This Tuesday, February 9th at 12:30 PM, there will be a showing of The Martian @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin community building. The Martian is the tale of an astronaut, Mark Watney, who is presumed dead after a fierce storm on Mars, and left behind by a fleeing crew. In fact,…
City
Beautiful Whitewater, Business, City, Free Markets, Lifestyle
Having Nice Things in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Some months ago, a community group, while embarking on a new project, began using the saying, ‘yes, we can have nice things in Whitewater.’ One supposes that they meant the saying as an expression of optimism about their chances for success, along the lines of we can do this. It’s also probable that they intended…
Charity, City
About Standards
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 –…
Business, City, Hip & Prosperous
Brief Remarks on Downtown Whitewater, Inc.
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Law, University
The Nature of the Federal Title IX Complaints Against UW-Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 •
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…