Last week, at Common Council, the city heard a presentation from City Attorney McDonell on Wisconsin’s Open Meetings and Public Records Laws. In the embeded video below, from 1:07:00 to 1:43:03, readers will see that presentation. (Sadly, it starts off poorly, with a deprecating joke about the subject matter being boring. That’s false, of course:…
Open Government
Business, Law, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Open Government
How Local Government Has It Easier Than Yelp
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Yelp may be a popular website for positing restaurant (and other) reviews, but it has a controversy on its hands. Some businesses are complaining about Yelp’s practice of hiding some reviews behind a link (that is, where one has to click the link to see all posted reviews). Some restaurateurs contend that Yelp hides favorable…
Local Government, Open Government, Press, Public Records
Biting the Hand That Fed Him
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Janesville City Manager Eric Levitt has decamped to Simi Valley, California. Readers will recall that Mr. Levitt touted the supposed benefits of a Generac-supporting ‘Innovation Express’ bus costing hundreds of thousands in public money. He kindly visited Whitewater last budget season to ask Whitewater taxpayers to kick in for a private company’s needs. (See, Whitewater’s…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Law, Official Misconduct, Open Government, State Government, Taxes/Taxation, Wisconsin
The Truth about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
A person should be able to make simple distinctions, as between the sensible and foolish, or practical and impractical. Sometimes those distinctions should be clear, and as stark as the difference between the contents of a sample cup and a glass of Chardonnay. You’ll hear a lot locally over the next few days about a…
City, Daily Bread, Open Government
Daily Bread for 11.8.12
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Thursday in the Whippet City brings a cloudy morning with gradual clearing thereafter, and a high of forty-nine. We’ll have 9h, 58m of sunshine and 10h, 58m of daylight. Today in Whitewater, will will be a joint meeting of Downtown Whitewater, the Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism Commission at 6:45 PM. It follows…
43rd Assembly District, Law, Open Government, Politics
Choosing Wrongly
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
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…
Green Energy Holdings, Open Government, Waste Digesters, Wisconsin
Waste Digesters and the Ledge Guardians
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Nearly one-hundred fifty miles from Whitewater, in Maribel, Wisconsin and surrounding communities, hundreds of residents are organized and committed against a large, commercial waste digester in their area. They’ve an impressive website on behalf of their dedicated efforts: Ledge Guardians, www.ledgeguardians.com. There are sound arguments against waste digesters, against how they really work, what they bring into a community, what they spew out into a community, against their…
City, Open Government
Internal and External in Government Matters
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Every so often, there’ll be a discussion within city government about what’s an internal or external matter. The more important question is whether internal means confidential. It seldom does. Three quick observations: Generally, public employees, engaged in public tasks, at public expense, are doing work that should be open to residents’ review. A government that…
City, Green Energy Holdings, Open Government
How to Keep a Public Deal from Common-Sense Evaluation
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
It’s not that hard, really. One just needs a shameless disregard for open government and an equal disregard for diligent environmental and fiscal evaluation. 1. Keep discussion of the deal within a closed session of the Community Development Authority. That would be item 12 from the 6.6.12 CDA meeting. See, at 1:14:56 in the video,…
CDA, City, Green Energy Holdings, Open Government, Press
What Whitewater’s Officials Don’t Know (or Don’t Want You to Know) about that “Green Energy” Deal
by JOHN ADAMS • • 5 Comments
I’m not sure what would be worse – (1) an airy proposal for an energy deal for the City of Whitewater in which city officials don’t even know simple implications of the proposal, or (2) a deal in which city officials actually know how this proposal has been received elsewhere, but don’t want the residents…
City, Green Energy Holdings, Open Government, Press
Part 2: Questions for the Press about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
This post follows a recent story (from 7.17.12) about a waste digester proposed for Whitewater, Wisconsin (see, Waste-to-energy project coming to Whitewater“). For an earlier post along these lines, see Questions for the Press about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings. 1. Does anyone think, as the 7.17.12 story states, that the City of Whitewater…
History, Open Government, Politics, Wisconsin
Then and Now
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Consider these remarks, from a Wisconsin politician: What is it that is swelling the ranks of the dissatisfied? Is it a growing conviction in state after state, that we are fast being dominated by forces that thwart the will of the people and menace representative government? Do you not know people who feel, as perhaps…
Law, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Chetek, WI bans open public comments from council meetings
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The elected representatives of Chetek, WI would rather their constituents ask permission to speak openly to those they’ve elected: Mum is the word in a local community after the mayor removes people’s ability to come into city council meetings and openly speak their minds. If residents of Chetek have something to say at city council…
Banking & Finance, Economy, Federal Government, Open Government
Why audit the Fed?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Transparency, better understanding of policy, and administrative accountability: no federal agency, including the Federal Reserve, should be free from thorough review. The better question, to which there isn’t a persuasive objection: Why not audit the Fed? Posted originally on 7.26.12 at Daily Adams.