2024-03-20 In an article about a rezone request heard by Bloomington’s plan commission, The B Square mis-reported the tally on the vote. It was 7–0 with one abstention. The tally did not add to 9 because Ellen Rodkey was absent.
2024-02-28 In an article about a tax abatement granted to Simtra Biopharma The B Square, did not include $80 million in real property investment in the total investment being made by the company. The correct number for the total investment is $225 million. The mistake is noted here and corrected in the running text with <ins> tags. The incorrect total in the headline is simply changed to reflect the correct total.
2023-12-07 In an article about a deed restriction on some land that was conveyed to the city of Bloomington, to be called The Waldron, Hill, and Buskirk Park, The B Square botched the middle initial of an attendee at a 2011 renaming ceremony. The name with the correct middle initial is: Nat U. Hill. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text. In its initial reporting, The B Square followed the spelling of the 2011 Herald-Times article about the renaming ceremony.
2023-08-04 In an article about property tax and income tax, The B Square misidentified the state agency that issued the reports on tax revenues. It’s the state budget agency (SBA) that issued the reports.
2023-05-17 In an article about a proposed adaptive reuse project on 1st Street, The B Square described the requirement of the city’s unified development ordinance (UDO) incorrectly. The requirement is that the parking spaces be set back behind the of the building’s front wall. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2023-04-28 In an article about a median that could be installed on 3rd Street, The B Square botched a description of the direction of the traffic. In a couple of places the traffic should have been described as eastbound. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2023-04-20 In an article about a work session of the Monroe County commissioners, The B Square attributed a quote to the wrong county commissioner. It was Lee Jones who said, “It’s extremely unpleasant to see [county staff] being attacked in such a kind of ‘gotcha’ way.” The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2023-02-14 In an article about a map of racially restrictive covenants, The B Square incorrectly reported that William Lowe Bryan was a grantee for particular properties. He was, in fact, a grantor for those properties, along with Carl Eigenmann. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2023-02-09 In an article about a meeting of the community justice response committee, The B Square erroneously swapped in “and” for “than” in a quote from Lynne Coyne. The correct quote is “After watching your meetings, it seems to me that this committee is more concerned with posturing and politics, than substantive, serious deliberation.”
2023-02-09 In an article about a meeting of a city council committee, to discuss the possible removal of a traffic commission member, except for the first instance, The B Square botched the day of the week for the committee meeting throughout the article. The correct day was Wednesday.
2022-11-19 In an article about election results, The B Square botched the weekday when the revised results were sent to The B Square by the clerk’s office and when The B Square talked to election staff. It was Wednesday, not Thursday.
2022-08-05 Throughout an article about a potential move by the city of Bloomington utilities center from its current location, Miller Drive was called Miller Road, instead of Miller Road. The mistake has been corrected.
2022-06-08 In an article about the formation of her mayoral campaign committee, The B Square spelled Kerry Thomson’s last name wrong in the headline and everywhere else in the article. The errors is noted here and are corrected in the article.
2022-06-08 In more than a dozen articles mentioning Bloomington redevelopment commissioner Deborah Myerson, The B Square botched the spelling of Myerson’s last name. The errors are noted here and have been corrected in the articles that The B Square has found with the mistake.
2022-04-27 In a campaign finance roundup, The B Square erroneously described a campaign contribution to Amy Swain’s campaign for recorder as coming from Brad Swain’s District 62 campaign this year. The contribution came did not come from her husband’s campaign. The contribution came from Swain for State Representative, which was her own 2018 campaign for District 62. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2022-04-20 In a column about the proposed local income tax increase, The B Square misstated the number of Bloomington Transit board members who are appointed by the mayor and the city council, respectively. Three of the members are appointed by the city council and two are appointed by the mayor.
2022-04-14 In an article about local income taxes, The B Square described Andrew Guenther as chair of the city’s environmental commission. He formerly was chair, but is no longer a member of that commission.
2022-04-10 In an article about the 1950 census, The B Square omitted the “r” from the end of artist Edwin Fulwider’s name. The mistake has been corrected in the article.
2022-04-04 In a caption to one in a series of photos taken at the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner, The B Square botched the last name the Republican candidate for sheriff—it’s Nathan Williamson. Robinson is the last name of the Republican candidate for county commissioner.
2021-12-03 In an article about the Monroe County council’s approval of the new salary grid, The B Square misidentified a county commissioner. It was commissioner Penny Githens who spoke. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-10-19 In an article about video footage from a meeting between Monroe County commissioners and the count election board, The B Square portrayed inaccurately how county commissioners are elected. Commissioners have to live in the district they represent, but they are elected by voters countywide.
2021-09-30 In an article about a rezone petition denied by Monroe County commissioners, The B Square was wrong about the vote of county plan commissioner Jim Stainbrook at a plan commission meeting—on a motion to send the petition to county commissioners with no recommendation. Stainbrook was not present at the meeting for the vote, which can be confirmed on the CATS video recording of the meeting, and could not have cast a vote one way or another. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with a “del” tag to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-09-14 In an article about the renaming of Jordan Avenue, The B Square misspelled the name of Bloomington resident Suzann Owen. There’s no “s” at the end of her last name.
2021-07-21 In an article about the temporary location of a fire station in downtown Bloomington due to flood damage at Station 1, The B Square botched the compass directions. The temporary location is four blocks west of Station 1. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-07-01 In an article about the annexation process, The B Square mischaracterized what happens if the 65-percent annexation remonstration threshold is achieved. If the 65-percent threshold is achieved, that stops the annexation, and it does not take effect. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-06-04 In an article about the Race Across America passing through Bloomington The B Square botched some local geography by confusing Curry Pike with Kinser Pike. The route includes Curry Pike. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-06-23 In an article about the closing of the fire station, The Square Beacon mischaracterized the content of a city press release, which stated that personnel and apparatus would be “reassigned to the other four city fire stations,” not just one of them. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-05-05 In an article about duplex zoning, The Square Beacon quoted Bloomington city councilmember Sue Sgambelluri inaccurately. She said the word “simply” not “instantly.” The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2021-04-04 In an article about the the status of duplexes in Bloomington’s zoning code, The Square Beacon misquoted Bloomington resident Eric Ost during public commentary as saying “affordably” when he said “unaffordably.” The mistake has been corrected and noted here, but not set off with “del” and “ins” tags in the article, for the sake of readability.
2021-03-10 In an article about food and beverage tax proceeds, The Square Beacon failed to indicate that some of the figures were monthly averages, leaving readers with the impression that they reflected yearly totals. Added material to make the clarification is set off with “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-11-09 In an article about the city’s FOG (fats, oils and grease) program, The Square Beacon misreported economic and sustainable development director Alex Crowley’s comments about the source of funds for a specific restaurant’s needed investment to comply with the FOG program. The restaurant used half of its startup loan for compliance.
2020-11-05 In an article about the Dillman Road wastewater treatment plant, The Square Beacon botched the easy arithmetic of a percentage increase. An increase from 15 million gallons to 20 million gallons is a 33-percent increase. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-09-22 In an article that mentioned the history of the convention center, The Square Beacon botched the number of events that have been held at the center in its nearly 30-year history. The correct number is 16,000. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-09-16 In an article about a city council meeting that took place on Wednesday, The Square Beacon botched the day of the week. It was Wednesday. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-09-15 In an article about a possible new city seal, The Square Beacon lopped off four years of city council service by Timothy Mayer. He served from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1997 to 2017. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-09-02 In a column about poll worker recruitment, The Square Beacon overstated the amount of pay received by poll workers. Not all receive $165 for the day. That’s just inspectors. The pay for judges and clerks is $135. The error is noted here and is corrected in the article with “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-07-29 In an article about the Sophia Travis community service grant awards, a range of possible purposes fundable by the grants was described incorrectly as the kind of grants that were awarded this year. The possible uses for the funds are: health, food nutrition, security and shelter, youth enrichment opportunities, transportation assistance, climate change, emergency shortages, first responders and veterans assistance. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-06-08 In an article about election results published on June 6, 2020, the color keys in some graphics were incorrectly described. The graphics have been replaced with corrected versions, with captions inserted that recognize the errors on initial publication.
2020-05-31 In an article about an anti-racism demonstration on the courthouse square that took place on Friday, May 29, some compass directions were incorrectly reported, flipping east and west in two places. The errors are noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-04-02 In an article about the use of food and beverage tax revenues to provide COVID-19 relief, The Square Beacon gave a description of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s order closing bars and restaurants that was opposite to the actual order. Under the order, such establishments are closed except for takeout and delivery service. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-01-20 In a piece about a proposed development between 7th Street and Pete Ellis Drive, the name of the petitioner was conflated with the name of the project site plan consultant and engineer. The name of the petitioner is Tyler Curry. The name of the engineer is Steve Brehob. The error is noted here, but not flagged with “del” and “ins” tags in the text for the sake of readability.
2020-01-12 In a piece about city staff reaction to a proposal to create several city council standing committees, The Square Beacon gave Mary Catherine Carmichael’s city position a different job description from the one she does. Carmichael is the city’s director of public engagement. Yaël Ksander is the city’s communications director. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-01-02 In a piece about the city’s efforts to take the JuanSells.com property to build a replacement parking structure on a larger footprint, The Beacon mixed up the court posting date and the filing date of the paperwork. The city’s paper work was filed Dec. 30 and the landowner’s paperwork was filed Dec. 31. The court posted the documents on Jan. 2. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2020-01-02 In a piece about local income taxes, the possible expenditures for income tax revenue generated under the “economic development” category were inaccurately portrayed. The state statute on the expenditures states that money generated under the economic development category can be spent “[f]or any lawful purpose for which money in any of its other funds may be used.” The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2019-12-19 In a piece that mentioned the history of the food and beverage tax, The Beacon botched the reference to the body that enacted the tax. It was Monroe County’s council, not its board of commissioners, that voted in December 2017 to approve the tax. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2019-12-18 In a piece about an update to the city’s living wage ordinance, the recitation of recent election history was incorrect. Sue Sgambelluri had an opponent in the District 2 race. She prevailed over Andrew Guenther. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2019-10-09 In a piece about the Monroe County 2020 budget, “Monroe County’s council OKs $83.1 million “maintenance budget, leaves compensation, justice reform for future” The Beacon misreported a description, given by county councilor Geoff McKim, of the 1.3 percent increase in compensation that’s included in the budget. He said it was slightly more than the Midwest CPI. The CPI numbers are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2019-09-10 In a piece called “Sawtooth tech district parking garage with 379-parking spaces gets Bloomington plan commission OK” published on Sept. 10, 2019 the number of parking spaces in the new structure was off by 10. The correct number from the plan commission packet is 379. The error is noted here and reflected in the original piece with “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
2019-06-22 In a piece called “Could the blue bubble of Bloomington have a reddish tinge in City Council District 2?” published on March 19, 2019, the margin of victory by Republican city council candidates in District 2 was inaccurately reported for two years. In 2003, Republican Jason Banach prevailed over Democrat Susan Sandberg by an 8-point margin. In 2007, Republican Brad Wisler prevailed over Democrat Jillian Kinzie by less than a 1-point margin. The larger, inaccurate margins reported in the original piece were based on a pivot table, created by the Beacon, that incorporated vote tallies not just from the general elections those years, but also from the Republican primaries. The accompanying maps were rerun and replaced. The Beacon notes its errors here and has corrected them in the original piece, using “del” and “ins” tags to alert readers to the changes in the text.
