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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.

City consultant says food and beverage tax could support $42.7M in bonds for convention center expansion, in the range of covering whole cost

City consultant says food and beverage tax could support $42.7M in bonds for convention center expansion, in the range of covering whole cost

At a meeting held Monday night at the Monroe Convention Center, elected officials from Bloomington and Monroe County governments got an analysis of revenue from the countywide food and beverage tax. It’s a one-percent levy that has been collected since February 2018. Buzz Krohn, of O.W. Krohn

Zoning for 750-bed student complex gets OK, after local lawmakers relent

Zoning for 750-bed student complex gets OK, after local lawmakers relent

Click to view slideshow. Proposed planned unit development (PUD) zoning for a 750-bed student housing project on North Walnut Street, at the site of the current Motel 6, is now approved after a special meeting of the Bloomington City council on Monday night. Responding to a question from The

Time and Money: Agenda for Monday’s convention center expansion meeting

Time and Money: Agenda for Monday’s convention center expansion meeting

Circulating late last week among area elected officials and community leaders was an agenda for a 5:30 p.m. Monday meeting. The topic of the meeting is a planned expansion of the convention center located on the southwest corner of 3rd Street and College Avenue in downtown Bloomington. It’

Analysis: Small, older batch of voters will decide Bloomington municipal elections this year

Analysis: Small, older batch of voters will decide Bloomington municipal elections this year

The headline for this piece is unlikely to surprise anyone with just a scant knowledge of local Bloomington politics or national election trends. Still, it’s worth adding some precision to some general ideas. Bloomington’s quadrennial municipal elections—held the year before presidential contests—attract few voters. And those

Rejected student housing proposal on North Walnut could be revived on Sept. 16 (Updated)

Rejected student housing proposal on North Walnut could be revived on Sept. 16 (Updated)

The planned unit development (PUD) zoning for a 750-bedroom student-oriented housing development on N. Walnut Street, which was defeated by the Bloomington city council a little over a week ago (Sept. 4), could be back for reconsideration on Monday, Sept. 16. The location and time for a special

Bloomington city council gets assurance: county redevelopment commission’s planned new roads will have sidewalks

Bloomington city council gets assurance: county redevelopment commission’s planned new roads will have sidewalks

Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill presented a proposal to Bloomington’s city council Wednesday night that will use revenue from the West Side TIF (tax increment financing) District to pay for two new roads in the area southeast of the intersection of Vernal Pike and Curry Pike. One of the

Monroe County’s councilors want to know: How do propane, parking decks, PCBs, a pillar and polling equipment add up to $5.17 million?

Monroe County’s councilors want to know: How do propane, parking decks, PCBs, a pillar and polling equipment add up to $5.17 million?

A presentation from Monroe County’s three commissioners to the seven-member county council on Tuesday night listed out a dozen and a half projects they want to pay for with one-year general obligation (GO) bonds. The not-to-exceed amount that the commissioners want the county council to