Dave Askins

“Pregnancy is a private and personal decision and should not require the permission of any politician.” That’s a line from a poem recited Monday evening on the Monroe County courthouse lawn, a traditional Bloomington venue for protests and demonstrations. Delivering the verse, which was written by youth poet laureate

“What investments can the county council make for community services to reduce the number of community members entering the justice system?” That’s the question at the center of the agenda  for Monday’s meeting of Monroe County’s justice fiscal advisory committee (JFAC). The meeting makes up for the

After an hour of deliberations last Wednesday, Bloomington city councilmember Dave Rollo withdrew his resolution calling for a moratorium restricting the development of general artificial intelligence (AI), until its “alignment with human values and well-being is guaranteed.” About five weeks ago, just before the city council took its annual

Released this week, results of a scientifically sampled survey of Bloomington residents show a marked downward trend for attitudes towards performance of city government. Asked about their “overall confidence in city government,” just 32 percent  of respondents gave it an excellent or good rating in 2023, compared with 62 percent

A new proposal to increase trash cart fees got a first reading at Wednesday’s meeting of the Bloomington city council. The initial proposed increase, starting Jan. 1, 2024, would average about 35 percent across the three different cart sizes. In the five years after that, the yearly change settles

The Bloomington city council’s one appointment to a new seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) could be made at the council’s Sept. 6 meeting. That’s the timeframe that city council president Sue Sgambelluri announced on Wednesday. The CIB, which was created under state law by Monroe County