A reader wrote me, and observed that there would be no response to my Police Commission Series, or my follow-up post, because PFC members would be asked to step down if they acted independently. That’s turning the roles and responsibilities of those on the commission, and those under its authority, upside down. That’s likely true,…
City
City
Expand Our Library
by JOHN ADAMS •
We have a beautiful public library, and it serves our community well. It is one of the unalloyed good things of Whitewater. The Irvin L. Young Memorial library offers all the community what knowledge offers: enrichment, adventure, and opportunity. As a young man, I would often walk to the library in the evening, and there…
City, Police
Police & Fire Commission: Reasonable Procedures Update
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers may recall that I posted a series in December on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. I set out reasonable suggestions for a sound police policy based in part on a U.S. Justice Department white paper, entitled, “Principles for Promoting Police Integrity” Below I have reproduced a table that lists reasonable suggestions, and progress…
City, Police
No Enforced Settlement in the Lawsuit Against Larry Meyer
by JOHN ADAMS •
On January 22nd, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan, in a thorough, thirteen-page decision and order, denied federal defendant, and former Whitewater investigator, Larry Meyer’s motion to enforce settlement in this the lawsuit against him. The order including setting a scheduling conference between the parties for February 8th, at 10:00 a.m., to “discuss with the parties…
City, Development, Free Markets
Planning: On a Moratorium
by JOHN ADAMS •
I am opposed to a moratorium on first floor residential housing in our downtown, and that would include a moratorium of any length. I think it’s clear, though, if one considers the arguments in favor of a moratorium, that different advocates have had different goals in mind. Some want a moratorium to give time to…
City, Development, Free Markets
Planning: Walkable Urbanity
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a post on ‘walkable urbanity,’ or ‘walkable urbanism,’ Christopher Leinberger’s term for those characteristics that set successful downtowns apart from unsuccessful ones, or from suburbs, etc. During the Planning Commission meeting in November, when I heard the term raised, I was surprised that it was used in connection with Whitewater. I briefly mentioned the…
City, Free Markets
Planning: Overview
by JOHN ADAMS •
I promised a few posts about planning, and here is the first of them. The basic objections to planning are well-known. The power of these objections does not lie in a general recitation; it is in specific application, showing how planning falls short of alternative, market solutions, that these objections are most interesting. Here are…
City
Common Council Meeting for January 15th
by JOHN ADAMS •
This was one of the better, and worse, Council meetings that Whitewater’s recently had. (Dickens famously used the ‘best of times, worst of times’ contrast, and it’s been over-used since. As one more example of its overuse is only an infinitesimally small addition to the total supply of over-use, I’m a low-polluter, and almost ……
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
The Planning/Architectural Board Meeting for January 7th
by JOHN ADAMS •
This was a long meeting, with two principal topics: a request for a conditional use for a property downtown, and discussion of a moratorium on approval of first floor residential space in our downtown. The second topic was more interesting, being broader and more general, than the first. I’ll come back to that meeting as…
City, Police, Press
Answers for a Reporter, and the Community, on the Larry Meyer Case
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last week, I wrote on the Larry Meyer case in a post entitled, “Questions for a Reporter, and the Community.” I had two questions about coverage of the lawsuit against Larry Meyer, the now-retired investigator of the Whitewater Police Department. My questions were directed to the reporters of the Janesville Gazette, The Week, and their…
City
Predictions for 2008
by JOHN ADAMS •
Former New York Times columnist William Safire used to write an annual predictions column, with multiple choice answers to questions, each new year. Here’s my local, amateur version in honor of Safire’s efforts. My predictions will be listed below the questions. 1. In 2008, the biggest Whitewater event will be A. July 4th holiday B.…
City, Police, Press
Questions for a Reporter, and the Community
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers of FREE WHITEWATER know that I have written about the lawsuit against Larry Meyer, former investigator of the Whitewater Police Department. This is a public matter involving the conduct of a public employee. It tells much about how that employee was supervised and managed. Most recently, in a post entitled, “Clear Information in the…
City, Police
The Force We Need
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Clear Information on the Lawsuit Against Larry Meyer
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s an update on the lawsuit against former Whitewater Police investigator Larry Meyer. I will offer a chronology, information on the latest legal developments, and an assessment of the coverage from Bliss Communications, publishers of the Janesville Gazette and The Week. This will be a long post, with the advantage being that it will serve…