FREE WHITEWATER

City

43rd Assembly District, Authoritarianism, Bad Ideas, CDA, City, Economics, Economy, Immigration, Law, Liberty, Local Government, Never Trump, Politics, That Which Paved the Way, Trump

The ‘Republican’ Candidate’s Meet and Greet

by  • 

One reads that the self-described Republican candidate for the 43rd Assembly District will hold a meet and greet next week at a private establishment in town. Good for him – free speech is a core political right. (He’s also scheduled to appear at a local candidate’s forum this week. See The First & Last Questions.) He’s a…

43rd Assembly District, City, Elections, Politics, Trump

The First & Last Questions

by  • 

There’s a local debate candidate forum scheduled for this weekend between the Democrat and Republican running for the 43rd Assembly district (a portion of which includes Whitewater). The Whitewater Area League of Women Voters is hosting this event, and writes to reassure prospective attendees that they may “ask questions of the candidates by writing them…

CDA, City, Economy, Local Government, Poetry, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, Walworth County, WEDC, Wisconsin

Majority of Walworth County’s Renters are Rent-Burdened

by  • 

A new study, Paying the Rent, from the Wisconsin Policy Forum finds that a majority of Walworth County’s renters are rent-burdened, placing the county in the top five most distressed in the state by that measurement. (There are, of course, 72 counties in Wisconsin, so Walworth County is among the weakest of a very large…

City, Culture, Local Government, School District, University

No Principle But Principle

by  • 

Over these years that I have written, Whitewater has seen two city managers, three chancellors, four district administrators, and dozens upon dozens of other municipal, school district, and university officials. During this time, this ilk has relied on projects, press releases, committees, and conferences to advance itself at the expense of the community it professes…

CDA, City, Economy, Local Government, Poverty, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, Walworth County, WEDC, Wisconsin

Walworth County’s Working Poor

by  • 

In Whitewater and throughout Walworth County, huge numbers of residents are “asset limited, income constrained [yet] employed” (ALICE®). A report from the United Way of Wisconsin, entitled ALICE® ASSET LIMITED, INCOME CONSTRAINED, EMPLOYED WISCONSIN, reveals the truth about many in our community. Walworth County measures slightly worse than the already-disappointing state average. The talk of…

Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Culture, Misconduct, Nepotism, That Which Paved the Way, University, UW System

An Example of Old Whitewater’s Deficient Reasoning

by  • 

Old Whitewater – a state of mind rather than a person or a person’s age – seldom speaks except to reveal its deficient reasoning (and to reveal, in fact, that it doesn’t even know what good reasoning might look like).  Before going further, a reminder: FREE WHITEWATER is the work of one person, writing without…

City, Culture, Local Government, University

Self-Defined Notables (in a Small Town)

by  • 

Over these years of writing, I have sometimes referred to self-important political and community figures in Whitewater as notables, town squires, etc. It should be clear (at least one hopes!) that these descriptions rest not on the basis of others’ actual talent as elites but instead on their overweening (ludicrous, unjustified) sense of entitlement. (Most…

Bad Ideas, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Development, Economy, Employment, Foxconn, Government Spending, Open Government, State Capitalism, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, UW Madison

Foxconn’s Secret Deal with UW-Madison

by  • 

These last several years in Wisconsin have seen a politics of corporate manipulation of public spending and a retreat from principles of open government. Businesses and business lobbying groups routinely expect public money for business projects that should be wholly private. (Scheming development gurus often refer to taxpayer money as their ‘tools,’ as though the…

City, Film

Film: Wednesday, September 19th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park, RBG

by  • 

This Wednesday, September 19th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of RBG @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building:

RBG (Biographical documentary)
Wednesday, September 19, 12:30 pm
Rated PG – 1 hour, 38 min. (2018)

A look at the life and work of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 84, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy, while also becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. This engaging documentary is the final film in our Wednesday Summer series of foreign/art/documentary films.

One can find more information about RBG at the Internet Movie Database.

Assault Awareness & Prevention, Babbittry, Bad Ideas, City, Development, Economy, Local Government, Public Relations, State Government, Taxes/Taxation, University

On New Market Tax Credits for a Fairfield Inn and ‘Community Engagement’

by  • 

The use of government-issued New Market Tax Credits will bring Whitewater a Fairfield Inn and a building for the existing local campus to lease. Proponents of an ordinary hotel and a lease agreement for the university cannot offer any evidence that these projects will boost local individual or household incomes. What one can show –…

CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Distraction, Economy, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Marketing, Planning, Politics, Poverty, State Capitalism, WEDC

The Two Questions that Haunt Old Whitewater

by  • 

Two questions haunt Old Whitewater (where Old Whitewater is a state of mind rather than an age or a particular person): What does it mean to be a college town? and What is meaningful community development? (There are other serious questions, but one can be sure – at the least – that these two have Whitewater…