Tag: Indiana University

Bloomington Transit board OKs budget for presentation to city council, plans for limited replacement of Rural Transit service

From left: John Connell, Don Griffin, James McLary

Bloomington Transit’s 2024 budget, as adopted by the board at its meeting last Tuesday, is about $280,000 more than the draft presented a month ago by BT general manager John Connell.

At around $26.6 million, it’s still less than this year’s $35-million budget, which included significant amounts for acquisition of new buses.

The other notable topic of discussion at Tuesday’s board meeting was the city council’s action, taken the previous week, to give BT the legal authority to operate outside the city limits of Bloomington anywhere in Monroe County.

Still to be negotiated are interlocal agreements between BT and other entities, so that BT can provide service to non-city residents who previously were served by Rural Transit. Under the ordinance, the interlocal agreements have to be “equitable in relation to the level of support city residents already provide to the Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation.”

Continue reading “Bloomington Transit board OKs budget for presentation to city council, plans for limited replacement of Rural Transit service” →

Bloomington resolution on hazards of general AI withdrawn after Indiana University weighs in

Cover of AI strategy for Stockton, California, co-authored by Isak Asare
Bloomington councilmember Jim Sims (July 26, 2023)
Bloomington city councilmember Dave Rollo (July 26, 2023)

After an hour of deliberations last Wednesday, Bloomington city councilmember Dave Rollo withdrew his resolution calling for a moratorium restricting the development of general artificial intelligence (AI), until its “alignment with human values and well-being is guaranteed.”

About five weeks ago, just before the city council took its annual summer hiatus, Rollo had told his council colleagues that he would be bringing forward the resolution.

The resolution was based on a concern that general AI poses an existential threat to humankind—a view shared by some major figures who work in the field of AI.

Among those leaders cited in the “whereas” clauses of Rollo’s resolution is Geoffrey Hinton, a former vice president and engineering fellow at Google.

The resolution would have been a symbolic one, with no direct fiscal impact on the city, and no immediate effect—except that the city clerk would have sent a copy of the adopted resolution to the state house and senate, Indiana’s governor, Indiana’s congressional delegation, and US President Joe Biden.

The resolution had received pushback from Indiana University, based on unspecified concerns about “potential impacts to technology-related research funding IU receives.” Continue reading “Bloomington resolution on hazards of general AI withdrawn after Indiana University weighs in” →

Bloomington public bus notebook: Uber-Lyft late night continues, paratransit to get same-day service

Now set to continue, but with a few tweaks, is pilot program started last year by Bloomington Transit (BT), to replace late night service on some routes—with vouchers that can be used on Uber or Lyft.

The Uber-Lyft option is branded as BT Late Nite.

The approach of using transportation network companies (TNCs) as a replacement for running 40-foot buses on fixed routes is known in the public transportation industry as “microtransit.”

The geographic area served by BT Late Nite includes the parts of town served by routes that had their late evening service discontinued last year.

BT general manager John Connell briefed the board on program changes at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.

For the pilot program, BT Late Nite passengers paid the same $1 fare that fixed route passengers do. For the continuation of BT Late Nite, Connell said, passengers will pay $2, because BT considers it a “premium” service. That’s because the Uber and Lyft service goes from a passenger’s departure point to their destination, not just from bus stop to bus stop. Continue reading “Bloomington public bus notebook: Uber-Lyft late night continues, paratransit to get same-day service” →

Photos: From a hawk’s nest, Happy Mother’s Day!

Red-tailed hawk’s nest with fledgling. Sycamore tree above Bryan Hall, Indiana University Bloomington campus (May 14, 2023)
Red-tailed hawk’s nest with fledgling. Sycamore tree above Bryan Hall, Indiana University Bloomington campus (May 14, 2023)

At least one fledgling is visible in the red-tailed hawk’s nest in the Sycamore Tree above Bryan Hall on Indiana University’s campus. These photos were taken on Sunday, May 14, 2023.

The nest is visible from the sidewalk on the west side of Indiana Avenue  in front of BuffaLouie’s and Starbucks.

The coincidence with Mother’s Day seemed like a sign from the universe that the photos should be shared with a wider audience. There are a few more photos below.

Continue reading “Photos: From a hawk’s nest, Happy Mother’s Day!” →

Rally in support of Asian community: “Our little bubble at IU Bloomington is not and never has been a safe place for Asian and Asian-American people.”

Rally in support of Asian community at Dunn Meadow (Feb. 4, 2023).
Rally in support of Asian community at Dunn Meadow (Feb. 4, 2023).
From left: Katelyn Wo, Parnsasi Bandyopadhyay, Wenxi Lu.
Rally in support of Asian community at Dunn Meadow (Feb. 4, 2023).
Rally in support of Asian community at Dunn Meadow (Feb. 4, 2023).
Wenxi Lu.
“Thank you for not stabbing me.”Rally in support of Asian community at Dunn Meadow (Feb. 4, 2023).
Dunn Meadow, Indiana University. Rally in support of the Asian community (Feb. 4, 2023)

On Jan. 11, an Asian student at Indiana University, who was riding a Bloomington city bus, was repeatedly stabbed in the head by another passenger.

A fact that emerged later, in the probable cause affidavit submitted to the court, was the suspect’s description of her motivation: It was based on the victim’s race—she was Asian. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, about 250 people gathered in Dunn Meadow, on the IU campus, to show support for Bloomington’s Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander community.

The reason for the rally was evident in a sign held by one man, which read “We should be able to ride the bus SAFELY.”

A woman wore a T-shirt with a message written in cursive: “Thank you for not stabbing me.”

Among those addressing the crowd were: Linda Shi, president of the Asian Pacific Islander Public Affairs (APAPA) Indiana chapter; deputy mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael, assistant dean of the Hamilton Lugar School Shruti Rana; IU alum Hiromi Yoshida; Joy Basa-King, vice president APAPA; and Michelle Waugh Dahl, co-chair of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Indiana Chapter.

Three more women, who are all Indiana University students, delivered remarks. Continue reading “Rally in support of Asian community: “Our little bubble at IU Bloomington is not and never has been a safe place for Asian and Asian-American people.”” →

Bloomington works to heed court’s order on art, means temporary delay on OK for Freezefest 2023

B Square file photo from Freezefest 2022
Moratorium on special events approved by Bloomington’s board of public works on Dec. 6, 2022. Link: https://bloomington.in.gov/onboard/meetingFiles/download?meetingFile_id=11146#page=81
Complete mural on 6th Street looking south towards the Monroe County courthouse.

A special events application to hold the third annual Freezefest downtown in the Trades District area would have normally received a straightforward approval from Bloomington’s three-member board of public works on Tuesday night.

It’s an ice carving festival set to take place along Maker’s Way from Jan. 15 to Jan. 22, and features a chili cook-off at The Mill, a coworking space located in the former dimension mill of the Showers Brothers Furniture Company.

Instead of receiving an approval, the Freezefest application was pulled from the meeting agenda.

The reason Freezefest didn’t get a vote on Tuesday is not related to any controversy related to Freezefest itself. In fact, the festival’s special event application will likely be approved at the board’s next meeting, on Dec. 20.

But for now, Freezefest falls under a moratorium on special events applications, which the board of public works imposed on Tuesday.

The moratorium is related to litigation against the city of Bloomington that arose out of a request to install an “All Lives Matter” street mural on Kirkwood Avenue, in response to the city’s three “Black Lives Matter” street murals. Continue reading “Bloomington works to heed court’s order on art, means temporary delay on OK for Freezefest 2023” →

Federal judge to Bloomington: Create criteria for public art requests in right-of-way, allow application for “All Lives Matter” street mural

Work progresses on the BLM mural. Looking south on on the street to be renamed as Eagleson Avenue.
Complete mural on 6th Street looking south towards the Monroe County courthouse.

Bloomington could see an “All Lives Matter” mural painted on a downtown city street, after previously authorizing three “Black Lives Matter” street murals.

That’s because of a ruling from a federal judge last Friday.

Under Friday’s ruling, by Jan. 2 next year, the city of Bloomington has to  come up with the procedures that private groups and people can use to request approval for use of the city’s rights-of-way to display public art.

The order says that the city has to “promulgate” the application procedure to the public within 45 days of the order, dated Nov. 18, 2022. The public that is described in the order explicitly includes Indiana University student Kyle Reynolds and the Indiana University Chapter of Turning Point USA, who filed suit against Bloomington in late February.

In their lawsuit, Reynolds and Turning Point asked the Monroe County circuit court to issue an injunction requiring the city of Bloomington to allow Reynolds to paint a street mural that states “All Lives Matter” on Kirkwood Avenue in front of the Von Lee building.

The “All Lives Matter” slogan is associated with opposition to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Continue reading “Federal judge to Bloomington: Create criteria for public art requests in right-of-way, allow application for “All Lives Matter” street mural” →

Veterans Day 2022 at Indiana University: “Let us strive for peaceful resolution in all conflict.”

(Veterans Day 2022)
(Veterans Day 2022)
(Veterans Day 2022)
(Veterans Day 2022)
(Veterans Day 2022)
Phillip Zook. (Veterans Day 2022)

To honor Veterans Day, on Friday morning, the Indiana University Army and Air Force ROTC color guard raised the flag on the pole just east of Sample Gates, in front of Franklin Hall.

Franklin Hall is home to the university’s media school. The building’s statue of journalist Ernie Pyle, the iconic World War II correspondent, sitting at a typewriter, is a coincidental connection to the day.

After the flag was raised, IU alum and army veteran Phillip Zook addressed the gathering. Zook served in the Vietnam War and was decorated with two Purple Hearts.

Zook’s theme was the “forgotten focus” of the day of remembrance that is now called Veterans Day. What’s been forgotten, Zook said, is the focus on promoting peace. Continue reading “Veterans Day 2022 at Indiana University: “Let us strive for peaceful resolution in all conflict.”” →

2022 Little 500 Street Sprints: A perfect fall day in Bloomington

On Saturday afternoon for about five hours, small groups bicyclists pedaled like mad for 200 meters from a standing start, in a series of 62 total heats, to determine the champions for this year’s edition of the Little 500 Street Sprints. [More photos and video below] Continue reading “2022 Little 500 Street Sprints: A perfect fall day in Bloomington” →

Believed armed suspect extracted from Bloomington stormwater system after day-long saga

The image is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s online property lookup system.
Looking south down Walnut Street from the top of the 4th Street parking garage. (Sept. 20, 2022)
Bloomington police K-9 unit at the Walnut Street scene. (Sept. 20, 2022)
A Bloomington police officer sprints north on Walnut Street. (Sept. 20, 2022)
Looking south down Indiana Avenue from Kirkwood Avenue. (Sept. 20, 2022)

By around 5:30 p.m. a man believed to have been armed with a rifle was removed from the stormwater culvert near 6th Street and Indiana Avenue on the edge of Indiana University’s Bloomington campus.

It’s the place where the Campus River starts its journey under downtown Bloomington, flowing southwest.

A statement from Bloomington police said, “The suspect has been safely removed from the storm drain and will be transported to an area hospital to be evaluated. ”

That ended a day-long saga that started around 9:30 a.m., about a half mile southwest of 6th and Indiana—south of Seminary Park, along 1st Street between College Avenue and Walnut Street.

[This article has been updated below with additional information from a BPD news release issued shortly after midnight.]

Continue reading “Believed armed suspect extracted from Bloomington stormwater system after day-long saga” →