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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 adopts resolution on electronic meetings policy, frustrated by lack of timing device for speakers

Bloomington city council adopts resolution on electronic meetings policy, frustrated by lack of timing device for speakers

At a special session on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council adopted a resolution on a policy that will allow a subset of councilmembers to continue to attend meetings using electronic communication, instead of attending in person. The policy adopted by the city council comes as Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s

Update on good trends for juvenile detention alternatives program heard by Monroe County council

Update on good trends for juvenile detention alternatives program heard by Monroe County council

At a Tuesday work session, Monroe County councilors took the necessary steps to ensure $55,000 in funding can be used to support programs that give youth some alternatives to detention. The specific steps that were given a unanimous vote by the seven-member council involved the creation of some new

Bloomington utilities board welcomes familiar face, gets quick update on rate case

Bloomington utilities board welcomes familiar face, gets quick update on rate case

At its regular meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s seven-member utilities service board (USB) welcomed Kirk White, who was appointed by mayor John Hamilton to fill Jason Banach’s seat. The board also got a brief update on the city’s proposal to increase Bloomington’s water rates, which is currently

Hey, Wait a Minute | Milking meeting minutes from 2017 for all they’re worth—sounds like fun

Hey, Wait a Minute | Milking meeting minutes from 2017 for all they’re worth—sounds like fun

Note: “Hey, Wait a Minute” is an occasional B Square Beacon series that highlights meeting minutes and other documentation of local government meetings in the Bloomington, Indiana area. At last Wednesday’s Bloomington city council meeting, city clerk Nicole Bolden got a thank-you from councilmember Susan Sandberg. Sandberg had asked

Photos | Cicada-ville: A bad haiku on zoning

Photos | Cicada-ville: A bad haiku on zoning

Last Monday, I wandered over to the Monroe County courthouse grounds in downtown Bloomington to check the status of cicadas. I saw a cute bunny rabbit, but no cicadas. On Saturday, I noticed a few cicada shells clinging to the face of the the Alexander Monument when I was covering

Arts groups cheer Bloomington mayor’s news on Waldron: “While the pandemic has stalled us, it has not killed us.”

Arts groups cheer Bloomington mayor’s news on Waldron: “While the pandemic has stalled us, it has not killed us.”

A Saturday rally on the courthouse square in downtown Bloomington, to support city government funding of the arts, had a celebratory feel. The feeling was based on the boost that arts groups heard in remarks from Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton, which were delivered on Thursday. Thursday’s announcement from

Indiana University says: Get vaxxed or get axed

Indiana University says: Get vaxxed or get axed

All Indiana University students, faculty, and staff have to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus to start the fall semester. Some kind of decision on the topic, which was announced Friday morning, had been expected. Two weeks ago, during Friday’s weekly press conference of local leaders on COVID-19 response,