Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be chilly with intervals of clouds and sunshine and a high of 48. Sunrise is 6:05 AM and sunset 7:42 PM for 13h 37m 17s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 90.2% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Common Council meets at 6:30 PM. On this day…
Open Government
Books, Daily Bread, Open Government, Populists
Daily Bread for 4.18.22: The Opportunistic Use of Open-Government Principles
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daily Bread, Open Government, Public Meetings, School District
Daily Bread for 4.12.22: Open-Session Meetings Should Always Have an Opportunity for Public Comment
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will see scattered rain and thundershowers with a high of 61. Sunrise is 6:16 AM and sunset 7:34 PM for 13h 17m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 79.6% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 4:30 PM, and the city’s Public Works Committee…
Courts, Daily Bread, Law, Legislature, Open Government, Politics, Public Records, Speaker Vos
Daily Bread for 3.31.22: The One Effective Trick Robin Vos Learned He Learned Before Trump
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daily Bread, Law, Open Government, Public Records, Speaker Vos
Daily Bread for 2.9.22: Shreddin’ and Deletin’ Vos
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will see occasional show showers with a high of 39. Sunrise is 6:58 AM and sunset 5:19 PM for 10h 20m 56s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 60.8% of its visible disk illuminated. There will be a joint meeting of the Common Council, Community Development Authority,…
Daily Bread, Open Government, UW System
Daily Bread for 1.20.22: Shhh… No Public Forums for the UW System Candidates
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 11. Sunrise is 7:18 AM and sunset 4:53 PM for 9h 34m 18s of daytime. The moon is waning gibbous with 93.7% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1265, the first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of…
Bad Ideas, City, Daily Bread, Environment, Nature, Open Government, Press, Water
Daily Bread for 10.22.21: Reporting About Artificial Herbicides in Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Budget, CDA, City, Government Spending, Local Government, Open Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 10.6.20: 9 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater Common Council last met on 10.6.20. The agenda for the meeting is available, and a recording of the early October session appears above. (As always, the best record is a recording.) Council discussed, among other items, Trick or Treating during the pandemic, a preliminary city budget, whether to return to in-person council meetings,…
City, Culture, Law, Local Government, Open Government, Politics, Wisconsin
In Whitewater, Three Recent Trespasses Against Public Comment
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s public comment periods are lawful rights worth defending, and there has never been a time when respecting public comment – humbly and gratefully – has been more important for the city. Since June, there have been three meetings during which Whitewater’s current council president has deprecated public comment, or wrongly set the order of…
City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 9.15.20: 4 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
Updated 9.16.20 with meeting video. Last night, among other items, Whitewater Common Council’s met and considered municipal actions in response to the pandemic, heard presentations from Downtown Whitewater, Inc. and Discover Whitewater, and appointed a resident to fill a council vacancy in AD 5. A few remarks — 1. Pandemic Responses. Whitewater’s council last week declined, on…
City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 9.9.20: 5 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
Evening of 9.10.20: Updated with full session video. As always, the best record is a recording. Original post follows — Last night, at a special meeting of the Whitewater Common Council, that public body voted 5-1 against consideration of a municipal ordinance to regulate mass gatherings during the pandemic. (The agenda packet, with the ordinance…
City, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Open Government, Public Health
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 8.4.20: 6 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
At last night’s meeting of the Whitewater Common Council, among other items — the council slightly modified its mask ordinance, discussed (but took no action on) a racial justice initiative that would create an Equal Opportunities Committee, voted unanimously to extend the lake drawdown project for approximately another year, and voted to continue virtual public…
City, Coronavirus, Education, Open Government, Public Health, School District
Whitewater School Board Meeting, 8.3.20: 6 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
At last night’s meeting of the Whitewater Unified School District’s board, the board heard a presentation from the district about fall instruction for the first two weeks of school, and the metrics the district is considering when deciding schools’ status after those initial weeks. The meeting was informational only, so the board took no action.…
City, Coronavirus, Education, Open Government, Public Health, School District
The Whitewater School Board’s Decision on Early Fall Instruction: 4 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
Updates, afternoon of 7.28.20: (1) I’ve added a recording of the 7.27.20 meeting. The best record is a recording. (2) A reader emailed to ask where I stand on recent pandemic-related public actions. On masks, I supported the city’s ordinance (to take effect 8.1) as an unfortunate necessity to preserve safe mobility in the marketplace.…