I’ve written about the urban chicken movement . It’s goal is to persuade communities to allow residents to keep a hen or tow for fresh eggs. Many communities, ironically including rural communities like Whitewater, there are prohibitions on backyard hens in residential neighborhoods. Ordinances like this are more social than rational: I think it’s mostly…
City
City, Innovation Center/Tech Park
The City Manager’s Greetings from Ames, Iowa
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve posted cards about Whitewater from earlier times, but it’s a card from Iowa that I’ve embedded today. Imagine someone passing along a card from Ames, Iowa, site of a recent International (!) Town and Gown Association meeting on sustainable partnerships. Here’s that recent find: Click card to view larger image The postcard that I’ve…
City, Planning
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting for 6-14-10 (Live Blogging)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a format I will be using for live blogging tonight’s Planning Commission meeting. I wouldn’t expect anyone to read my comments live; instead, I’m interested in experimenting with live blogging to produce commentary more quickly, and to test the format, a format that might be useful for other events. (The comments will remain after…
City, Planning
Whitewater Municipal Staff: Where’s the Packet?
by JOHN ADAMS •
In Whitewater, there’s a one-monthly Planning Commission meeting. Those meetings have an agenda that’s posted online. The agenda for the June 14th meeting is available online now. It’s common in Whitewater for city officials to refer to employees collectively as “city staff, so I’ll do the same by way of a question. Whitewater municipal staff:…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending
Why is America So Successful?
by JOHN ADAMS •
John Stossel asks, “Why is America So Successful?” Stossel concludes, following Friedman, that it’s not natural resources that gave America “a standard of living that’s the envy of most of the world.” Instead, it’s limited government and free market choices that make America prosperous: More than any other American, Friedman, who won the Nobel Prize…
City, Holiday
Whitewater’s Fourth of July
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received the following press release that I am happy to post — The Whitewater Area 4th of July committee is excited to announce it has a packed line-up of activities and entertainment for the 2010 festival held at the Cravath Lakefront Park. The festival has secured national recording artist Heidi Newfield formerly of “Trick…
City, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park
Avoiding State and Local Economic Problems
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a state with high unemployment, with temporary census workers masking the true weakness of the job market, and with the prospect of upcoming tax increases that will retard economic growth, there are still ways for local governments to improve their own prospects. I posted earlier this year on the suggestions of Stephen Goldsmith of…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Planning, Uncategorized
America’s War Between Free Enterprise and Government Control
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an essay in the Washington Post, that wonders if we face America’s new culture war: Free enterprise vs. government control. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, considers the topic and concludes that we do face such a cultural clash. First, Brooks considers the irreconcilable systems of free enterprise and state control: This…
City
Hello, Maurices! Welcome to Whitewater, from your friend, John Adams
by JOHN ADAMS •
Hello, Maurices, and welcome to Whitewater. I’m John Adams, a blogger from Whitewater, Wisconsin, and I welcome your latest store, one of a seven-hundred store chain, to Whitewater. I am sure that your corporate leaders, and those of your multi-billion dollar parent company, Dress Barn, have made a smart decision to offer popular products to…
City, Holiday
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s 2010 Memorial Day Parade
by JOHN ADAMS •
City
The Census by Foot: Census Taker Visits
by JOHN ADAMS •
Since early May, U.S. Census takers have been visiting homes across America, as part of a Nonresponse Follow-up. They’ve probably visited quite a few homes in our area by now, and their work may continue through July (nationally, at least). I’ve written about the census before, and have a link in support of this effort…
City
In Praise of Molly Pitcher
by JOHN ADAMS •
Molly Pitcher represents one of the best known symbols in American history. I’ll not wade into consideration of whether she was a certain colonial woman (by nickname), or a composite of several. For today, it’s enough for me to consider her example of courage under fire, and her willingness to take a stand after men…
City
Whitewater’s Chronic Affliction of Favoritism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I posted about Whitewater local government’s unfortunate (and likely cynical) embrace of one side concerning competition between types of local businesses. See, Whitewater Local Government’s Favoritism of Some Local Businesses Over Others. This is a legitimate, private debate that Whitewater’s local government should not have embraced — this city administration over-reaches when it favors…
City, Free Markets, Planning, Politics
Whitewater Local Government’s Favoritism of Some Local Businesses Over Others
by JOHN ADAMS •
In towns across America, private businesses and groups compete for support. This is to be expected and defended in a free society. That competition for support need not — and should not — receive a preferential boost from local government. It’s only in a community where bureaucrats are confused about the limits of government that…