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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.

Bloomington city council balks for now at vacating some public right-of-way on former hospital site

Bloomington city council balks for now at vacating some public right-of-way on former hospital site

A request from Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) to vacate parts of two alleys in one of the blocks near the former site of the IU Health hospital was denied by Bloomington’s city council at its Wednesday meeting. The vote was split 4–5, but not along familiar lines.

Bloomington still has no redistricting commission, 15 months after it was supposed to be seated

Bloomington still has no redistricting commission, 15 months after it was supposed to be seated

Bloomington’s city council passed an ordinance in mid-December 2020 to establish a redistricting advisory commission that is supposed to make recommendations on the drawing of new city council districts, based on results of the 2020 census. The nine-member group was supposed to be seated at the start

Bloomington mayor pitches 64% increase in Monroe County’s local income tax

Bloomington mayor pitches 64% increase in Monroe County’s local income tax

In a news release issued Wednesday afternoon ahead of the city council’s evening meeting, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton put a specific number on the local income tax (LIT) rate increase he has been talking about for the last several weeks. What Hamilton is proposing is an increase from 1.

Johnson’s Creamery building, 60 feet of smokestack get historic protection from Bloomington city council

Johnson’s Creamery building, 60 feet of smokestack get historic protection from Bloomington city council

The 140-foot Johnson’s Creamery smokestack will get demolished down to just 60 feet sometime in the next few weeks. But it won’t get chopped down any shorter than that, because Bloomington’s city council has now enacted a historic district for the building, including its smokestack. The

Early in-person voting kicks off for Monroe County

Early in-person voting kicks off for Monroe County

The trademark blue former NAPA building at 3rd and Walnut streets, just south of the new parking garage and west of the downtown transit center, is the new home to Monroe County’s voting operations. Tuesday was the first day of in-person early voting for the May 3 primary

Monroe County’s new election operations building set to go for in-person early voting on April 5

Monroe County’s new election operations building set to go for in-person early voting on April 5

On Monday afternoon, The B Square got a peek inside Monroe County’s new election operations building. It’s the former NAPA building at the corner of 3rd and Walnut streets. The facility is ready to go for the start of in-person early voting, according to Monroe County election

Photos: NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner celebrated by “oldest and boldest” civil rights group in the US

Photos: NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner celebrated by “oldest and boldest” civil rights group in the US

On Saturday, the Monroe County branch of the NAACP held its 42nd Freedom Fund Banquet in Shreve Hall at Ivy Tech on the west side of Bloomington. The banquet is an annual fundraiser that supports the branch’s activities including its scholarship program. The NAACP was founded in 1909, and