle was given to the boyfriend by his father more than 20 years ago, and he believed it was not loaded and would not fire even if it had ammunition.

About 5 p.m. Friday, the teen asked his mother if he could look at it and she agreed. He heard a rattling sound coming from inside the barrel, so he pointed it toward the floor and a bullet fell out. He put the bullet back in, and it immediately fired, hitting him in the forehead just above his right eye.

His mother and sisters heard him scream and ran into the room to find him bleeding. His eyebrow was peeled back. The Wauwatosa Fire Department took him to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where he was treated for a cut above his swollen eye and gunpowder burns to his forehead. His sight was not affected.

Brookfield woman dies in Minnesota crash

Feb. 08, 2010 11:30 a.m. | A 34-year-old Brookfield woman died in a crash on Saturday in Winona County, Minn., after her car was struck by a truck, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Jessica Lin was westbound on Interstate 90 near Winona when she rolled over through the median and her vehicle came to rest in the eastbound lanes of the interstate about 5 a.m. Saturday, the state patrol said. Her Honda Accord then was struck by an eastbound tractor-trailer truck.

Lin was not wearing a seat belt, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

The truck driver, Max C. Sharp, 54, of Preston, Idaho, was not injured.

Road conditions were dry at the time, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

Brookfield Krispy Kreme site will be mattress store

Feb. 05, 2010 11:21 a.m. | Mattress Firm, a national franchise chain, will open its first Milwaukee-area location in the old Krispy Kreme store on W. Blue Mound Road.

The store is under construction, but an opening date hasn't been set, according to Chuck Dawson, the local franchise owner. The first Mattress Firm store has opened in Pleasant Prairie, and another is planned for the Beltline Highway in Madison. Dawson also plans to open a store in West Allis but has not announced a site.

Mattress Firm offers brand name and private label mattresses.

Teacher contract talks head to mediation

Feb. 05, 2010 11:04 a.m. | The Elmbrook teachers union and School Board are expected to begin mediation next month after contract talks stalled over salary and benefits.

Both sides announced today in a joint news release that they have agreed to file for mediation in order to achieve a voluntary settlement for teacher compensation for the 2009-11 contract.

Negotiations began in September, when bargaining teams for the board and the union, the Elmbrook Education Association, agreed to use a collaborative, Interest-based bargaining method with a facilitator.

The teams have tentatively agreed on some issues, including the 2010-11 school calendar and a prescription drug benefit change expected to save the district $190,000.

Brookfield Central boys basketball photos now online

Feb. 05, 2010 10:49 a.m. | We've just posted NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery from Brookfield Central's 64-51 victory over host Hamilton last night in a Greater Metro Conference boys basketball game.

Central's Alex Diciaula had a career-high 30 points while Nevan Lewis came off the bench to score 13 and Seth Mortag added 10 points. Central improved to 9-9 overall and 5-6 in the GMC. Hamilton fell to 11-7, 7-4.

See the photo gallery.

Spartans to donate 50/50 money to Tosa West coach

Feb. 05, 2010 9:52 a.m. | The Brookfield East basketball program has found a small way to reach out and help Wauwatosa West coach Mike Landisch, who is battling kidney cancer.

The Spartans will have their usual 50/50 raffle tonight when first-place Menomonee Falls comes to East for a 7:30 p.m. game.

Fans purchased raffle tickets for three quarters and then the winner is announced. The winner keeps half the money and the program keeps the other half. Brookfield East will donate its half to Landisch and there is a hope that the winner will do the same.

"It is something we wanted to do for Mike and his family," East coach Andy Farley said. "We wish him best of luck."

Lancers upset Hamilton; Diciaula scores 30

Feb. 04, 2010 9:34 p.m. | Brookfield Central defeated Sussex Hamilton, 64-51, at Sussex Thursday night behind senior guard Alex Diciaula's career high 30 points.

The Lancers led 26-19 at half-time, as Diciaula had 11 first-half points, including nine in the second quarter. Central then expanded its lead to 43-32 after three quarters, as Diciaula scored 11 of his team's 17 points in the quarter. He then closed out the game with an eight-point final period. He hit 10-fo-13 shots from the field.

Nevan Lewis came off the bench and hit 6-of-7 shots and scored 13 points and Seth Mortag, who was starting his second straight game, added 10 points. Point guard Alex Olson didn't score a point, but played outstanding defense and was praised by Central coach Mark Adams afterward.

Brian Krohn had 18 points for the Chargers, but the Lancers held Brett Meinecke to nine points, as no other Hamilton player reached double figures.

Hamilton dropped to 7-4, 11-7 overall and Central improved to 5-6 and 9-9 overall.

Follow us on Twitter for chance to win Bucks tickets

Feb. 04, 2010 2:48 p.m. | Follow us on Twitter and you could win a pair of Bucks tickets to Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Pistons.

All you have do is visit twitter.com/MyCommunityNOW, click the "follow" button, and then post your own tweet mentioning @mycommunitynow and the words "Tweet this for a chance to win Bucks tickets." The deadline to win the tickets is 5 p.m. Friday.

If you're already following us on Twitter, just send us the Tweet - this contest is open to new and existing followers.

At 5 p.m. Friday, we'll randomly select two people from everyone who tweeted "Bucks Tickets" - and they'll each will win a pair to tickets to Tuesday's game.

If you're not already following us on Twitter, do so today. Not only will you get a chance to head to the game, but you'll also be able to stay on top of the latest news, sports, photos and more from the MyCommunityNOW.com Web sites.

We're blogging live from tonight's Brookfield mayoral forum

Feb. 04, 2010 10:48 a.m. | The third and final Brookfield mayoral forum before the Feb. 16 primary will be held tonight and we'll be there blogging live. You can sign up now to receive an e-mail reminder a little before the event begins.

Tonight's event is sponsored by the East Central Branch of the Waukesha County Republican Party and will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall, 2000 N. Calhoun Road.

You can also check out our special mayoral election page, which features candidate videos, links to past live blogs, questions from readers and more.

Mr. B's moving to Agave site in Brookfield

Feb. 02, 2010 3:58 p.m. | The Bartolotta restaurant group today confirmed a longstanding rumor: It's moving its Mr. B's steakhouse from the Stonewood Village shops in Brookfield to the former site of Agave Southwestern Grille nearby.

Mr. B's is expected to close at 17700 W. Capitol Drive in late March, according to a statement from the group, and reopen a week later at 18380 W. Capitol Drive.

The move will allow Mr. B's to accommodate an extra 50 people in its bar and 60 more in the dining room. The Agave site also has an expansive patio with fireplace.

Agave, which was opened in June 2008 by Jim and Jere Pandl and Dave Kelley, closed in January.

The restaurant group will continue to hold the lease at Stonewood Village and is considering placing another restaurant there, according to John Wise, director of operations.

New Elmbrook financials show smaller deficit

Feb. 02, 2010 9:56 a.m. | An updated set of financial projections show that the Elmbrook School District's budget crunch is not quite as bad as previously thought.

The final version of the district's annual financial projection, prepared by PMA Financial Management, decreases Elmbrook's five-year deficit to $15.64 million. The gap shrank $2.56 million from the $18.2 million deficit estimated in a rough draft of the projection released in December.

The new projections show a smaller deficit because several of the assumptions used in the calculations have been made more accurate, said Keith Brightman, district assistant superintendent for finance and operations.

"We obviously have to check the projections and check the results and make sure everything makes sense in it," he said.

When reviewing the calculations used to create the projection draft, Brightman said he noticed that estimates for the cost of the district's staff salaries and benefits were too high. The draft also lowballed a revenue limit exemption the district receives to help pay for special education students.

Police say drunken driver traveled at nearly 100 mph

Feb. 02, 2010 7:46 a.m. | Brookfield police arrested a 40-year-old Milwaukee man for drunken driving last week after he rear-ended another vehicle at nearly 100 mph on a busy city street.

According to police:

The man was driving his 2006 Subaru south on Calhoun Road near Lake Road about 9:25 a.m. Tuesday when he struck a 2002 Chevy Suburban. One witness told police said the man was traveling 90 mph to 100 mph when he ran into the sport utility vehicle.

After the Suburban was struck, it rolled over several times, but the driver, a 22-year-old Brookfield man, did not sustain any major injuries. The Milwaukee man told paramedics he had chest pain and a bump on the head.

Both drivers were taken to Froedtert Hospital for treatment. Blood was drawn to determine the Milwaukee man's level of intoxication and whether he had any narcotics in his system.