There’s a scene from the film The King’s Speech where Colin Firth’s George VI insists that he has stammered all his life. Geoffrey Rush, as speech therapist Lionel Logue, tells him that’s impossible, as babies don’t stammer. George VI then admits that he was told he began stammering when he was a few years old,…
City
CDA, City, Development, Green Energy Holdings
The CDA Session from 6.27.12
by JOHN ADAMS •
Part of the Community Development Authority’s discussion for its June 27th meeting included consideration of a proposal for a digester, in a possible agreement with Green Energy Holdings, Inc. I’ve no remarks to make here about that company, or its work elsewhere, but about the conduct of Whitewater’s Community Development Authority there is reason for…
CDA, City, Green Energy Holdings, Open Government
The CDA and GEH
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a meeting of the Community Development Authority today, and of the topics on the agenda, there’s an item (number 7) to “Discuss Development Agreement with Green Energy Holdings LLC.” (The agenda and packet appear below.) This item is a reference to approval, from last Thursday’s Common Council meeting, of an agreement with Green Energy…
City, Police
Two Quick Points about Meeting Notices
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are two things one can say about the scheduling of a meeting: If the meeting is long-planned, there should be long-range notice If the meeting is truly important (and one truly cares about community opinion), then the meeting should be scheduled after normal working hours, to allow people to attend If a presumably important…
Animals, City, Liberty
What is Whitewater?
by JOHN ADAMS •
One hears much about the city, of serving the city, and public service. Yet, for all one hears, what is Whitewater? It’s every resident, of a number now nearly fifteen-thousand. That’s a number far larger than those in city government, those working for the city, or those few who are quite sure that all the…
City
The Common Council Session for June 19th as End and Beginning
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s Common Council meeting of June 19th had more than one agenda item, but which item one emphasizes says something about one’s seriousness. For those most interested in awards and honors, the end of the current municipal administration did not disappoint. Whitewater’s outgoing city manager announced an award from a municipal bureaucrats’ association for the…
City, Law, Open Government, Planning
The Long and Good Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last Monday, June 11th, Whitewater’s Common Council and Planning Commission met jointly, to receive a sixty-two-page .pdf presentation from Graef Consulting as part of a zoning rewrite project. The meeting lasted about three hours, during which members of Council and the Planning Commission heard residents’ views on the presentation. The easiest description would be to…
City, Corporate Welfare, Federal Government, Government Spending, State Government
The Innovation Express Generac Bus: ‘Public Transit Is Not Expected to Make Money’
by JOHN ADAMS •
The ‘Innovation Express’ – even less efficient, more costly, and more unjustified as crony capitalism than anyone might have thought! There are two stories at the Janesville Gazette that do their damnedest to justify federal, state, and local subsidies ($83,005) for a bus that benefits principally a few workers from multi-billion-dollar Generac, but even cheerleading…
City, Holiday, Press Release
Whitewater Lions Club Announces 4th of July Parade Grand Marshals
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Lion’s Club has announced the Grand Marshals for this year’s July 4th Parade — THE WHITEWATER LIONS CLUB 2012 GRAND MARSHALS The Whitewater Lions Club for the first time in recent memory has named a two generation family that has provided service to our country as the 4th of July Parade Grand Marshals. The…
City, Politics, School District
Task List: Local Implications of the Gubernatorial Election
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are dozens of possibilities for what the recall election means for Wisconsin, but I’m curious about three local implications, that I’ll write about after looking at precinct-by-precinct gubernatorial results. (Quick admission: in January, I thought Gov. Walker would lose a close recall election. That prediction was considerably off – he won comfortably. The advantage…
City, Development, Economy, Laws/Regulations, Planning
The 6.11.12 Joint City Council and Plan Commission Zoning Rewrite Workshop
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a combined meeting of Whitewater’s City Council and her Planning Commission scheduled for Monday, June 11th at 6 PM. The agenda for the meeting includes a packet describing the work of the Zoning Rewrite members, proposals they are considering, and a timeline for the zoning rewrite effort (extending from this year into next). I…
City, Elections, Politics, Recall
The (Red) State, the (Blue) City
by JOHN ADAMS •
A few remarks on the recall elections: There are thousands of happy and thousands of disappointed Wisconsinites today. A third-party voter looks at elections differently, because in many cases he or she doesn’t have a partisan candidate in the race; one votes for or against the candidates of other parties. This places a certain distance…
City, Elections, Liberty, Wisconsin
The Secular Call
by JOHN ADAMS •
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Food, Hip & Prosperous, Press Release
Pork in the Park: September 21-22, Cravath Lakefront
by JOHN ADAMS •
Something delicious for the beginning of fall, from Downtown Whitewater — Downtown Whitewater. Inc. Announces New BBQ Pig in the Park State Championship Cook-off Sanctioned by Kansas City Barbecue Society Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will host the area’s first BBQ Pig in the Park Cook-off, which was sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) 2 weeks…