Let’s see how I did on predictions for 2011. The list for last year appears below, with my guesses from last year in blue, and the correct answer in red. 1. In 2011, the University will win the following number of national sports championships: A. None B. One C. Two D. More than two Adams’s…
167 search results for "Brunner "
City, Economy, Government Spending
On Whitewater, Wisconsin’s 2012 Municipal Budget
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s mid-November, and on schedule, Whitewater (pop. 14,622) has a budget for 2012. There’s some good in this year’s result, but other challenges lie ahead. (A pdf copy of the budget is available online. For my remarks on the 2011 budget, see Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Next Municipal Budget.) A few remarks on the ‘12 budget: With…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters November 2011 Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ November 2011 Newsletter is out, featuring both articles and a calendar of upcoming LWV events. This latest edition is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below, with coding through Google. Upcoming events: Whitewater League Website to Launch January 2012 Thanks to a commitment made by…
Police
Whitewater’s Next, Permanent Police Chief
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about Whitewater’s search for a police chief, now concluded in the selection of Lisa Otterbacher as the city’s next, permanent police chief. (The remaining few steps are procedural, and simply met.) For an earlier post on the search, see During Whitewater’s Police Chief Search. It was right to conduct a more public…
City, Development, Government Spending
Meanwhile, at our business park…
by JOHN ADAMS •
I regularly read the Weekly Report of Whitewater’s city manager. I feel that I’m being helpful by doing so; if I stopped, average readership would likely fall by a third. In the July 8th edition, there’s mention of a new business, Simonswerk, that’s bringing a few jobs to our business park. A few are better…
City, Press Release
Informational Forum: Potential Local Impacts of the Proposed Wisconsin Budget, Wed., May 4th, 7-9 PM
by JOHN ADAMS •
The League of Women Voters of the Whitewater Area presents Potential Local Impacts of the Proposed Wisconsin Budget: An Informational Forum Wednesday, May 4th, Cravath Lake Community Center, 7 – 9 p.m. How will the proposed Wisconsin budget likely affect Whitewater and the surrounding area? On Wednesday, May 4th from 7-9 p.m. at the Cravath…
City
Whitewewater’s 2010 City Performance Plan (Part 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s part two of a series of posts on Whitewater’s 2010 City Performance Plan. Part 1, and the document itself, appear in the preceding post. Far worse than a ginned-up success rate is a claim so shameless that a reasonable person would never venture the proclamation. Under City Manager Kevin Brunner’s supposed accomplishments, one finds…
City
Whitewater’s 2010 City Performance Plan (Part 1)
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the Whitewater 2010 City Performance Plan, City Manager Kevin Brunner contends that in 2010, municipal leaders accomplished 87.1% of their goals. (I have embedded the full document below.) That sounds like an impressive success rate, until one considers that many of the goals listed are ordinary tasks that one should perform fully as part…
Recent Tweets, 2.6 to 2.12
by JOHN ADAMS •
RT @BreakingNews: Ron Paul wins presidential straw poll at CPAC, earning 30 percent of the vote – Fox News http://fxn.ws/f2U6ub 12 Feb When politician/bureaucrat says he or she aspires to be ‘an adult in the room,’ it really means: ‘I want to have chair when the music stops’ 12 Feb To be an ‘adult in…
Innovation Center/Tech Park
The Innovation Center and the State of the Union
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a lot of talk about marketing public projects in Whitewater, but the best marketing is sound policy. So sound, really, that it’s not marketing at all. Yet, for all that talk, Whitewater’s bureaucrats stick to a simple script, repeating the same tenuous or dodgy claims. Nonetheless, occasionally one finds something new, like this odd…
Innovation Center/Tech Park
Innovation Center Update
by JOHN ADAMS •
At Whitewater’s January 18th common council meeting, City Manager Brunner offered remarks on Whitewater’s taxpayer-funded Innovation Center. Those remarks are recorded from 6:48 to 8:55 in the video embedded above. (Quick note: the best part of the session was a recognition ceremony for the national champion Warhawks, beginning around 3:30 into the video.) But as…
City
Predictions for Whitewater, Wisconsin for 2011
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s my local, amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. The list for 2011: 1. In 2011, the University will win the following number of national sports championships: A. None B. One C. Two D. More than two 2. Under a new focus on blighted properties, the City of…
City
Review: Predictions for Whitewater, Wisconsin for 2010
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here is my early January 2010 post with predictions for the year. How did I do? Results below the post…. Here’s my local, amateur version of (the now late) William Safire’s tradition of offering annual predictions, when he was at the New York Times. The list for 2010: 1. In 2010, the University will win…
City, Laws/Regulations, Planning
How Whitewater’s Municipal Administration Made a Mess of Housing in the City
by JOHN ADAMS •
Live by a regulatory environment, perish by a regulatory environment. What might have been solved through free forces of supply and demand is now a political and economic mess. There are two stories at Walworth County Today that nicely describe, respectively, the defeat of a builder’s request for a zoning change to build student housing,…