Tag: Data

Tasers for Bloomington police: Department prepares for pilot program on less lethal weapon

Excerpt from Sept. 12. 2023 BPD general order on use of force.
Stock photo of taser.
Bloomington board of public safety meeting, July 18, 2023.

In a Sept. 5, 2023 news release, the Bloomington police department (BPD) announced that officers would soon be piloting the use of electronic control weapons, commonly known as tasers.

For Bloomington police officers, the tasers will be added to pepper spray and collapsible batons as options that are less lethal than a gun.

On Sept. 19, at the most recent meeting of Bloomington’s five-member board of public safety, BPD deputy chief Scott Oldham said that he does not expect the tasers to be deployed for the pilot before the start of 2024. It will take some time for an officer to be certified to train other officers in the use of tasers, and then additional time to train officers, Oldham said.

While the board of public safety was briefed on the decision to add tasers to the set of less lethal options for BPD officers, the board did not have decision making authority on deployment of tasers.

Tasers were discussed with the board at its June and July monthly meetings this year.

But the board’s feedback can be traced to a year before that, when board member Isak Asare asked Bloomington police chief Mike Diekhoff about the department’s planned pilot program. Continue reading “Tasers for Bloomington police: Department prepares for pilot program on less lethal weapon” →

Election notebook: Same old story, Bloomington voter turnout is one for the ages

It’s the custom of Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne to send out hourly updates over the course of Election Day.

The May 2, 2023 municipal primary was no different. One of Browne’s updates included this note: “I tried to find the oldest voter who has participated in this municipal election…and, so far, she appears to be 99 years young.”

Browne’s update continued: “Her 100th birthday will be this summer and I want to acknowledge her making the concerted effort to vote.”

The B Square has now confirmed—based on the voter history file provided by county election staff—that it was a 99-year-old who was the most senior voter to cast a ballot in person, on Primary Election Day.

But that nonagenarian wasn’t the absolute oldest person to vote in the primary. After expanding the pool to include those who voted early—either in-person or with a mailed-in ballot, it was a 101-year-old living in the Bloomington 22 precinct, who earned the “absolute oldest” distinction.

On the other end of the spectrum was a 17-year-old living in the Perry 15 precinct, who was the youngest to vote in the May 2 primary. She will celebrate her 18th birthday eight days before the Nov. 7 general election. (In Indiana, it’s possible to vote in a primary, if you turn 18 by the time the general election takes place.)

What about all the other voters in between? How old were they? Continue reading “Election notebook: Same old story, Bloomington voter turnout is one for the ages” →

2023 Bloomington primary notebook: Breaking down a citywide council race: 7 candidates, 3 seats

On Tuesday, three candidates won the Democratic Party’s nominations for at-large seats on the Bloomington city council: Isak Asare, Andy Ruff, and Matt Flaherty.

There were four other candidates on the ballot: Lois Sabo-Skelton, Jonas Schrodt, Steve Volan and Ryne Shadday.

Asare is a newcomer to city council politics. Ruff is making a comeback, after missing out on his re-election bid in 2019. Flaherty is an incumbent, who helped displace Ruff from his at-large seat in 2019.

At-large seats are elected by voters citywide—unlike district seats, which are elected by voters in one of six geographic districts. The at-large seats aren’t labeled in any way—that is, an at-large candidate doesn’t declare a run for some particular at-large seat.

On Tuesday, voters picked up to three at-large candidates from the seven on the ballot. It’s the top three vote-getters who won nomination to stand for the Nov. 7 general city election.

The top vote-getter was Asare (4,194 votes), followed by Ruff (3,961 votes), then Flaherty (3,726 votes). Continue reading “2023 Bloomington primary notebook: Breaking down a citywide council race: 7 candidates, 3 seats” →

Parking notebook: Fully staffed enforcement crews mean more tickets in downtown Bloomington

Chart of parking citations issued in the city of Bloomington by month.
A parking ticket on a windshield in downtown Bloomington in the first week of March.
A chart of percentages by month for tickets appealed and appeals granted.

Anecdotally, the number of parking tickets visible on windshields in downtown Bloomington over the last couple of months has increased.

It’s not just a gut feel.

Based on data provided by the Bloomington city clerk’s office, in January of this year 4,550 parking citations were issued by parking enforcement officers. In February they issued 5,537 citations.

The combined total of 10,087 tickets for the first two months of 2023 is the highest number of citations in any year for the last 13 years.

The next highest two-month total was 20 percent less—8,051 in 2012. Continue reading “Parking notebook: Fully staffed enforcement crews mean more tickets in downtown Bloomington” →

Restaurant inspection reports for Monroe County now on health department website

The image links to a dynamic map.

What do AraMark at IU Health Hospital, C-3 Bar, Chef’s Table Catering, The Elm, Fairfax Inn, Feast Market and Cellar, Gables Bagels, Inkwell Café-Woodlawn, Oliver Winery, Raising Canes, Brilliant Coffee, Scenic View Restaurant, Serena’s Food Hut, Toto’s Uncle, Trailhead Pizzeria, Uptown Café, and Wings Xtreme have in common?

For last December’s round of visits, Monroe County health inspectors recorded zero violations for all the restaurants on that list.

Another 14 establishments committed at least one non-critical violation, but no critical violations.

But 28 restaurants inspected by Monroe County in December last year were found to have at least one critical violation.

The complete listing of December inspections is available on the Monroe County health department’s website in a downloadable .pdf file.

The availability of an online restaurant inspection report is something new. Continue reading “Restaurant inspection reports for Monroe County now on health department website” →

Pandemic notebook: Adjusted daily data shows downward (and upward) trends a smidgen earlier

Numbers reported in all categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to decline.

A change to the way the state of Indiana is reporting daily case totals hasn’t changed the shape of the trends. Continue reading “Pandemic notebook: Adjusted daily data shows downward (and upward) trends a smidgen earlier” →

Pandemic notebook: Monroe County racks up 100 cases for one day in last update before Christmas

Indiana’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 100 positive cases for Monroe County on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

That’s the highest daily total the county has seen since early January. It’s the 19th time Monroe County has hit triple digits for a day, since the county’s first positive case was identified on March 21, 2020.

The dashboard won’t get updated again until Monday, Dec. 27. The tentative date for the next news conference hosted by local leaders about their response to the pandemic is Thursday, Dec. 30.

One topic that could come up at the news conference is the vaccination status of local government employees.

A Jan. 4 deadline for vaccination or testing has been set by U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for employers with more than 100 workers. Under the OSHA requirement, employees would have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4, or get a weekly test for the virus.

Recent judicial activity related to that deadline includes a 2-1 decision by a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the Biden administration’s OSHA requirement. Continue reading “Pandemic notebook: Monroe County racks up 100 cases for one day in last update before Christmas” →

Data notebook: Bloomington’s electric scooter ridership at 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels

Measured by scooter rides, life in Bloomington has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic norms.

Numbers available through the city’s B Clear platform show that for August and September of 2021, a total of 106,083 rides were taken on a shared electric scooter, which is 69 percent of the 154,486 rides taken during the same period in 2019. Continue reading “Data notebook: Bloomington’s electric scooter ridership at 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels” →

Mixed bag for direction of Monroe County, Indiana COVID-19 trends

COVID-19 numbers are up for Monroe County, but might have plateaued for at least some measures. That contrasts with numbers statewide, which show a clear upward trend.

The generally higher numbers now, compared to a month ago, are blamed by health officials on the prevalence of the Delta variant of the virus, which is more infectious.

According to Indiana’s COVID-19 dashboard, over the last four weeks, when samples of positive tests were taken and genetically sequenced, about 87 percent of them showed they were caused by the Delta variant.

Two deaths, one each on the last two days of July, brought Monroe County’s total number of deaths due to the pandemic to 180.

A local bright spot came when the city of Bloomington announced on Thursday that no employees had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks. Continue reading “Mixed bag for direction of Monroe County, Indiana COVID-19 trends” →

A closer look at some COVID-19 trends behind re-opening Indiana: Monroe County in statewide context

Barchart COVID-19 admittances

When Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton, gave his state of the city address on Feb. 20, just 15 cases of the COVID-19 virus were confirmed nationwide, none of them in the Hoosier state.

Now two and a half months later, 1,132 residents of Indiana have died of COVID-19, out of about 20,000 confirmed cases.

In Monroe County, the count of COVID-19 deaths stands at 8, out of a total of 130 confirmed positive cases. Of the eight Monroe County deaths, three are female, one male and one is unknown. Four were between 70 and 79 years old, three were older than 80, and one was 50 to 59. All eight were White.

An economic shutdown prompted by COVID-19 began with Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s “Hunker-Down, Hoosiers” order six weeks ago, on March 25.

Now most of the state is preparing for a partial emergence from that shutdown on the morning of Monday May 4.

Under Holcomb’s Friday order, most of the state will see all retail stores allowed to open on Monday at 50 percent of their occupational capacity. Under Holcomb’s order, a week later, on May 11, restaurants would be allowed to open for dine-in service at 50 percent of their seating capacity. The governor’s order includes a series of phases that lead to a mostly complete re-opening by July 4.

But Monroe County health officials, with support from other government leaders, are using their option to keep the county buttoned up a bit longer. Continue reading “A closer look at some COVID-19 trends behind re-opening Indiana: Monroe County in statewide context” →