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City, Law, Local Government, Police

Common Council Session of 12.18.12: On the Police and Fire Commission

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Here’s my third post on the 12.18.12 session. Seeing a need to harmonize Whitewater’s municipal code with state statutes, Council restored the title of Police and Fire Commission to a citizen’s commission previously known as the Police Commission. Years ago, I remarked how odd it was that Whitewater’s PFC never addressed fire department matters, name…

43rd Assembly District, Law, Open Government, Politics

Choosing Wrongly

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A new legislator starts out with a promise of independent thinking, and with a clean slate before him. One hears that he’ll represent only his constituents, regardless of party, buck his own party whenever necessary, and stand only on principle. He’s photographed signing the legislator’s book, attending some civic events, and touts some (but not…

Human Nature, Law

The True Measure of Institutional Greatness

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Most communities – even small ones — have a few larger institutions, and Whitewater is no exception. The measure of those institutions is not how they protect their leaders’ reputations, but how they support and nurture the many individuals, separate and distinct, of which they are formed. This is true even when those individuals meet…

Freedom of Speech, Law, Local Government, New Media

First Amendment and Social Media in Federal Lawsuit Against City of Honolulu, Local Police

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There’s a case in Hawaii, in federal court, that may limit a city’s restrictions on municipal webpages and social media. If municipal agencies establish Facebook or other social media pages, can they censor critical comments from among all other comments? That’s the question before the court in Hawaii, about the comments policy of the Honolulu…

CDA, City, Development, Green Energy Holdings, Law, Local Government

Questions for the CDA about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings

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Yesterday, I posted a series of general questions about a proposed deal with Green Energy Holdings for a waste digester. See, Preliminary & General Questions about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings. (For all posts about this deal, I’ve a designated category.) Today, here are questions specific to the Whitewater Community Development Authority’s role in…

City, Law, Open Government, Planning

The Long and Good Meeting

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Last Monday, June 11th, Whitewater’s Common Council and Planning Commission met jointly, to receive a sixty-two-page .pdf presentation from Graef Consulting as part of a zoning rewrite project. The meeting lasted about three hours, during which members of Council and the Planning Commission heard residents’ views on the presentation. The easiest description would be to…

Law, Libertarians, Liberty

Justice Kennedy the….Libertarian

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The Cato Institute’s David Boaz teases the venerable Time magazine about its cover story on Justice Anthony Kennedy’s supposedly inscrutable jurisprudence. (Time is a survivor – it’s really the only remaining newsmagazine of its kind; it’s fared far better than rival publications.) Massimo Calabresi and David Von Drehle write in that magazine that Efforts to…

Beautiful Whitewater, City, Elections, Law, Liberty

Beautiful Whitewater

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If we were to have a blizzard, covering all the city, today would yet be a lovely day. There are, of course, some individual losses for which there is no human recompense, but for the community, no day is more restorative, and so more welcome, than an election day. Today will be a bit sweeter,…