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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.

Monroe County synched up with governor’s order except: Mass gatherings still limited to 50

Monroe County synched up with governor’s order except: Mass gatherings still limited to 50

The latest COVID-19-related order from Monroe County’s health officer, Thomas Sharp, issued on Thursday and effective starting Saturday, matches the requirements for Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s current order, except for one. The one exception: In Monroe County, mass gatherings are still limited to 50 people Under

Beacon Benchmark: A more resilient funding model for local journalism—what do you say?

Beacon Benchmark: A more resilient funding model for local journalism—what do you say?

Over the last two months, revenue for the B Square Beacon is up about 20 percent. The number of “paid subscribers” is up by the same amount. At last count, 108 patrons have pledged a total of $856 a month to support The Square Beacon. It’s a solid number.

If you still have your ballot, please hand-deliver, says Monroe County election official

If you still have your ballot, please hand-deliver, says Monroe County election official

On Wednesday, Monroe County election board member Carolyn VandeWiel passed along a kind of public service announcement to The Square Beacon: If you still have your absentee ballot, don’t drop it in the mail. Please hand-deliver it to Election Central. Election Central is at the corner of 7th

Bloomington city council votes to offer staff job to current deputy without a search

Bloomington city council votes to offer staff job to current deputy without a search

On Wednesday, Bloomington city councilmembers voted 9-0 to make an offer to Stephen Lucas to assume the role of council attorney/administrator on Aug. 1. That’s the day after Dan Sherman retires from the job, after around 30 years of service. Lucas is Sherman’s current deputy. Council

Food and beverage tax revenues start to show COVID-19 impact

Food and beverage tax revenues start to show COVID-19 impact

The impact of Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s initial stay-at-home order, which was effective starting March 25, is starting to show up in food and beverage tax revenue reports for Monroe County. In the April report delivered to food and beverage tax advisory commission (FABTAC) members at their

Column | On voting: Wear a mask for civic task

Column | On voting: Wear a mask for civic task

In-person early voting in Monroe County starts at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Election Central in downtown Bloomington. The week of early in-person voting, leading up to election day on June 2, will take place in the middle of a declared health emergency. It was enacted to prevent

Committee set to award $319K to 24 social services nonprofits, formal hearing on May 28

Committee set to award $319K to 24 social services nonprofits, formal hearing on May 28

At its meeting last Thursday, Bloomington’s Jack Hopkins social services funding committee settled on a total of $318,795 in funding for requests from 24 different nonprofits. The formal hearing and announcement of the grant awards is scheduled for May 28. The committee started the process a few weeks