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Public Meetings

Daily Bread for 2.24.23 More Convenient than a Cat’s Meows from the Rafters

Good morning. Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 23. Sunrise is 6:37 AM and sunset 5:38 PM for 11h 01m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 22.8% of its visible disk illuminated.  On this day in 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the…

Daily Bread for 1.23.23: The Practicality of Public (and Official) Comment

Good morning. Monday  in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 32. Sunrise is 7:16 AM and sunset 4:56 PM for 9h 39m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 4.2% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:30 PM and Downtown Whitewater, Inc.’s Board of Directors meets at 6…

Daily Bread for 4.12.22: Open-Session Meetings Should Always Have an Opportunity for Public Comment

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…

Daily Bread for 9.12.21: Will the Curriculum Be in Their Hands?

Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with occasional thundershowers and a high of 79.  Sunrise is 6:32 AM and sunset 7:08 PM for 12h 36m 07s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 34.6% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1962, President Kennedy delivers his “We choose to go…

Whitewater Schools’ Community Focus Group, 7.8.20

The Whitewater Unified School District held a community focus group on 7.8.20 via Zoom about public schools opening in the fall. A video of the recorded meeting is embedded above. There have also been other, in-person meetings over the last ten days. A few remarks:  Translated. The focus group had, sensibly, a Spanish language translator.…

A Simple Truth About Open Government

I’ve written recently about importance of open government, for itself and for its positive effects, but a simple truth about open government is that it requires a consistent policy of openness. Open sometimes, closed others, isn’t open government: it’s caprice. I’ve a draft of a series open government in progress, and in cases where openness…

Sunshine Week 2018 (A Methodical Approach)

Writing about a topic is a deliberate, often slow, process. Something happens – perhaps of concern – but one may not address it immediately. A bit of waiting can be a sound response. Along the way, an original perspective may change, and a project grow larger (or smaller). See Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal.…

Sunshine Week 2018 (City, District, and State)

Local readers may have heard, as I have heard, that area officials know that there are ways around municipal ordinances and school district policies on open government. There’s no surprise in hearing this: there is no human construct that cannot be circumvented; there are few professing a public interest who do not simultaneously feel the…