An explorer comes to a forest, one he’s not seen before. He’s been in forests before, but not one as dense and dark as this one. He could stop, and make predictions about what it might be like, but however long he takes, the forest yet stands before him. Our national outlook is like this,…
City
City
Review: Whitewater’s Outlook for 2017
by JOHN ADAMS •
On January 4th, I posted Whitewater’s Outlook for 2017. Here’s a review of that post. Original from 1.4.17, with comments from 12.31.17 in blue italics, paragraph by paragraph — A year like 2016 – nationally – should leave a prudent person cautious about making predictions. I’ll not overlook the lesson from last year’s national scene,…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, December 26th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
by JOHN ADAMS •
This Tuesday, December 26th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building. James Gunn directs the two hour, sixteen minute film. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true…
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government, Public Records, School District, University
Daylight (Part 3 in a Series)
by JOHN ADAMS •
One finds oneself with a question, when there are gaps in a public record, when there are easily-avoidable deficiencies of open government: What will one do about it? A good method in this matter is deliberate, dispassionate, and diligent. A few thoughts: 1. Foundation. One looks at state and local provisions for public records and…
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government, Public Records, School District, University
Midnight (Part 2 in a Series)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Open government is right both in itself and in consequence: a free society confers political power only for limited & enumerated purposes. Those who confer this power have a right of oversight and a sensible obligation to assure that power’s exercise remains limited & enumerated. The right derives both naturally and by positive law. In…
America, City, Culture, Local Government, Politics, Religion, School District, That Which Paved the Way, Trump, University
Rabbi Sharon Brous’s Advice for Small Towns (and Everywhere, Really)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at The Atlantic, there’s an interview with Rabbi Sharon Brous, the senior rabbi at IKAR, a non-denominational synagogue in California. See ‘I’ve Spent My Life Studying These Books That Say Decency Actually Matters.’ Rabbi Brous describes religious belief among progressives in contemporary America, and two of her observations are particularly suited even to Whitewater…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, December 12th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park: Almost Christmas
by JOHN ADAMS •
? This Tuesday, December 12th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of Almost Christmas @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building. David E. Talbert directs the one hour, fifty-one minute film. During a family’s “first Christmas gathering since their mother passed away, Dad begs the family to suspend their differences…
Babbittry, City, Demographics, Economy, Poverty
Contrast
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider the contrast between how the Janesville Gazette‘s publisher want his city to be seen, and how an economics reporter describes the Janesville area: Janesville Gazette editorial, A question for Janesville to consider: [James] Fallows and his wife learned the differences between success and failure during a 54,000-mile journey across the United States in a single-engine…
City, Culture, Local Government, School District, University
Old Whitewater and Populism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Most of the figures who represented an Old Whitewater outlook have faded from the scene. Their high water mark was several years ago; they’re receding now. Their like won’t be seen again. Their decline, however, comes in the immediate conditions of an impatient populism. That populism doesn’t represent a New Whitewater, but replaces Old Whitewater’s…
City, Film
Film: Tuesday, November 28th, 12:30 PM @ Seniors in the Park: Wind River
by JOHN ADAMS •
This Tuesday, November 28th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of Wind River @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building. Taylor Sheridan directs the one hour, forty-seven minute film, in which a “veteran tracker with the Fish and Wildlife Service helps to investigate the murder of a young Native American…
America, City, Local Government, Politics, School District, University
National in Local
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve always thought that the best approach for local public policy is to reach for competitive national standards (where one truly tries, rather than simply insisting that local work is nationally competitive). A focus on a national approach now matters for another reason: our current national environment is troubled, and by focusing on it reminds…
City, Local Government
Hiring Processes
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s public bodies (city, school district, university) have over the years hired more than one person; they’ll keep doing so. (Those who have asked if two of last week’s posts were about a hiring process are right to think so, but only in part. Those posts were also about broad trends within the city. See …
Blogging, City, Culture, Local Government, Politics
Policies & Actions
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday’s post, The Winnowing Transition, offers thoughts on the last several years in Whitewater, and a look ahead to the next several. The key point is that we’re in a transitional time, where many who were politically prominent a decade ago no longer are, and few who are prominent now will come through the next…
City, Economy, Politics
The Winnowing Transition
by JOHN ADAMS •
Today’s a good day to post about the transition through which Whitewater is now going. It’s a winnowing transition, in which many political and economic positions formerly popular are slowly being swept away. (There are, in fact, few leading public officials even from a decade ago still around. Those who are operate in conditions of…