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Encampment on county-owned land: Local disaster declared by Monroe County commissioners

Encampment on county-owned land: Local disaster declared by Monroe County commissioners

An encampment on county-owned land west of Bloomington has prompted action by the Monroe County board of commissioners two Wednesdays in a row. Last week, commissioners added to their agenda a contract with Bio-One, which is an Indianapolis-based company specializing in “extreme cleaning.” The $3,500-per-day contract covered clearing out

Bloomington mayoral campaign committee formed by Kerry Thomson

Bloomington mayoral campaign committee formed by Kerry Thomson

Just before noon on Wednesday, Bloomington resident Kerry Thomson filed paperwork with Monroe County’s election division to establish a principal committee for a 2023 mayoral campaign. That makes two Democrats in as many weeks to file some kind of paperwork for a Bloomington mayoral run. On June 1, city

Bloomington Chick-fil-A gets OK for night time noise permit to install awnings

Bloomington Chick-fil-A gets OK for night time noise permit to install awnings

A request for a night time noise permit at the 3rd Street Chick-fil-A restaurant got approved by Bloomington’s board of public works at its regular Tuesday meeting. The noise permit is related to the planned installation of some awnings for the drive-thru area of the restaurant. The request came

First step for Bloomington-Meridiam internet deal OK’d, as current broadband companies ask: Why?

First step for Bloomington-Meridiam internet deal OK’d, as current broadband companies ask: Why?

On Monday, the first step towards a $50 million high-speed internet fiber deal, between Bloomington and the Paris-based infrastructure firm Meridiam, got a 4–0 vote of approval from the city’s redevelopment commission (RDC). The question in front of the RDC was a resolution that declares an economic development

Mapping tools released: Anyone can draw new Bloomington city council districts

Mapping tools released: Anyone can draw new Bloomington city council districts

Late last week, the MGGG Lab at Tufts University released a mapping tool that makes it easy for anyone to draw new boundaries for Bloomington’s city council districts. The release is part of a web-based redistricting resource the lab has developed, called Districtr. The Bloomington module of Districtr was

Column: Should city lawmakers regulate employee parking rates or focus on legislating land use?

Column: Should city lawmakers regulate employee parking rates or focus on legislating land use?

Because it operates under Indiana state law, the city of Bloomington’s local government is divided along familiar lines—between legislative and executive branches. But when it comes to policy on parking prices for city hall employees, that division is not easy to discern. The distinction is hard to see,

Vacation of alleys for hospital site redevelopment gets yes from Bloomington council on second try

Vacation of alleys for hospital site redevelopment gets yes from Bloomington council on second try

At its meeting on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council voted unanimously to vacate parts of two alleys in one of the blocks near the former site of the IU Health hospital. The request came from the Hamilton administration through the Bloomington redevelopment commission (RDC). The block in question is bounded