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Business

Business, Economy, Free Markets, Hip & Prosperous

Downtown Whitewater and an Emerging Business Culture

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At Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, there was a brief presentation from two board members of Downtown Whitewater (DTWW), with others from that group also in attendance.  In the life of a small town, success of merchants matters greatly.  (I’m opposed to pitting local independent merchants against local chain stores, but I very much support local…

Business, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty

Update: Victory for the Entrepreneurial Monks of Saint Joseph Abbey in Louisiana

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Over three years ago, I posted about Louisiana’s attempt to prevent the monks of Saint Joseph Abbey from making and selling handmade caskets.  Their products were of fine craftsmanship and durability, and so sought-after. Despite the quality of their work, Louisiana insisted that only a state-licensed funeral director could sell caskets, and that it was a crime…

Business, City, Development, Free Markets, Hip & Prosperous, New Whitewater

Whitewater’s Common Council Meeting for 10.15.13 (Downtown Whitewater and Whitewater’s Merchant Class)

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Municipal funding for local business groups, including Downtown Whitewater, Inc., lies ahead.  I’ll not discuss those line items today.  Instead, I’ll offer a simple observation about local merchants. Whitewater has spent too much time and money on failed big-ticket, white-collar projects and too little time on her local, merchant class. I’ve no particular interest in favoring local retailers over national…

Business, CDA, City, CRT, Development, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning

Yet Another Exercise in Standards Beneath Whitewater

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It should be a universal truth that Whitewater and Wisconsin deserve a far higher standard of diligence and review than whatever our CDA chairman believes his “gut” tells him would be good for our city and nearby area. In fact, that kind of intestinally-based level of judgment has failed this city time and again, and…

Business, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, State Government, Taxes/Taxation

Corporate Welfare in America’s Dairyland (Yet Again)

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The practice of thriving, multi-million-dollar companies taking ordinary taxpayers’ money to subsidize their private ventures has two aspects: (1) it’s wrong, as it takes from those with little and gives to those with much and (2) it’s sadly commonplace. Consider the case of Husco International, a private company in Wisconsin with an expectation of “more…

Business, Film, Good Ideas

The Innovator

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The Innovator from Cineastas on Vimeo. Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike. His innovations are responsible for many elements of athletic footwear that people wear today. Each of his crafts informs one another and he is constantly exploring the fringes of his…

Business, City, Press Release

Downtown Whitewater 2013/2014 Board of Directors Nomination Form

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Please see a Downtown Whitewater 2013/2014 Board of Directors Nomination Form: The Downtown Whitewater, Inc. Board of Directors is the legal entity responsible for overseeing Whitewater’s downtown revitalization program under the guidance of the Wisconsin Main Street Program, including the budget, staff, and program effectiveness. We are currently seeking nominations to fill five seats of the…

Business, City

Design and the Downtown

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Downtown Whitewater’s (DTWW) design committee met today, at 8 AM. DTWW is the publicly-subsidized business-advocacy association for this small city’s center-of-town merchants. There’s much to be said for design, for the look and feel of a place. In the end, however, there are few more attention-grabbing sights than empty storefronts. (Peeling paint and trash on…