June 26, 2025: Rental property violations, water rate increase plans, definition of candidates, public comment
Quick eyeball update
On Monday, I was diagnosed with a detached retina in my right eye, which means I now have a matching pair of detached retinas, one for each eyeball. This has slowed things down again. But Kelton O'Connell, the B Square's summer intern, and Mary Morgan, the B Square's top supporter, have kept the wheels on the B Square bus. Thanks to them for their extra work and to you for your patience.
Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:
Thursday: The same advice about umbrellas from earlier in the week continues to be relevant. You probably won't need rain protection in the first part of the day but you can use an umbrella to ward off the sun. And it might prove useful if the small but non-zero chance of thunderstorms develops into actual rainfall after noon. Remember the old saying: Umbrellas are like two amazing guys named Saul—perfect parasols. The high is expected to be around 92°F.
Friday : About the same as Thursday.
Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.
Roundup of recent articles
- Even elected officials who don't plan to run again are 'candidates' under new Indiana state law, must file paperwork. According to a notice from the Monroe County election board, elected officials earning more than $5,000 a year, and who are subject to campaign finance reporting must open and maintain a campaign finance committee by filing a CFA-1 (Statement of Organization) with the election board.
- Proposal for drinking water rate increase by City of Bloomington Utilities still under development. City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) is in the middle of a process to increase the water rate, a regular process CBU undertakes about every four years, to prevent rate spikes. No proposed rate increase has been calculated yet.
- Bloomington gives formal notice to Crawford Apartments for non-compliance, sets Aug. 1 deadline. In a news release issued late Tuesday, the city of Bloomington announced that it has given formal notice to the owner (Cinnaire Solutions Corp.) and property management company (Continental Management) for Crawford Apartments on Henderson Street that they are in default of agreements with the city.
On the calendar
Board of health public comment policy. The board of health is set to meet on Thursday starting at 4 p.m. From a news release from earlier in the week: "At the end of this meeting, the floor will be opened for comments from the public on current topics within the jurisdiction of the Board of Health." At Thursday's meeting, the board is also supposed to vote on a draft public comment policy. But the vote on final adoption is not supposed to come until later. For B Square background, see Following criticism, Monroe County health board mulls new public comment policy
Cyberattack after action report? Coming up on July 1 is the one-year anniversary of the cyberattack that shut down county government for a week. There has still been no after action report issued on that event.
Special Food distribution June 27. From Hoosier Hills Food Bank. "The drive-thru distribution will take place Friday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hoosier Hills Food Bank, 2333 West Industrial Park Drive. Each vehicle will receive one fresh box of perishables including produce, dairy and protein and a choice of one box of dry products tailored either for children or seniors. Both dry boxes will include approximately one week’s worth of dry staples with items targeted for each population such as 100% juice boxes for kids and no salt added canned goods for seniors. While anyone is welcome, this distribution is focused on children and seniors and guests will need to choose one box or the other."
Parks survey! I get that there is a certain survey fatigue that can set it, but this one is short. It's about the Bloomington parks system, to help the staff update the master plan for parks. The parks survey took me under 4 minutes to complete.
Meet Aster!
This very, very good girl is an Australian shepherd mix. And where do you even start with the jokes? I didn't know what this dog's name was, so I used this one weird journalist trick: I Aster! Here's what the shelter staff have to say about Aster:
Aster has been studying how to be the perfect pup, and she thinks she's ready for the final exam. Giving kisses to everyone she meets? She's got that down. Being the cutest girl ever? Done! All that's left is to find her forever home, so adopt her today!
Photo Finish
3rd Street & College Mall Road
Orange traffic cones are placed on E 3rd Street. It looks like dashed, white lane lines have recently been repainted. This continues for at least two blocks, including continuing west past Hillsdale Drive. (Kelton O'Connell, June 25, 2025)
The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.
The geographic coverage of the B There section is pretty limited. Please consider occasionally contributing to the B There section some brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business. (Photos are optional for B There.) The mechanics of making a contribution are pretty straightforward—just let me know if you'd like to learn the ins and outs. If you're looking at this bulletin in your email inbox, you should be able to reach me by hitting Reply.
Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great weekend!
Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com
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