March 4, 2025: Back at it, party politics, armed protest, convention center, election board

A note about today's newsletter

You're receiving this message, for at least one of two reasons. Either you were on the active distribution list for the "Almost Daily Bulletin" when The B Square shut down at the end of 2024. Or you more recently clicked one of the Subscribe buttons on the B Square's new publishing platform.

If this message has reached you by mistake, there should be a link to unsubscribe somewhere in this message. If you have received a duplicate, let me know.

During this relaunch phase, there will be plenty of things that are incomplete or just don't work right. I have written a couple of editor's notes about it.

As one example of things that might seem a little off, today's inaugural edition of the relaunched "Almost Daily Bulletin" is arriving on a Tuesday, instead of a Monday.

One question I've heard a lot in the last week: Will there be a way to donate money to The B Square? Yes. That's in the works, and as soon as it's ready, it will be announced. By the start of April, I will hope it will be sorted out.

In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

Weather

Based on the National Weather Service forecast here's some advice.

Tuesday: Keep an umbrella handy, but you might not need it until late afternoon. Winds will be picking up, so secure any loose outdoor items. Rain is likely after 5 p.m., with south winds gusting up to 26 mph. High of 62°F.

Wednesday: You'll need an umbrella or a raincoat. Plan for extra travel time—steady rain and strong gusts will make for a soggy day. If you're driving, drive slower, especially when passing pedestrians. There'll be showers all day, with gusts up to 32 mph. High of 52°F.

Thursday: You’ll get a break from the rain, but bundle up—morning wind chills will make it feel colder. It'll be mostly sunny, but much cooler, with a high of 44°F and morning temps dipping below freezing.

Roundup of recent articles

• Cory Grass picked as Monroe County GOP chair, already recruiting for 2026 sheriff's race At a GOP caucus, Cory Grass was elected chair of the Monroe County Republican Party. Grass is taking over the chairship from William Ellis. Grass has already begun recruiting Republican candidates to run for county sheriff in 2026.
• Monroe County Dems pick Ujdak as party chair, aim to focus on what they're for, not against At the reorganizational caucus, Samuel Ujdak was elected as the new chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party. Ujdak succeeds David Henry, who did not seek to continue as chair. Also elected as party officers were: Chrissie Geels (vice chair), Gloria Howell (secretary), and Susan Luther (treasurer).
• New Monroe County jail design moves ahead, with persisting concerns about size, cost Monroe County is moving ahead with the design of the new jail and justice center, with construction costs now estimated at almost $207 million and a total project cost of more than $236 million. The planned facility includes 500 beds. Concerns voiced at a joint meeting of the county council and the county commissioners include: the project's expense; the inclusion of two-story design; adequate outdoor access for inmates, and the possible addition of a child care facility near the jail.
• Armed protester at Bloomington city hall prompts concerns about street homelessness, comms protocols, security An armed person, identifying as the membership secretary of the Rainbow Panther Party, protested outside Bloomington city hall to combat "fascist policies against the unhoused". The person, carrying an AR-15-style rifle, distributed flyers and criticized the city council's policies and lack of funding for homeless shelters like B-SWERS. The incident raised concerns about gun laws, security, communication protocols, and the community's response to homelessness.
• $3.8M less for Monroe County govt in 2025 due to its own mistake, unintentional tax break for property owners Monroe County government will have $3.8 million less from the property tax levy for its 2025 budget than is allowed under state law—due to a data entry error. The error occurred when the Monroe County council approved budget numbers prepared by the county auditor. The county council president has raised the possibility of an appeal. It's not clear if the mistake means the 2026 maximum levy will be based on this year's lower figure, or the number Monroe County would have received if the data entry mistake had not been made.

On the calendar

The big calendar has seen some improvement since the end of last year. It's still a big pile of events, but there are some filters for different categories. I have not yet classified all the syndicated feeds correctly. The biggest improvement is that all those events will now now load lickety split in your browser.

County zoning: Appearing the agenda for the the Monroe County plan commission's Tuesday, March 4 administrative meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m., is a potential downzoning of 132 parcels in Maple Grove Baby Farms from HD (High Development Residential) to RES (Residential 1). Here's a link: plan commission information packet.

Convention center expansion: Appearing on the agenda for the Bloomington city council's Wednesday, March 5 regular meeting is an item that authorizes the issuance of bonds for the construction of the convention center expansion. Here's a link: Bloomington city council meeting information packet.

County election board: The county election board will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 6, starting at 1 p.m. No agenda has been posted yet. I'm keen to see if there are any new developments on the topic of vote centers. Generally, the place I look for agendas for county government meetings is the specific event listing for the meeting from the county's calendar of events.

Law professors sing: To help prove that a relaunched B Square aims to provide more than just coverage of local government, this section of the "Almost Daily Bulletin" aims to include at least one non-government upcoming event from the big calendar.

This Friday, March 7, at The Bluebird on North Walnut Street starting at 5 p.m., students and faculty from Indiana University's Maurer School of Law will perform to help raise money for the Public Interest Law Foundation. From the event description: "See your favorite professors and students compete and sing for the entire Law School community! This is the biggest Public Interest Law Foundation fundraiser of the year, raising money for PILF’s Summer Salary fund." Law professor Jody Madeira has confirmed to The B Square that she will be taking the stage. (Just because Madeira is also a Monroe County commissioner does not make it a government meeting!)

Reporting in the works

More money for local government from LIT: I am working on a write up of the state budget agency's supplemental local income tax calculations for 2025, which have now been released. At around $7 million in additional revenue for all of the units in Monroe County (county, city, townships, fire district, etc.), it's roughly half the amount of the supplemental distribution in 2024. Still, it's significantly more that the supplemental amount in every other year for the last quarter century, except for 2016.

Meet Diamond!

Diamond is a very, very good girl, described by shelter staff like this:

Best. Dog. Ever. Diamond loves people. She loves other dogs. She loves cats. She came to us emaciated and in very bad shape. After some TLC from staff and her amazing foster family, she is now ready to make her adoptable debut. Apply to meet this above average gal today!

Photo Finish (from B There)

For more items like these, see the B There section of the B Square website. If you'd like to consider occasionally contributing to The B Square brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business in this place we call home, let me know. (Photos are optional for B There.) 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 good start!

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