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May 8, 2025: Alley vacation, IU election lawsuit, auto theft, outside baseball

Weather

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

Thursday: No need to worry about staying warm, but think about staying dry, especially after noon, when chances of rain and thunderstorms go up to 60%. The high temperature will be around 71°F .

Friday: You might want to wear something to ward off the early morning chill, because the overnight low will hit 43°F. But otherwise, it's a great day to start the weekend early, because it will be sunny, which means the temperature will eventually get up to 68°F. It looks like great baseball weather.

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

Roundup of recent articles

  • Bloomington city council gives up right-of-way for easier development of Trades District hotel Bloomington’s city council approved vacating a platted alley in the Trades District to support development of a 150-room hotel by Alluinn IU Trades District Hotel. The unused alley posed design challenges. Matt Flaherty dissented, citing the importance of uniform grids in the urban fabric, and the fact that giving up right-of-way is forever. A new east-west alley will replace the vacated portion to maintain connectivity and access.
  • Bloomington resident files suit, questions constitutionality of law that nixes elected alumni as Indiana University trustees Bloomington resident Justin Vasel has filed a lawsuit challenging Indiana’s new law, which eliminates alumni-elected seats on IU’s board of trustees. Represented by the ACLU, Vasel is asking the court for an injunction to allow the scheduled June election to proceed. The suit contends that the law violates Indiana’s constitutional ban on special, non-uniform legislation—because it treats IU differently than other state institutions of higher learning.
  • $22K in neighborhood grants awarded by Bloomington Bloomington’s RDC approved nearly $22,000 in neighborhood improvement grants for projects in Bentley Court, Blue Ridge, and Prospect Hill. The funded projects include a wildlife corridor, gate signage, and cemetery restoration. Unused funds will support a third neighborhood cleanup and a trailer stocked for block parties and community pop-up events.
  • 2 leases OK'd by Bloomington: K23 Films, Weddle Bros. Bloomington’s RDC approved two leases tied to larger projects: a no-cost lease to Weddle Brothers for a convention center field office; and 363 square feet to K23 Films at The Forge. Discussion at the meeting also revealed 1,800 stored solar panels at the former Bunger & Robertson building at 4th Street and College Avenue, as well as updates on potential space expansion plans for The Mill.
  • Separate events handled by Bloomington police: Theft of vehicle with baby in backseat, stabbing at local bar Bloomington police responded to two incidents late Sunday night: a westside car theft with an infant inside—later found unharmed—and a stabbing at a bar on the east side. Police were still looking for the auto theft suspect. A suspect was arrested in the stabbing and charged with battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony.

On the calendar

Emergency management trailer, bridge inspections: On the Thursday (May 8) 10 a.m. meeting agenda for the Monroe County commissioners is acceptance of a $5,500 Duke Energy Foundation grant to help buy a new emergency management trailer for incident coordination and public outreach. Also on the Thursday agenda is the approval of a $647,669 agreement with EGIS for federally supported countywide bridge inspections.

Public art: Meeting on Friday (May 9) at 12:15 p.m. is the public art committee of the Bloomington arts commission. The agenda includes updates on several projects: Undulate @ Hopewell; art at the convention center expansion; a call for art at Miller-Showers Park; art at Fire Station 3; and a public art database.

Baseball: Indiana University's baseball team plays Purdue University on Friday (May 9) starting at 6 p.m. Tickets to games at Bart Kaufman Field are $10. The weather looks like it should be perfect for watching a baseball game.

Horatio!

Up for adoption, as of May 7, 2025, at the city of Bloomington's animal shelter is Horatio. Here's another link: all animals up for adoption at the shelter. (The photo is from the city's website.)

This very, very good boy is a mix of shepherd and Carolina dog. Here's what the shelter staff have to say about Horatio:

Horatio is a handsome shepherd mix who came to the shelter with a few injuries. With some time and TLC he's feeling great and ready to find a home! He is ready to play and snuggle with you!

Photo Finish
6th Street & Walnut Street

6th Street & Walnut Street
The scaffolding that had been in place in connection with the Princess Theatre facade repair is getting swapped out with different scaffolding. It likely means some kind of progress.

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 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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