June 5, 2025: Convention center groundbreaking, vigil for ICE detainees
Eye surgery update
Based on the post-op inspection on Wednesday morning, my eye surgery two weeks ago is on a normal healing course. I can start reading screens with words on them. Vision out of my broken eye is still blurry and will stay like that for a few more weeks. The blurriness comes from a gas bubble that's floating inside my left eyeball to keep my retina in place. That means I'm still not at 100% capacity.
If you see me out and about, my left eye will probably be closed. I'm not winking at you. I will generally close that eye or even just wear a patch, so that my overall vision is not impaired.
As a practical matter for the journalistic enterprise, there's a backlog of material that I might not ever be able to address. There's some recent news that simply went unreported by The B Square. In the meantime, I will try to focus on what's ahead on the calendar, and fill in recent gaps, if that is needed, to make sense of things that happen in the future. That way some of that unreported news will still eventually make it into the archives.
Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:
Thursday: Use your favorite way to stay dry—umbrella, rain poncho, slicker, or your regular wit. It could rain and be thunderstormy pretty much all the time. Regulating your body temperature won't be that hard, with an overnight low in the high 60s and a daytime high around 77°F.
Friday: Rinse, repeat from Friday.
Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.
Roundup of recent articles
- Bloomington area leaders reflect on long path to groundbreaking of convention center expansion On Tuesday at the southeast corner of 3rd Street and College Avenue, a ceremonial groundbreaking took place for the Bloomington Convention Center expansion, with remarks from a half dozen local leaders.
- Tens of millions of dollars from Bloomington could support convention center host hotel; legal pressure mounts for Showers West 'public purpose' To push along a potential deal with Dora Hospitality for development of a host hotel for the soon-to-be-expanded Bloomington convention center, the city's redevelopment commission (RDC) has approved $300,000 for preliminary architectural designs.
- Candlelight vigil on Monroe County courthouse lawn protests ICE detentions, Trump administration sanctuary list On Saturday, around 60 people gathered for a candlelight vigil, and to hear remarks from faith leaders and others about a trend that includes more than 4,000 people who have have recently been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish County cows and city cows. That must be what the city's branding effort is all about, right? The Hawk and the Fish are, as always, right about everything.
On the calendar
Impervious surface changes. The county planning department has received 16 requests for variances this year related to the impervious surface maximums in the new CDO (County Development Ordinance). A surface is impervious if rain can't soak into it—rooftops, asphalt, concrete, etc. Zoning codes typically include some limit on the amount of area for impervious surface, so that there's at least someplace for water to soak in, instead of running off onto the property next door. On the 10 a.m. Thursday meeting agenda for county commissioners is a change to the CDO that would increase the amount of impervious area that some lots are allowed to have.
Election board meeting. A news release from Monroe County Democratic Party chair, Samuel Ujdak stated that former county commissioner Penny Githens would be replacing John Fernandez on the election board as the Democratic Party appointee. The first chance for Githens to attend an election board meeting will be Thursday (June 5) at 1:30 p.m.
Handmade Market (June 7). The Handmade Market is set to take place on Saturday, June 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From the news release: "Over 100 regional artists will showcase an incredible selection of modern handmade goods such as jewelry, apparel, bath and body products, housewares, local foods, and much more. Artist booths will fill the Monroe Courthouse lawn and the adjacent blocks of Kirkwood Ave and 6th Street."
Lemonade Day (June 7). Set for the same day as the Handmade Market is Lemonade Day, which is a national movement of sorts. From the Lemonade Day website: "Lemonade Day is a free, fun, experiential learning program that teaches youth how to start, own and operate their own business—a lemonade stand. The foremost objective of Lemonade Day is to empower youth to take ownership of their lives and become productive members of society—the business leaders, social advocates, volunteers, and forward thinking citizens of tomorrow."
Bloom Magazine!
The latest edition of Bloom Magazine is out. My regular column starts like this: "The city of Bloomington is paying an out-of-state contractor $95,000 to provide 'branding, placemaking, public engagement, and destination marketing services and implementation strategies.'"
There's lots of places around town where you can find a free copy of Bloom Magazine and page through its luxuriously glossy pages. My favorite place to pick up a copy is at Bloomingtonfoods just off the square in downtown.
Meet Nova!
This very, very good boy is a bully breed mix. Here's what the shelter staff have to say about Nova:
Nova is a handsome gentleman who absolutely adores being petted. He melts into the ground when it's time for tummy rubs and shows off his precious gentle smile. He loves snacks and chewing on his bone! Nova does the happiest dance when he sees his humans coming to visit him and would love to find a forever home! Nova excels at entertaining himself with toys and loves it if you would watch him prance around with his toy-of-the-moment.
Photo Finish
6th Street & Walnut Street
The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website. I am so disappointed that in the nine days since today's item was originally posted, not one person has clicked through to the tree inventory to find out what kind of tree it is and posted a comment with the answer, to earn 10,000 internet bonus points.
The geographic coverage of the B There section is pretty limited. Please consider occasionally contributing to The B Square's 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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