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City, University, UW System

UW-Whitewater Chancellor Watson Resigns Following Cancer Diagnosis

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dr. Dwight Watson has resigned following a cancer diagnosis: UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dwight Watson has resigned following a diagnosis of stomach and intestinal cancer, officials announced Thursday. “After much deliberation, I must resign from my position as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,” Watson wrote in his resignation letter. “I…

City, Courts, Crime, Law, Walworth County, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Supreme Court Grants New Trial in State of Wisconsin v. Alan M. Johnson

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Alan M. Johnson was convicted in Walworth County of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of his brother-in-law. (Johnson’s late brother-in-law is identified in today’s high court opinion as ‘K.M.’ The events of the case took place in Whitewater, and the Walworth County trial was before Circuit Judge Kristine Drettwan.) Johnson appealed his conviction, and…

Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Police, Politics, Poverty

‘Communicate, Communicate, Communicate’ Isn’t So Easy in a Fractured Town

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Some years ago, an administrator (no longer with the school district) told others that a good practice for leaders was to ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’ with the community. The concept makes sense: craft a message and then make sure it’s heard by repeating it. In a small town, how hard could that be? As it turns…

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, June 8th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Nomadland

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This Tuesday, June 8th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of Nomadland @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama Rated R (Nudity, profanity) 1 hour, 47 minutes (2021) A woman in her sixties, losing everything financially, embarks on a journey through the West, living as a van-dwelling, modern-day nomad. Oscar winner: Best…

City, Local Government

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 6.1.21: 6 Points

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The Whitewater Common Council met last night, Tuesday, 6.1.21. Updated 6.3.21 with meeting video. The agenda for the meeting is available electronically. The council reviewed and approved, among other items, a draft audit of the city government’s finances, a settlement with a local bar that will permit the bar to continue operating, a contract with Bird…

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, May 25th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Mauritanian

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? This Tuesday, May 25th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of The Mauritanian @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama/Thriller Rated R (Violence, sex, language) 2 hours, 9 minutes (2021) Based on his NY Times bestselling memoir, “Guantanamo Diary,” this is the true story of Mohamed Slahi’s fight for freedom…

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, May 11th, 1 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Land

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? This Tuesday, May 11th at 1 PM, there will be a showing of The Land @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building: Drama Rated PG-13 1 hour, 29 minutes (2021) An urban, middle-aged woman has fled city life to live off the grid in a tiny cabin on the side of a mountain in Wyoming, knowing nothing…

City, Local Government

Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 4.20.21: 7 Points

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? The Whitewater Common Council met on Tuesday, 4.20.21. The recording of the meeting is embedded above. The amended agenda for the meeting is available. A few remarks on selected items of the agenda —  1. Council Officers. Council re-elected unanimously Lynn Binnie as council president and Jim Allen as president pro tempore. (Video, 04:00.) 2.…

City, Culture, Education, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021

Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: The Limits of Local Politics

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This is the final post in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Earlier posts at FREE WHITEWATER have addressed the limits of local politics in the community: local public (or powerful private) institutions have a limited power of action (with harmful actions likely to be more immediate than helpful ones). It’s certain that a…

City, Coronavirus, Culture, Education, Politics, School District, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021

Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: Majoritarianism

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This is the tenth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. The contested April school board election has now come to a close. An animating concern of many parents was that the Whitewater public school should not have suspended face-to-face instruction for as long as it did, and that, in doing so, the…

Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Blogging, Boosterism, City, Confidence Schemes, Coronavirus, Culture, Local Government, Mendacity, Politics, School District, Special Interests, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021

Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: Marketing

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This is the ninth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Through all the difficult events of the last two decades (a Great Recession, an opioid epidemic, economic stagnation, creeping nativism, a pandemic, a pandemic recession), Old Whitewater has responded with the same question: how can we market the town to others? If…

Blogging, City, Coronavirus, Local Government, Politics, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021

Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021 — COVID-19: Skepticism and Rhetoric

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This is the eighth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Why would a local politician publish statistics on a pandemic? Why would he write now and again with reports of the reach of the pandemic into his city? He’d write this way out of concern for his community. If that’s not plain,…