As part of a $26 million development in the Menomonee Valley, local officials unveiled plans for Milwaukee’s newest park Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The park will stretch for nearly 10 blocks and 24 acres along the Menomonee River between Mitchell Park to the east and South 37th Street to the west. The park will include green space, two new bike and pedestrian bridges, trails and community gardens.

Construction of the park formally started Thursday, although some work began over the summer. The unnamed park is projected to open in a year.

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Marquette’s departments of foreign languages and literatures, military sciences and political science have all received new chairs for the 2012-13 academic year.

The new chair of foreign languages and literatures, Anne M. Pasero, came to Marquette in 1981 after teaching both high school and college Spanish on the west coast. While at Marquette, she has researched contemporary Spanish women’s poetry and Spanish Renaissance literature and published a book of translated Spanish poems. Pasero most recently served as an associate professor of Spanish.

Lt. Col. Michael C. Gibson, a professor of military science, was named the chair of military sciences. Gibson served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti before coming to Marquette in May 2012. He is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, the Engineer Officer Basic and Advance Courses, the Combined Arms Services and Staff School, Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster and Air Assault Schools.

Lowell Barrington, most recently an associate professor of political science, is now the chair of political science. Barrington’s research focuses on post-communist politics, ethnicity and nationalism, democratization and political science research methods. He wrote an introductory comparative politics textbook, “Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices,” released in February 2009.

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Polls taken in the aftermath of the Republican National Convention show a virtual tie between President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

In a recent survey by Reuters, each candidate holds 45 percent among likely voters leading up to the Democratic National Convention, which takes place this week in Charlotte, N.C. A poll conducted a week earlier, before the Republican convention, showed Obama holding 46 percent of likely voters as compared to Romney’s 42 percent.

While the spike in Romney’s numbers are solid, Obama is likely to see an improvement after the Democratic convention. Romney’s main improvement was attributed to an attempt from Republicans to place the former governor in a more personal light.

Many voters in the poll said they were waiting to hear from President Obama on the state of the economy and the nation’s 8.3 percent unemployment rate. The survey indicated that more 70 percent of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction.

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Under the pen name Mark Owen, one of the members of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 has written an autobiography entitled “No Easy Day.”

Team 6 came to fame after the May 2, 2011 raid in which Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was killed. The controversial book gives an inside look into the day the terrorist leader died. The New York Post has published excerpts from the book, set to be released this week.

The Pentagon has threatened to pursue legal action against both the author and his publishing company, Penguin. However, Penguin has stated it will still be releasing the book. George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, said the author was “in material breach of nondisclosure agreements he signed with the U.S. government.” Robert Luskin, Owen’s lawyer, said the author did nothing of the sort.

The author and publisher decided not to submit the book for Pentagon review before publishing.

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The stolen truck carrying equipment for Vice President Joe Biden was recovered after a campaign event for President Barack Obama Monday in Detroit.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the truck was recovered at an apartment complex in the city. Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the service is still determining what is missing.

“It appears that some, but not all, of our equipment has been recovered,” Donovan said.

The event still carried on as planned, with Biden speaking to a crowd of about 3,500 at a Labor Day rally for members of the AFL-CIO.

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The 16th annual Running of the Llamas will take place Saturday in Hammond, Wis.

The festivities for the block-long race will start around 11 a.m. as vendors will begin selling llama wool products. The afternoon event will begin with music by a community band, followed by a parade before the race commences at 3 p.m.

According to the event’s website, the Running of the Llamas originally began as a one-time customer appreciation event for the Hammond Hotel in 1997 when three llamas ran around and through the hotel. Since then it has evolved into a race, with different owners bringing their fastest llamas to town to compete for “bragging rights and a bucket of salad greens.”

The event coincides with the Hammond Rib Fest, which takes place from 3:30 to 7 p.m.