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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.

Early voting for city council races started today, a rainy day and a Monday

Early voting for city council races started today, a rainy day and a Monday

Around midmorning today, The Beacon dropped by Monroe County’s Voting Central, at 7th and Madison streets in downtown Bloomington. It’s the site of early voting in Bloomington’s municipal elections, which started today. By then, nearly half a dozen Bloomington residents had flouted conventional wisdom from The Carpenters

Photos: Cider Fest 2019 at Bloomington Community Orchard

Photos: Cider Fest 2019 at Bloomington Community Orchard

On Saturday, Bloomington Community Orchard hosted its annual Cider Fest at the fenced-off grove next to Winslow Woods Park, just before Highland Avenue curves west around the Winslow Sports Complex. The afternoon featured cider pressing, face painting, poetry reading, and an introduction to the orchard’s bee hive. The

Bloomington city council campaign filings: Party support means Republican candidate enjoys 20-to-1 funding advantage over Democrat

Bloomington city council campaign filings: Party support means Republican candidate enjoys 20-to-1 funding advantage over Democrat

Friday at noon was the deadline for pre-election campaign finance filings in Bloomington’s city council races. Election Day is Nov. 5. The campaign finance forms filed for Bloomington’s District 3 city council race by were pretty much politics as usual. One District 3 candidate, independent Marty Spechler,

Public’s interest in convention center expansion high as city, county councils set to meet Oct. 29

Public’s interest in convention center expansion high as city, county councils set to meet Oct. 29

On Sept. 16, members of Bloomington’s common council, Monroe County’s council, the Monroe County’s board of commissioners and the mayor of Bloomington met to discuss how to move ahead with a planned expansion of the county convention center. That meeting concluded with a consensus that the two

Key topics for District 3 city council race forum: convention center, transportation

Key topics for District 3 city council race forum: convention center, transportation

At a forum held on Wednesday night for Bloomington city council candidates in District 3, an audience of around a dozen Bell Trace residents heard from the three candidates who are on this year’s ballot: Nick Kappas (independent), Ron Smith (Democrat), and Marty Spechler (independent). Bell Trace is a

Yoder to leave Monroe County’s council due to residency change, still considering what’s next

Yoder to leave Monroe County’s council due to residency change, still considering what’s next

In a release posted on Facebook, Democrat Shelli Yoder announced on Thursday that she is resigning from Monroe County’s council and will serve through the end of October. Yoder’s resignation was caused by a pending change in her residency, according to the release. Yoder currently represents the county

New report: Bloomington’s 2018 GHG emissions up compared to 2016, but asterisks abound

New report: Bloomington’s 2018 GHG emissions up compared to 2016, but asterisks abound

On Tuesday night, Bloomington’s department of economic and sustainable development released a new report on greenhouse gas emissions. Based on data presented in the report, citywide numbers for the gases that are causing climate change have gone up by at least 12 percent since the last inventory was taken