Thursday, December 27, 2012
The Village Board's decision to enforce its ordinances and prohibit miniature book boxes in residential front lawns – drew a bit of controversy in Whitefish Bay.
Looking back through the archives of Patch articles from 2012 really makes you realize how fast time flies. Join us as we take a trip down memory lane, and look at the year's top 10 Whitefish Bay stories. The top stories were chosen based on page views, as well as community impact. The fifth-most popular story - the Village Board's decision to enforce its existing structure code and prohibit miniature book boxes in residential front lawns – drew a lot of page views and a bit of controversy in the Patch comments section. Even Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl poked at the board over the decision. The board's discussion about Little Free Libraries began in September, when the village learned that Christ Church had erected a …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Shortly after Whitefish Bay decided not to allow Little Free Libraries in front yards, a small book box in South Milwaukee has been filled with pamphlets warning about doomsday.
When the Whitefish Bay Village Board decided not to allow Little Free Libraries on front lawns, a number of concerns were raised about vandalism, size regulations and a potential for the devices to turn into vessels for propaganda. Although the majority of Patch readers voted that the Whitefish Bay board should've allowed Little Free Libraries, it appears at least one of the Whitefish Bay board's concerns has come true in South Milwaukee, where a Little Free Library has been filled with pamphlets spreading religious-based fear. John Nuck, who has a Little Free Library on his property in South Milwaukee, says unknown people are distributing religious leaflets "warning of impending doom and a one-way ticket to hell," according to Oak Creek …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The first give-a-book, take-a-book structure has come to Whitefish Bay, and now the village is torn with how it should regulate the emerging trend.
They're not birdhouses, and they're not quite mailboxes. The new wooden structures popping up in parks and front lawns across the North Shore are actually miniature book depots that encourage passersby to pick up a new book and share one of their favorites with the rest of the community. The first Little Free Library was constructed two years ago by Todd Bol of Hudson, WI. Now there are an estimated 1,800 libraries across the world, and the Little Free Library organization hopes to see at least 2,510 Little Free Libraries worldwide, according to the group's website. So far, there are at least two Little Free Libraries in Shorewood, another at Kletzsch Park in Glendale, and in Bayside, at Ellsworth Park and the Village Hall parking lot. …
Bob McBride
7:04 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
This is why we can't have nice things. Seriously, take 'em out when they show up. If it means checking 2-3 times/day, so be it. Comes with the territory. You really can't expect that something that invites contributions from the general public isn't going to end up with some questionable material once in awhile. When did we lose our ability to deal with things like this logically? more ›