On May 24th, 2005, Whitewater resident Steve Cvicker filed a federal lawsuit against Whitewater Police Department investigator Larry Meyer, individually and as a member of that department, among other parties. The case closed on September 15, 2008, with a signed stipulation for dismissal, following settlement. Four years is not a long time for litigation, although…
City
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission — Last Meeting, 8/20/08 (Part 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here is Part 2 of my post on the 8/20 PFC meeting. Freedom of Expression Resolution. In the spring, the Common Council, on a 5-2 vote, passed a resolution re-affirming rights of free expression. The resolution was reviewed, but not adopted at the August PFC meeting. The reception – but not adoption – offers insight…
City, Police, Uncategorized
Police and Fire Commission — Last Meeting, 8/20/08 (Part 1)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll post now on the latest Police and Fire Commission Meeting, from August, as a prelude to a week-ending series of posts on the constitutional lawsuit against Meyer and the City of Whitewater. I will devote Saturday to that series on the lawsuit, and what it so clearly tells about our leadership and politics. (FREE…
City
League of Women Voters’ November Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ has published its November 2008 Newsletter, with a schedule of upcoming LWV events. A copy of the newsletter is available as a pdf link in this post, and as a link on my blogroll. Here are upcoming events: Date: November 20th (Thursday) Event: LWV Public Program – Election Analysis Speaker:…
City
Downtown Whitewater, Inc. Board Elections
by JOHN ADAMS •
Downtown Whitewater, Inc. is in the midst of its own election season, for candidates to its Board of Directors. Here are the details: The 2008 election is now open for four seats on our Downtown Whitewater Board of Directors. Attached please find the 2008 ballot and candidate bios. [Ballot and bios are attached online. One…
City
Apple Hits Microsoft’s Marketing Efforts
by JOHN ADAMS •
Microsoft’s undertaken a three-hundred million dollar campaign to rehabilitate its ratty image. Microsoft got the ratty image by selling ratty software. What to do? Fix the software, or convince people its good software when it’s not. Therein lies a truth about corporation sand people: they’d rather spend more to look good than less to…
City, Planning
Planning Commission 10/20/08: The Administration’s Wages of Appeasement
by JOHN ADAMS •
On September 20th, I posted on a Planning Commission meeting from five days’ time earlier. In that post, I mentioned of City Manager Brunner that What’s pandering though, both intellectually and practically, is the suggestion that if the Tratt Street neighborhood becomes higher density, then as matter of balance other neighborhoods should be enforced to…
City, Planning
Planning Commission 10/20/08: ‘Not a One’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Ask yourself this question: Who is the most well-known and influential member of our Common Council? Some have been community figures for years, others more recent additions to our politics. Only one, though, has a community following — small, but dedicated, committed, assertive: Dr. Roy Nosek. Now, I have been a critic of Nosek, but…
City, Planning
Planning Commission 10/20/08: ‘Home Occupation’
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the first of a series of posts on the October 20th Planning Commission meeting. In this post, I’ll consider Item 5 from the meeting agenda, Applicant Tom Germundson’s request for a conditional use permit for a home occupation (so that he could make sheet metal duct work for heating and cooling installations). Germundson’s…
City, Free Markets, Libertarians, Police
The Different Standard
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sometimes a story about one topic reveals more about another. In Pewaukee, there have been chronic concerns about the temperament and conduct of that community’s police chief. In early August, the Pewaukee City Council requested that the city’s Police and Fire Commission remove police chief Gary Bach from office. Among the Common Council’s charges against…
City, Police
Where’s Whitewater’s M56 Scorpion Anti-Tank Weapon?
by JOHN ADAMS •
City
Save the Date: Downtown Whitewater, Inc. Birthday Party
by JOHN ADAMS •
Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will be celebrating later this month. More details will follow, but here’s a preliminary post with date and time — Tuesday October 28, 2008 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Cravath Lake Front Building More information about Downtown Whitewater is available at www.downtownwhitewater.com.
City, Development
A City-University Technology Park in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Sunday, the Janesville Gazette published a story on a proposed joint technology park between the city and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Arguments in favor of the part include new jobs for researchers, but far more so, a way to offer businesses a reason to locate in Whitewater. The principal argument against is likely to be…
City
The Witches of Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Matt Rockwell, at mattrock.net, has a fascinating post on legends about witches in Whitewater. Not all small towns have stories like this, but some towns regale visitors with tales of a famous ghost, or fantastic creature. (Roswell, New Mexico’s famous for a modern version of these tales.) We market ourselves every which way, but sometimes…