Viewpoints

Godfrey & Kahn shareholder Christine Liu McLaughlin has been recognized as “Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), according to an announcement from the law firm Tuesday.

It was a tale of two cities, a tale of two political conventions and a tale of two starkly different visions for America's future.

The Society for Financial Service Professionals (SFSP), Milwaukee Chapter, is seeking nominations for the Wisconsin Business Ethics Award (WBEA) until Friday, Oct. 19. In its second year, the award praises companies for their ethical business practices, quality in their product and service offerings, and their community support and outreach initiatives.

Doors Open Milwaukee 2, presented by Historic Milwaukee Inc., will open some of the city’s most historic buildings and architectural masterpieces to the public Saturday, Sept. 22, and Sunday, Sept. 23, with both self-guided walking tours and in-depth walking tours led by experts.

I’m sorry, but if you repeat a lie often enough, it still doesn’t make it the truth. That hasn’t stopped Wall Street apologists from continuing the stale assault that the Transaction Account Guarantee program is a taxpayer-supported government bailout. The latest potshots come from The Wall Street Journal, which has again concluded that because the government should reduce its support for the banking system, somehow TAG should be the first to go.

The number of home sales in Wisconsin was up 20.3 percent in August compared to August of 2011, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corp. and its affiliate, MCS Capital LLC, announced an agreement, subject to purchase the Cornhusker Hotel and Office Plaza in Lincoln, Neb.

Marcus Hotels will be the majority owner of a joint venture with a fund affiliate of LEM Capital of Philadelphia.

The Cornhusker Hotel acquisition is the first transaction sourced by MCS Capital, The Marcus Corp.'s new hotel investment business. Marcus Hotels & Resorts assumed management of the property as of Sept. 6. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Cornhusker Hotel, a Nebraska landmark, is a 297-room, full-service hotel with 45,600 square feet of meeting space located in downtown Lincoln. Upon completion of the transaction, Marcus Hotels plans to begin a multi-million dollar renovation and affiliate the property with Marriott International Inc. as the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel.

The Cornhusker Office Plaza is a seven-story building with a total of 85,592 square feet of net leasable office space that is nearly 90-percent occupied. The office building is connected to the hotel by a four-story atrium that will be used for local events and exhibits, and will feature the work of local artists.

"We are excited about this opportunity because the project will leverage Marcus Hotels' 50 years of experience in restoring landmark hotels and will be an excellent fit for our portfolio. We believe we can make this distinctive hotel an even greater asset to the community and return the property to its former position as the social center of Lincoln," said Gregory Marcus, president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp. "The Cornhusker Hotel renovation is similar to several other premier downtown hotel restorations we have successfully completed, including The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis., the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City, Okla., and the Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, Mo."

Marcus said the company plans to renovate the hotel lobby, all guest rooms and suites, meeting space, restaurant and bars.

The company also today announced Charles Harper will be the Cornhusker Hotel's general manager responsible for overseeing hotel operations and management.
The transaction is expected to close in the next several weeks, assuming all closing conditions are satisfied.

BMO Harris Bank last week announced layoffs of 37 employees at its Mortgage Investment Management location at W57 N14280 Doerr Way in Cedarburg.

The producers of the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium are looking for cutting-edge companies from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest to present to investors at the Nov. 13-14 conference at Madison's Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

Associated Bank has contributed $10,000 to La Causa Inc., a Milwaukee nonprofit that provides child care on the largely Hispanic south side.

Margaret Paddock has been named market leader of The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank in Milwaukee.

West Allis-based nonprofit Industries for the Blind Inc.-Milwaukee has acquired Middleton-based imprinted product provider Top Promotions.