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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.

Proposed jail tax rate trimmed by Monroe County to comply with maximum decimal places

Proposed jail tax rate trimmed by Monroe County to comply with maximum decimal places

At a Thursday meeting, the Monroe County council voted to adjust its proposed rate for the new jail local income tax (LIT) from 0.175 percent down to 0.17 percent. That means the public hearing set for Oct. 7 will be on the revised 0.17-percent rate. On Monday,

Duplex in central neighborhood OK’d by Bloomington after revisions to design

Duplex in central neighborhood OK’d by Bloomington after revisions to design

On Thursday, Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) voted 3–1 to approve the conditional use application for a duplex on an empty lot northwest of Bryan Park in a central Bloomington neighborhood. Dissenting was Barre Klapper. Voting for the duplex were: Tim Ballard, Flavia Burrell, and Jo Throckmorton.

Whose bus is that? Bloomington Transit mulls ads

Whose bus is that? Bloomington Transit mulls ads

Bloomington residents could see less advertising on the outside of Bloomington Transit (BT) buses starting in 2025. BT’s contract with Mesmerize Media, the company that sells the ads, runs through the end of this year. At Tuesday’s meeting of BT’s five-member board, Doug Horn raised his concern

Monroe County jail update: Proposed LIT rate cut to 0.175%, North Park purchase on Sept. 25 agenda

Monroe County jail update: Proposed LIT rate cut to 0.175%, North Park purchase on Sept. 25 agenda

The proposed jail LIT (local income tax) rate, which is meant to help pay for a new jail and co-located justice center, has been reduced from 0.2 percent to 0.175 percent. That was the outcome of a 6–1 vote by the county council on Tuesday night. Dissenting

Dry conditions lead Monroe County (Indiana) to enact burn ban until Sept. 24

Dry conditions lead Monroe County (Indiana) to enact burn ban until Sept. 24

On Tuesday afternoon, Monroe County commissioners enacted a burn ban that is effective for a week, until next Tuesday, Sept. 24. Prompting the burn ban are dry conditions that have persisted long enough that the U.S. Drought Monitor has analyzed almost the whole state of Indiana as either “abnormally

Bloomington tries again for more housing: Second public offering OK’d for Hopewell South blocks in planned new neighborhood at former hospital site

Bloomington tries again for more housing: Second public offering OK’d for Hopewell South blocks in planned new neighborhood at former hospital site

At its regular Monday meeting, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission approved a public offering of land in the planned Hopewell neighborhood, which is on and near the site of the former IU Health hospital at 2nd and Rogers streets. The two blocks are part of the Hopewell South properties, which are

Poised to act Tuesday on jail: Monroe County council could adopt 0.2% tax, or re-advertise at reduced rate

Poised to act Tuesday on jail: Monroe County council could adopt 0.2% tax, or re-advertise at reduced rate

A required public hearing on Monday night saw a total of 14 people weigh in on a proposed 0.2-percent local income tax (LIT) to fund the construction of a new Monroe County jail. All but three were against imposing the tax, some strongly against, citing a range of reasons,