We hear much about community development in Whitewater, now more than ever. We depend on our fellow residents; their success or failure affects us greatly. It was Aristotle who famously remarked that one who freely lives outside a city is either a beast or a god. Americans are not so convinced of town, let alone…
City
City, Inbox Reader Mail
Inbox: Reader Mail
by JOHN ADAMS •
This small website has been publishing for less than a month, but in that time it’s seen steady readership growth, and a fair amount of reader e-mail. I thought that I would take a moment to answer some of the questions that I’ve been asked. (As I publish pseudonymously, I ‘ll not publish the names…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Whitewater’s Economy
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll write over the next few posts about the state of the economy in Whitewater. I mentioned economic problems as one of the challenges facing Whitewater when I wrote that Our municipal government is narrow-minded, with a poor grasp of economics, and clings to burdensome regulations that make Whitewater unattractive to businesses. We gain housing,…
City
The Smaller Pie
by JOHN ADAMS •
Many years ago, I read an interview in which the now-disgraced Assembly Speaker, Scott Jensen, gave advice for those aspiring to politics. He said that one of the most important advantages for a politician was to be a third generation Wisconsin resident. He spoke both practically and approvingly: what he felt was necessary, and what…
City, Police, Press
Coan on Star Packaging from the WPD Newsletter, Volume 48
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Star Packaging raid offers insight into how Whitewater Police Chief Jim Coan presents his police force to the community, and as a consequence, the message he sends to his team. No action of Coan’s force has been as justly controversial as the Star Packaging raid, and at each stage his statements underlie an unwillingness…
City, Police, Press
Journal Sentinel on Star Packaging Raid
by JOHN ADAMS •
On May 1st, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a thoughtful, informative story on the Star Packaging raid. Georgia Pabst wrote the story, running on page B1, of the paper. Here are some nuggets from that story, that may not have been printed in local papers, with my comments following: 1. From City Councilman Maxwell Taylor,…
City, Free Markets
Open Letter: “White, Non-Minority?”
by JOHN ADAMS •
UPDATE, 6-4-07 I received a reply from the Community Development Authority to my open letter, and the reply related that the CDA website is in transition. There will always be some positive achievements from the past that should be continued, but other perspectives and legacies should be relegated only to distant memory. Rome was not…
Beautiful Whitewater, City
Beautiful Whitewater: Our Skate Park
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Press
A Normal Perspective Would Help Us All
by JOHN ADAMS •
In most cities and towns, a few organizations and institutions play the role of community watchdog. Whitewater has no one who plays that role, as the Whitewater Register — our hometown paper — doesn’t behave like a community watchdog. In other towns nearby, the newspapers are willing to ask questions of elected and appointed officials.…
City, Free Markets
“White, Non-Minority?”
by JOHN ADAMS •
I believe strongly in growth for Whitewater, and in the the importance of attracting new businesses to our city. The Whitewater Community Development Authority is part of that effort. Here is how the Community Development authority describes itself, from its website: The Whitewater CDA is a Housing and Community Development Authority formed in 1983 by…
City, Press
The Press Covering Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
We are a small town, without a good newspaper published within the city limits. There are some fine papers that provide limited coverage of Whitewater, but the city lacks a solid, responsible paper of its own. The Whitewater Register — part of a newspaper consortium — is sickeningly uncritical of real problems in the city,…
City
Fundamental Challenges Facing Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
One must wonder, as perhaps you do, what would inspire this website. Our beautiful city deserves better than it has received from its government, civic organizations, and long-time residents. We are over fourteen thousand in number, but a few hundred short-sighted, self-interested citizens have led others astray, and by doing so leave Whitewater crippled. Our…