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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.

Sidewalk committee climbing a $17M mountain with $300K annual steps: Half-century until summit

Sidewalk committee climbing a $17M mountain with $300K annual steps: Half-century until summit

On Monday at noon, Bloomington city council’s sidewalk committee met for the second time in the last couple weeks, to sort through 62 proposed new sidewalk construction projects for 2020. This year, the four-member group has $324,000 to allocate towards the projects, one of which, along Dunn

Plenty more first round UDO amendments: Payment in lieu, parking minimums, projecting signs, partial demolition, and more

Plenty more first round UDO amendments: Payment in lieu, parking minimums, projecting signs, partial demolition, and more

Bloomington’s city council used two sessions last week to debate and vote on some amendments to the unified development ordinance that directly dealt with density. Key outcomes were the outright prohibition of duplexes and triplexes from core neighborhoods and the elimination of the conditional use public process for accessory

Oral Arguments in front of Supreme Court scheduled for Bloomington’s lawsuit over annexation law: Jan. 9, 2020

Oral Arguments in front of Supreme Court scheduled for Bloomington’s lawsuit over annexation law: Jan. 9, 2020

Oral arguments have now been scheduled by Indiana’s Supreme Court in the lawsuit that Bloomington filed against Gov. Eric Holcomb in May 2017. Th case stems from a law enacted by the state legislature that year, which effectively ended Bloomington’s annexation process that was underway. Each side will

UDO update: Plexes banned in core neighborhoods, ADUs allowed by right

UDO update: Plexes banned in core neighborhoods, ADUs allowed by right

Thursday night was the second session of the Bloomington city council’s ongoing consideration of amendments to the city’s update of the unified development ordinance. The council voted on two amendments, approving both. One was co-sponsored by councilmembers Dave Rollo and Chris Sturbaum. It eliminated duplexes and triplexes

By one-vote margin: Peter Iversen chosen to fill Monroe County’s council vacancy left by Shelli Yoder

By one-vote margin: Peter Iversen chosen to fill Monroe County’s council vacancy left by Shelli Yoder

On Thursday night, a caucus of the Monroe County Democratic Party (MCDP) chose Peter Iversen over Richard Martin to fill the vacancy left when Shelli Yoder resigned her District 1 seat on the county council, effective Nov. 1. Yoder served through the end of October. Iversen prevailed by a 7–

Police union votes to accept Bloomington offer, city council consideration not yet scheduled

Police union votes to accept Bloomington offer, city council consideration not yet scheduled

Bloomington police officers have voted, albeit reluctantly, to accept the city’s most recent contract offer, according to the president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Paul Post. Police officers have been working during 2019 under an “evergreen” clause of their contract, which expired at the end of 2018.

UDO update: Bedroom counts maintained for plexes; prohibition of plexes in core neighborhoods to be considered Thursday

UDO update: Bedroom counts maintained for plexes; prohibition of plexes in core neighborhoods to be considered Thursday

On Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council started its deliberation on possibly 80 different amendments to the update of the college town’s unified development ordinance. The first tussle unfolded over which of four amendments about the status of duplexes and triplexes would be heard first. The outcome of a