We're blogging live from Friday night's boys basketball sectional semifinals

March 11, 2010 9:43 a.m. | Join NOW's David Cotey and Lake Country Publications' JR Radcliffe court side Friday night as they blog live from three of the area's top Division 1 boys basketball match ups.

Cotey will be covering the contest between No. 5 Brookfield Central and No. 1 Milwaukee Hamilton, set for 6 p.m. at Greenfield High School.

Radcliffe will be at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee reporting from No. 4 Waukesha West vs. No. 1 Arrowhead at 6 p.m. and No. 3 Germantown against No. 2 Menomonee Falls at 8 p.m.

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Brookfield Central vs. Hamilton

Help us choose the All-Suburban teams and you could win Bucks tickets

March 11, 2010 7:21 a.m. | Want to weigh in on who you think are the best boys and girls 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 and girls basketball teams, and the Players of the Year.

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

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

Vote for the boys team

Brookfield man charged with sexual assault of Falls teen

March 10, 2010 6:22 p.m. | A 48-year-old Brookfield man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he met at a Menomonee Falls gas station.

According to a copy of a criminal complaint, Sunil K. Singh talked the Menomonee Falls girl into getting into a car Saturday before getting her drunk, groping her and driving to an apartment building in the 11000 block of W. Meinecke Ave. in Wauwatosa.

According to the complaint, Singh threatened to kill the girl before dragging her by the wrist into the basement of the building, where he beat her and forced her into sex.

The girl managed to escape to a nearby apartment, where a resident called police.

Singh admitted to police that he provided the girl with alcohol, had sex with her and slapped her several times to keep her from crying.

Germantown vs. Homestead girls basketball photo gallery now online

March 09, 2010 9:56 p.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from tonight's first-round girls basketball tournament game between host Germantown and Homestead.

No. 5 Germantown earned a 63-56 victory over the No. 12 Highlanders to move to the second round. The Warhawks will play at No. 4 Waukesha South on Saturday.

See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

Wauwatosa East vs. Oak Creek girls basketball photos now online

March 09, 2010 9:56 p.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from tonight's first-round girls basketball tournament game between host Oak Creek, a fifth seed, and 12th-seeded Wauwatosa East.

Oak Creek posted a 53-29 victory over the Red Raiders to move to the second round. The Knights will play at No. 4 King at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

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.

Superintendent volunteers for pay, benefits freeze

March 09, 2010 12:14 a.m. | New Berlin Superintendent Paul Kreutzer will take a voluntary pay and benefit freeze next year.

The School Board on Monday approved that his pay/benefit package be frozen at $201,000 for the 2010-11 school year. Kreutzer actually will take somewhat of a cut in pay next year because his state mandated retirement contributions will go up.

Kreutzer said he reported pay of $163,000 on his 2009 taxes.

Times are hard for taxpayers so he volunteered for the freeze, he said.

"This was voluntary on my part," Kreutzer said. "I understand these are hard economic times, and we need to lead from the front."

Germantown basketball photos now online

March 08, 2010 1:42 p.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from Germantown's 56-45 victory over Hamilton in a boys basketball regional final Saturday.

Zak Showalter let the Warhawks with 11 points as they claimed their fourth straight regional title. With the victory, No. 3 Germantown advances to take on No. 2 Menomonee Falls in Friday's sectional semifinal at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.

See NOW photojournalist C.T. Kruger's photo gallery.

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

Eisenhower regional semifinal victory photos now online

March 05, 2010 10:28 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery featuring images from the New Berlin Eisenhower boys basketball team's 62-49 victory over visiting Milwaukee Lutheran last night in a WIAA regional semifinal game.

With the victory, the second-seeded Lions advance to take on first-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran at 1 p.m. Saturday.

See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

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.

Plan for senior apartments backed by council, residents

March 03, 2010 12:10 a.m. | Oak Creek — A large percentage of the 150-plus people who filled the Oak Creek Community Center on Tuesday night supported a proposed senior living facility at Life Creek Church.

Those supporters, many wearing green buttons saying "Vote Yes For Seniors," left happy after the Oak Creek Common Council, on a 5-1 vote, approved the proposed $12.5 million housing facility for people age 55 and older.

The council, as part of the proposal, approved a rezoning from single-family residential to institutional, which will allow a building that will feature 80 one- and two-bedroom units. The facility wil be built next to Life Creek Church, owned by the Korean Church of Milwaukee at 2020 E. Drexel Ave.

Representatives of Life Creek said the facility will meet the growing demand for senior living in the area. It will also increase the city's tax base by $250,000 annually while not creating any extra burden on the school district, since no children will live there, officials said.

Larger venue

Target employee charged with stealing $7,600 in electronics

March 02, 2010 10:22 a.m. | A Target employee who had aspirations of working in loss prevention is accused of taking more than $7,600 in merchandise from the store in the past month.

Ivory Morehouse, 20, of Milwaukee, has been charged with felony theft for taking a total of six digital media players, five televisions and two laptop computers.

According to Wauwatosa police:

Morehouse had been approached by customers to allow them to pay for merchandise with fake checks and in turn they would pay him a portion of what they could sell the good for on the street. He didn't go along with the plan, but he did take one person's phone number.

A week later, he ran into that person at a grocery store and they agreed to meet up the next day in Milwaukee. Morehouse said he had hoped to help take this guy down and get a promotion to a loss prevention position.