Articles by Destiny DeVooght

Gabby Beesley and I closed Wonderstate Milwaukee for the last time in December 2020. There was no celebration planned, but co-worker Averi Ziebell-Malone rolled in just as the last customers headed out. In typical fashion, she brought an infectious positive attitude and a bottle of Champagne. She tried to hand me a plastic cup while […]

For one freshman, the first few weeks of fall semester were marred by feelings of disappointment and anxiety. Zyhair Burkes came to UWM from Milwaukee Lutheran High School, where she says she encountered racism and insensitivity from staff and fellow students. In September, a video circulated of a UWM student using racial and homophobic slurs on […]

Lauren Tomsa is a conservation and environmental science major and an art history minor. She transferred to UW-Milwaukee for her sophomore year in Fall 2020, and lived in Sandburg’s East tower for the academic year. Tomsa went from being a commuter at College of DuPage in Illinois for her freshman year to an online student […]

When you walk through the always-open glass door of Strange Town, your first look is a beautiful mirror-paneled bar, bathed in mysterious red light. It’s decorations are simple,  highlighting functionality and natural beauty with intricate glassware and vibrant green potted plants lining the top shelf. Huge windows line the street-side walls, offering a view of […]

For much of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has provided states with funds to enhance unemployment benefits by $600 per week, which they later reduced to $300 per week. Now, as the American public tries to push its way back to some version of ‘normal’ life, an age-old question has resurfaced with new context. […]

My aunt is the executive director at the International Association of Structural Movers. Part of her job is finding writers for and editing the Structural Movers Magazine, which is published every month and is mostly made up of articles about recent moving projects and photos of massive buildings loaded up onto trucks.  You know where […]

With three COVID-19 vaccines making their way steadily through the country, states are hustling to open up and get the public back to the office (and to the mall). As of today, two states require everyone to wear masks, 15 states require unvaccinated people to wear masks, and 35 states do not require anyone to […]

In March of 2021, exactly one year since they began organizing, Colectivo Coffee workers voted to decide whether they would be represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW. The initial vote ended in a 99-99 tie, although that will be broken when at least seven challenged ballots will be counted by the […]

Colectivo’s unionization election ends in a tie, with 16 challenged ballots subject to a hearing.

Colectivo Coffee workers say they are expecting a win as unionization ballots from workers in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago are returned to the National Labor Relations Board ahead of an April 6 count.  Zoe Muellner, a trainer and vocal union supporter at Colectivo until she was laid off due to “COVID cuts” said in an […]

Celesta’s dining room has become a living room.  With all but one of the bright white tables and clear chairs stowed away in the basement to weather the pandemic, the once bright and comfortably cramped restaurant is now more familiar with owner Melanie Manuel’s roaming rabbit, two dogs and at least three different pairs of […]