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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 violated state, local law on historic preservation commission appointments

Bloomington violated state, local law on historic preservation commission appointments

In under two and a half minutes at its Feb. 16 meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved eight appointments to the city’s historic preservation commission (HPC). Abstaining on the vote were Dave Rollo and Ron Smith, who both said that they’d received such late notice of the proposed

Potential buyer passes for now on Showers admin building in Bloomington’s Trades District

Potential buyer passes for now on Showers admin building in Bloomington’s Trades District

The old Showers Company administration building at 10th and Morton will not be purchased by Fine Tune from Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC)—at least not under an agreement inked last year. An accord approved by the RDC in mid-August of 2021 had set up the prospect for the

Analysis: Refresher for possible local income tax increase in Bloomington, rest of Monroe County

Analysis: Refresher for possible local income tax increase in Bloomington, rest of Monroe County

Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s state of the city address last Thursday included a proposal to increase revenue, but was light on detail. No amount was provided for a possible local income tax (LIT) increase. But sometime in the next eight months or so, an increase to the current 1.

Photos: Maple syrup a sign of spring

Photos: Maple syrup a sign of spring

One sign of spring in downtown Bloomington this week was the pair of sap buckets hanging from the trunk of the big maple tree on the grounds of the Monroe County History Center. Volunteers with the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead have tapped the trees at the history center as part of

Pandemic notebook: Adjusted daily data shows downward (and upward) trends a smidgen earlier

Pandemic notebook: Adjusted daily data shows downward (and upward) trends a smidgen earlier

Numbers reported in all categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to decline. A change to the way the state of Indiana is reporting daily case totals hasn’t changed the shape of the trends. At Friday’s every-other-week news conference of local leaders, IU Health community

Bloomington mayor: “We need to talk about resources for our community—new revenue.”

Bloomington mayor: “We need to talk about resources for our community—new revenue.”

During a speech on Thursday night, billed as a “state of the city” address, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton put the first half hour into a celebration of the city’s accomplishments dating to 2017 and earlier. That was the windup to three more pragmatic points. Hamilton said that for “Democrats

2022 election plans: Polling sites OK’d as Monroe County preps 302 S. Walnut building for early voting

2022 election plans: Polling sites OK’d as Monroe County preps 302 S. Walnut building for early voting

Preparations continue for the May 3 primary elections in Monroe County. Twenty-nine polling sites were approved by Monroe County’s board of commissioners at their regular Wednesday morning meeting. The approved sites are mostly the same locations that have been used in the past. Among the sites that are