Of residential zoning restrictions in Whitewater (restricting residential occupancy to no more than two unrelated persons in an R-O overlay district), a few points may safely be made: We’ve been arguing about this for years. The last municipal administration – before this one – grandly declared housing the biggest issue in the city (yes, really). …
City
City, Local Government, Police
Common Council Session of 9.17.13: Police and Fire Commission Dismissal Proceedings
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last night’s Common Council session had a large agenda, including toward the end consideration of whether to appoint outside counsel for a possible complaint against a Police and Fire Commissioner. After a closed session of about seventy minutes, Council returned to open session and unanimously voted to authorize outside counsel to be hired for a…
City, Mysterious
Mysterious Places of Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Taxes/Taxation
What Tires and Ages a City?
by JOHN ADAMS •
In my last post, I wrote about a survey that identified Whitewater as an especially youthful town (mind you, by median age, and only from CNN Money’s limited selection of small towns). Well, what would the opposite be like: what would age a town, and drive it into decrepitude? The sarcastic answer, of course, is…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Press
Whitewater as a Youthful Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Development, Economy, Laws/Regulations, Planning, Zoning
No Resolution
by JOHN ADAMS •
There was a Planning Commission meeting last night, and the principal topic was a proposal to extend a zoning overlay on North Fremont from the existing overlay in the Starin Park neighborhood (those few streets to the west of Fremont, and between Main and Starin). The zoning overlay would prohibit more than two unrelated persons…
City, Development, Economy, Government Spending
Council and the East Gateway Project
by JOHN ADAMS •
Earlier this week, among other topics, Common Council considered additional spending, amounting to hundreds of thousands, for burial of lines underground as part of the two-million-dollar East Gateway project. City Manager Clapper presented his summary of the benefits of the underground installation, of the alternatives, and his recommendation to spend additionally for the installation. There’s…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission Interviewing
by JOHN ADAMS •
Police & Fire Commission 08/29/2013 from Whitewater Community TV on Vimeo. Last week, Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission considered whether to have the Whitewater police chief or senior police leaders present at civilian PFC interviews of candidates (promotions, etc.). (See, about this topic, Interviews & Citizen Oversight.) Whitewater’s past practice has been to assure that…
City, Law, Police
Interviews & Citizen Oversight
by JOHN ADAMS •
The responsibility to interview a candidate should – and reasonably does – require that one interviews with one’s independent judgment. If the interviewer, himself or herself, is under someone’s else’s watch, then the interviewers aren’t truly independent (and candidates see that, too). There’s a Police and Fire Commission meeting tonight, at 6 PM. The principal…
America, City, Law, Local Government
The No-Prior-Discussions, Wheelchair-Access Lawsuit Against Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Weighty claims require that claimants present their grievances deliberately. A serious presentation ordinarily includes (1) signaling that one has a grievance, (2) offering a chance for a negotiated resolution, and only later (3) letting others know that one might seek recourse to the courts if negotiations should prove unproductive. (This last point only applies if…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government, New Whitewater, Open Government
What Standards for Whitewater?
by JOHN ADAMS •
This post is a companion to one from yesterday on rights, entitled, How Many Rights for Whitewater? Whitewater is a place of great natural beauty, hundreds of years of indigenous and settled living, and a quaint, small-town scene. If residents of Whitewater should have the same rights as those elsewhere in Wisconsin and America –…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Good Ideas, New Whitewater
Join Downtown Whitewater’s August Downtown Cleanup, Saturday, August 24th from 8 AM to Noon
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s your chance to be part of a group that’s keeping Whitewater beautiful — Join Downtown Whitewater for its August Downtown Cleanup to welcome UWW students and their families back to town When: Saturday, August 24th from 8 am to Noon. Where: Meet at Discover Whitewater (150 West Main Street). We’ll be sweeping the streets…
City, Law, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Closed Sessions in an Open Society
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider a review of three grocery lists, labeled A, B, and C, respectively: List A: Purchases (1) One gallon, skim milk (2) One dozen navel oranges (3) One loaf of whole wheat bread List B: Purchases (1) fruit and/or (2) something made of flour List C: Purchases (1) something to eat They’re all lists; they’re…
City, Film
Wednesday @ 1:00 PM: Seniors in the Park Film, No
by JOHN ADAMS •
This Wednesday at 1 PM there will be a showing of the film No at the Starin Park Community Building: Military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power in 1988, the leaders of the opposition persuade a young daring advertising executive – René Saavedra – to head their campaign.…