Scenes from a local, overly-planned economy — Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Business Park. This empty building alone is half the size of a planned Innovation Center, and has more vacant space than the Innovation Center now has signed rental space (rental space for two related, publicly-funded, non-tech agencies).
City
City
Home-building permits tumble 22 percent — Walworth County Today
by JOHN ADAMS •
Anything that lessens construction burdens — up front — will be useful to communities hoping for a return to growth. Building permits for new homes in Wisconsin’s biggest metro areas dropped 22% in August compared to the same time a year ago, the third consecutive month that home construction permits trailed totals from 2009. Via…
City, Crime, Police
Filling Up Prisons Without Fighting Crime: Mark Kleiman on American’s Criminal Justice System
by JOHN ADAMS •
When you look around your community, do you feel that politicians’ and bureaucrats’ policies have reduced crime, or do you feel that they’re merely treading water, with every supposed ‘victory’ followed by subsequent crimes? Even small communities spend big sums on crime-fighting, but many of these efforts make no dent in crime. Carrying on as…
City, Innovation Center/Tech Park
More Absurd Excuses from Brunner and Telfer: “UW-Whitewater Breaks Ground on Technology Park”
by JOHN ADAMS •
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, 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…