May 5, 2025: Immigration lawsuit, IU football coach, May Day celebration, Bird scooters

Weather

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:

Monday: To start the day, you don't need to bundle up, but you'll probably need some kind of jacket to ward off the chill. The morning temperatures will be coming off a damp 48°F and won't get warmer than 58°F. I would take an umbrella, because the chance you'll need it at some point outweighs the chance you won't, even if you wind up losing it someplace because you didn't need it. There'll be some chance of rain most of the day between 30% and 50%.

Tuesday: You might be able to skip a jacket to start the day, but you'll have to grit your teeth for the 48°F in the morning—what makes it different from Monday is the 69°F high. Tuesday should be free of rain.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.

Roundup of recent articles

• Rokita v. Marté: After May 7, court set to rule on Monroe County sheriff's immigration enforcement policy There was a hearing on Friday on the Indiana attorney general's complaint that Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté's policy on handling immigration status violates state law. A ruling is expected after May 7.
• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish In this episode, some knowledge of songs from the Steve Miller Band could be helpful to appreciate the humor. If you are too young to remember, this panel might help you understand old people better.
• Shared scooter data: Fewer rides, maybe due to snowy winter, but Bird 'doubling down' on Bloomington Even after becoming Bloomington's sole choice for shared electric scooter rides, fewer rides were taken on Bird scooters in the first four months of the year than last year. Bird chalks that up to a colder and snowier winter. Bird says it's committed to the Bloomington market.
• IU football coach Cignetti headlines Boys & Girls Clubs fundraiser, says 11–2 mark last season 'not a great year' Even though Curt Cignetti was the big draw for this fundraiser, and delivered the football talk that was asked, the live auction was also plenty entertaining.
• Bloomington's annual May Day ritual continues under watchful eye of weathervane fish To start May Day, at dawn there was Morris dancing, and at noon there was a maypole dance—both on the grounds of the Monroe County courthouse lawn.

On the calendar

Another tenant for The Forge. On the 5 p.m. Monday (May 5) meeting agenda for Bloomington's redevelopment commission (RDC) is the approval of a lease at The Forge (the Trades District technology center) with K23 Films, Inc. Also on the RDC agenda is an agreement with Weddle Brothers to use some of the former Bunger & Robertson property at 2nd Street and College Avenue as a field office for the convention center expansion project. Neighborhood improvement grants are also on the RDC agenda for Monday.

Street and sidewalk closures for fiber optic installation? On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (May 6) meeting agenda for Bloomington's board of public works is an item that requests approval of some sidewalk and street closures for fiber optic installations by CSU Contracting. It looks like this might be related to the city's fiber project, which stalled out when the contractor went bankrupt. But the meeting information packet does not seem to include any background information on the CSU Contracting item. A machine search of the 266-page packet did not turn up any relevant results for CSU.

Alley vacation, fire and police salary adjustments. On the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting agenda for Bloomington's city council for a final vote are two ordinances related to changes in fire and police compensation. These ordinances are for individual jobs, not wholesale changes to firefighter and police officer compensation, and don't seem likely to generate a lot of controversy. But the requested alley vacation for the Trades District hotel project that's on the agenda could get some scrutiny, based on the way the council has handled past requests for alley vacations. For B Square background on the Trades District request, see: Alley vacation needed from Bloomington city council, to make Trades District hotel deal work. The information packet for the council's meeting does not include the agenda, which is a departure from the usual practice. The agenda is available as a standalone document.

3D Print a Mother's Day gift. You need to register for this, and as of 6 a.m. on May 5, there is just one seat remaining. On May 7 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. the Monroe County Public Library is offering a chance to learn about 3D printing, at its downtown Bloomington branch. From the MCPL: "Join us to learn the basics, and we'll help you design a model to keep. Please note that 3D printing takes time; you may need to return at a later date to collect your print. Age 16 and up."

Meet Lindsay Barkingham!

This very, very good boy is a mix of Australian shepherd and border collie. Here's what the shelter staff have to say about Lindsay Barkingham:

The only thing Lyndsay hates is being secondhand news. Otherwise, he's very positive, some even say he makes loving fun!

Photo Finish

6th Street & Washington Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website. Today's item was posted on Saturday.

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 your week is off to a great start!

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