This morning I offered a blind quotation describing a social group. I asked if you might recognize in the description some people you know. Here’s the quotation, once more – [L]ocals were overwhelmed. Modern…ways and the waves of foreigners had created among them a sense of panic, he said, “the erosion of everything traditional and…
City
City
Common Council’s June 3rd Meeting: Cars at One’s House
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater has had an ordinance, seldom enforced, that limits the number of cars that may be parked outside on certain parts of a residential property. Members of the Council had understandable trouble determining what our current two-car limitation really meant – the jumble of definitions of side yard, front yard, etc. is like a parody…
City
Common Council’s June 3rd Meeting: Unrelated People at a Residence
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have written before that I consider civil enforcement (of ordinances, etc.) broken. (See, for example, Our Enforcement Culture. Many people in many towns have doubts about the reasonable, fair, unbiased enforcement of ordinances; those concerns are more serious in Whitewater. It was, after all, only last fall that a longstanding member of Common Council…
City, Police
Common Council’s June 3rd Meeting: The PFC
by JOHN ADAMS •
City
City of Oshkosh Selects Mark Rohloff as City Manager
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Oshkosh Northwestern, there’s a story just posted that the City of Oshkosh has offered the city manager’s post to Mark Rohloff of Grand Chute. (Current Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner had been a candidate for the Oshkosh position.) Crystal Lindell of the paper reports that Rohloff was the only candidate to receive…
City, Police
Ed Burns at Reason on “30 Years of Failure”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason, there’s an interview with Ed Burns, the co-creator of HBO’s The Wire. The Wire was an account, for five seasons, of criminal justice in Baltimore. The administration of justice is seldom depicted accurately, and in any event, Whitewater is almost nothing like Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or New Orleans. Burns…
City
Local Incumbency
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve pondered before why progressives in Whitewater do well in big-issues elections (president, governor, referenda), but show no similar strength at the local level. Someone wrote back and suggested that at the local level, perhaps maintaining incumbency meant more to most politicians than ideology. That may well be the reason, but if so, then it…
City
Downtown Whitewater Receives Main Street Awards for Second Year in a Row
by JOHN ADAMS •
Downtown Whitewater, Inc. has issued a press release highlighting success as a Main Street Community. Whitewater’s turnout for the Main Street awards program was higher than most other communities participating. Several Main Street Communities gathered in Downtown Madison on Thursday, May 22, 2008 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Main Street Downtown Revitalization Program. Downtown…
City
Common Council Meeting for May 6th
by JOHN ADAMS •
Our Common Council met on May 6th, and there are two topics that I will briefly address. The local bus company contacted the city to request a change in the city ordinance regulating use of warning lights for school buses. There were two challenges with this request. No one from the bus company was able…
City, Free Markets
Update on Housing
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received an email on my last post that pointed out an option I did not address – a few privately owned, multi-unit, larger apartments close to campus. These new units would require modifications to zoning in some specific parts of the city. They would have a large number of units, in a smaller area,…
City, Free Markets
Common Council Meeting from 5/6: Housing Task Force Recommendations
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s Housing Task Force produced a set of eight recommendations for the Whitewater Common Council. These recommendations were part of the discussion on May 6th. They would require necessary Council action or city planning and drafting. 1. Whitewater and the Community Development Authority should establish a first time buyers’ program to encourage single family home…
City
Common Council Resolution on Free Expression
by JOHN ADAMS •
The City of Whitewater Common Council approved a resolution at its last meeting regarding freedom of expression. I will post the text of the resolution below, and link to it though a page of my website. It is an elegant and clear expression re-affirming American liberties. Update: May 13, 2008 — It was Common Council…
City
Library Stats
by JOHN ADAMS •
I saw that the Irvin Young Library produced a small pamphlet highlighting some of the statistics from its 2007 annual report. I have advocated the construction of a larger library, and here are highlights from the pamphlet about services provided from the existing building: 450 adults attended 35 programs 3004 kids attended 143 programs 10032…
City, Development, Free Markets, University
The Campaign Against Cars Campus
by JOHN ADAMS •
We’re a university town. There are a few who want desperately for us to be something else, but those wants scarcely matter. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is a vital part of Whitewater. Our campus – yes, our campus – improves life for all of us. Thousand of students receive an education that’s part of the…