I don’t think much of the term ‘movers and shakers’ (that a nearby newspaper used to describe supposedly influential people) or ‘big’ people, etc. The terms almost always exaggerate actual influence. I am sure, though, that a combination of diverse social media, the decline of print, the shifting demographics within Whitewater, and the next generation’s…
Politics
Politics, Poll
Friday Poll: The Fox GOP Debate
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Local Government, Politics, Press
Message Frenzy
by JOHN ADAMS •
If one runs a business, and has a sale scheduled, advertising the time and place of the sale is vital: people won’t attend events of which they’ve no knowledge. Some news stories are like this: reporting on an approaching storm requires quick publication of the weather. It’s not true, however, that every story requires quick…
CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Economics, Economy, Gluttony, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Politics, WEDC, Wisconsin
The State’s WEDC and Whitewater’s Facsimiles
by JOHN ADAMS •
Ongoing revelations about the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are a double concern: they’re stories of statewide malfeasance, and those revelations beg the question of how local officials in Whitewater are managing their own pools of public money. First, the latest stories (it’s a steady stream) of state-level error, waste, and negligence: Madison— Failing to run…
Culture, Local Government, Politics, University
The Remains of the Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
If one would like to see the present condition and future prospects of Whitewater’s insiders, there are no better accounts (truly) than two stories from the Daily Union: UW-Whitewater chancellor session held @ http://www.dailyunion.com/news/article_f042575e-a63a-11e4-bcd8-939679ffcc09.html Whitewater bids fond farewell to Telfer @ http://www.dailyunion.com/news/article_68cb8454-1c18-11e5-8e44-a3bfa315d78f.html. Each story is purportedly about UW-Whitewater’s chancellor (the search for a new one,…
City, Culture, Local Government, Marketing, Politics
Marketing Whitewater Over the Last Decade
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I mentioned that I would share observations from a longtime resident about marketing efforts on behalf of Whitewater. First the observations, then my remarks. ….Ten years ago I think all the rhetoric about a perfect Whitewater was meant to set the tone for those already living in and around the town. They wanted to…
Business, City, Development, Economics, Economy, Health, Local Government, Planning, Politics, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN
Meetings & Motivations
by JOHN ADAMS •
Post 11 in a series. This is series about a proposed digester energy project for Whitewater, one that would rely on importing other cities’ unwanted waste into Whitewater for processing. A series like this is only indirectly about general wastewater upgrades, at whatever price. It’s about waste importation, and officials’ claims that importation would be clean…
Blogging, City, Local Government, Politics
Measuring the Strength of a Position
by JOHN ADAMS •
A good way to measure the strength of a position (considering its quality of being strong, its merit, and its desirability) is to ask: would one trade that position for another one? If the answer is that one would trade, then there’s something better in an alternative by way of greater heft, reason, or enjoyability. …
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Culture, Local Government, Politics, University
The Better Way to Address Sexual Violence on Campus
by JOHN ADAMS •
Neil Heinen is the editorial director of WISC-TV in Madison. I have little idea of his politics; we’ve never met. I do know, however, that his station’s position on how universities should address allegations of sexual assault is better – ethically and practically – than the approach that UW-Whitewater has adopted. Heinen is entirely right:…
Local Government, Marketing, Politics, Science/Nature
The Cold Fusion Problem
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the late 1980s, scientists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons told the world that they had a device that demonstrated the energy-producing consequences of a nuclear reaction, but at room temperatures. Since humanity had produced energy from nuclear reactions only at very high temperatures, this sort of fusion would have been cold (and more easily-produced)…
Education, Elections, Politics, School District
On School Board Candidate Kelly Davis
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater invites people to choose the city, to live here, and to commit to our community’s civic life. We offer our way of life to others, hoping that they will join us in the improvement of our schools, public institutions, and neighborhoods. Into our small city now comes a talented and educated woman who seeks…
Misconduct, Politics
The Act Utilitarians
by JOHN ADAMS •
The worst of officials, even in a fair society, look like a parody of utilitarians: as though they were the crudest act utilitarians, justifying any action merely by whether it produces a presumed, aggregate benefit of happiness. (Motivated only consideration of aggregate human enjoyment, for example, a perverse society of dog-haters might commit acts of…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Culture, Education, Elections, Law, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Waste Digesters
Policy Topics for the Spring
by JOHN ADAMS •
In October 2014, I wrote about Four Public Topics for the Fall. They seemed to be the city’s prominent public policy questions, looking ahead from 10.20.14. Those topics were (1) the 2015 City of Whitewater budget, (2) Whitewater Schools referendum, (3) UW-Whitewater’s social relations, and the (4) City of Whitewater’s waste digester proposal. Now, as…
Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Politics, Religion, Science/Nature, State Government, Wisconsin
Budget First
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last week, Gov. Walker declined to answer Englishman’s question about whether he, Scott Waker, believed in evolution. Today, in the Journal Sentinel, one learns that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos does believe in evolution. (I’ll bite: I was raised in a liturgical, high-church tradition that taught that the theory of evolution was consistent with faith. I…