Last night (7.22), the Whitewater Unified School District held a virtual meeting to describe a fall instructional proposal to be presented to the district’s school board on 7.27.20. The meeting was interrupted, and so the district published today (7.23) a video describing the proposal. Embedded above is that video presentation. (There was an earlier, recorded…
Open Government
Business, City, Coronavirus, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government, Public Health, School District, University
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Temporary Mask Ordinance: 7 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
Updated evening of 7.22.20 with meeting video. (The discussion on Whitewater’s mask ordinance runs from 31:09 to 3:37:50.) At last night’s meeting of the Whitewater Common Council, the seven-member council voted unanimously for a temporary mask ordinance, taking effect 8.1.20 and running through 12.31.20, requiring masks in parts of buildings open to the public, and…
City, Common Council, Coronavirus, Local Government, Open Government, Public Health
About That Proposed, Temporary Mask Ordinance for Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
So, there’s a proposed, temporary mask ordinance before the Whitewater Common Council tonight. Needless to say, there’s been a lot of talk about the measure (and so a lot of emails sent my way – thanks much for these messages). Readers have asked what I think of the proposal. I’ve offered a simple answer: I’d…
Babbittry, City, Corruption, Federal Government, Law, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Open Government, Police, Politics, State Government
Cameras, Not Committees
by JOHN ADAMS •
Recent protests across America against excessive and biased use of police force began after ordinary people in those communities recorded official (to the point of murderous) actions, and then shared their recordings with others. It was not government – local, state, or federal – that promptly shared these recordings of excessive force; it was ordinary…
Education, Open Government, School District
Whitewater Schools: Meeting, Survey, Timeline for the Next District Administrator
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are important steps ahead in the Whitewater Schools’ search for a new district administrator. (A link on the district webpage has information about the process. I’ve reproduced key information below.) Tonight, at 6:30 PM in the Whitewater High School library, there will be an open forum where residents can share their views on what…
City, Culture, Education, Open Government, School District
A Change of Venue for a Public Forum
by JOHN ADAMS •
One reads that the Whitewater Schools have changed the location of a public forum for the selection of a new district administrator to the library in the high school. The forum is now scheduled for 2.18.20 @ 6:30 PM (“Residents will have a chance to offer input on the school district’s next leader at 6:30…
Education, Open Government, Press Release, School District
Whitewater Schools: Paltry “Community Input”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, 2.10.20 – Since this post, the location has now been changed to Whitewater High School’s more spacious and inviting library. There’s a story in a local newspaper about a public forum for community input on the search for a permanent Whitewater school district administrator. Here’s the beginning of the newspaper’s account of the district’s efforts:…
CDA, City, Local Government, Newspapers, Open Government
Who Implied That Toppers Might Move Its Headquarters? Whitewater’s City Manager, That’s Who
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a Janesville Gazette story from 12.5, Whitewater’s city manager, Cameron Clapper, is reported as saying that another paper’s coverage incorrectly implied that Toppers Pizza might move its Whitewater headquarters. In fact, the video of a recent Community Development Authority (CDA) meeting from 11.21.19 reveals that it was Clapper, himself, who implied that Toppers might move.…
Newspapers, Open Government, Public Records 2
A Local Newspaper Squeaks
by JOHN ADAMS •
Local newspapers like the nearby Janesville Gazette often self-servingly contend that they’re like the last oasis before a news desert. It’s closer to the truth to say they’re a contributor to an increasingly arid local climate. Even stories that reveal some information hold back from readers other key documents that would aid in fuller understanding…
Foreign Affairs, Open Government, Trump
What else did Trump say on his call with Ukraine’s president?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Carol D. Leonnig, Craig Timberg, and Drew Harwell report Odd markings, ellipses fuel doubts about the ‘rough transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine call: President Trump said Wednesday that his controversial July call with his Ukrainian counterpart was transcribed “word-for-word, comma-for-comma,” an assertion that fueled growing questions about the nature and completeness of an official memorandum about…
Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Why Transparency Matters in Local Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
From 2015, Libertarianism.org offers a podcast (posted on YouTube) with Kevin Glass, then of the Franklin Center. (Now called the Franklin New Foundation, it’s a center-right organization; many of Glass’s comments – he now works elsewhere – on open government are, however, non-partisan.) There are similar projects with a center-left focus. In Wisconsin, for example,…
Education, Law, Open Government, Public Records, School District, Wisconsin
School Board Applicants’ Letters of Interest
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last week, I posted on the applicant interviews with the Whitewater Unified School Board for a vacancy (following the resignation of board member Jean Linos). See School Board, 9.16.19: Applicant Interviews and Reporting. Seeing that the agenda for the meeting lacked key information, and a local newspaper’s reporting (Gazette; Beleckis) was deficient, I submitted a…
Newspapers, Open Government, Public Records, School District
School Board, 9.16.19: Applicant Interviews and Reporting
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Monday night, the Whitewater Unified School District’s board met to interview four applicants for a vacancy on the board (following the resignation of board member Jean Linos). The agenda for the meeting, although posted online, listed none of the applicants: not by total number, let alone by name or with their accompanying letters of…
Law, Open Government, Public Records 2, Wisconsin
A New Embrace That Should Have Been an Old Embrace
by JOHN ADAMS •
One reads that, in rejection of a prior administration’s approach, [Wisconsin Attorney General] Kaul Embraces Opens Records Policy: Wisconsin’s open records law applies to all records requests, big or small. But under former Attorney General Brad Schimel, the Wisconsin Department of Justice implemented a restrictive policy that limited access based on the number of potentially…