Here’s my amateur version of the late William Safire’s long-standing tradition of offering annual predictions. The list for 2013:
1. In 2013, UW-Whitewater will win the following number of national sports championships:
A. None
B. One
C. Two
D. More than two
2. The Innovation Express Generac Bus will prove to be
A. A great success
B. A moderate success
C. A failure
D. A failure, and reveal years-long bungling from Janesville Transit
3. The Zoning Re-Write initiative will
A. Lead to the collapse of civilization within the city
B. Lead to the collapse of civilization everywhere (as the city is all there really is, after all)
C. Make no progress
D. Be a success
4. The Referendum Question ‘Move to Amend’ on the spring ballot will
A. Receive no votes in favor
B. Receive between 5 and 10 votes in favor
C. Win in a close vote
D. Win decisively
5. The Innovation Center will
A. Prove a huge financial triumph
B. Prove a moderate financial accomplishment
C. Barely chug along
D. Face a financial crisis by 2013 year’s end
6. Whitewater’s plan to combat the Emerald Ash Borer will
A. Be a complete success
B. Be a success justifying the effort
C. Fail
D. Fail completely, with those insects having destroyed all Whitewater’s ash trees, and seizing control of the city’s principal public buildings
7. By year’s end, the amount of vacant commercial space in Whitewater will be
A. Greater than in 2012
B. The same as 2012
C. Slightly less than 2012
D. Far less than 2012
8. Newspapers serving the Whitewater area will be
A. More in number and more read than ever before
B. The same in number and read about the same as before
C. Fewer in number and less read than before
D. Fewer in number and far less read than before
9. The Whitewater Unified School District’s post-union future will be
A. Mostly uneventful
B. Mostly uneventful, despite efforts from the right to spark controversy
C. Mostly uneventful, despite efforts from the left to spark controversy
D. Contentious
10. After spring elections, Whitewater’s Common Council will be
A. More conservative
B. More moderate
C. More liberal
D. There’s still no left or right in Whitewater’s local politics
Adams’s guesses for 2013:
1. In 2013, UW-Whitewater will win the following number of national sports championships:
D. More than two. I think three, making 2013 another very good year for the school’s athletics.
2. The Innovation Express Generac Bus will prove to be
D. A failure, and reveal years-long bungling from Janesville Transit. This will prove one grant-chasing mess.
3. The Zoning Re-Write initiative will
D. Be a success. It’s possible to re-write successfully.
4. The Referendum Question ‘Move to Amend’ on the spring ballot will
D. Win decisively. I don’t support the initiative (I think it’s anti-speech), but it will do very well on the ballot.
5. The Innovation Center will
C. Barely chug along. This is a case of scraping by.
6. Whitewater’s plan to combat the Emerald Ash Borer will
B. Be a success justifying the effort. There’s no likelihood of complete success in these efforts, but the ad hoc work of residents in 2012 and 2013 will give us a better outcome than many other communities.
7. By year’s end, the amount of vacant commercial space in Whitewater will be
C. Slightly less than 2012. I think slightly less, but that will only be evident in the second half of 2013.
8. Newspapers serving the Whitewater area will be
C. Fewer in number and less read than before. If there’s a paywall set up among any of them (and there’s really only one that could even make the attempt), expect overall readership to plummet. This may also be the year one them goes under.
9. The Whitewater Unified School District’s immediate, post-union future will be
B. Mostly uneventful, despite efforts from the right to spark controversy. There’ll be some stirring up of peripheral issues, and those harping on small matters will (predictably) ignore the more important topics of accomplishment and expenditure. We’ll fortunately avoid the sideshow fuss other districts have endured over minor policies.
10. After spring elections, Whitewater’s Common Council will be
B. More moderate. Over time, the city will become more outwardly ideological, and that change will produce a better politics (of left or right). It will be, however, a gradual process, and with some issues leading to combinations between more modern representatives of the left and right.