Good morning, Whitewater

It’s a new month, with much catching up to do. But first, a post for the beginning of the day.

In the City of Whitewater, the city manager’s weekly report lists the following entry for today at 10:30 a.m.: “10:30 A.M.-Whitewater Technology Park Board, City Municipal Center, Cravath Lakefront Room, 312 W. Whitewater Street.”

Now, I’m not Whitewater’s police chief, so I can candidly acknowledge when I don’t know something — I have no idea what the technology park board does. I didn’t even know we had one. I’m guessing, if one really exists, we probably don’t need it, either.

The Wisconsin Historical Society notes that on this date in 1873, “Progressive Governor John James Blaine [was] Born”:

On this date John James Blaine was born in the town of Wingville in Grant County. A politician, governor, and U.S. Senator, Blaine attended public schools in Montfort, and received a law degree from Northern Indiana University. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1897 and practiced briefly in Montfort before settling in Boscobel.

A Progressive Republican, he served as Boscobel’s mayor for four terms and was elected to the State Senate in 1909. It was there that he gained prominence by leading investigations into the campaign expenditures of Wisconsin Senator Isaac Stephenson, attempting to block Stephenson’s re-election. A zealous advocate of progressivism and the ideals embraced by Robert M. La Follette Sr., Blaine was one of the organizers and vice-president of the Wilson National Progressive Republican League. After running unsuccessfully for governor in 1914, Blaine was elected state attorney in 1918.

In 1921, he became governor and held this office for three consecutive terms. During his tenure Blaine promoted progressive labor legislation, fostered a campaign to eradicate bovine tuberculosis, and signed the nation’s first law giving equal rights to women. In 1926, he won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate where he served from 1927 to 1933, becoming one of the leaders in the effort to repeal prohibition. He died on April 16, 1934.

more >>

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings scheduled for Whitewater today.

Over at the Wisconsin Historical Society website, there’s an entry commemorating an event from 1845: “Wisconsin Approves Free Schools.” The text of the text of the entry accurately places free in quotations (that is “free”):

On this date, under the leadership of Michael Frank, Wisconsin adopted “free” education for its residents. Frank’s plan narrowly passed the legislature by a vote of 90 to 79. Frank’s motivation for free education in Wisconsin was partially inspired by a similar campaign, promoted by Horace Mann in Massachusetts. On June 16, 1845 the first free school opened in Wisconsin. It was one of only three free schools in the country, outside the New England states. By August 1845, Wisconsin had five free schools in operation. [Source: Badger Saints and Sinners, Fred L. Holmes, pg 78-92]

It’s true, of course, that no public education is free; it’s a measure of the strength of the public education lobby that placing the word free in scare quotes seems almost defiant.

It’s a great anniversary in science today, as Wired notes that “Claude Elwood Shannon, the father of information theory and the man who coined the term bit, is born” —

Shannon’s 1938 master’s thesis, A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits, used Boolean algebra to establish the theoretical basis of modern digital circuits. The paper came out of Shannon’s insight that the binary nature of Boolean logic was analogous to the ones and zeros used by digital circuits.

His paper was widely cited, laying the foundations for modern information theory. It has been called “one of the most significant master’s theses of the 20th century.” Not bad for a 22-year-old kid from a small town in Michigan.

That paper includes the first known use of the term bit to refer to a “binary digit.” Later wags would expand the terminology to include byte (usually an 8-digit binary number) and even nybble (half a byte, or 4 binary digits).

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today.

In our school district, there’s Summer School walk-in registration today, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Lincoln School, proud home of the leopards. The summer school registration deadline is June 5th, with band lesson registration by May 29th. The registration form is available online.

more >>

Good morning, Whitewater

There’s an Arbor Day tree planting ceremony in the city today at 11 a.m. As public events go, it’s benign.

more >>

Good morning, Whitewater

There’s a Community Development Authority Board of Directors meeting today, beginning at 4:30 p.m., at the Municipal Building. The agenda is available online.

more >>

Good morning, Whitewater

There are no public meetings scheduled in the city today.

This is, however, a notable anniversary for our small city. The Wisconsin Historical Society notes that on this date in 1977, the Pratt Institute moved to from Whitewater to Waukesha:

On this date the Morris Pratt Institute, dedicated to the study of Spiritualism and Mediumship, moved from Whitewater to Waukesha. Founded in 1888 and incorporated in 1901, it was one of the few institutes in the world that instructed spiritualists. These were people “who believe as the basis of his or her religion, in the communication between this and the Spirit World by means of mediumship and who endeavors to mould his or her character and conduct in accordance with the highest teachings derived from such communication.”

Why notable? Because after 1977, we’ve no excuse for Whitewater’s problems except within us. We might look elsewhere to account for our many failures, but a look in the mirror, not a crystal ball, would do us the most good.

more >>