Whitewater’s Common Council will, tonight, narrow the list of candidates to be her next city manager. In the days ahead, there’ll be an announcement about those finalists, and time to consider their accomplishments before a reception and community forum on 9.21, and council’s closed-session interviews on 9.22. A good choice matters, of course, but it…
City
CDA, City, Development, Green Energy Holdings
A Waste Digester Proposal Summary, June to August
by JOHN ADAMS •
As with so many other recent proposals, the proposal for a large waste digester in Whitewater was announced quickly, without public input, and trumpeted unthinkingly. In this way, the scheme was the quintessential proposal of the outgoing Brunner administration. There’s much more ahead about all this, but before that, a summary of where we are.…
City, Politics, Press
What Bill Clinton Correctly Teaches (and What Local Leaders Can Learn from It)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not a Democrat, but I have always admired and respected Bill Clinton’s rhetorical power, a power on display again last night in Charlotte. In a time when few politicians are persuasive, Clinton stands out even more. James Fallows, writing in the Atlantic, in a post entitled, Why Bill Clinton’s Speeches Work,” posits that it’s…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters September 2012 Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ September 2012 Newsletter has arrived, featuring articles and a calendar of upcoming events. This latest edition is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below. Upcoming events: Date: September 20th (Thursday) Event: Public Program, Civil Discourse Where: 7 PM, Auditorium 275A, University Center, UWW Campus Date:…
City
Whitewater’s 9.4.12 Common Council Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tuesday night was common council night in Whitewater, and below are sundry remarks about the session. City Budget Process. Our public budget process is surely a deliberative one: it stretches over October and November. Whitewater’s interim city manager plans to deliver a proposed 2013 budget to council on 10.9 (Tue), with specific portions considered on…
City, Open Government
Internal and External in Government Matters
by JOHN ADAMS •
Every so often, there’ll be a discussion within city government about what’s an internal or external matter. The more important question is whether internal means confidential. It seldom does. Three quick observations: Generally, public employees, engaged in public tasks, at public expense, are doing work that should be open to residents’ review. A government that…
City, Police
Alert Alert!
by JOHN ADAMS •
People shouldn’t steal, and that includes stealing from stores. Virtually everyone believes this. It’s harmful to merchants, and infuriating to honest customers. That some will, on occasion, commit these crimes doesn’t lessen the obligation of government to publicize that information both effectively and cleverly. It may be effective initially to post a shoplifting notice, with…
City
The Advantage of a Pressed Shirt
by JOHN ADAMS •
Friends of mine and I had a conservation over the weekend about how a pressed shirt made a capable professional (a doctor) seem more skilled at his profession than someone with wrinkled clothes. One might readily acknowledge that the doctor was as intelligent, as educated, and as insightful regardless of application of starch to his…
City, Press Release
Seniors in the Park and The Ruby Project team up to offer regular Gay and Gray group
by JOHN ADAMS •
Please see the following press release about a support and social program for Whitewater’s LGBT seniors, from Seniors in the Park and The Ruby Project. Here is the text of the release, accompanied by the original version as an embedded document that may be printed or downloaded — SUPPORT AND SOCIAL PROGRAM FOR SENIOR LGBT…
City, Economy, Local Government
Differing Accounts
by JOHN ADAMS •
From the Janesville Gazette, June 5, 2012: Brunner credits team effort for successes at Whitewater. From the Daily Union, August 22, 2012: Whitewater council mulls dismal budget assumptions. One might try to reconcile these accounts, of course, but the effort would be pointless. The former’s just an odd history, an ill-timed goodbye gift to Whitewater’s…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Food, Hip & Prosperous
September 22 @ Cravath Lakefront: Food and Craft Vendors for Pig in the Park BBQ
by JOHN ADAMS •
Downtown Whitewater is looking for Food and Craft Vendors on September 22nd for its Pig in the Park BBQ: Downtown Whitewater. Inc. is looking for Food and Craft Vendors for our BBQ Pig in the Park State Championship Cook-off Sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will host the area’s first BBQ Pig…
City, Police
Whitewater’s 8.16.12 Police Commission Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
Embedded below is the 8.16.12 Whitewater Police Commission meeting. Recording and publishing these meeting videos online is a positive development for the city. It’s a requirement imposed on our local government as part of Whitewater’s Transparency Enhancement Ordinance, at Municipal Code Section 2.62.030. Police Commission Meeting 08/16/2012 from Whitewater Community TV on Vimeo.
City, Green Energy Holdings, Planning
The Misdirected Focus
by JOHN ADAMS •
Watching Whitewater’s recent Planning Commission, one saw an attention to detail about a factory building’s wall color, general style, and lighting that lasted for 13:28 minutes, from approximately 11:30 to 24:58 during the session. It’s not the particular focus on an applicant’s building, but what it says about ordinary due diligence in reviewing bigger projects,…
City
On Excuses for Big Problems and Poor Policies
by JOHN ADAMS •
In local politics, one sometimes hears flimsy excuses for big mistakes, just as one hears implausible explanations for serious problems. These sort of explanations are the stock in trade of officials who simply don’t want to accept responsibility for mistakes, or who simply don’t want to do the hard work their positions require. Whenever I…