Sept. 14, 2026: Health administrator fired, wrongful termination suit planned; new liquor-permit rules; judges nix inmate-transfers

Civic Solver

We’re skipping the puzzle for this week and probably a few more weeks. The news operation is stretching me ever thinner. Puzzles seemed like a good place to conserve time and effort.

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Monday: Don’t worry about rain, or about overheating. It will be sunny with a high of just 79F°.

Tuesday: Summer’s over but it’s not fall yet, so wear the coolest clothes you haven’t put into storage yet. It’s going to be sunny and hot, hot, hot with a high of around 93F°.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

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Recent articles

If you don’t want to wait until Monday or Thursday for the Almost Daily Bulletin, and you’d prefer to check whenever you like on the most recent headlines from The B Square, complete with their synopsis, here’s the link: The B Square’s Most Recent 20

• Monroe County jail notebook: Population hits week-long stretch over ACLU functional limit.  Monroe County’s jail population stood at 237 Saturday, ending a full week above the ACLU’s 229 functional-capacity figure. The jail’s 10-day rolling average has fallen by about 20 since late July, while records show substantial turnover among people who are incarcerated.
• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  Fish shows he’s oh so fancy by using an umlaut in his street name suggestion. Because nothing says you’re smart and sophisticated better than two dots over a letter!
• Monroe County property transfers through Sept. 8, 2026.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Aug. 18 to Sept. 8, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• Health administrator fired, plans wrongful termination suit against Monroe County.  Monroe County health administrator Lori Kelley has been fired, her attorney says, and plans an EEOC charge and lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Her departure comes as the health department is struggling with nursing vacancies.
• Bloomington adopts liquor-permit rules covering new state slots, historic district.  Bloomington’s city council has adopted rules for deciding which businesses get city backing for lower-cost liquor permits outside the normal population-based quota. The framework includes a 50% local-ownership standard.
• Order from judges means no big inmate-transfer costs for Monroe County sheriff’s 2027 budget.  A multimillion-dollar plan to move 50 to 100 Monroe County jail inmates to other counties is absent from Sheriff Ruben Marté’s proposed 2027 budget after judges declined to authorize the transfers. Jail population remains above Marté’s functional-capacity benchmark.

Other notes

Suggest names for new streets. The city of Bloomington is looking for suggestions for names of two new streets in the Hopewell South neighborhood. They have to start with West and end with Lane. Example: West Quirkwood Lane. There’s an online form for submitting suggestions. Act fast, because the deadline for submitting suggestions is tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 15).

On the calendar

Police headquarters: 714 S. Rogers. On the 5 p.m. Monday (Sept. 14) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s redevelopment commission is a proposal to turn the former convalescent center building at 714 S. Rogers St. into a new police headquarters. The concept calls for renovating the existing roughly 56,000-square-foot building and constructing an addition for central dispatch, an emergency operations center and a sallyport, plus parking and site improvements. But the dispatch piece would still require coordination with Monroe County. The RDC is being asked to support the project and consider up to $30 million in TIF-backed borrowing.

At their Monday meeting, commissioners will also consider owner’s representative proposals from J.S. Held and Shrewsberry & Associates.

Interim housing for street homeless? Not on the RDC’s agenda for Monday, but getting a mention in a set of executive-session minutes in the meeting information packet is DignityMoves. That’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops rapidly built “interim supportive housing” for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

Four DignityMoves representatives attended the RDC’s Sept. 1 executive session, which was held to discuss strategy involving a real-property transaction. The organization’s model generally uses small, private prefabricated rooms clustered with shared facilities and on-site services intended to help residents move toward permanent housing. DignityMoves has developed communities in places including San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and San José.

Monroe County health department budget. On the 5 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 15) meeting agenda for the county council is the health department’s proposed 2027 budget. For B Square background see: Health administrator fired, plans wrongful termination suit against Monroe County

Final vote on Bloomington Transit management contract. No agenda is yet posted for the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 15) Bloomington Transit board meeting. But the board is expected to take a vote on the contract for Keolis as the new management firm for the city’s public transportation agency. Board member Kent McDaniel has told a city council committee that is mulling the next appointment to the seat where McDaniel currently serves, and is considering him as a candidate for re-appointment, that he will resign if the Keolis contract is approved. For B Square background see: Bloomington Transit board pick hangs in balance before Sept. 15 vote on management firm.

Removal of a historic preservation commission member. On the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 16) meeting agenda for the Bloomington city council is the removal of Reynard Cross as a non-voting member of the historic preservation commission. Interim city council attorney Larry Allen sent Cross a letter notifying him of the council’s potential action at its Sept. 2 meeting, but the council postponed any action. Cross has responded with a 90-paragraph rebuttal of the claims in Allen’s letter.

Big zoning changes. On the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 16) meeting agenda for the Bloomington city council is an ordinance that changes the city’s Unified Development ordinance in a way that are intended to ease small-scale housing development and end parking minimums. For B Square backrgound, see: Plan commission backs big Bloomington zoning changes, attorneys disagree on incentives

Big Book Sale: Sept 18-21. The Friends of the Library will be hosting their Big Fall Book Sale in Meeting Room 1B/C at the Downtown Library with thousands of items at bargain prices. The 2026 Big Fall Book Sale will be open to the public Sept. 18–21 with a special early-bird sale for Friends members on Sept. 17. For hours on specific days, check the book sale webpage.

New Leaf New Life benefit book event: Sept. 23. Authors Chastidy Mader, Ryan Mader, Nordia McNish and Trunnis Goggins II will discuss resilience, recovery, purpose and second chances Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 6–8 p.m. at Redbud Books, 408 W. Kirkwood Ave. Tickets cost $20, with $12 from each ticket benefiting New Leaf New Life, which supports people affected by incarceration and reentry.

Nerd Nite Bloomington: Sept. 25. Bug sex, imperfect maps and the Great Molasses Flood get the 15-minute-talk treatment at Nerd Nite Bloomington #6. Doors open at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, with presentations starting at 7:30 p.m. at The Bishop Bar in Bloomington. Organizers would like people to RSVP.

From the Ground Up: Sept. 26. The Monroe County Master Gardener Association will host its annual fall gardening program Saturday, Sept. 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ivy Tech Community College’s Shreve Hall, 200 Daniels Way. This year’s program focuses on vegetable gardening, with sessions on soil health, community and urban gardening, natural pest control and container gardening, plus a panel discussion. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25.

Bloomington Paint Out: Oct. 3. The fifth annual Bloomington Paint Out takes place rain or shine on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Bryan Park, with artist check-in from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Woodlawn Pavilion. Artists of all ages and skill levels can paint anywhere in Bloomington, with finished work due by 3:15 p.m. for judging in several age and experience categories. Free classes, supplies and artist demonstrations will be offered at the pavilion from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no registration fee or advance registration.

Meet: Thor!

This very, very, good boy is a Labrador retriever mix . Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Thor:

Thor is a happy older puppy whose owner describes as "smart and loving". Thor has been around small children and is curious but pretty shy meeting new dogs.

Photo Finish: Stillwater Marsh Water Fowl Resting Area

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week is off to a great start!

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

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