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Whitewater’s Tree Commission, Part 2

This is the second of two posts on the Whitewater Tree Commission. The first appears immediately below. Terms of Law.  One finds a quick willingness for some speakers and bureaucrats to rail about harassment, or maligning city workers, by some on — or off — the TC.  Whether all of the circumstances involved justify those…

Whitewater’s Tree Commission, Part 1

There’s a Japanese expression that says, “The nail that sticks up gets pounded down.”  Some in Whitewater don’t like dissent, and conflate the political and the personal, in ways detrimental to both.  You may have heard, if you’ve bothered to look at a local headline (and who could blame you if you’ve not?), that Whitewater’s…

Austrian woman reports otter attack in Wisconsin – JS Online

Hey, Whitewater, how about a task force? These flesh-eating aquatic mammals are probably making their way from Drummond to Whitewater even now. In about 20 or 25 years, they’ll have reached our city limits. Coincidentally, that’s about the same amount of time that it would take one of our task forces to propose an effective…

Where Are They Now: Career Bureaucrat City Manager Edition

A reader has kindly sent along a link to a story about former Whitewater, Wisconsin City Manager Gary Boden, entitled “Councilmen: Gary Boden was forced out. The story in the newspaper published in the Clinton Herald of Clinton, Iowa, until recently Boden’s place of employment as city manager, describes conflicts between Boden and Clinton’s mayor,…

Common Council: What Are They Building in There? (July 21st, 2009)

Here’s a latest review of City of Whitewater invoices, in honor of the Tom Waits song entitled, “What’s He Building in There?” (The song’s an ode of — but not to — paranoia, and every time that I hear it, I think of all the small-town busybodies who are sure that your business should, truly…

Whitewater Planning Commission: Here’s the Book for You!

There’s a Planning Commission meeting in Whitewater, Wisconsin tonight. If I could recommend one book to that group, it might be William Tucker’s Zoning, Rent Control and Affordable Housing. In honor of our Planning Commission, I will review the book, chapter by chapter, in the days ahead. I’ll start tomorrow. A blogger’s work is never…

2010 Census

I wrote last week that I would post a link to the 2010 Census, a constitutional requirement. I now have that link on the main page of FREE WHITEWATER, on the left sidebar. It’s a prominent link, easy to find and use. Many civil libertarians find some census questions uncomfortable, but an accurate census will…

Common Council: What Are They Building in There?

There’s a Tom Waits song entitled, “What’s He Building in There?” It’s an ode of (but not to) paranoia, and every time that I hear it, I think of all the small-town busybodies who are sure that your business should, truly should, be their business.  Private citizens preying on private citizens, enforcing conformity.     Here’s the…

2010 Census Link

I received an email from the City of Whitewater with a link to the federal government’s 2010 census, required constitutionally every ten years. A full and complete count will be difficult, but both practically and culturally critical, that we might see ourselves as we truly are. I’ll create a permanent spot for the link, too,…

Common Council Meeting for July 7, 2009: Any Basis at All

 It was a relatively brief Common Council meeting on Tuesday, July 7th.  About a half-hour into the meeting, as at last session, the Common Council considered changes to Whitewater’s regulations affecting sidewalk cafés for some establishments near the Cravath lakefront.  I wrote about that meeting in a post entitled, Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Café Scene”.    Removal of these…

Governor Doyle —  Whitewater Will Be Perfect for You! 

We’re trying to attract new businesses and residents to Whitewater.  How about our sitting governor, Jim Doyle, who shows an appreciation of double standards that would make him a perfect fit for the stodgy town squires of Whitewater, Wisconsin?  Over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there are the results of a fine investigative report detailing…

Email to Germany — Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Suggestions for the Name of a New Element!

Prof. Dr. Sigurd Hofmann GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung Planckstr. 1 64291 Darmstadt S. Hofmann@gsi.de http://www.gsi.de cc: Angela Merkel, Bundeskanzlerin der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, angela.merkel@bundestag.de Per E-Mail und Blog-Post Guten Tag, Prof. Dr. Hofmann, Ich möchte diese Gelegenheit nutzen, Sie zu beglückwünschen, und alle Mitglieder Ihres Teams an der GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, für die Entdeckung einer…

The Trip of a Lifetime: Jolly Ol’ England! 

 I’ve received emails about a court ruling from England, in which an English judge ruled against the right of anonymity for a blogger.  The ruling’s specific and technical, and of no precedent for America.  Britain does not have a written constitution, unlike America, France, or Japan, for example.  Her system of government is unlike our…