Diet Coke & Mentos from John Adams on Vimeo. Last night was Science Night in Whitewater, and many hundreds from the city turned out to see dozens of displays and exhibits. My family had a fine time, and I’d say that Science Night (held periodically but infrequently) is one of our favorite public events in…
City
City, Local Government, Planning
Latisha Birkeland, Modernizer
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are few aspects of city life that affect residents more than neighborhood services. For years, Whitewater struggled with an inefficient and erratic neighborhood services program. Left, right, center, libertarian: just about anyone saw that there was, to be mild about it, room for improvement. Residents not only saw problems, but those problems led…
City, Liberty, New Whitewater
Why Whitewater?
by JOHN ADAMS •
This post is the third of a trilogy about Whitewater. Months ago, I posted the first two of this series. (See, How Many Rights for Whitewater? and What Standards for Whitewater?). Those earlier posts may be summarized simply: Of rights — All of America, and all of Wisconsin, for all of Whitewater. Of standards — The…
City, Laws/Regulations, Local Government
Last Night’s Zoning Rewrite Meeting (Residential Sections)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Beginning at 7 PM last night, after an immediately prior Planning Commission meeting, Common Council and the Planning Commission held a joint public hearing to consider proposed changes to Whitewater’s residential zoning code. The meeting lasted until about ten, with further consideration of the changes scheduled for Tuesday, March 18th. A few remarks,…
City, Local Government
More than a Garbage Chute
by JOHN ADAMS •
The great advantage of a garbage chute is that it takes trash from one place, and carries it off under force of gravity to another. For high-rise apartment dwellers, it’s quite the time-saver. A local municipal administration, needless to say, should be more than a tunnel through which flimsy proposals drop from vendor to local…
City, Government Spending, Local Government
An Empty Answer
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Tuesday night, Trane (a part of Ingersoll Rand) presented to Council about supposed energy efficiency projects for Whitewater. As it turns out, some of these projects weren’t even about energy efficiency but were additional items in a $1,924,749 project list. (See, previously, Whitewater’s a Small Town, for Goodness’ Sake – It Should Be Run…
City, Government Spending, Local Government
Whitewater’s a Small Town, for Goodness’ Sake – It Should Be Run Like One
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last night, at Council, Trane presented a proposal for supposed energy conservation improvements in Whitewater’s public buildings. Total proposed project cost: $1,924,749. It was a galling presentation – some of the items were not about energy savings, at all. Of others, it was work that city staff could do now, or do when necessary (rather…
City, Corporate Welfare, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government, New Whitewater
The Middle Time
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Elections, Local Government, Walworth County, Wisconsin
The 2014 Wisconsin Spring Primary
by JOHN ADAMS •
Results from the Wisconsin Spring Primary are, mostly, now in. In Whitewater. I’ve commented on this race in email and online. The unofficial results (Binnie 152, Yvarra 30, Meyer 26) in the top-two primary show a marked gap between the incumbent and his challengers. In a primary that awarded the race to a candidate…
City, Elections, Local Government
On Whitewater’s 4th District Council Race
by JOHN ADAMS •
One part of the city has an election in the spring primary today, for the city’s fourth council district. Incumbent Lynn Binnie is running for another term against challengers Greg Meyer and Paul Yvarra. It wouldn’t have been my inclination to presume to endorse in the race, but more than a few readers have emailed,…
City, Local Government
Blueberries, Raspberries, Rat Poison
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s more than one way to see the differences of policy and politics in Whitewater. By one way of thinking, these differences are merely of taste, like a preference for blueberries over raspberries. Although one cannot be certain, this is probably how most officials see the decisions before government: a choice between simple preferences. And…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Waste Digesters
The New, Old Idea
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over these last few weeks, I’ve received messages from readers asking my view of a new digester proposal first mentioned at Council on December 3rd (but discussed, I know, among officials well before that). Like others, I’ve quietly watched the progression of this second digester plan. (I have posted occasionally at FW about a prior…
City, Local Government, Politics
Dr. Kissinger’s Services Not Required
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I wrote about an obvious lack of diligence from members of Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission. Their meetings are an exercise in lack of preparation, sloppiness, and plodding along unenthusiastically. (See, Lack of Diligence, Front and Center.) Someone asked me, in reply to that post, if I thought that Whitewater’s commissioners, on the PFC or…
City, Local Government, Police
Lack of Diligence, Front and Center
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the fall, during the 11.6.13 Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission meeting, the PFC’s chairperson introduced a draft code of ethics and drafts of procedures for complaints and interviewing candidates for employment or promotion. I wrote about that meeting afterward, because the drafts were poorly written, and in the case of the procedures for…