Excuses made on behalf of Whitewater’s publicly-funded Innovation Center and Tech Park are growing increasingly absurd, and are easily refuted. Each attempt of officials to justify the project only shows, yet again, what a wasteful scheme it is. Serious and thorough examination of tech parks like this shows they’re money-draining failures. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…
City
City, Government Spending, Politics, Poverty, Taxes/Taxation
Dockside Inspections, a Lost Decade, and Municipal Obstructionism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Years ago, in the 80s, when trade with Japan was controversial, Americans leveled legitimate criticisms about how Japan used dockside inspections of cargo as a way to prevent importation of foreign goods. The regulations were often small, and although rational individually, they were collectively irrational and counter-productive. By inhibiting free trade, Japan’s insidious protectionism actually…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters September 2010 Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ September 2010 Newsletter is now available, and the latest issue includes a calendar of upcoming LWV events. The most-recent copy of the LWV newsletter is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below, with coding through Google. A selection of upcoming events for the Whitewater-Area League…
City
Think Whitewater’s ‘Eat Local’ Challenge
by JOHN ADAMS •
A buy local movement in my town has issued an ‘eat local’ challenge. I’ll take that challenge. I’ve questioned parts of the buy local campaign, but I’m open to eating locally. (Readers know that I’ve opposed city officials’ meddling in what should be a private merchants’ campaign. It’s not the business of our city government…
City
City of Whitewater, WI Public Notice: Public Hearing Notice on TID 4 Distressed TID Project Plan Amendment
by JOHN ADAMS •
At the City of Whitewater website, one finds notice of a public hearing about a fiscally-distressed TID [tax incremental district]. There’s much to say about all this, but for now, two remarks about the hearing notice — The notice lists only the name of the CDA coordinator, but City Manager Kevin Brunner’s name should appear…
City
Community Surveys and Popularity Real and Imagined
by JOHN ADAMS •
In December 2009, the City of Whitewater announced the results of a “2009 Comprehensive Plan Community Survey.” Whitewater’s City Manager, Kevin Brunner, predictably touted the results as proof of satisfaction with his municipal administration. Around that time, I saw the survey results online, but I’m sorry to say I didn’t comment on the survey or…
City, Politics, Public Meetings
Municipal Openness and Transparency, and Their Alternatives
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s last Common Council meeting was held on August 17th. Part of that meeting concerned a proposal for transparency in government, with improved standards for posting meeting notices and agendas online, recording those meetings, and making the records conveniently available online for residents of Whitewater. I’ve written on this topic before. (See, for example,…
City
The Wall Street Journal on State and Municipal Privatization
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Wall Street Journal published a story recently on privatization, entitled Facing Budget Gaps, Cities Sell Parking, Airports, Zoo. Ianthe Jeanne Dugan writes that Cities and states across the nation are selling and leasing everything from airports to zoos- a fire sale that could help plug budget holes now but worsen their financial woes over…
City, Government Spending, School District, Taxes/Taxation, University
Calls for Public Spending in a Small Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are, I think, two principal ways that a government spending proposal in a small town succeeds. (There are more than two ways, but here I’m simply considering principal ways.) The first way is how all spending proposals should be considered — on the merits. Is it necessary to tax for a public purpose, and…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Laws/Regulations
Beautiful Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
During the week, each morning, I’ve posted photos of wildflowers near a parking lot on our college campus. There are two reasons for posting them. Those photos appeared Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. First, the flowers make beautiful photographs, however poor the photographer. Seen as they are, they’re lovely. Look back over the photos from…
City, Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation
The Whitewater, Wisconsin City Manager’s Unpersuasive Lament
by JOHN ADAMS •
I read, each week, the Weekly Report from Whitewater’s City Manager, Kevin Brunner. The August 13th issue has clippings that Brunner chose to include from news stories and columns published elsewhere. Brunner included one from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Here’s the clipping Brunner included: Krugman States Anti-Government Movement Hurting “Basic Government Functions.” Paul…
City, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning
Buildings in Tokyo, Japan and in Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an intriguing video on YouTube that records in time-lapse filming the construction of a tower in Tokyo. It’s the Tokyo Sky Tree. The video depicts work over an extended period. (Although the description on YouTube somewhat misstates the timespan of the recording, it’s still fascinating.) Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb8MUeZrxbc. Despite all its beauty, the video invites…
City, Police
Whitewater’s Police Commission Meeting for 8-4-10
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a Police Commission meeting tonight in Whitewater, at 7 p.m. The agenda for the meeting appears below. First the agenda, and remarks thereafter. One standard for residents, an easier one for officials. At the bottom of the August 4th agenda, one reads that on August 2nd it was August 2, 2010 Emailed/mailed to PFC…
City, Politics
The Grass, Weeds, and Natural Lawn Menace in Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Link: http://cityofwhitewater.blip.tv/file/3910060/ Whitewater, Wisconsin held its last Common Council meeting on July 20th. There’s another session tonight, but a part of the last session deserves notice as an example of a dodgy discussion. On the agenda of the last meeting, one finds this item, C-7, nestled in the middle: C-7. Review of and possible direction…