March 31, 2025: Storm, hotel, bus operations, vote centers
Relaunch update
The online donation program for individual contributions to The B Square is now operational. If you're already a "Member" and you are receiving the morning email message, then Step 1 is to use the link in the top right-hand corner of the screen that says "Sign in". If you are not already a "member" then use the big red "Subscribe" button. From there follow the instructions.
On Wednesday morning, I will send a special edition of the Almost Daily Bulletin that announces the online donation program with a bit more fanfare. One key fact: For now, the business organization for The B Square is still a for-profit LLC, same as it always was. I had hoped that by launch time of the donation program, the nonprofit incorporation would have been completed. But it's not.
A reminder: If you ever find yourself looking for an old edition of the Almost Daily Bulletin, and you don't want to rummage through your email inbox, they all get posted to the website, too, in their own section.
Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:
Monday: If you wear your sunglasses today, then everyone will ask why, but you will have the answer: My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades! You can probably get away without rain gear. But wear a jacket that will add some warmth. The temperature will drop to around 45°F overnight between Sunday and Monday and settle in around the mid-40s through most of the day Monday.
Tuesday: Wear a warm jacket in the morning, because the overnight low will dip below freezing, but the temperature will get up to a high of 57°F. Enjoy a day without rain gear, but brace yourself for Tuesday night and the rest of the week. There's a reason for that old saying about April showers.
Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.
Roundup of recent articles
- Monroe County: NWS warns of severe thunderstorms, hail, 60 mph winds until 7:15 p.m. March 30, 2025 This is a very short account of the storm as it moved through on Sunday night. One highlight, to save you a click:
6:47 p.m. High winds hit downtown Bloomington. The B Square's bedroom window is blown out of frame into apartment—duct-taped back into place.
- Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish Another pun from on top of the historic Monroe County courthouse.
- New operations center for Bloomington public buses: Location to be revealed soon Bloomington Transit (BT) is planning a new operations facility to replace its current one on Grimes Lane. The Grimes Lane facility is too small for the expanded bus fleet that's needed for increased service. The location of the new facility is expected to be revealed soon. Even though the project has received a federal approval that will help speed up the environmental review, BT did not receive some federal funding it had applied for, to help pay for the $54.4 million project.
- CIB pushes for progress on hotel deal to support Bloomington Convention Center expansion, could come on April 7 Progress on a hotel deal to support the Bloomington Convention Center expansion could be on the city's redevelopment commission (RDC) agenda for April 7. The favored hotelier is Dora Hospitality, and the anticipated land deal involves property north of the existing convention center formerly owned by Bunger and Robertson.
- Amid shift in Bloomington street oversight, Flaherty gets city council nod for new transportation group Matt Flaherty was appointed as the city council's representative on the new new transportation commission, which was formed at the same time three other transportation-related commissions were dissolved. A significant point of discussion during the city council meeting was the idea that under state law, permanent roadway changes are under the authority of the city's traffic engineer, not the city council.
On the calendar
Bloomington Transit legal, IT services from city of Bloomington: Appearing on the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 2) city council agenda is an item that would approve an agreement between Bloomington Transit and the city of Bloomington for legal and IT services for 2025.
Vote centers: Monroe County's vote center study committee has a meeting set for Wednesday (April 2) at 5 p.m. The following day on Thursday (April 3) at 1:30 p.m., the county election board will hold its regular monthly meeting. Those two meetings will set the stage for a public hearing about vote centers which is set for Monday next week (April 7) at 5 p.m. Vote centers are different from the kind of precinct-based polling locations that are currently used by Monroe County. At a precinct-based polling site, only voters from specified precincts can cast a ballot there. Vote centers are polling places where a voter who is registered in any precinct can cast a ballot. For recent B Square coverage, see: Vote center plan for Monroe County to get public hearing, no longer appears dead
Artists for Climate Awareness: Distant Thunder. Starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday (April 3) is an exhibit at the Arts Alliance Center, 2894 East 3rd Street. The exhibition goes from April 3 through April 28. The juried exhibition is part of Earth Month celebrations
10th Street from Morton Street to Indiana Avenue: The transportation planners at the city of Bloomington want to know what you think about the stretch of 10th Street between Morton Street (close to city hall) and Indiana Avenue (the edge of campus). How can it be made safer? The first public engagement on the topic is a drop-in style affair from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday (April 3) right there in the corridor, at the Mr. Copy parking lot (501 E 10th St). You don't have to stay the whole hour. Just pop over, say hello, and tell them what you think.
Trashion Refashion: The 2025 Trashion Refashion Runway Show will be held on April 13, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the Buskirk Chumley Theater. Designs for this show are made from refashioned garments or unwanted materials including paper and plastic bags, pop tabs, bicycle tires, tablecloths, old clothes, and pet food containers! Here's a link: Buy tickets.
Reporting in the works
CBU water shut off notices. Based on a report from a reader who had their water shut off due to nonpayment, I'm taking a look at the numbers and the policies used by City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) to shut off a person's water. There's same gaps in the data in the early months from this set, due in part to circumstances of the pandemic. But here's an initial chart. (For any given month, there's around 25,000 total customers.
Meet Apollo!
This very, very good boy is a mix. Here's what the shelter staff say about Apollo.
Distinguished. Charming. Affectionate. Silly. PERFECT. Apollo has plenty of adjectives that describe him, and he'd love to expand on them over a platter of treats! He's very good at sitting and prancing in equal measure. Come meet this very good boy today. You won't regret it.
Photo Finish (from B There)
Switchyard Park Skatepark
For more items like these, see the B There section of the B Square website.
There's more to Bloomington than the narrow slice that I traverse in my daily travels. To improve the geographic coverage of B There, please consider occasionally contributing to The B Square 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 your week is off to a great start! Tomorrow, please don't forget to give April a punch, square in the nose.
Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com