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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.

Jail finance committee starts off week of criminal justice talk with diversity, equity, inclusion

Jail finance committee starts off week of criminal justice talk with diversity, equity, inclusion

Diversity, equity, and inclusion was the focus of Monday afternoon’s meeting of the county council’s justice fiscal advisory committee (JFAC). The highlight of the committee’s meeting was a presentation on racial disparity at the Monroe County jail. Presenting the information was former attorney Guy Loftman, who serves

Memorial vigil in downtown Bloomington marks Hiroshima, Nagasaki nuclear bombings by U.S.

Memorial vigil in downtown Bloomington marks Hiroshima, Nagasaki nuclear bombings by U.S.

On Sunday evening, with a guitar slung over his shoulder, Bill Breeden addressed a couple dozen others who had gathered on the southeast corner of the Monroe County courthouse lawn. “I wonder how many Japanese words we would have to hear, to make up for all the Japanese voices that

Opinion: Bloomington’s next community survey needs some work

Opinion: Bloomington’s next community survey needs some work

A couple of weeks ago, the city of Bloomington released the results from this year’s community survey. The survey has been conducted every two years for the city of Bloomington by the same firm—Polco/National Research Center. That’s now four surveys worth of data that can be

Bloomington 2024 budget notebook: Tax revenue

Bloomington 2024 budget notebook: Tax revenue

On Aug. 28, about three weeks from now, Bloomington’s city council will start a four-day slog through presentations from department heads, about their proposed budgets for 2024. In 2023, Bloomington’s budget totaled about $129 million—that’s not counting the budget for city of Bloomington utilities (CBU) or

11-member vote center committee OK’d by Monroe County election board, members not yet appointed

11-member vote center committee OK’d by Monroe County election board, members not yet appointed

Eleven people are now being sought to fill positions on a committee that has been established to study the question of implementing vote centers in Monroe County. Vote centers are different from the kind of precinct-based polling locations currently used by Monroe County. At a precinct-based polling site, only voters

Vote on trash fee increase in Bloomington put off until Aug. 9

Vote on trash fee increase in Bloomington put off until Aug. 9

It was about three years ago, in April of 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when trash cart fees paid by Bloomington residents were last increased. After voting down a proposed increase in mid-June, Bloomington’s city council has now postponed a vote on a revised proposal.

Indiana public access counselor: Monroe County jail RFQ committee meetings should have been open

Indiana public access counselor: Monroe County jail RFQ committee meetings should have been open

Based on an opinion from Indiana’s public access counselor released late last week, a committee established by Monroe County commissioners, in connection with the planned new jail construction, violated Indiana’s Open Door Law. The committee was created in fall 2022 by Monroe County commissioners to review qualifications of