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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.

Packed house as residents voice opposition to proposed Duke Energy rate increase

Packed house as residents voice opposition to proposed Duke Energy rate increase

Close to 170 people packed into the Olcott Young Room of the Monroe Convention Center in downtown Bloomington on Thursday night, for a field hearing on Duke Energy’s case to increase electricity rates. That’s a big number, because it’s the maximum occupancy for the room under the

New jail notebook: 0.2% tax advised by Monroe County consultant would generate $8.5M a year

New jail notebook: 0.2% tax advised by Monroe County consultant would generate $8.5M a year

This year, Monroe County should enact a corrections local income tax (LIT) at the full 0.2 percent rate that’s allowed by state law, according to Greg Guerrettaz with Financial Services Group (FSG). Guerrettaz was speaking at a Friday morning meeting of the Monroe County council’s long-term

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

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

Monroe County’s health department has released the reports for inspections of food service operations that were conducted in May 2024. Of the 115 places that were inspected in May, 48 (42 percent) had no violations. Recording at least one critical violation were another 49 establishments. Recording at least one

Bloomington council imposes time limits on final speeches, leaves question time unaltered for now

Bloomington council imposes time limits on final speeches, leaves question time unaltered for now

After reducing public commentary time from five minutes to three minutes per speaker two weeks ago, Bloomington’s city council has now imposed for the first time a limit on how long councilmembers can talk on a given topic. Each of a councilmember’s two chances to speak comes with

New pay grades for Bloomington non-union workers OK’d by city council, could have $10M impact

New pay grades for Bloomington non-union workers OK’d by city council, could have $10M impact

At its Tuesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council unanimously approved a new salary grade system for the city’s roughly 430 non-union employees, which would eventually mean pay increases requiring around $10 million dollars of investment. The old non-union salary system had 12 grades, each with a range

Annexation lawsuit: Judge rules against Bloomington on constitutional claim, but it’s not over

Annexation lawsuit: Judge rules against Bloomington on constitutional claim, but it’s not over

On Tuesday, judge Nathan Nikirk issued a ruling that denies the city of Bloomington’s constitutional challenge to a 2019 state law, which causes annexation waivers to expire after 15 years. Nikirk’s ruling, on five consolidated lawsuits, affects Bloomington’s annexation in five different areas. There’s one lawsuit

Deb Hutton to head north, leaves open seat on Bloomington’s redevelopment commission

Deb Hutton to head north, leaves open seat on Bloomington’s redevelopment commission

On Monday, Deb Hutton presided over her final meeting as president of Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC). At the end of Monday’s regular meeting, Hutton revealed that she will be moving to a suburb of Chicago to be near her grandsons. Hutton’s announcement was met with immediate congratulations