Writing about the city requires reading the public documents of local government, even if one chooses not to write about what one’s read. Reading and observing come well before writing. Daily observation inclines an observer not to the immediate, but the distant – one takes a longer view of things. Along the way,…
Good Ideas
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Education, Good Ideas, School District, Science/Nature
Science Night in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Diet Coke & Mentos from John Adams on Vimeo. Last night was Science Night in Whitewater, and many hundreds from the city turned out to see dozens of displays and exhibits. My family had a fine time, and I’d say that Science Night (held periodically but infrequently) is one of our favorite public events in…
Education, Good Ideas, School District
Rube Goldberg Machines
by JOHN ADAMS •
Business, City, Free Markets, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government, New Whitewater, Planning
The Planning Commission Meeting for 11.11.13
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s Planning Commission met last night, and among the topics was consideration of re-zoning and a conditional use permit for Casual Joe’s, a new restaurant, tavern, and distillery to operate at 319 W. James Street (at the site of a long-unused commercial building, the former Fort Auto Body). On 4-3 votes, a majority of…
Beautiful Whitewater, Charity, Food, Good Ideas
Whitewater’s Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast
by JOHN ADAMS •
My youngest and I went to Sunday’s Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at the high school. We had a great time. Light, perfectly-prepared pancakes, the very size of a pan, with link sausages, syrup, butter, and one’s choice of coffee, juice, or water. For a small price, one could order extra sausage, too, as we did. Once…
Beautiful Whitewater, Good Ideas, Health, Sports
Scenes from the Discover Whitewater Races, 9.22.2013
by JOHN ADAMS •
Agriculture, Good Ideas
The Creative, Cheesy Solution to Icy Roads
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Good Ideas, Sports
The Field of Dreams Begins Construction
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
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…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Good Ideas, Local Government, Weather
Walk the City
by JOHN ADAMS •
Spring will arrive soon. Whitewater, Wisconsin is a small town. Even more conveniently, it’s a small town with an easily-walked, accessible downtown, west-side business district, and compact neighborhoods. In a time of warmer weather, there will be fitting opportunities to explore the city on foot. Whitewater’s full-time leaders – and especially her city manager —…
Business, Film, Good Ideas
The Innovator
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Innovator from Cineastas on Vimeo. Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike. His innovations are responsible for many elements of athletic footwear that people wear today. Each of his crafts informs one another and he is constantly exploring the fringes of his…
City, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government
Model practices are the new exceptional
by JOHN ADAMS •
The signs that welcome visitors to Whitewater assure newcomers that we are an exceptional community. It’s an odd slogan for a city: exceptional needn’t mean better. One can be exceptionally talented, for example, but exceptionally narrow and stodgy, too. The slogan was meant, no doubt, to imply good qualities, but it’s a measure of our…
Animals, Beautiful Whitewater, City, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Liberty, Local Government
The Backyard Chicken Trend
by JOHN ADAMS •
We’re not alone among communities recently allowing urban chickens. A good and smart friend sent along news of Beloit’s urban chicken ordinance, now in effect in that city. She noted in her message that backyard chickens are a positive trend, and she’s right. (For a prior post on this topic, see Common Council Session of…