If Trump wanted his tax returns to remain private, then he should not have run for public office. So many men want to be private figures and public officials at the same time, opportunistically claiming one role or another as it suits them. Small-town Whitewater has had a problem like this for years: tiny notables…
City
Charity, City, Education, Poverty, Press Release, School District
What Matters, What Doesn’t
by JOHN ADAMS •
Some contrasts are so clear that, on seeing them, one can tell immediately what matters and what does not: Number of homeless students in Whitewater School District reaches ‘crisis level’: The number of homeless students in [Dr. Lanora] Heim’s district last school year was more than double what it was three years ago—going from…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, April 9th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park, The Favourite
by JOHN ADAMS •
This Tuesday, April 9th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of The Favourite @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building: The Favourite (Biography/Comedy/Drama/History) Tuesday, April 9th, 12:30 pm Rated R (Strong sexual content, nudity, language); 1 hour, 59 min. (2018) A brilliant, stunning, comedic, feminine tour-de-force historical costume drama. In…
CDA, City, Elections, Local Government, Wisconsin
Local Election Roundup 2019
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin’s spring general election is over, and a quick discussion follows. For unofficial results, see the pages for Walworth, Jefferson, and Rock counties. Wisconsin Supreme Court. This was a close election, but for supporters of Lisa Neubauer (as I am), it’s a disappointing result. Neubauer performed not as well overall as Rebecca Dallet last year,…
City, Development, Economy, Parodies, Poverty, That Which Paved the Way
Really, Really Urgent CDA Announcement!
by JOHN ADAMS •
Shortly after booting my computer this April 1st morning, I found staring back at me the following Really Really Urgent Message from the “Whitewater Community Development Authority.” Perhaps it has something to do with a recent excuse-making press release story at the Gazette. News Release: April 1, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (this means now!) Really…
City, Courts, Elections
Local Elections 2019: Municipal Court (Part 4 of 4)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater has a municipal court, and since a municipal court then a municipal judge presiding over that court. In the course of the campaign between Chad Buehler and Patrick Taylor, the candidates have discussed questions of experience, background, and perspective. They’ve both offered outlines of how they would serve, but they both face this same…
Bad Ideas, City, Elections, Government Spending, Local Government
Local Elections 2019: City Council (Part 3 of 4)
by JOHN ADAMS •
In 1926, Hugo Gernsback began publishing Amazing Stories, an American science fiction magazine of fantastic, but entertaining, tales. The magazine was benign: even if the stories described impossible or improbable events, they caused no practical harm. One cannot say the same about lingering fantasies of fiscal and economic policy in Whitewater, Wisconsin: they produce real…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, March 26th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Green Book
by JOHN ADAMS •
This Tuesday, March 26th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of Green Book @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building: Green Book (Biography/Drama/Comedy/History/Music) Tuesday, March 26, 12:30 pm Rated PG-13; 2 hours, 10 minutes A working-class Italian American bodyguard/bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist (Mahershala…
City, Enforcement, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, University
Scrounging Through the Junk Drawer
by JOHN ADAMS •
When UW-Whitewater’s enrollment was expanding, and so student housing was in demand, some residents opposed to more rental properties rushed to local government in a futile effort to hold back the student tide, through zoning or code enforcement. Now that there’s a worry that student enrollment is declining, and rental properties are less in demand,…
Bad Ideas, Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, WEDC
Foxconn: Evidence of Bad Policy Judgment
by JOHN ADAMS •
From the moment then-Governor Walker signed the Foxconn deal, it was clear to national economists (from across the political spectrum) that it was a dubious idea. As the months wore on, one could find more – and detailed – critiques of the project. FREE WHITEWATER has post after post addressing these sound critiques. The posts…
Babbittry, Blogging, City, Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty, Newspapers, Open Government, Press
Sunshine Week 2019
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s Sunshine Week in America: a seven-day focus from the American Society of News Editors and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on “access to public information and what it means for you and your community.” One doesn’t have to be a reporter (and bloggers, for example, are not reporters) to understand the importance…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, March 12th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Bohemian Rhapsody
by JOHN ADAMS •
? This Tuesday, March 12th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of Bohemian Rhapsody @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building: Bohemian Rhapsody (Biography/Drama/Musical) Tuesday, March 12, 12:30 pm Rated PG-13; 2 hours, 14 minutes The story of the legacy rock band, Queen, and its infamous lead singer, Freddy Mercury…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Free Markets, State Capitalism, WEDC
Fruitless Embrace
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free-market economist Veronique de Rugy asks Why Are Republicans Embracing Economic State Planning?: China’s post-Mao economic boom has occurred only to the extent that the country became capitalist. With “Made in China 2025,” Beijing’s 2015 anticapitalist plan for an industrial policy under which the state would pick “winners,” China has taken a step back from capitalism. (It recently dropped the “Made…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Harassment, University
A Community Listening Session for a New Chancellor
by JOHN ADAMS •
UW-Whitewater, a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, now seeks a new chancellor, and the selection committee recently held a community listening session to request suggestions about a new campus administrator. (However useful an invitation to a community listening session might be, it’s worth noting that observation, reflection, and commentary answer to a different – and…