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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.

Opinion: Preserving live closed captions for post-pandemic times should get focus now

Opinion: Preserving live closed captions for post-pandemic times should get focus now

Monday of Christmas week was the last meeting of 2020 for Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC). It was a landmark event for a city of Bloomington government meeting. It was not special because the meeting was held using Zoom’s video-conferencing platform. Video-conferenced public meetings have been standard

Monroe County auditor at swearing-in ceremony: “If you love people, please mask up.”

Monroe County auditor at swearing-in ceremony: “If you love people, please mask up.”

Monroe County officials who won election in November took their oaths of office at noon on Friday, New Year’s Day. The 50-minute-long ceremony was hosted by the Monroe County Democratic Party. Election winners were all Democrats. The continuing COVID-19 pandemic, which added another death to Monroe

A look back and forward: 2020 stories to be continued in 2021

A look back and forward: 2020 stories to be continued in 2021

Even for a publication like The B Square Beacon, which specializes in local government coverage, the dominant story of 2020 was the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic changed the way local government meetings are run, in some ways for the better. But COVID-19 was not the only important story

Incremental progress for COVID-19 vaccination in Monroe County, pre-filed pandemic bills for 2021 legislature panned by local officials

Incremental progress for COVID-19 vaccination in Monroe County, pre-filed pandemic bills for 2021 legislature panned by local officials

At a press conference on Wednesday, Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas called COVID-19 vaccine distribution a “hurry-up-and-wait” situation. She said in her household the question comes up every other day: “Is it here yet? Is it our turn yet?” For most people, the answer is no.

Rezone request for 87 acres in Bloomington’s southwest tip continued by plan commission into 2021

Rezone request for 87 acres in Bloomington’s southwest tip continued by plan commission into 2021

On a vote taken by Bloomington plan commissioners in mid-December, a rezone request for an 87-acre parcel now zoned as a PUD (planned unit development) got continued to January’s commission meeting. The request was first heard by Bloomington’s nine-member plan commission in November. The planning

Leftover rezone request for warehouse next to Switchyard Park to start Bloomington plan commission’s year

Leftover rezone request for warehouse next to Switchyard Park to start Bloomington plan commission’s year

A mixed-use development with 123 residential units, 184 parking spaces and 7,000 square feet of commercial space might be replacing the southern two-thirds of the warehouse just north of Hillside Drive next to Switchyard Park. The development would also stretch south of Hillside Drive by one parcel.

Analysis: Bloomington city council scrutinizes its committee structure, annual budget process

Analysis: Bloomington city council scrutinizes its committee structure, annual budget process

At a work session held on Dec. 21, Bloomington’s city council reviewed the way it handles ordinary legislation during the year. Ten days earlier, on Dec. 11, the council had reviewed the way it handles the main piece of legislation it approves every year, which is the city’s