A few weeks ago, Whitewater police cited one-hundred thirty-two underage drinkers at a house party in Whitewater. Thereafter, Whitewater’s police chief acknowledged that information about the party came from ‘undercover students,’ an acknowledgment that’s just foolish and tone-deaf. (Yes, Coan’s actually quoted calling them ‘undercover students,’ by the way.) I wrote about Coan’s remarks, in…
121 search results for "coan "
City, Laws/Regulations
Whitewater’s Ban on Drink Specials: Bad Origins and False Empiricism
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not surprised that a majority on Whitewater’s Common Council made the mistake of banning drink specials at Tuesday night’s Common Council meeting. I wrote about the proposal a few months ago, and I did so in the belief that the ban would be passed. (For remarks on the topic, see, The New Prohibition –…
City, Police
Whitewater City Manager on Police Chief on Community Outreach
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There’s a paragraph from the Whitewater city manager’s Weekly Report for March 5, 2010 that reveals all one needs to know about how these two gentlemen view community outreach. Here’s the paragraph: City and UWW Police Departments Hold Community Forum On Tuesday of this week, Officer Saul Valadez and Chief Jim Coan participated in a…
City, Police
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Tiny Chameleon
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Whitewater’s police chief, Jim Coan, is a candidate for the director of public safety position in Mankato, Minnesota. I’ve written about his candidacy before, in a post entitled, Whitewater Chief Coan’s Interview with the Mankato Free Press: Dodgy! after reading his answers to questions from the Mankato Free Press. (Readers who’ve emailed remarking that Coan’s…
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 2-25-10
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning, Whitewater’s forecast calls for a mostly sunny day, with a high temperature of twenty-six degrees. In our schools, it’s Beach Day at Lincoln Elementary School, proud home of the Leopards. A Book Fair continues today at Washington School. There’s an update, of sorts, on Whitewater Police Chief Coan’s candidacy for the public safety…
City, Police
“Ultimately” Responsible
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I live and blog in a small rural town, of about fourteen thousand people, and one often imagines that such places are preserves of plain-speaking officials and straight-talking politicians. I suppose that many rural American towns are like that. We’re not one of them. Governance — official action first and foremost through law and legal…
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 2-10-10
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, 7:45 AM: Date corrected to February (2) from December (12) – this year’s hardly started. Good morning, The forecast calls for a blustery day, with a high of twenty-four degrees. In the City of Whitewater, there’s a Police & Fire Commission meeting tonight, at 7 PM. The agenda for the meeting is available online,…
City, Police, Press
Whitewater’s Police Chief and the Job in Mankato, MN
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, 6:21 PM: Fixed link for “What Happens in Vegas…” appearing below. Link now leads correctly to that post. Longtime readers of FREE WHITEWATER know that I have been a critic of Whitewater’s long-tenured (too long, really) police chief, Jim Coan. A search of this site offers ample analysis of Coan’s disappointing tenure in Whitewater,…
City, Police
Department of Embarrassing Coincidence, Whitewater, Wisconsin Branch Office
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Before a holiday now connected in popular culture with a film, Groundhog Day, in which someone seems destined to live the same day over and over again, could there be any greater irony than publicizing that Whitewater’s police chief is again looking for another job? Here, gone, here, gone, here again. We have lived through…
City
Review: Predictions for Whitewater, Wisconsin for 2009
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here is my early January 2009 post with predictions for the year. How did I do? Results below the post…. Here’s my local, amateur version, in honor of former columnist [the late] William Safire’s long-standing tradition, of offering annual predictions. The list for 2009: 1. In 2009, the University will win the following number of…
Daily Bread
Daily Bread for Whitewater, Wisconsin: 12-8-09
by JOHN ADAMS •
The forecast is for heavy snow, with a high of 33 degrees. Predicted accumulation during the day is for about two inches, with considerably more tonight. There’s a scheduled Police and Fire Commission meeting tonight, at 7 PM, and I have no idea how inclement weather may affect the meeting. The agenda is available online.…
City, Holiday
Live-Blogging the Whitewater, Wisconsin Holiday Christmas Parade
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve only live-blogged an event once before, a Planning Commission meeting. Tonight, I have a happier subject — the 2009 Whitewater Christmas Parade. Happier yet still, as I will be drinking Spotted Cow during the event. I am remiss not to be marching in the parade, but – and this will surely surprise you –…
City
Misunderstanding Litigation
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In yesterday’s post, The Unfortunate Choice of Words, I mentioned a lawsuit against the City of Whitewater, and a now-former police investigator, among others. There’s much that’s interesting in Whitewater’s reaction to a lawsuit. There are a few simple goals in a small town like ours: (1) avoid litigation at nearly all costs, (2) dispose…
City, Police
The Unfortunate Choice of Words
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have contended that a community benefits from a vigorous press, one that is willing to question incumbent politicians and bureaucrats. It’s one of the ways that the press in Whitewater, Wisconsin fails the community: asking hard questions of officials seems like treason. To someone in Chicago or Atlanta, that’s absurd; newspapers, television, and radio…