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Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Culture

Boosterism’s Cousin, Toxic Positivity

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In political life, boosterism is the overzealous promotion of officials or programs while ignoring actual conditions (particularly conditions of the disadvantaged). It’s wrong and repulsive. (An acknowledgement worth making: I have never criticized boosterism because of a personal concern. My life is comfortable; objections to political boosterism are deep-seated in me as a matter of learning.) Civilizations…

CDA, City, Development, Government Spending, Local Government, Poverty, WEDC

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 10.20.20: Basics and Buildings

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The Whitewater Common Council met briefly last night, 10.20.20. The agenda for the meeting is available, and a recording of the session appears above. Two different topics are worth noting (for different reasons): autumn leaf collection and a building rehabilitation project. A few remarks —  1. Leaf collection. The city has many homes & apartments, the homes…

Budget, CDA, City, Government Spending, Local Government, Open Government

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 10.6.20: 9 Points

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The Whitewater Common Council last met on 10.6.20. The agenda for the meeting is available, and a recording of the early October session appears above. (As always, the best record is a recording.) Council discussed, among other items, Trick or Treating during the pandemic, a preliminary city budget, whether to return to in-person council meetings,…

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, October 13th, 10 AM or 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Irresistible

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This Tuesday, October 13th at 10 AM or 1 PM,  there will be a showing of Irresistible @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: (Comedy/Drama) Rated R (Language) 1 hour, 41 minutes (2020) In a small northern Wisconsin town, retired Marine Colonel/farmer Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) becomes a national star when a YouTube video of his protest…

City, Coronavirus, Local Government, Public Health, School District, University

September Arrives: Consequences Will Settle Claims

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Posted originally on 9.1.20 —  A reminder that, for a thousand discussions, predictions, warnings, or assurances — “what has been predicted about the pandemic & economy will prove true or false as against daily events and their consequences.” Original post follows —  September arrives. Small-town Whitewater, like all America, wrestles with a pandemic and a…

City, Culture, Law, Local Government, Open Government, Politics, Wisconsin

In Whitewater, Three Recent Trespasses Against Public Comment

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Whitewater’s public comment periods are lawful rights worth defending, and there has never been a time when respecting public comment – humbly and gratefully – has been more important for the city. Since June, there have been three meetings during which Whitewater’s current council president has deprecated public comment, or wrongly set the order of…

Charity, City, Poverty

Waiting for Whitewater’s Dorothy Day

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Whitewater has many needs, but fulfilling them requires setting aside the city’s longstanding addiction to press releases, public relations, ‘messaging,’ etc. That approach is both ineffectual and proud (where pride is a sin). Worse still is the irreparably conflicted role of politician and reporter, a government intrusion into civil society, a bad habit of Old…

City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 9.15.20: 4 Points

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Updated 9.16.20 with meeting video. Last night, among other items, Whitewater Common Council’s met and considered municipal actions in response to the pandemic, heard presentations from Downtown Whitewater, Inc. and Discover Whitewater, and appointed a resident to fill a council vacancy in AD 5. A few remarks —  1. Pandemic Responses. Whitewater’s council last week declined, on…

Blogging, City, Local Government, Music, Politics

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Helpful Advice for Whitewater, Wisconsin

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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is rightly celebrated as a masterpiece. It also offers useful political advice, even for small town officials. From that musical’s Washington on Your Side, consider this sage observation on the limits of intra-institutional reform: If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse, You can’t put it out from inside the house. There’s…

City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 9.9.20: 5 Points

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Evening of 9.10.20: Updated with full session video. As always, the best record is a recording. Original post follows — Last night, at a special meeting of the Whitewater Common Council, that public body voted 5-1 against consideration of a municipal ordinance to regulate mass gatherings during the pandemic. (The agenda packet, with the ordinance…