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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 paves way for park-side mixed-use residential project with rezone for warehouse

Bloomington paves way for park-side mixed-use residential project with rezone for warehouse

At its Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved a rezone request that will allow the redevelopment of a warehouse—two-thirds of it, anyway—that sits just to the west of Switchyard Park and the B-Line Trail. The approved rezone was a change to the existing planned unit development (PUD)

Monroe County property taxes due: May 10

Monroe County property taxes due: May 10

“Bills are out and we are really busy right now,” Monroe County treasurer Jessica McClellan told the Square Beacon on Wednesday. That means property owners are sending in the taxes they owe, in response to the bills that were due to be sent out a week ago. The deadline for

Disputed plan commission seat: Court of appeals rules against Bloomington

Disputed plan commission seat: Court of appeals rules against Bloomington

On Tuesday morning, a three-judge panel from Indiana’s Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling that goes against Bloomington’s mayor John Hamilton and the city of Bloomington. The ruling could be pivotal in the case of a disputed city plan commission seat that dates back to spring 2020.

Plan commission recommends putting residential urban districts on the map

Plan commission recommends putting residential urban districts on the map

On a 7–1 vote at its Monday meeting, Bloomington’s plan commission recommended a new zoning map for the city that includes several areas designated as R4 (Residential Urban) and MS (Student Housing) districts. Those are two zoning districts that were newly defined in the unified development ordinance (UDO)

Duplexes to drop in front of Bloomington’s city council as permitted use

Duplexes to drop in front of Bloomington’s city council as permitted use

At its meeting on Thursday (April 1), Bloomington’s plan commission voted 6–3 to forward an ordinance to the city council, with a positive recommendation, that will affect the status of duplexes in much of the city. The recommended ordinance would revise the unified development ordinance (UDO), so that

“Pandemic is not yet over,” local officials say, as Assembly Hall vax site to boost shot number by 10x next week

“Pandemic is not yet over,” local officials say, as Assembly Hall vax site to boost shot number by 10x next week

The weekly Friday afternoon press conference held by Bloomington area local leaders on COVID-19 response is not typically followed with a press release hammering home talking points from the briefing. That’s one measure of how important local leaders think this message is: “We are united in the belief that

Mystery man with political campaign mask at polls motivates election board to develop procedure to document incidents

Mystery man with political campaign mask at polls motivates election board to develop procedure to document incidents

Monroe County’s election board isn’t able to pursue the case of a voter who reportedly engaged in electioneering at the polls during early voting in October last year. That’s because the board doesn’t know who the man is. At its Thursday meeting, the board reviewed some