July 23, 2026: Kirkwood veto stands; Bloomington Transit’s new management firm; College Square bids; Monroe County jail profile

Civic Solver

This week’s puzzle is a 10-question news quiz. If you have read the B Square over the last week, it will be a breeze.

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Thursday: The only thing sunnier today will be your own disposition. Wear a big smile, because it’s not going to rain and it will be clear with a high of just 80F°.

Friday: Rinse repeat, but with some clouds, not that it’s going to rain. The high will again be around 80F°.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

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Recent articles

• Bloomington council falls short of overriding Thomson veto of seasonal Kirkwood closure.  Bloomington’s city council fell two votes short of overriding Mayor Kerry Thomson’s veto of a mandatory seasonal Kirkwood Avenue closure. The 4–4 vote left the ordinance defeated after Dave Rollo reversed his earlier support.
• Bloomington Transit picks new management firm on split vote, ending Connell’s tenure.  Bloomington Transit’s board has voted 3–2 to replace longtime management firm RATP Dev with Keolis. That ends general manager John Connell’s tenure. He has two months left. The board's action came despite opposition from the mayor’s office.
• Two hotel-and-apartment proposals submitted for Bloomington’s College Square.  Two development teams have proposed hotel-and-housing projects for Bloomington’s College Square property. One calls for a roughly 160-room hotel with below-market-rate housing; the other includes a 135-room boutique hotel and about 100 apartments. No purchase prices were disclosed by the RDC Monday.
• Monroe County jail notebook: Initial look at population profile.  Of 247 people held in the Monroe County jail on July 14, 22 had been there more than a year, while the median stay was about 60 days. The B Square has reviewed their upcoming court dates. The sheriff wants to move 50–100 prisoners to jails in other counties.

Other notes

Challenges to write-in candidacy for Joe Davis as county clerk. According to county election supervisor Kylie Farris, two people have filed challenges to the write-in candidacy of Joe Davis for county clerk in the Nov. 3 election. They’re based on the so-called “sore loser law,” which appears to preclude his candidacy. Davis lost the Democratic Party’s primary race for the position of clerk.. The next thing to watch for would be a special meeting of the election board to hear the challenges, or if not that, then an agenda item for the Aug. 6 regular meeting of the election board.

On the calendar

Public health nurses. On the 10 a.m. Thursday (July 23) meeting agenda for the Monroe County commissioners meeting is an agreement with Amergis for contractual temporary to permanent nurse placements. Background to this move is IU Health’s cancelation last year of a long-standing contract with the county to provide public health services.

Hopewell as jail site? Not on the 10 a.m. Thursday (July 23) meeting agenda for the Monroe County commissioners is anything related to the potential site of a new jail. But at Wednesday night’s city council meeting, from the public mic, county commissioners Jody Madeira and Julie Thomas made a pitch for Hopewell West as the site of a new jail. So it’s possible that the topic could get a mention on Thursday. The handout that commissioners gave councilmembers is available on BloomDocs.org, a repository that has quietly accumulated over 1,500 documents since its launch three years ago.

Family Night Out: Aug. 12. Downtown Bloomington is the place to be for an evening of food, music, art and family activities Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 5:30–8 p.m. in front of the Monroe County Public Library. You can buy dinner from Pili’s, Mikki’s Munchies and Planted, then eat together in the street while browsing artist and community booths. Kid Kazooey will perform from 5:30–6:30 p.m., followed by Yolanda D from 7–8 p.m. The Seedlings Flower Truck will create what organizers describe as a “stunning flower installation” in the library courtyard.

Meet Athena!

This very, very good girl is German shepherd mix. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Athena:

Athena is an active and friendly young dog who would love a family that is ready to play and explore!

Photo Finish: Washington Street & 6th Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great weekend!

Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com

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