Gaza protest: IU admin takes action with many arrests, sweeps tents from Dunn Meadow

Around mid-morning on Thursday, the Indiana University Divestment Coalition set up an encampment in Dunn Meadow on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus, to protest the killing of civilians in Gaza by the Israeli army and the humanitarian crisis there.

The encampment was set up in the meadow to the southeast of the intersection of Fess Avenue and 7th Street, across from the Chabad House, a Jewish community center for the campus.

The activities of the demonstrators included call and response chants led with a bullhorn, playing music, and drumming.

There was an occasional counterpoint from the Chabat House in the form of music amplified by a boom box. Standing on the grounds of the Chabad House, or along the sidewalk, were at least 50 people, with Israeli flags draped around their shoulders. Some held signs that read “Bring them home!” a reference to the hostages taken by Hamas in their Oct. 7 attack.

By around 4:40 p.m, the coordinated effort of law enforcement agencies had resulted in the arrest of several Dunn Meadow demonstrators. The Monroe County jail Thursday morning book-in reports showed 33 people who were booked in on charges of criminal trespass. Continue reading “Gaza protest: IU admin takes action with many arrests, sweeps tents from Dunn Meadow” →

GOP candidates for Monroe County commissioner field questions on economic development

At a Wednesday afternoon forum hosted by the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation at the Monroe Convention center, three rounds of county commissioner candidates from both major parties fielded questions from a moderator and the audience.

That included the two Republican candidates for the party’s District 3 county commissioner nomination.

Competing for the GOP nomination for the District 3 county commissioner seat are Joe Van Deventer and Paul White, Sr.

All registered voters in the county can cast a ballot in a District 3 race. The geographic districts for county commissioners are used only to define the area of the county where candidates have to live.

Primary Election Day is May 7, but in-person early voting has been underway for a couple of weeks, at the Monroe County election operations center at 3rd and Walnut streets.
Continue reading “GOP candidates for Monroe County commissioner field questions on economic development” →

$6K fireworks item sparks Monroe County council talk about convention center expansion

Harrodsburg Heritage Festival organizer Paul Strain and Monroe County commissioners administrator Angie Purdie. (April 23, 2024)
Monroe County councilors Cheryl Munson and Geoff McKim (April 23, 2024)
Monroe County council from near to far: Peter Iverson, Kate Wiltz, Jennifer Crossley, Trent Deckard, Geoff McKim, Cheryl Munson, and Marty Hawk. (April 23, 2024)
Link to dynamic version of property map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1hSQWt9_PyG1bcqZIXQjTWoj9Rk7E-ow&usp=sharing

A $6,000 appropriation from food and beverage tax receipts, to pay for a Harrodsburg Heritage Festival fireworks display, was approved on Tuesday night by Monroe County’s council.

The vote was not unanimous.

Dissenting was Geoff McKim, who said he knew it would amount to a symbolic gesture. Still, McKim wanted to establish that he would not support uses of the food and beverage tax for purposes other than the convention center expansion—until it is clear that revenues from the tax will be adequate to pay for the convention center project.

McKim and Cheryl Munson are the only two members still serving on the seven-member county council who in late 2017 voted in favor of imposing the 1-percent tax on all prepared food and beverages sold in the county.

On Wednesday morning in related convention center news, Monroe County commissioners approved the content of a letter to Monroe County’s capital improvement board (CIB) about county-owned real estate near the existing convention center at 3rd Street and College Avenue.

The letter says: “It has always been the Board of Commissioners’ intent to provide all necessary property that it owns or controls to the Capital Improvement Board for no compensation.”

The CIB was established to oversee the convention center expansion project.
Continue reading “$6K fireworks item sparks Monroe County council talk about convention center expansion” →

March 2024 food inspection reports for Monroe County released by health department

Caption: The image links to a dynamic map. (The color coding scheme goes like this: Green=Zero violations; Yellow=At least 1 non-critical violation but no critical violations; Red=At least 1 critical violation.)

Monroe County’s health department has released the reports for inspections of food service operations that were conducted in March 2024.

Almost half (22) of the 48 places that were inspected in March 2024 had no violations.

Recording at least one non-critical violation, but no critical violations were 7 establishments. Recording at least one critical violation were 19 establishments.

Summaries of the inspections completed in March are now available on a list which is published on the health department’s website.

Continue reading “March 2024 food inspection reports for Monroe County released by health department” →

$30K awarded for Bloomington neighborhood improvement projects

From the Rockport Hills application.
From Park Ridge East’s grant application.
From the Woodlands-Winding Brook HOA grant application.
From the Prospect Hill application.
Bloomington’s redevelopment commission from left: John West, Deb Hutton, Deborah Myerson, and from HAND, Angela Van Rooy. (April 22, 2024)
Bloomington redevelopment commission member John West. (April 22, 2024)

At its regular Monday meeting, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) approved a total of $30,000 worth of neighborhood improvement grants to help fund four different neighborhood projects.

Here’s the breakdown of projects awarded funding, sorted from largest to smallest.

2024 Neighborhood Improvement Grant Awards
Neighborhood Project Amount Awarded
Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association to hire restoration professionals to repair Rose Hill Cemetery headstones and monuments too difficult/fragile/large for volunteers to handle. $12,750.00
Park Ridge East Neighborhood Association to refurbish their two neighborhood entrance signs and associated landscaping. Their proposal included repairing limestone pillars and lighting. $8,500.00
Woodlands-Winding Brook HOA for the second phase of a project to convert an inoperable retention pond into a bioretention area, to include stormwater mitigation features, native plantings, and community gathering spaces. $7,400.00
Rockport Hills Neighbors to refurbish their neighborhood entrance sign and install native landscaping. $1,350.00
Grand Total $30,000.00

Continue reading “$30K awarded for Bloomington neighborhood improvement projects” →

140-acre rezone proposal gets first hearing from Bloomington city council, to continue on May 1

Bloomington city council meeting on April 17, 2024. Andy Ruff attended on the Zoom video platform. Matt Flaherty was absent.
Councilmember Isak Asare distributes to his colleagues a handout from the Summit District developer. (April 17, 2024)
Overview map of Summit District PUD.
Close up proximity map of Summit District PUD.
Bloomington city councilmember Hopi Stosberg. (April 17, 2024)
Travis Vencel, with Sullivan Development (April 17, 2024)
, and Angela Parker, legal counsel for Sudbury Associates. (April 17, 2024).
Bloomington’s development services manager Jackie Scanlan (April 17, 2024)

A rezone request for about 140 acres in the southwest part of Bloomington will get continued discussion from the city council at its May 1 meeting.

At its meeting this past Wednesday, the city council heard the presentation on the Summit District PUD proposal from development services manager Jackie Scanlan, followed by remarks from Travis Vencel, with Sullivan Development, and Angela Parker, legal counsel for Sudbury Associates.

A PUD (planned unit development) zoning district is a kind of customized zoning district that uses an existing zoning district as a baseline, but diverges from it, in order to deal with challenges that are unique to the district.

On Wednesday, the council gave itself just four minutes apiece for questions of staff and the petitioner. The public comment lasted around 45 minutes.

Highlights from public comment  included concerns that have been expressed since the proposal was first heard by Bloomington’s plan commission, in July of last year.

Those concerns included the potential impact on stormwater flows, traffic, and the capacity of the city’s sewer system, in addition to impacts on the visual landscape.

Public comment also included support, based on the additional estimated 4,250 units of housing the rezone could make possible, in five new neighborhoods, over the course of the next 10 years.

The city’s plan commission gave the project a 7–0 recommendation at its mid-March meeting this year.

There did not seem to be any strong overt opposition to the rezone conveyed by councilmembers, during their allotted time for questions. Continue reading “140-acre rezone proposal gets first hearing from Bloomington city council, to continue on May 1” →

Suspect in westside Friday night shooting arrested by Bloomington police

Overview map for Suspect in westside Friday night shooting arrested by Bloomington police
Vicinity map for Suspect in westside Friday night shooting arrested by Bloomington police

An attempted murder suspect was arrested Friday night by Bloomington police, working with Monore sheriff’s deputies and Indiana state police, after a 55-year-old Bloomington man was shot several times on the city’s west side, south of 3rd Street on South Curry Pike.

That’s according to a news release  issued by Bloomington police around 4 p.m. on Saturday.

A 35-year-old Michigan City man, Devance Gayles, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, among other crimes, along with a 19-year-old Bloomington woman, Annabella Winter, who was charged with resisting law enforcement and other crimes.

According to the news release, hospital personnel told the police that the gunshot victim was expected to survive, but needed emergency surgery. The victim’s current condition is unknown, according to the release.

The call about someone getting shot came in around 10:55 p.m. on Friday (April 19, 2024), according to the release. Officers headed to an apartment in the 100 block of South Curry Pike, near Highland Village Church and a Kroger store.

Police were told some suspects had run from the apartment southward. Around 11 p.m., a few minutes after the call came in, a BPD officer saw two people walking along a tree line between the Highland Village Church and the Kroger parking lot.

When the officer approached them, they started running and crossed over to the Kroger parking lot. The woman was quickly taken into custody, but the man was arrested only after a foot chase to an area behind the Kroger store.

According to the news release, the man tried to hide in a small patch of woods, but was located shortly after that and taken into custody without further incident, according to the release.

When officers checked the nearby wooded area where the pair had first been seen, they found a handgun wrapped in a sweatshirt.

The news release notes that coordination between law enforcement agencies had led to the arrest of suspects in under 10 minutes after the 911 call came in. The gun believed to be involved in the crime was found within 45 minutes of the first call.

2024 Election notebook: Dems raise $82K in races for county councilor, commissioner

Based on required pre-primary filings by Democrats in Monroe County races, about $82,000 has been raised by nine candidates for county commissioner or county councilor in the May 7 primary.

The pre-primary reporting period ended April 12. The required CFA-4 documents were due by noon on Friday.

The four Democrats running for the three at-large county councilor nominations raised a total of $15,940.54. Leading the way was incumbent Cheryl Munson, who raised $5,024.60. She was followed by challengers David Henry and Matt Caldie, who raised $4,289.94 and $3,800.00 respectively. Incumbent Trent Deckard raised $2,826.00.

The two Democrats running for the District 2 county commissioner nomination raised $24,184.45, with challenger Peter Iversen collecting more than twice as much as incumbent Julie Thomas. Iverson raised $17,024.42 compared to $7,160.03 for Thomas.

The three Democrats running for the District 3 county commissioner nomination raised a combined $42,521.21. Incumbent Penny Githens raised $20,523.85 compared to $17,593.00 by challenger Jody Madeira. Challenger Steve Volan raised $4,404.36.

The raw totals don’t give a complete picture. Continue reading “2024 Election notebook: Dems raise $82K in races for county councilor, commissioner” →

2 change votes, Bloomington city council overrides mayoral veto of anti-pipeline resolution

Bloomington city council meeting on April 17, 2024. Andy Ruff attended on the Zoom video platform. Matt Flaherty was absent.
Map of area of focus for water study: https://www.in.gov/ifa/regional-water-studies/north-central-indiana-water-study/
Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson. (March 27, 2024)

Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s veto of a resolution opposing a potential water pipeline, from the aquifers of the Wabash River to Lebanon in Boone County, has been overridden by the city council.

Wednesday’s vote tally was 7–0 with one abstention, by Kate Rosenbarger. Matt Flaherty did not attend the meeting.

Lebanon is about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. From Lebanon, it’s another 35 miles, northwest along I-65, to West Lafayette.

The pipeline is part of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s eventual plan to provide resources to its LEAP (Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace) District near Lebanon in Boone County.

On March 27, when the council voted for the first time on the anti-pipeline resolution, it had just five votes of support, with four abstentions. Continue reading “2 change votes, Bloomington city council overrides mayoral veto of anti-pipeline resolution” →

Monroe County using big, small grants for road paving, logjam projects

This is a representative example of stretch of road that will get attention as part of the 26 miles worth of projects that Community Crossing will help fund. The 26 miles worth of roads in Wednesday’s approved contract include: Mt. Pleasant Rd.; Monroe Dam Rd.; Valley Mission Rd.; Sewell Rd.; Rockport Rd.; Brummetts Creek Rd.; Ramp Creek Rd.; Popcorn Rd.; Vernal Pike; Chambers Pike; Zikes Rd.; Woodland Rd.; Oak Ridge Rd.; and all of Shelburn Woods Subdivision.
This is a representative example of stretch of road that will get attention as part of the 26 miles worth of projects that Community Crossing will help fund. The 26 miles worth of roads in Wednesday’s approved contract include: Mt. Pleasant Rd.; Monroe Dam Rd.; Valley Mission Rd.; Sewell Rd.; Rockport Rd.; Brummetts Creek Rd.; Ramp Creek Rd.; Popcorn Rd.; Vernal Pike; Chambers Pike; Zikes Rd.; Woodland Rd.; Oak Ridge Rd.; and all of Shelburn Woods Subdivision.
This is a representative example of stretch of road that will get attention as part of the 26 miles worth of projects that Community Crossing will help fund. The 26 miles worth of roads in Wednesday’s approved contract include: Mt. Pleasant Rd.; Monroe Dam Rd.; Valley Mission Rd.; Sewell Rd.; Rockport Rd.; Brummetts Creek Rd.; Ramp Creek Rd.; Popcorn Rd.; Vernal Pike; Chambers Pike; Zikes Rd.; Woodland Rd.; Oak Ridge Rd.; and all of Shelburn Woods Subdivision
The image is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s online property lookup system.
Photo of Brummett’s Creek logjam taken on 2024-01-12 by Kelsey Thetonia, who is Monroe County’s stormwater program manager.

A marathon’s worth of road repaving projects will be completed this season in Monroe County, aided by a $1.5 million grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT’s) Community Crossing grant program.

A $2.7-million contract with Milestone Contractors for 26 miles worth of road projects was  approved by county commissioners at their regular Wednesday meeting.

In other grant award news, a couple of big logjams on Brummett’s Creek in eastern Monroe County will get cleared out with the help of a $25,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources LARE (Lake and River Enhancement Program)

At their regular Wednesday meeting, county commissioners approved the LARE grant agreement with Indiana’s DNR. Continue reading “Monroe County using big, small grants for road paving, logjam projects” →