Whitefish Bay Week in Review: March 13 to March 20

In case you missed it, these are the top headlines from this week on Whitefish Bay Patch.

The Whitefish Bay boys basketball team brought home the school's third state championship trophy from Madison Saturday night, when the Blue Dukes knocked off Merrill in the Division 2 state title game, 65-49. The Blue Dukes last won state championship titles in 1998 and 1996, when current Bay coach Kevin Lazovik was on the team. Now, 15 years later, he said the win is just as sweet as a coach as it was as a player.

The Whitefish Bay girls basketball team hopes to give the school a double win, as the Blue Dukes girls are headed to state this week after a  thrilling 44-42 win over New Berlin Eisenhower in a WIAA Division 2 sectional championship game Saturday afternoon. Whitefish Bay (21-5) faces either Luxemburg-Casco (24-1) or Beaver Dam (21-4) in the state semifinals about 3:30 p.m. Friday in Madison.

A new state agency report shows the amount of state aid and transportation aid stripped from Whitefish Bay this year should be entirely offset by savings from employee pension contributions. The latest reports do not include the roughly $100,000 in state recycling grants the village would lose under Gov. Scott Walker's budget, which would create a total $325,000 shortfall. Interim Village Manager Matt Schuenke said he is looking at a different set of numbers, and he expects savings from the budget repair bill to cover only one-third of the gap.

Around 100 lined North Lake Drive Wednesday, some wielding signs and others armed with clipboards gathering signatures for the (R-River Hills.) Protesters were scattered along the busy street, stretching from Big Bay Park to East Kenwood Avenue in Shorewood, but the majority rallied at the corner of East Capitol Drive and Lake Drive in Shorewood.

With the focus on the boys state tournament, Patch caught up with former players and coaches from the late 90s, when the Dukes last made it to the state level. The 1996-98 Blue Dukes made three consecutive state tournament appearances and won two WIAA Division 2 basketball titles.

The on Tuesday received the first nod needed to move forward with plans to break ground on a Holocaust memorial on its campus in May. Commissioners also give final approval for a new salon on Silver Spring Drive and a cosmetic surgery clinic on the top floor of the upcoming PNC Bank building under construction at the corner of Lydell Avenue and Silver Spring Drive.

A large crowd turned out to hear from the three school board candidates at a Monday night forum at the Whitefish Bay Public Library. Attorney Anne Berleman Kearney is challenging incumbents Marie Greco and Jim Phillips.