I’ve written before about Williamsburg, a neighborhood within Brooklyn. (See, TNIW, The Williamsburg Neighborhood in Brooklyn, and The Pickleback.) It’s not because Whitewater will one-day look like just like that neighborhood. There are at least two reasons Williamsburg is relevant. First, that neighborhood shows how very different ethnicities (Italian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Hasidic) can live…
Hip & Prosperous
City, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government
Model practices are the new exceptional
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
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 • • Comments
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…
Animals, Beautiful Whitewater, City, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Local Government, New Whitewater
Common Council Session of 12.18.12: Backyard Chickens
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here’s my fourth post on last night’s meeting. Approved unanimously, and waived from a second reading, Whitewater now has a backyard chicken ordinance. Not just an ordinance, but a fine, model one of which we should be proud. This is a good idea, that’s come to Whitewater through the hard work of a thoughtful resident.…
Agriculture, Animals, Beautiful Whitewater, City, Farming, Food, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Local Government, New Whitewater, Planning
A Model Ordinance
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
These last few months, beginning in September, Whitewater’s Planning Commission has heard, and subsequently considered, a proposal for an urban (backyard) chicken ordinance. The proposal is not mine; I have been a mere observer of this effort. One may write about a topic, but only after months of careful observation, as in this case. I…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Food, Hip & Prosperous
September 22 @ Cravath Lakefront: Food and Craft Vendors for Pig in the Park BBQ
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Downtown Whitewater is looking for Food and Craft Vendors on September 22nd for its Pig in the Park BBQ: Downtown Whitewater. Inc. is looking for Food and Craft Vendors for our BBQ Pig in the Park State Championship Cook-off Sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will host the area’s first BBQ Pig…
Drink, Food, Hip & Prosperous
About Whitewater’s Restaurants
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
At last night’s common council session, there was more than one person who remarked that Whitewater needed an improved dining scene. She does. Although there are some real gems here, we’ve not enough of the sort of dining that would attract people to Whitewater time and again. A city of our size cannot have successful,…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Food, Hip & Prosperous, Press Release
Pork in the Park: September 21-22, Cravath Lakefront
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Something delicious for the beginning of fall, from Downtown Whitewater — Downtown Whitewater. Inc. Announces New BBQ Pig in the Park State Championship Cook-off Sanctioned by Kansas City Barbecue Society Downtown Whitewater, Inc. will host the area’s first BBQ Pig in the Park Cook-off, which was sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) 2 weeks…
City, Elections, Hip & Prosperous, Politics
Hip & Prosperous through Political Clarity
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Most people don’t think about a contest for a single council district when they’re thinking about ways to make Whitewater hip and prosperous. In fact, political races — and how we describe them — make a big difference. Not just a race, but the way we describe it (or any other contest), matters. It’s the…
City, Hip & Prosperous, Holiday
Fiesta
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here’s another sketch-post on how to make Whitewater hip & prosperous. Whitewater should lead with what she uniquely and distinctively offers. What the city has today, and will have tomorrow, is a multi-ethnic and multicultural population. Our Mexican-heritage population is more than a fact; it’s an opportunity for everyone. We should lead with that unique…