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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.

Trash talk analysis: Bloomington city councilmembers want to rethink cart fees

Trash talk analysis: Bloomington city councilmembers want to rethink cart fees

The roughly 6,000 Bloomington residents who currently pay the city $11.61 a month for weekly pickup of their 64-gallon trash cart, could see that amount more than doubled—to around $24 a month. That kind of increase would come from applying some assumptions floated at city council

Advisory committee dives into precinct boundary work for Monroe County

Advisory committee dives into precinct boundary work for Monroe County

A four-member committee established by the Monroe County board of commissioners has now met twice as it tackles the task of making recommendations on new precinct boundaries for the county. Once the precincts are settled, the group will make recommendations on boundaries for county council and county commission districts.

Monroe County health board: Mask mandate to continue into November, tied to pandemic case numbers

Monroe County health board: Mask mandate to continue into November, tied to pandemic case numbers

Monroe County’s indoor mask mandate, for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, will continue into November and possibly even beyond—until the county’s positive COVID-19 case numbers drop to fewer than 50 cases per week per 100,000 residents. That was the unanimous vote of Monroe County’s

OK’d by Bloomington city council: Wheeler Mission rezone for program expansion, not bed number increase

OK’d by Bloomington city council: Wheeler Mission rezone for program expansion, not bed number increase

On a unanimous vote Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council approved a rezone for a property owned by Wheeler Mission, so that its shelter beds can be shifted to a parcel that the nonprofit acquired in May of this year. In zoning district terms, the rezone is from mixed-use

Careers, not jobs: Bloomington Transit GM describes new bus driver contract

Careers, not jobs: Bloomington Transit GM describes new bus driver contract

On Tuesday night, Bloomington Transit’s five-member board approved a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 613, the bus drivers union. Under the new contract, for full-time fixed-route bus drivers in their third year of service, the hourly wage will increase from $19.69

County commissioner described as mocking county clerk, as tough talks on election space continue

County commissioner described as mocking county clerk, as tough talks on election space continue

Two local groups have issued statements about Zoom video-conference footage from a Monday meeting between county commissioners and the county election board, to discuss needs for physical space. “One of our commissioners openly mocked our elected county clerk on screen,” reads part of the statement from the Monroe County

Dissent from some social workers, as Bloomington’s national conference on police social work kicks off

Dissent from some social workers, as Bloomington’s national conference on police social work kicks off

On Monday, a bit after noon, a half dozen protesters gathered at the west entrance of the Monroe County convention center. They confronted Bloomington chief of police Mike Diekhoff as he arrived at the National Conference on Police Social Work. Diekhoff didn’t break stride as he entered the building,