Two months ago, the Royal Purple ran a story about how a local developer was planning to turn the old KFC location on Main into a combination sub shop and coffee shop, and redevelop the building where Movie Gallery sits currently. I commented at the time on how odd the combination of a coffee shop…
Development
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Planning Commission Meeting for November 12, 2007, Part 2
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is Part 2 of my commentary on the Planning Commission meeting for November 12, 2007. (Here’s the link to Part 1.) Apartments at the old Hallmark Location Why are residential tenants worse than vacancies? Empty retail spaces are worse than occasional litter and disturbances from residential tenants. They’re a sign of our lack of…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Planning Commission Meeting for November 12, 2007, Part 1
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s my commentary on the November 12th Planning Commission Meeting, Part 1. Intricacies of Public Meetings Public meetings run the risk of devolving into intricacy, ‘inside baseball’ commentary, and jargon unfamiliar to most residents. When there are a few committees involved, the risk grows greater. The politics of the Community Development Authority, Planning Commission, and…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Common Council Meeting for November 6, 2007
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Common Council cannot tax more, spend more, and hire more, and expect Whitewater to grow more. Whitewater can easily do the first three, but it should not expect the final result. It is, however, what Council must expect now. Time will prove this expectation false. It’s predictable, though, that — initially — competent planning…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
On the City Manager
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll write this week, and afterward, about the 2008 proposed city budget. Before I begin, I’ll make a few remarks about our City Manager, Kevin Brunner. I’ve been asked if I dislike the City Manager because I’ve teased, occasionally, about his ‘inside-baseball’ manner. I do not dislike him; I have no strong opinion one way…
City, Development, Free Markets
Thoughts on Planning and Plants
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a quick post on the Planning Commission meeting from earlier this month. Weeks ago, someone sent me an email to remind me that not all members of the Planning Commission see things the same way, and that I should not lump them all into the same, small, well-planned and regulated box. Fair enough: as…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Challenges of the Community Development Authority
by JOHN ADAMS •
What’s a group’s underlying philosophy? On the City of Whitewater’s new website, there’s a link to a page for Community Development Authority. That page describes the CDA, and touts its accomplishments. Here’s part of what it says, as of October 1st: The Whitewater Community Development Authority is the economic development organization for the City of…
Development, Economy, Free Markets, Poverty
Poverty in Whitewater, Part 4: (If we keep building new shopping centers, why does Whitewater’s poverty rate not decrease?)
by JOHN ADAMS •
[This is the fourth in a series on poverty in Whitewater. Part 1 showed that we have a family poverty rate far higher than surrounding communities. Part 2 showed that the poverty rate of our families is increasing. Part 3 showed that the problems of poverty cannot be understood through residents’ ancestries.] We are fortunate…
Development, Economy, Free Markets, Poverty
Poverty in Whitewater, Part 3 (Whitewater and Delavan)
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets, Poverty
Poverty in Whitewater, Part 2 (How many of our families have been in poverty recently, since the last census data? )
by JOHN ADAMS •
[This is the second of a series on poverty in Whitewater. Part 1 showed that we have a family poverty rate far higher than surrounding communities.] Previously, in Part 1, I used the same census data that the City of Whitewater posted on its website to show that we have a family poverty rate roughly…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets, Poverty
Poverty in Whitewater, Part 1 (Introduction)
by JOHN ADAMS •
We are, without the slightest reasonable doubt, a beautiful but troubled city. It’s unmistakable that our economy falls short for many, and I will support this contention more conclusively than any happy, but deceptive, pictures from another website, or city publication, could suggest otherwise. We have become a proud, arrogant place, willing to trumpet chimerical…
Development, Economy, Free Markets
Planning and Architectural Review Board Meeting for Monday, 9/10
by JOHN ADAMS •
Hayek thought that a well-ordered society planned to compete, but for a person who spends a lifetime as a bureaucrat, it’s more like planning to plan. He also thought that a well-ordered society was one with a vibrant spontaneous order, but after listening to the September 10th meeting of the Whitewater Planning Board, I’d say…
Development, Free Markets
Coffee Shop and Cousins Subs
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve heard that a local developer is planning to turn the vacant space where KFC was located into a combination Cousins sub franchise and a coffee shop. I’ve never seen that combination before, but then I’m not sure anyone has seen that combination before. If the ambiance of a traditional coffee shop can be combined…
City, Development, Free Markets
Planning and Architectural Review Commission Meeting for Monday, 8/27
by JOHN ADAMS •
A few, quick observations on Monday night’s planning and architectural review commission meeting. Where we are weaker than nearby cities, we should be less restrictive than they are; where we are stronger, we should be no more restrictive. We live well, as beneficiaries of a free market, but we quickly forget how dynamic and innovative…