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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.

Ridership still down on Bloomington public buses, fare-free rides continue, new agreement reached with IU, second driver tests positive for COVID-19

Ridership still down on Bloomington public buses, fare-free rides continue, new agreement reached with IU, second driver tests positive for COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is still causing ridership on Bloomington Transit buses to slump compared to normal levels, even if the month-to-month numbers have shown increases starting in May. The return to campus of Indiana University students in August has increased numbers a bit, but the historical September

Monroe County commissioners put off changes to personnel policy after councilors tweak salary ordinance

Monroe County commissioners put off changes to personnel policy after councilors tweak salary ordinance

On Wednesday morning, a vote on changes to Monroe County’s personnel policy got postponed by the board of commissioners. Several of the proposed changes to the policy had a certain routine quality. One was the conversion of sick time to personal benefit time. That conversion meant deleting requirements for

A tour of Trades District parking structure: “I don’t wake up every morning wanting to build parking garages.”

Click to view slideshow. One of the two parking garages currently under construction in downtown Bloomington is close enough to completion that on Tuesday afternoon a dozen city insiders and media types got a tour. Just north of city hall, the opening of the Trades District garage, with around 380

8 local non-profits get total of $250K in CARES Act funding

8 local non-profits get total of $250K in CARES Act funding

Funding agreements between Bloomington’s HAND (Housing and Neighborhood Development) Department and eight local nonprofits totaling $253,862 were approved by the city’s redevelopment commission on Monday night. The money is coming from a supplemental allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, which was made available by the

Bloomington’s e-scooter ridership down, Lime still leads, but cedes ground to Veo

Bloomington’s e-scooter ridership down, Lime still leads, but cedes ground to Veo

In August and September this year, a total of about 71,800 rides were taken in Bloomington on e-scooters, which are available for short-term rental from three different companies. That’s only about 46 percent of the ridership seen for the same two months in 2019—an impact

Two separate blocks on Kirkwood Avenue to be closed through week until end of year, weekends-only for one block

Two separate blocks on Kirkwood Avenue to be closed through week until end of year, weekends-only for one block

Click to view slideshow. Still in place on Monday afternoon were the yellow bollards that public works crews installed before the weekend, to close off parts of Kirkwood Avenue in downtown Bloomington. That’s not due to any slacking by Bloomington public works. They have been setting up and removing

Monroe County gets GO bonds OK’d before expected pre-election news of rebounding economy

Monroe County gets GO bonds OK’d before expected pre-election news of rebounding economy

At its meeting last Tuesday, the Monroe County council handled two $3-million items. One was a transfer of $3 million to its rainy day fund. The other was a final approval on issuance of $3.1 million in general obligation bonds. The amount includes $3 million worth of capital