Following former Walworth County Economic Development Alliance leader Fred Burkhardt will prove no easy task. The hardest roles aren’t those following a good leader, but a poor one. See, WCEDA tabs executive director — GazetteXtra.
Development
Development, Free Markets, Planning
The Wall Street Journal on Private Campaigns Against Walmart
by JOHN ADAMS •
In prior posts, I’ve made clear the difference between competition between private merchants and local government’s endorsement of a campaign that expressly favors one kind of merchant over another. That’s not the place for government, either on principle (government should be limited) or prudently (government has a poor record of picking winners in the marketplace).…
City, Development, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Planning
Local Merchants and Whitewater’s Walmart, Co-Existing
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve contended before that many local businesses can do very well alongside Walmart, and will weather an expansion of our current Walmart, store number 1274 of that retail chain. I can safely say this, because in towns across America with Walmarts, there are other businesses, too. They co-exist. Consumers should be able to make choices…
City, Development, Planning
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting from 5/10/10: Walmart
by JOHN ADAMS •
After a few preliminary items, Whitewater’s 5/10/10 Planning Commission meeting considered Walmart’s proposal for a significant expansion at its present location. A video recording of the meeting is available at http://blip.tv/file/3624624. The agenda with a memo from Vandewalle & Associates about the Walmart expansion is available at Planning Commission Agenda & Attached Documents. The documents…
City, Development, Planning, Press
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting from 5/10/10: Overview
by JOHN ADAMS •
On May 10th, Whitewater’s Planning Commission held a meeting at 6 p.m., with principal the topics being a possible expansion of our local Walmart, and an overlay to an existing residential zoning ordinance for the Starin Park neighborhood. Recording of the meeting — Here’s the video of the meeting, which I will be using for…
City, Development, University
Update: How Long Does It Take a Whitewater, Wisconsin Bureaucrat to Screw in a Traffic Light?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update to the update: I’m getting reader suggestions for limiting traffic from the university side of this intersection via signage or a permanent end to travel as an alternative to junking the gateway. As you can see below, I’d forget about the gateway before I’d delay a pedestrian solution. I’m not concerned about that proposal…
Charity, Development, Economy, Free Markets, Planning, Poverty, Press
Madison’s Isthmus: Janesville on the Brink
by JOHN ADAMS •
From Madison’s Isthmus, one reads a story about hardship in nearby Janesville, hardship that should be of concern to those in Whitewater, too. No matter how dire the conditions for Janesville now, I believe that an abandonment of virtually every aspect of commercial and business regulation, along with drastic reductions in government spending except principally…
City, Development, Free Markets, Planning
Visalia, California’s Sensible Choice in Favor of a Free Market
by JOHN ADAMS •
Visalia, California is far from Whitewater, Wisconsin. (It’s about 2100 miles by car, according to Google Maps.) Despite the distance, they recently confronted a question like one we in Whitewater once faced. In Whitewater, we once foolishly imposed a moratorium on residential apartments in our downtown; in Visalia, they considered and rejected a moratorium on…
City, Development, Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Planning
A Bigger Walmart Proposed for Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote once about the Walmart, No. 1274, in Whitewater. (Walmart now uses a name without a hyphen in advertising. I’m guessing they consider it both simpler and more upscale than “Wal-Mart.”) I wrote about Walmart a while ago, and a lot has changed. Walmart now sells both beer and liquor, there’s no east side…
Development, Free Markets, Libertarians
Reason.tv: Encourage Bottom-Up Redevelopment – Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey, Ep. 5
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the next episode of Drew Carey’s series on ideas to save Cleveland, and by implication lots of other places, too. Cleveland has spent billions on big-ticket urban redevelopment efforts including heavily subsidized sports stadiums and convention centers that have utterly failed to revitalize the city’s economy. Should the city be pouring even more money…
Development, Economy, Free Markets, Libertarians
Reason: Luck and Virtue in America and Haiti
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason.com, Steve Chapman writes about the earthquake in Haiti, and about prosperity in America, in an article entitled, Luck and Virtue in America and Haiti: Understanding the impact of the Haitian earthquake. From his essay: I look after the trees in my yard, making sure they get water, checking them periodically for signs…
City, Development
A City-University Technology Park in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Sunday, the Janesville Gazette published a story on a proposed joint technology park between the city and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Arguments in favor of the part include new jobs for researchers, but far more so, a way to offer businesses a reason to locate in Whitewater. The principal argument against is likely to be…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets, University
Student Housing in Whitewater: Our Mistaken and Repetitive Approach
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are two stories from yesterday’s Janesville Gazette that describe the pressures of student housing: Students Spread Out in Whitewater City, School Address Housing Concerns. The stories ably describe arguments that residents of Whitewater have have made against student housing for years with no change in demand. I certainly don’t believe that demand for student…