Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 57. Sunrise is 6:46 and sunset 4:32 for 9h 46m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1851, Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville, is published in the USA.
Jeanna Smialek reports Consumer prices slowed in October:
Inflation eased in October and price increases showed encouraging signs of slowing under the surface, according to fresh data released on Tuesday. The report provides the Federal Reserve with evidence that its battle against rapid inflation is working.
The overall Consumer Price Index slowed to 3.2 percent last month on a year-over-year basis, lower than the 3.7 percent reading in September and the coolest since July. That deceleration owed partly to more moderate energy prices.
Even with volatile fuel and food prices stripped out, a closely watched “core” price measure climbed 4 percent in the year through October, slower than the previous reading and weaker than what economists had expected.
Inflation has come down meaningfully over the past year after peaking in the summer of 2022, and the fresh report showed evidence of continued progress. Fed officials are trying to wrestle price increases back to roughly the 2 percent pace that was normal before the pandemic by raising interest rates, which they hope will slow consumer and business demand.
These are national figures; local prices changes will vary from the national average.
A question, however, presents itself in every community, big or small: in which local officials will residents place their trust to seize the opportunities of improved conditions? Will Whitewater and other cities turn yet again to those who have produced press releases instead of genuine progress in residents’ individual and household incomes?
Will residents in these communities take the measure of the difference between past positioning and current professional performance?
Massive cracks and fissures in a road following hundreds of small earthquakes in Iceland:
In Whitewater’s council so grand,
Opportunities slip like fine sand.
With inflation rates cool,
They’ll play the fool,
Led astray by the landlord’s hand.
Court jesters and lobbyists prance,
With distractions they lead the dance.
No clear plan in sight,
In the dimming light,
Ransoming our chance to advance.
But in our town, the true shall unite,
In each other, they find their might.
Side by side, they stand,
And vote for one shared plan,
Guiding Whitewater to a brighter light.
Quick note: the comment above from today appeared at an earlier post (9.19), but I have duplicated it here because of the reference to inflation. That duplication is mine. The original from today appeared only at that earlier post. (Doing so intends no offense to the commenter; my intention is the opposite, actually — to place the comment prominently.)
You know, conversations with residents of diverse views over these last months have left me puzzled about what policy advantage opponents of the city’s more modern direction can claim. It’s easy to see what personal claims or motivations they might have (self-importance, an exaggerated view of their own past accomplishments, jealousy, a desire to be in the limelight perpetually, etc.).
It’s mistaken, however, to think that a review of the past will redound to their significant credit. They have made some changes, but only at the cost of significant errors. In fact, it seems likely that their current insistence on their past importance (from longtime Councilmember Allen or CDA habitué Knight) rests on the hope that no one will take the time to recount the past accurately.
It’s a dare, almost: come on, the city won’t review the public policy record, will it? No one will check these claims, will they?
Look around: people in Whitewater are desperate for baby food and diapers; they struggle to barter for small appliances.
No single ethnic group has this problem: it stretches across every ethnicity and race in the city.
These are not my experiences, but honest to goodness one would have to be willfully blind not to see these are daily experiences for others.
These are not the conditions of successful community development. They rest on the failed platitudes of trickle down, of cronyism, of gains for a few while others slip socio-economically.
These types cannot outrun our own community’s experiences, or gaslight our community into believing that down is up.
They think they can, however; they’re sure that same alchemy will see them through.
Quite something, foolishly to doubt that hubris invites Nemesis.
In Whitewater’s tale, much like Hamelin of old,
Where a Pied Piper’s tune, stories unfold.
Our President and lobbyist, long in their reign,
Dance to the tune, of the landlord’s campaign.
Like children in Hamelin, lured by a song,
They follow the melody, right or wrong.
Inventing foes, in self-glory they bask,
While true needs of the people, in shadows they mask.
The Piper, unseen, in the landlord’s guise,
Pulls strings from afar, his influence belies.
Through streets and alleys, the tune echoes clear,
But the real cries of the needy, they seldom hear.
For years they’ve paraded, in self-congratulation,
Neglecting the ones who need true salvation.
The struggles for sustenance, for shelter, for care,
In their fanciful dance, they seem barely aware.
So here’s a lesson, from Hamelin’s dark lore,
To those who lead, what leadership’s for.
Not in chasing illusions or personal fame,
But in serving the people, that’s the true aim.
In Whitewater’s folds, true heroes abide,
In schools and in streets, their efforts not to hide.
With hearts so valiant, and hands ever ready,
To uplift the needy, their resolve steady.
They work in silence, away from the lights,
Addressing the wrongs, setting the rights.
Soon will come a day, their deeds to acclaim,
In Whitewater’s story, they’ll be called by name.
For in every challenge, hope’s ember does glow,
In the efforts of those, who truly know.
The essence of service, of genuine care,
In Whitewater’s future, they’re the breath of fresh air.
As a lifelong voice in our cherished town,
I see the struggles, the ups and the downs.
Perhaps it’s time, for a new hand to steer,
For a Whitewater fair, for all we hold dear.