I’ve long argued that the application of continent-wide standards to local challenges offers better solutions for our small town than a hyper-localism that ignores best practices from across our country. See, What Standards for Whitewater? We will achieve little, and leave less for the next generation, if we do less – if we reach lower –…
City
Business, City, Hip & Prosperous
Brief Remarks on Downtown Whitewater, Inc.
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I promised a post on Downtown Whitewater, Inc.’s search for a new, full-time leader. They’ve a committee that drafted a job description. Of that committee, there are truly impressive members : smart, talented people. How their search will turn out I do not know – one hopes for a good outcome. I do know, however, that Whitewater’s success doesn’t…
City, Good Ideas, Law, Science/Nature
The Hon. Alex Kozinski on Good Science
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Hon. Alex Kozinski is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction over most federal appellate matters in the western continental United States. Judge Kozinski is nationally know among members of the bench, and served as chief judge of the Ninth Circuit for many…
City
Whitewater Predictions for 2016
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here’s my amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. The list for 2016, the FW ninth-annual edition: 1. Whitewater’s economy will A. Expand along with the American economy B. Expand more slowly than the American economy C. Be stagnant D. Fall into recession 2. For the Whitewater Schools, the biggest…
City
Review: Whitewater Predictions for 2015
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Here’s my amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. This was the list for 2015, the FW eighth-annual edition. Let’s see how I did: 1. The biggest policy discussion of 2015 will be A. City of Whitewater’s scrutiny of vendors B. Campus culture and policies C. Police Department community…
City, Local Government, Politics
The Importance of Why
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In our state, local candidates have an early-January deadline by which to declare their candidacies for the 2016 election. In a small town, there’s bound to be some curiosity about who’s running. That curiosity, however, is merely a superficial – and often personality-driven – concern. It’s not who, but why someone seeks office that matters. Why…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Commentary & Chronicle
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I’ve been writing, happily, from Whitewater for years. Writing like this has, to my mind, two aspects: as commentary and as chronicle. Blogging as commentary is obvious, of course. Blogging as chronicle, however is just as important, if not more so. One writes sometimes to advocate, but always to describe. Longtime readers know that I have…
City, Culture, New Media, New Whitewater
The Lingua Franca of a New Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
If it should be true – and it is – that Whitewater is more diverse than her town fathers care to admit, with the city now a collection of disparate, minority factions, how can one reach a majority with a message? (For Whitewater’s waning notables of this generation, there’s no way to return to their former…
City, Culture, Local Government, New Whitewater
A Small But Diverse City, Seldom Described That Way
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
About four months ago, a councilman in Whitewater (intelligent, educated) expressed concern that a municipal meeting was poorly attended (it was). His solution was to post notice of the next meeting on the Banner. They city posted a notice there, and the next meeting was still poorly attended (with only a few more people than…
City, Misconduct, Politics
About Extraordinary Accounts
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Law, University
The Nature of the Federal Title IX Complaints Against UW-Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The two, separate federal complaints that sexual assault survivors have filed against UW-Whitewater are complaints against that institution for the failure to comply with lawful requirements for handling these alleged survivors’ claims (regardless of the underlying facts in any given claimant’s case). (That’s why, when Title IX complainants seek federal recourse, they say that they have…
City, Culture, Local Government, Politics, School District, University
A, B, and Wrong
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Most choices for government, such as an option between Policy Choice A or Policy Choice B, involve choices of ordinary outcomes. One option may be more efficient than the other, or one more aesthetically pleasing than an alternative, but either would be considered a normal, reasonable policy outcome. Preferences of the Right or Left, of…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Local Government, University, Waste Digesters, WEDC, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN
Boo! Scariest Things in Whitewater, 2015
by JOHN ADAMS • • 3 Comments
Here’s the ninth annual FREE WHITEWATER list of the scariest things in Whitewater for 2015. The 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 editions are available for comparison. The list runs in reverse order, from mildly frightening to truly scary. 10. The Coming Ferret Invasion. Alternative title: The Unprepared Will Be Doomed. Earlier this year,…
Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economy, Government Spending, Local Government
On Big Banks, Big Businesses
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
In the video above, Sec. Clinton tells Steven Colbert that she’d let big banks fail. There’s something in her (briefly stated) position for a libertarian to admire, although other points to doubt. (I’d not urge breaking banks up, but would surely urge government to allow large banks or businesses to fail. Clinton, admittedly, is referring…