There’s a thread on Twitter from Steak-umm (an American brand of thin-sliced frozen steaks) that does a better job (truly) discussing the role of science and skepticism about the pandemic than much of what’s published online. The full thread is available at Twitter, and excerpts are imediately below. It’s spot-on for Whitewater. (Note: the thread…
City
City, Culture, Education, Liberty, Populists, Radical Populism, School District
Jane Jacobs with Useful Advice on Responsibility (for Whitewater, Richmond Township, Delavan, Etc.)
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In Jane Jacobs’s Death and Life of Great American Cities (describing large cities, not small towns), she writes of business owners’ sense of responsibility for the sidewalks near their shops: First, there must be a clear demarcation between what is public space and what is private space. Public and private spaces cannot ooze into each other…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, July 27th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Little Things
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
?? This Tuesday, July 27th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of The Little Things @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: (Crime/Drama/Thriller) Rated R (Violence, profanity, intense scenes) 2 hours, 8 minutes (2021) A burnt-out California deputy sheriff (Denzel Washington) teams up with a crack LAPD detective (Rami Malek) in the search…
City, Housing, Local Government, Police, Press
Broken Policymaking Over a Voucher Program
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Whitewater has a local government that taxes and legislates, and that hires officials who exercise authority over the city’s residents, in a nine-square-mile area. Our local government has its own municipal building, in which it holds regular public meetings, and in which officials can talk to each other and residents in person, by email, text,…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, July 13th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Judas and the Black Messiah
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
This Tuesday, July 13th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of Judas and the Black Messiah @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Biography/Drama/History Rated R (Violence, profanity) 2 hours, 6 minutes (2021) In 1966, William O’Neal (the Judas) is offered a plea deal by J. Edgar Hoover to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of…
City, Local Government, Never Trump, Politics, School District, Trumpism, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whither the Conservative Populists?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In places big and small, including Whitewater, there are three main types of conservatives: traditional, transactional, and populist. (Right-wing populist in our time is mostly a euphemism for Trumpist.) Of these types, only the right-wing populists are a dynamic movement. Traditional conservatives each day look more like large reptiles after a cataclysmic meteor strike, and…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, June 29th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Minari
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
This Tuesday, June 29th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of Minari @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama/Family Rated PG-13 1 hour, 55 minutes (2020) A Korean American family attempts to start a farm in 1980’s Arkansas, in search of its own American Dream. Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress (Yuh-Jung…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, June 22nd, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Father
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
This Tuesday, June 22nd at 1 PM, there will be a showing of The Father @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama Rated PG-13 1 hour, 37 minutes (2020) A man (Anthony Hopkins) refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and succumbs to dementia. Also stars Olivia Colman. Sir Anthony Hopkins won…
City, University, UW System
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Watson Resigns Following Cancer Diagnosis
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dr. Dwight Watson has resigned following a cancer diagnosis: UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dwight Watson has resigned following a diagnosis of stomach and intestinal cancer, officials announced Thursday. “After much deliberation, I must resign from my position as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,” Watson wrote in his resignation letter. “I…
City, Courts, Crime, Law, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Supreme Court Grants New Trial in State of Wisconsin v. Alan M. Johnson
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Alan M. Johnson was convicted in Walworth County of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of his brother-in-law. (Johnson’s late brother-in-law is identified in today’s high court opinion as ‘K.M.’ The events of the case took place in Whitewater, and the Walworth County trial was before Circuit Judge Kristine Drettwan.) Johnson appealed his conviction, and…
Charity and Mercy, 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…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, June 8th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Nomadland
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
This Tuesday, June 8th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of Nomadland @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama Rated R (Nudity, profanity) 1 hour, 47 minutes (2021) A woman in her sixties, losing everything financially, embarks on a journey through the West, living as a van-dwelling, modern-day nomad. Oscar winner: Best…
City, Local Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 6.1.21: 6 Points
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Whitewater Common Council met last night, Tuesday, 6.1.21. Updated 6.3.21 with meeting video. The agenda for the meeting is available electronically. The council reviewed and approved, among other items, a draft audit of the city government’s finances, a settlement with a local bar that will permit the bar to continue operating, a contract with Bird…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, May 25th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Mauritanian
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
?? This Tuesday, May 25th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of The Mauritanian @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama/Thriller Rated R (Violence, sex, language) 2 hours, 9 minutes (2021) Based on his NY Times bestselling memoir, “Guantanamo Diary,” this is the true story of Mohamed Slahi’s fight for freedom…