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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.

City council to decide: Is park-side residential development with little onsite greenspace a fair trade for a warehouse?

City council to decide: Is park-side residential development with little onsite greenspace a fair trade for a warehouse?

Next Wednesday (April 7), the city council could make a decision on a rezone request that would allow the redevelopment of the warehouse across the B-Line Trail from the pickleball courts in Bloomington’s new 65-acre Switchyard Park. This week, the city council’s four-member land use committee used a

Housing as a human right gets county support, a good first step, housing advisory group says

Housing as a human right gets county support, a good first step, housing advisory group says

At their regular Wednesday morning meeting, Monroe County commissioners approved a resolution recognizing housing as a human right. The key clause from the resolution reads: “…Monroe County joins other jurisdictions across the country in declaring housing as a human right.” Commissioners Penny Githens and Lee Jones both voted to support

Appeal of noise ordinance citation gets full hearing, standard denial by Bloomington public works board

Appeal of noise ordinance citation gets full hearing, standard denial by Bloomington public works board

At its regular meeting on Tuesday, Bloomington’s three-member board of public works heard and denied an appeal from a 21-year-old man who had been cited by a Bloomington police officer on Feb. 26 for a noise ordinance violation. Tuesday’s appeal appears to have been a typical citation and

Duplexes OK’d as by-right use for basic residential districts in recs by Bloomington plan commission

Duplexes OK’d as by-right use for basic residential districts in recs by Bloomington plan commission

On a 5–4 vote taken Monday night, Bloomington’s plan commission changed its recommendation on duplexes in the R1, R2, R3, and R4 zoning districts—from conditional use to permitted (by-right) use. It’s part of a proposed ordinance that will eventually wind up in front of the city

Analysis: Duplexes allowed or not, a déjà different question for plan commission?

Analysis: Duplexes allowed or not, a déjà different question for plan commission?

Should Bloomington’s plan commission recommend to the city council that duplexes still be disallowed in three specific zoning districts? That’s the question that Bloomington’s plan commission has cued up on Monday, starting at 5:30 p.m. The question was put forward by the city council’s

Upward nudge in Monroe County COVID-19 case numbers means local health regs likely to stay in place, after governor’s April 6 end date

Upward nudge in Monroe County COVID-19 case numbers means local health regs likely to stay in place, after governor’s April 6 end date

Indiana governor Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday an end to statewide COVID-19 restrictions, starting April 6. But Monroe County health administrator Penny Caudill said on Friday that Monroe County’s regulations will remain in place for the time being. That’s based in part on a recent uptick in positive cases

No decision yet on duplex recommendation from Bloomington plan commission

No decision yet on duplex recommendation from Bloomington plan commission

Bloomington’s plan commission did not take any substantive votes at its Thursday special session, which was dedicated to just one of 10 ordinances currently under consideration to amend the city’s unified development ordinance (UDO). But the commission did hear about three hours worth of public commentary from 54