At the last meeting of Whitewater’s Common Council, on July 20th, one of the city’s common council members referred to a city bureaucrat as “Slick.” That’s Slick, as in “Come on up here, Slick.”
This was an official speaking in behalf of the council member’s agenda item, mind you. I’d guess the term was meant well.
I am sure, though, that the term never works well, under any circumstances. It’s not a term of endearment, and it’s too trite to work as an insult.
Best not to use it at all. more >>
Good morning,
Whitewater’s forecast calls for a chance of showers with a high temperature of eight-five degrees.
There’s a Common Council meeting tonight in Whitewater, at 6:30 p.m. The agenda is available online.
Wired recalls that on this date in 1977,
Tandy Corp of Texas announces that it will manufacture the first mass-produced personal computer. The TRS-80 — lovingly called the “Trash 80” — would be an early rock star in the PC era and give the flagging Radio Shack franchise bragging rights as “biggest name in little computers.”
The TRS-80 was a desktop machine, woefully underpowered by today’s standards — 4 KB of RAM, (expandable to 16 KB!), a 12-inch monitor, a built-in cassette-based data recorder and BASIC interpreter. Oh, yes, it came with Blackjack and Backgammon.
But the Model I was a staggering success in its day, a time when your choice was either building your own computer from a kit or buying something for thousands of dollars. The Model I was yours for $600 ($2,160 in today’s coin), and all you had to do was plug it in — although it did require three separate AC outlets to power everything up.
This was the dawn of the personal computing age, and nobody quite knew what the rage would be, or even why. There wasn’t much your average non-techie could do or would want to with a computer. And yet, there was something in the air.
This wasn’t the first personal computer, but it was the first that was widely used. It’s a fine example of a genuine innovation.
Good for them — it’s a violation of their speech rights.
Here’s the format I will be using for live blogging tonight’s Planning Commission meeting. I’m interested in experimenting with live blogging to produce commentary more quickly. (My comments will remain after the meeting for later viewing.)
The window will become live just before 6 PM, and comments will appear with the newest remarks at the top of the window. (Update: For replay, comments will appear from top to bottom, first to last.)
Here are a few additional remarks — serious, both of them.
Explanations of the Law. Municipal counsel for a town should be able to answer a question on the law simply, concisely, and understandably. This is no trivial point — a good politics depends on it. If it seems impolite to say, then we have forgotten what a well-ordered municipality looks like, or stopped caring that Whitewater should be such a place.
Wasting Time. Worrying about the style of cart corrals at Walmart isn’t planning, it’s not landscaping, it’s decorating. We shouldn’t be wasting money on these genuinely trivial matters. It’s not sophisticated to think these subjects are public matters; it’s embarrassingly pedestrian. A city with significant economic problems shouldn’t pay a consultant to consider something like this. Walmart can decide for itself; attention to these details reveals a complete lack of weight and seriousness.
In the middle of a deep recession, especially, taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for this lack of seriousness. more >>
Reason offers its Nanny of the Month, direct from northern California.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs46ks9sLC8.
Here’s the description accompanying the video:
They’ve targeted bottled water and the selling of all kinds of pets, er, “animal companions.” And now, with the soda scold who’s yanking sugary beverages from vending machines, the City by the Bay pulls off the first-ever Nanny of the Month trifecta!
Presenting Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for July 2010: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom!
“Nanny of the Month” is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Associate Producers: Paul Detrick and Alex Manning; Animation: Meredith Bragg
Approximately one minute
I’m not a reporter, nor am I journalist. I’ve never aspired to be either one. Like most bloggers (and most people), my knowledge of the press comes simply from reading newspapers, and thinking about the stories they publish. Not too long ago, readers expected reporters to ask officials serious, pertinent questions. There have always been reporters willing to roll over for officials, but Americans didn’t consider this the norm.
There are still good newspapers nearby (Journal Sentinel, State Journal, Cap Times, and the Gazettes, so to speak, of Janesville and Walworth County). There just aren’t as many good newspapers as there used to be.
Fortunately, there’s the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, setting a worthy standard for reporting, for the kinds of stories that both professionals and lay readers (like me) respect and appreciate. There’s a link to the Center on the left side of this website.
In a newly-released report, the Center’s Allie Tempus and Nick Pensenstadler write about the number of people injured in boating accidents in Wisconsin. See, 16 Die, But Boating Safety Stalls in Legislature.
The story’s solid for three reasons: it’s well-written, well-researched with thorough data on accidents in Wisconsin, and it places Wisconsin’s requirements into a national context.
A good story transcends politics, too. From my view, I would oppose legislation that required adults to wear life vests, although the story implies that vest requirements would improve safety. As with helmets, I think that adults should make these decisions on their own. It’s foolish not to wear a vest, but adults should have that choice.
Requirements for children are different, as they are imposed on those without an adult’s judgment. (There’s a second question about whether parents should make these decisions for their children, but not all children boating are with their parents.)
A good story, like this one, has an obvious value for anyone, of any politics. Quality speaks for itself.
A practice of good government isn’t a favor to someone who asks for it; it’s the standard that public officials should meet consistently. It’s not meant to be an occasional thing.
If you’ve watched Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Planning Commission in action, then you know that city employees and the city’s paid consultant will refer to public documents in a packet. “It’s in your packet,” they’ll say. They mean their packet, not one that residents get to see. Public documents, all of them, but not readily available.
I’ve written about this before. See, “It’s In Your Packet”. Afterward, a sharp reader wrote to me, and showed me that nearby Beloit, Wisconsin puts all of its meeting packets online, and even has an email sign-up where residents can get updates on when new packets go online. I wrote about Beloit’s good practice. See, It’s Online for All: The City of Beloit’s Good Government Example.
Whitewater’s July Planning Commission meeting put the packet online, but for tonight’s meeting about a possible Walmart expansion, there’s just the agenda.
Beloit is a city with every possible economic problem, but that hasn’t stopped them from doing the right thing.
If there’s any small, narrow, closed, self-declared elite in America, it’s to be found in Whitewater, Wisconsin. These gentlemen treat public documents on public matters created at public expense as Faberge eggs, to be kept locked away.
This isn’t an administrative problem, a clerical problem, or a website problem — it’s a leadership problem. When the gentlemen who now head departments commit to a change, as an ongoing commitment to a new and better politics, will this change. That might come from these men, but far more likely, it will come from a new generation that will discard current practices in favor of more open and modern ones, consistent with the promises of Wisconsin for good, open government.
It’s happening elsewhere in Wisconsin, and it will one day happen here.
The exhibit will run from August 1 to September 12th, and will be open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 pm. On August 1st, it will be open form 1 to 4 p.m. The show takes place at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center, on 402 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI.
See, Exhibit honors late Whitewater photographer, and the art that inspired him — Walworth County Today.
A biker to drivers: Let’s call a truce http://bit.ly/atiZd1
about 12 hours ago
Town fathers in a place like Whitewater deride successful departures and so condemn themselves only to unsuccessful arrivals
1:55 PM Jul 30th
Among Whitewater, WI’s self-declared elite, does no one know how to say, simply, “Goodbye and Good Luck?”
1:50 PM Jul 30th
Squires of small-town Whitewater WI: Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here Wait, you’re leaving us? Go go Hell you ungrateful wretch!
1:44 PM Jul 30th
41.5 pound brown trout sets Wisconsin record http://bit.ly/atsoRW
1:08 PM Jul 30th
The Associated Press: AP survey: A bleaker outlook for economy into 2011 http://bit.ly/dlmSUd
9:12 PM Jul 29th
“Should local officials follow Eau Claire’s lead and ban marijuana-like substances?” by On the Beat — GazetteXtra http://bit.ly/bqzgtd No!
8:47 PM Jul 29th via bitly
Wis. DNR: 41.5-pound brown trout sets state record http://bit.ly/a912oh
8:44 PM Jul 29th
RT @IJ: Opponents of Citizens United fear that corporations will “buy” elections. Find out why this isn’t true: http://iam.ij.org/dbxDwe
4:28 PM Jul 29th
Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Supervisors Sidestep Proposal to Cut Own Pensions Supervisors shouldn’t have pensions http://bit.ly/cwudxB
4:08 PM Jul 29th
RT @CatoInstitute: In just 3 sentences you can see the White House attitude toward the Constitution & court precedent: http://bit.ly/b5MDha
9:47 AM Jul 29th
iPad Owners Are ‘Selfish Elites.’ Critics Are ‘Independent Geeks.’ Discuss. | Epicenter | Wired.com http://bit.ly/bUKKSr
8:02 PM Jul 28th
Aftermath of a Wisconsin storm — 2 billion gallons of sewage and water overflow That’s billion http://bit.ly/c4rybV
12:51 PM Jul 28th
Greedy PA teachers steal federally-subsidized lunches from hungry students http://bit.ly/8Yz1lL
12:47 PM Jul 28th
RT @IJ: How can we transform communities & create economic growth? Through power of one entrepreneur. Learn more: http://iam.ij.org/9NjDFM
10:07 AM Jul 27th
