Last week, a reader emailed me about a post over at the GazetteXtra.com, entitled, “Neighborhood Oppose Housing for UW-W Students.” The story highlights the views of Whitewater dentist-councilman Roy Nosek, on student housing, the housing market, aesthetics, and neighborhood quiet. I’ll address the GazetteXtra.com post with three of my own: Part 1 addresses the economic…
Free Markets
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, Economy, Free Markets
On the 2008 City Budget: A Libertarian’s Angle
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a libertarian’s angle on the Whitewater 2008 proposed budget. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s a cautious, competent budget. In good times, a budget like this might make sense. Unfortunately, these are not good times for many of Whitewater’s families: the family poverty rate is higher here than in nearby communities. That’s…
City, Economy, Free Markets
Sub-Prime Mortgages and the City Budget
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Banner, there’s an October 30th mention of a recent New York Times story on how pressures in the sub-prime mortgage market may affect city budgets. The entire article, and the excerpt at the Banner, raise a good deal of worry, predicting that foreclosures on sub-prime mortgages will cause a drop in state…
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…