As readers know, I posted yesterday an email from Bill Bowen, owner of the Double Dip Deli, in which he criticized two of my posts that made mention of public art in Whitewater. Yesterday, I printed his letter in full, and today I’ll respond. I gave him the benefit of being able to tell his…
City
City
Public Art, Bill Bowen Writes
by JOHN ADAMS •
City
What if Steve Spear Returns as Municipal Judge?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Suppose Steve Spear is re-appointed municipal judge, or wins election in April 2008. What will our town do? The normal residents of Whitewater will need some way to reassure themselves that no untoward conduct will take place in the municipal judge’s chambers, or in open court. Let me offer a few suggestions. 1. The Technological…
City
Inbox: Reader Mail — Spear-o-Rama, Part 2
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received a second message recently about Steve Spear, from a reader who identified himself as “Thomas Jefferson.” (I like the name, by the way.) Thomas Jefferson relates that he’s learned that some residents and citizens of Whitewater may have sent a letter to the Common Council on behalf of Steve Spear’s re-appointment. (The Common…
City, Police
Reader Mail: Inbox — Spear-o-Rama, Part 1
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve received two messages recently about former municipal judge, and perpetual vulgarian, Steven Spear. The first is from a member of the Common Council. I’ll post the message in full, with my reply thereafter. (The Council member refers to my post entitled, “Spear, Coan, and Brunner.”) From a member of the Common Council: Dear “Mr.…
City, Police, Press
Coming Attractions for the Week of July 30th
by JOHN ADAMS •
We have a busy week ahead of us, with following topics on deck: Reader Mail: A letter from a member of the Common Council. Reader Mail: People who want Steve Spear’s return as municipal judge. Reader Mail: A letter from the owner of the Double Dip Deli on ‘Public Art.’ (Yes, printed in its entirety.)…
City, Police
Inflexibility as a Way of Life
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers know that I’ve written frequently about the Star Packaging raid. The owner of Star Packaging, Alan Petrie (to whom I have no connection) faces multiple counts of supposed conspiracy to commit ‘identity theft’ for hiring Mexican workers. As I have written before, in my post entitled The Identity Theft Excuse, Petrie and the Mexican…
City, Police
Spear, Coan, and Brunner
by JOHN ADAMS •
First, Spear. Our recently-resigned municipal judge, Steven Spear, was charged in March with disorderly conduct, following a criminal investigation as recounted in The Week: Whitewater Municipal Judge Steven Spear was found guilty Wednesday of disorderly conduct, a civil violation stemming from allegations he forcibly tried to kiss a female secretary and masturbated in front of…
City, Development
CDA Website, Revisited
by JOHN ADAMS •
Faithful readers will recall that I published on May 31st a post entitled, “White, Non-Minority” in which I wrote of the Community Development Authority’s website more than a bit troubling is how they describe our potential workforce, on the Community Development page entitled, “Work Force.” Here’s what it says, as of this evening, May 31st:…
City, Inbox Reader Mail, Police
Inbox: Reader Mail
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll take a moment on this excellent and fair day to catch up on some reader mail. (As I publish pseudonymously, I’ll not publish the names of any readers, either.) Here are the paraphrases of questions or comments that I’ve been asked, and my replies. Comment: …finally some one who tells it like it is!!!!!…
City, Development, Free Markets
The (False) Theory of Central Relativity.
by JOHN ADAMS •
In many cities, of disparate sizes, there is a strong theory that if one fixes the downtown – makes it look nicer, improves streets, lighting, and building facades, etc., then the town will undergo a more thorough renaissance. If you build it, or rehabilitate it, they will come… In measures small and moderate, Whitewater has…
City, Police
Jim Coan and Larry Meyer’s Shameful Legacy
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Star Packaging raid is nearly eleven months on, but the damage that Police Chief Jim Coan and now-retired detective and Larry Meyer did in the false name of ‘identity theft’ endures. (See my earlier post, “The Identity Theft Excuse”, for an explanation of how the raid on Star Packaging was falsely justified.) It’s a…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
What Does Driving into Whitewater from Highway 12 Suggest about the City?
by JOHN ADAMS •
If a person saw what I described yesterday – a small sign, a ramshackle cluster of dull yellow motel buildings, a small cluster of private, single family homes, etc. – what should he reasonably conclude? First, he might see all of this as a failure of public development, a lack of sidewalks, street lights, directional…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Arriving into the Whitewater from the West.
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s bracing to enter Whitewater from Highway 12: the initial sights are non-descript, with little to distinguish Whitewater from a smaller town. We are a city of fourteen thousand, with a university campus, but our problems become apparent when entering the city from the west. Here’s what a traveler would find, as conditions are now:…