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Dave Askins

Dave Askins

Bloomington, Indiana

Dave Askins is editor and publisher of The B Square Bulletin. A Hoosier native with a background in math and linguistics, he previously co-founded the Ann Arbor Chronicle with his wife, Mary Morgan.

Public meetings on future of Bean Blossom fire protection show uncertainty about cost, procedure

Public meetings on future of Bean Blossom fire protection show uncertainty about cost, procedure

Three public meetings this week at Bean Blossom’s community center have wrapped up with some uncertainty about the costs and the procedures that are related to a change in fire protection for the township. Bean Blossom’s fire department is the only one remaining in Monroe County that is

Rezone denied again by Monroe County for land south of Bloomington, near Clear Creek

Rezone denied again by Monroe County for land south of Bloomington, near Clear Creek

On Monday night, a proposed residential project that would have seen development of 136 lots on about 42 acres south of Bloomington outside of the city limits, was denied its requested rezone by county commissioners. The lots were to have included a mix of single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes and townhouses.

Hearing on 0.2% Monroe County jail income tax set for Sept. 16, paired with brief drop in related rate

Hearing on 0.2% Monroe County jail income tax set for Sept. 16, paired with brief drop in related rate

Monroe County councilors have set the stage for formal public input on a proposed increase of the jail LIT (local income tax), by authorizing an advertised rate of 0.2 percent for a public hearing on Sept. 16. That is the maximum rate for the jail LIT that can be

Local income tax notebook: Who gets what slice of the pie?

Local income tax notebook: Who gets what slice of the pie?

On Tuesday night, Monroe County councilors will be trying to arrive at a consensus on funding a new jail. If that turns out not to be possible, then support from at least four out of seven councilors will be enough to deal with the funding dilemma. That means finding up

$10M in reserves key to balancing 2025 Bloomington draft budget, but GO bonds unveiled as option

$10M in reserves key to balancing 2025 Bloomington draft budget, but GO bonds unveiled as option

The proposed $145.4 million budget for 2025, which was released by Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson last week, relies on $10 million in general fund reserves. That’s a fact that is included, if not highlighted, in the 383-page budget book. Page 23 shows about $68.45 million in expenses

Column: If you want to go over Bloomington’s 2025 budget with a comb, use one with good teeth

Column: If you want to go over Bloomington’s 2025 budget with a comb, use one with good teeth

Now about eight months into a four-year term, Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson has released her first proposed annual city budget budget. The draft 2025 budget will be presented to the city council in a four-day series of meetings, beginning on Monday (Aug. 26), all set to start at 5:30

Bloomington BZA notebook: Variance OK’d for 5-story downtown condos, Duplex case delayed again

Bloomington BZA notebook: Variance OK’d for 5-story downtown condos, Duplex case delayed again

A few minutes before 9 p.m. on Thursday, Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) started hearing a request from developer Randy Lloyd for a height variance to build a 5-story condominium project on the surface parking lot just west of the CVS on Kirkwood Avenue in downtown Bloomington.