Groundbreaking for the Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams in Whitewater took place Friday afternoon. That makes August 16, 2013 a particularly good day for our city. For a fine description of the groundbreaking in detail, with pictures from the ceremony, please see The Wisconsin Happy Farm‘s post on the event. That post includes photos of…
City
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Development, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, New Whitewater, Planning
Tidying the Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
A new school year begins, and thousands of students on whom the economy of this city depends are returning to Whitewater. Volunteers, as they’ve done previously, will help tidy up the town. These volunteers have, I think, held similar clean-up efforts in June and July. It’s a fine idea. (I’ve not been part of those…
City, Local Government, Open Government, Public Meetings
The Open Government Presentation
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last week, at Common Council, the city heard a presentation from City Attorney McDonell on Wisconsin’s Open Meetings and Public Records Laws. In the embeded video below, from 1:07:00 to 1:43:03, readers will see that presentation. (Sadly, it starts off poorly, with a deprecating joke about the subject matter being boring. That’s false, of course:…
Business, CDA, City, CRT, Development, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning
Yet Another Exercise in Standards Beneath Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
It should be a universal truth that Whitewater and Wisconsin deserve a far higher standard of diligence and review than whatever our CDA chairman believes his “gut” tells him would be good for our city and nearby area. In fact, that kind of intestinally-based level of judgment has failed this city time and again, and…
Beautiful Whitewater, Charity, City, Sports
On the Field of Dreams Project: In Support of Starting Construction Now
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last night, Whitewater’s Common Council discussed beginning construction of the Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams, to build a baseball diamond and related facilities on a part of Starin Park. I’ve written previously in support of the project, and believe Council made the right decision last night to begin construction by awarding an adjusted bid. See,…
City, Development, Government Spending, Local Government, New Whitewater, Planning, Politics, Taxes/Taxation
A Review of Whitewater’s Economy is Like Peeling an Artichoke
by JOHN ADAMS •
Artichokes, of course, symbolize the idea of multi-layered things, of peeling back an exterior to discover an interior truth. Whitewater’s economy is like that – one needs to peel away layer upon layer of happy-talk headlines to address the truth of our present condition. (In a way, the only indubitable success those headlines assure is…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Marketing, Planning
How You, Too, Can Be a Smooth-Talking, Super-Sophisticated Marketeer (Assuming You’d Be Foolish Enough to Want to Be One).
by JOHN ADAMS •
Real marketing is a legitimate pursuit. By contrast, manipulative, smooth-talking, super-sophisticated men & women spend hours convincing others that the next big thing is, in fact, the Next Big Thing. They declare that millions of taxpayers’ money spent on white-collar projects, while truly needy people receive no benefit whatever, are Astonishing Feats of Global Significance…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Marketing, Planning
The Failure of Marketing (and the Marketing of Failure)
by JOHN ADAMS •
I respect the work of those honest people who practice or study marketing. There’s a place for marketing, and even a place for marketing public projects. In the end, though, it’s the product or service, not the presentation of it, that matters most. There should be nothing startling in so declaring, but for the marketeers…
Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Development, Local Government, Planning
Bad Policy Cannot Hold the City
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Local Government
Common Council Session of 7.16.13
by JOHN ADAMS •
A few items from a long Common Council session — Council chose an appointee to fill the open Aldermanic District 1 seat. After an initial 3-3 vote between Philip Frawley and Tiiu Gray-Fow, Council selected Philip Frawley. The process – as with the one used last December – was a good one. Applications, speaking in…
CDA, City, Law, Local Government
The CDA’s Possible Purchase of Hundreds of Acres of Whitewater’s Public Land for a Dollar
by JOHN ADAMS •
Council’s scheduled to address the possibility of selling hundreds of acres of public land to the Community Development Authority for a dollar ($1.00). (It’s Item C-9 on tonight’s agenda.) The proposal’s been kicked around for months, but I’m curious if there’s been any positive headway since an April memo from the CDA’s Patrick Cannon, and…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Planning
On the East Gate Project
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s administration proposes renovating the area on the east side of the city, through which commuters and visitors arrive in Whitewater. I’ve posted on the project before. (See, About that story on Whitewater’s East Gateway Proposal: What’s Missing?) A few remarks: 1. The design is undeniably beautiful. 2. It would have been better to include…
City, Local Government, Politics
About those four (or five) Common Council applicants
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tomorrow night, Whitewater will choose between four (or perhaps five) qualifying applicants for an appointment to an open council seat for Aldermanic District 1. There are two quick points worth making. First, there were five applicants, but only four written submissions received by the clearly-stated deadline. (The fifth application helpfully advised, in the would-be politician’s…
City, Local Government, Politics
More about ‘Scenes from Whitewater’s Failing Drug War’
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve had both emails and a conversation with a journalist about yesterday’s post, Scenes from Whitewater’s Failing Drug War. I’ll summarize some of the topics of those messages and my replies. Shouldn’t the UW-Whitewater chancellor receive deference? I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s all-too-clear that Chancellor Telfer receives ample deference, and from…