Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 69. Sunrise is 7:30 AM and sunset 5:46 PM for 10h 16m 28s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 52.8% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM. On this day in 1512, the ceiling of…
Charity
Beautiful Whitewater, Charity, City, Culture, Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 10.20.22: Something Transcendent, and in the Meantime
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 59. Sunrise is 7:15 AM and sunset 6:03 PM for 10h 48m 23s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 24.7% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater School District’s Policy Review Committee meets at 9 AM, and Whitewater’s Community Development…
Babbittry, Boosterism, CDA, Charity, City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Daily Bread, Development, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Housing, Local Government, Poverty, School District, Zoning
Daily Bread for 9.28.22: Local and National Views of Child Poverty
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Beautiful Whitewater, Beauty, Charity, City, Culture, Daily Bread, Faraway Places, Local Government, New Whitewater, Open Government, Politics, Poverty
Daily Bread for 8.19.22: Residency Matters, Practically and Ethically
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 79. Sunrise is 6:06 AM and sunset 7:49 PM for 13h 43m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 45.2% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast…
Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Police, Politics, Poverty
‘Communicate, Communicate, Communicate’ Isn’t So Easy in a Fractured Town
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Some years ago, an administrator (no longer with the school district) told others that a good practice for leaders was to ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’ with the community. The concept makes sense: craft a message and then make sure it’s heard by repeating it. In a small town, how hard could that be? As it turns…
Business, CDA, Charity, Development, Economics, Economy, Failure, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Poverty, Press Release
Markets and Markets
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
One reads that Whitewater now has an option, for most of the city, of grocery delivery from nearby cities. As it is, Whitewater has a Walmart, but no stand-alone, full-service grocery. Private delivery service is a benefit to the community. It’s better to have more grocery options than fewer. These are private enterprises providing private delivery…
Charity, City, Poverty
Waiting for Whitewater’s Dorothy Day
by JOHN ADAMS • • 5 Comments
Whitewater has many needs, but fulfilling them requires setting aside the city’s longstanding addiction to press releases, public relations, ‘messaging,’ etc. That approach is both ineffectual and proud (where pride is a sin). Worse still is the irreparably conflicted role of politician and reporter, a government intrusion into civil society, a bad habit of Old…
CDA, Charity, City, Economy, Local Government, Poverty, Recession
A Key Difference Between Bristol, New Hampshire and Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
A sad story from April about Bristol, N.H. (population 3,300) reveals key differences between that town and Whitewater. While this new recession affects both communities, the economic hardship will be different. See David Gelles, ‘This Is Going to Kill Small-Town America.’ Bristol depends on one major, private manufacturer: By the end of March, with just…
Charity, Coronavirus, Local Government, School District
Whitewater’s Residents Judge Wisely
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There has been some uncertainty in Whitewater about how cautious one should be in response to the coronavirus pandemic. As it turns out, Whitewater’s residents have had the right view of this, recognizing as they have the need for distance between people to limit the spread of disease. One reads, in an email from the…
Charity, Crime, Immigration, Trump
Charity as Crime
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Charity, Good Ideas, Holiday
Charitable Gifts for Mother’s Day
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Mother’s Day is May 12th this year, and families in Whitewater and far beyond will naturally and rightly purchase gifts for the mothers in the lives. For those who are able, there’s an additional opportunity to purchase charitable gifts for mothers and children under the care of the International Rescue Committee. The IRC was founded…
Charity, City, Education, Poverty, Press Release, School District
What Matters, What Doesn’t
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Some contrasts are so clear that, on seeing them, one can tell immediately what matters and what does not: Number of homeless students in Whitewater School District reaches ‘crisis level’: The number of homeless students in [Dr. Lanora] Heim’s district last school year was more than double what it was three years ago—going from…
Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Poverty, School District, University
The Recent Cold
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
It’s been unseasonably cold in southeastern Wisconsin this week, and in Whitewater that presents a challenge for the disproportionately large number of impoverished residents (some of whom occasionally lack utilities, even at the most unfavorable times). The three large public institutions in the city – municipal government, school district, and public university – have collectively dozens…
Charity, City, Culture, Economy, Good Ideas, Local Government, Poverty
Political and Apolitical Means of Local Accomplishment
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One test of an institution’s vitality is how eager people are to become members, and how interested a community is to learn who’s become a member. Strong institutions or organizations attract attention. When the institution is a city or county government, one looks to see who’s eager to run for office, and how many people…