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…
Open Government
43rd Assembly District, Law, Open Government, Politics
Choosing Wrongly
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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 •
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.
City, Development, Green Energy Holdings, Local Government, Open Government
An Open Letter to the Interim City Manager on a Proposal between Whitewater and Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good afternoon. Here’s a post to follow previous ones on this website, and a story today in the Janesville Gazette, about a proposal between the City of Whitewater and Green Energy Holdings for a waste digester. The project has been touted as a large one, but large claims for municipal projects require substantial justification. In…
Local Government, New Media, Open Government, Press
The Collapse of Serious Local News
by JOHN ADAMS •
When even a news outsourcing firm’s criticism of local journalism has a sad ring of truth, one can see how far newspapers have fallen. It’s also why bloggers and other citizen journalists now fill a role that some newspapers have abandoned. Journatic is a company that provides supposedly local stories to the American media, and…
City, Development, Government Spending, Green Energy Holdings, Local Government, Open Government, Press
Questions for the Press about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS •
This week, I’ve 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 and Questions for the CDA about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings. (For a comprehensive list of all posts about this proposal,…
CDA, City, Green Energy Holdings, Open Government
The CDA and GEH
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a meeting of the Community Development Authority today, and of the topics on the agenda, there’s an item (number 7) to “Discuss Development Agreement with Green Energy Holdings LLC.” (The agenda and packet appear below.) This item is a reference to approval, from last Thursday’s Common Council meeting, of an agreement with Green Energy…