The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reports that the city of Milwaukee is establishing wireless access in two city parks:

City Hall is setting up high-speed wireless networks in Pere Marquette Park and Cathedral Square Park that will let anyone with a properly equipped computer or handheld device connect to the Internet. The networks should be up and running this summer, possibly this month.

The article also cites a security expert :

"It's a huge security risk. Whenever you use a wireless network, you are opening yourself up to the information you're sending being snatched out of the air by someone else," he said.

Sherwood said buying items over the Internet or checking an online bank account using a wireless network would be a bad idea.

Cory Doctorow comments at BoingBoing:

Sherwood is just sowing FUD here. First of all, anyone with a cablemodem connection is in the same boat as a wireless user: your communications can be captured by anyone in your neighborhood and read. This is also true if you're using the DSL in your hotel room -- and the connection in your office is sniffable by your sysadmins.

The most glaring inaccuracy is the business about buying stuff and checking a bank-balance over a wireless link. The security of this activity is determined by the presence or absence of an SSL connection. If your bank uses SSL (and all of them do), then you're (relatively) secure. If your e-tailer uses SSL (and nearly all of them do), then you're (relatively) secure. And if they don't, you shouldn't be doing business with them in the first place: sending sensitive information in cleartext over the Internet is insecure regardless of your connection.