A tavern closes down in Wisconsin to make room for a Walgreens. Which words are missing from this sepia-toned account?
Oh, yeah, eminent domain.
But its synonyms and sentiments abound:
The answer to his Walgreens question is “economic development,” something that seems much needed in an area with boarded-up Polish flats being stripped of their siding, wandering transients and a fair trade in drugs and prostitution.
“Just because something is old doesn’t mean it is historic,” said Ald. Bob Donovan, who represents the 8th District, within which the tavern sits, and who made an unusual parliamentary maneuver to get the development the City Hall green light earlier this year after its chances for passing had stalled over the previous two.
Donovan said he saw in the $5 million development a chance for the neighborhood to “get a shot in the arm.”
“What the neighborhood is getting is an investment in their community,” said Michael Polzin, a New Berlin native and spokesman for the suburban-Chicago-based chain, which has 31 stores in Milwaukee proper. He’s never been to the National Liquor Bar.
“Just because something is old doesn’t mean it is historic.” Replace the word old with yours and the word historic with not ours to dispose of as we wish if you want to get to the heart of the grabby little thought processes of small-time government power brokers.
