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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.

Council sets special meeting for Sept. 9, looks to vote on local income tax increase a week later

Council sets special meeting for Sept. 9, looks to vote on local income tax increase a week later

At Bloomington city council’s regular Wednesday meeting, president Steve Volan called a special meeting for next week, on Sept. 9, to consider a quarter-point increase to the local income tax across Monroe County. The special meeting was scheduled at the request of Bloomington mayor John Hamilton, who wants

Monroe County officials apologize: Change to denser zoning went through automatically when 90-day window was missed

Monroe County officials apologize: Change to denser zoning went through automatically when 90-day window was missed

A 5.34-acre parcel just south of Bloomington, where just a single house stands, now has the right zoning for the eventual construction of a couple dozen residences. The developer is Charles Layne LLC with Bynum Fanyo & Associates as the engineering consultant. In Monroe County’s zoning scheme,

$50K for “Public Health in Parks” gets OK from Bloomington board, after sharp scrutiny

$50K for “Public Health in Parks” gets OK from Bloomington board, after sharp scrutiny

A new program called “Public Health in Parks” got unanimous approval from Bloomington’s four-member board of park commissioners at a special meeting called for Tuesday night. The program is a partnership between the parks department, Centerstone, Inc., IU Health Bloomington, and Monroe County’s health department. Centerstone is

Column: Poll workers get paid as much as $165, so sign up early

Column: Poll workers get paid as much as $165, so sign up early

OK, Monroe County, the headline pretty much says it all. Read more about getting a gig as a poll worker at the Monroe County Election Central website. Working the polls is honest work for honest pay. Here in Monroe County Indiana, poll workers get paid up to $165 plus $25

Monroe County councilors take unanimous, futile vote to support rural fire departments

Monroe County councilors take unanimous, futile vote to support rural fire departments

Monroe County councilors voted 7–0 Monday night in favor of a resolution supporting the direct allocation of about $353,700 in public safety local income tax (PS-LIT) revenues to four rural fire departments in the county. The county council took the vote as a member of the tax

Monroe County confirmed COVID-19 numbers jump, driven by younger cases

Monroe County confirmed COVID-19 numbers jump, driven by younger cases

The last two days of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Monroe County have soared past previous highs, since the county’s first confirmed positive case on March 21. The number reported for Saturday (Aug. 30) was 38, eclipsing the previous one-day total by 3. The number for Sunday

Column: Fighting hen’s tooth and nail over a Bloomington plan commission seat

Column: Fighting hen’s tooth and nail over a Bloomington plan commission seat

The latest twist in the ongoing legal dispute over a seat on Bloomington’s plan commission came two weeks ago, when the city of Bloomington asked the local judge to allow for an interlocutory appeal of the judge’s first significant ruling. That ruling was to deny Bloomington’s motion