diversity – The B Square

Buskirk-Chumley Theater marquee on MLK Day (Jan. 15, 2024)

MLK Day keynote speaker Jesse Hagopian (Jan. 15, 2024)

Delivering the keynote address for the city of Bloomington’s Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration on Monday was Jesse Hagopian.

The annual event is held at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Kirkwood Avenue in downtown Bloomington.

Hagopian is an ethnic studies teacher at Seattle’s Garfield High School, who is an activist on issues of educational equity, the school-to-prison pipeline, standardized testing, the Black Lives Matter at School movement, and social justice unionism.

For the occasion, Hagopian wore a T-shirt with King’s image and a quote: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” That was a thread running through his remarks, as he focused on states across the country that have enacted laws that prevent the teaching of an accurate history of slavery in the United States. Continue reading “Bloomington MLK keynote speaker in letter to enslaved ancestors: “You will not be forgotten.”” →

Bloomington city councilmember Jim Sims at Aug. 20, 2019 departmental budget hearings. (Dave Askins/Beacon)

Bloomington Fire Chief Jason Moore at Aug. 20, 2019 departmental budget hearings. (Dave Askins/Beacon)

The 10-year capital plan for Bloomington’s fire department includes two additional fire stations—one in the southwest and one in the southeast part of town. It also includes the replacement of two existing stations, and a relocation of the station that serves the Indiana University campus.

Those five stations together have an estimated cost of $28 million, and the three additional fire engines they’ll house will add another $1.8 million.

But those costs aren’t pegged to any particular year in the 10-year plan. So they’re not a part of the proposed $13.25 million budget for 2020, which Bloomington’s fire chief, Jason Moore, presented to the city council on Tuesday night.

Responding to a councilmember question about the timeframe for building new stations, Moore said, “To start making decisions when everything is so fluid, I feel would be rushed and ill-advised. So we will be making recommendations when it’s appropriate and when the entire big picture of public safety can be really painted crystal clear for everyone.”

Moore also told the council that additional improvements in response times would likely depend on adding staff and stations. Continue reading “Budget 2020: Bloomington fire chief points to improvements in fire call and response time stats, says situation now too fluid to put timeline on new stations” →