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
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…
City
Conflicts of Interest in Medicine and Small-Town Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
At the Wisconsin State Journal, there’s an investigative report about a doctor entitled, University of Wisconsin Cancer Researcher Quits Amid Conflict of Interest Investigation. Reporter Doug Erickson summarizes the issue: “A prominent UW-Madison cancer researcher [Dr. Minesh Mehta] has abruptly resigned after university officials began investigating a potential conflict of interest involving his outside business…
City
Political Tip of the Day: Calling Officials ‘Slick’ as a Nickname (Hint: It’s a Bad Idea)
by JOHN ADAMS •
At the last meeting of Whitewater’s Common Council, on July 20th, one of the city’s common council members referred to a city bureaucrat as “Slick.” That’s Slick, as in “Come on up here, Slick.” This was an official speaking in behalf of the council member’s agenda item, mind you. I’d guess the term was meant…
City, Planning
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting for 8-2-10 (Live Blogging)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the format I will be using for live blogging tonight’s Planning Commission meeting. I’m interested in experimenting with live blogging to produce commentary more quickly. (My comments will remain after the meeting for later viewing.) The window will become live just before 6 PM, and comments will appear with the newest remarks at the…
City
Beyond Paper Packets for Only a Few
by JOHN ADAMS •
A practice of good government isn’t a favor to someone who asks for it; it’s the standard that public officials should meet consistently. It’s not meant to be an occasional thing. If you’ve watched Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Planning Commission in action, then you know that city employees and the city’s paid consultant will refer to public…
City, Economy, Government Spending
Bloomberg: Jobless Claims in US Declined by 11,000 to 457,000
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s less than we need. The story reports that a collection of local government associations estimated that, nationally, local governments may cut almost 500,000 jobs through 2011 (or 8.6% of their total workforces). These are only estimates, and they say nothing about how any particular community will fare. In any event, sacrifices should always begin…
City
Record All Public Meetings
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote earlier this week about the agenda of a Whitewater Community Development Authority meeting. The agenda seemed oddly vague, and some portions of it were so obscure that it provided no reasonable information about a subject’s contents. See, Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 7-26-10. The agenda’s not a minor task; it’s a public announcement,…
City, Economy, Poverty
Rethinking the U.S. Poverty Measure
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written about poverty in Whitewater before, and the 2010 Census will offer fresh information on the state of Whitewater’s economy. It’s a subject that cheerleaders for the town probably wish would go away. An ordinary person would prefer economic arrangements that make poverty go away, but there you see the distinction between sensible &…
City, Government Spending
Many Possibilities: “A city outsources everything. Sky doesn’t fall.”
by JOHN ADAMS •
I don’t believe that my small town, Whitewater, Wisconsin, needs to outsource everything. I do think that we have too many leaders in the city. Reductions in number or compensation, if any, should begin at the very top. It’s simply absurd for a small city’s principal bureaucrat to have his own bureaucrat to assist him.…