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Pandemic notebook: Monroe County flirts with blue advisory level, could be back to yellow next week

Pandemic notebook: Monroe County flirts with blue advisory level, could be back to yellow next week

Monroe County’s mask mandate won’t be lifted next Wednesday. That’s because it’s a mathematical impossibility, based on the health order’s criteria for termination. In order for Monroe County’s mask mandate to be lifted, the weekly cases per 100,000 population have to drop below

Column | Piecing social fabric back together as pandemic wanes: Quilts at convention center

Column | Piecing social fabric back together as pandemic wanes: Quilts at convention center

Friday morning sometime after 9 a.m., I’m heading to Monroe County’s convention center at 3rd and College to check out the quilts. They’re displayed as part of the “Quilts from the Heartland” show hosted by the Bloomington Quilters Guild. The show runs two days, Friday and

2022 budget OK’d by Bloomington council on 9–0 vote

2022 budget OK’d by Bloomington council on 9–0 vote

On Wednesday night, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s roughly $107 million budget for 2022 was approved on a unanimous vote of the city council. Two weeks ago some city councilmembers had threatened to vote against it. After expressing discontent with the mayor’s 2022 budget at their Oct. 13 meeting,

$10M in new bonds part of Bloomington mayor’s pitch to city council to adopt 2022 budget this week

$10M in new bonds part of Bloomington mayor’s pitch to city council to adopt 2022 budget this week

In a news release issued early Tuesday afternoon, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton has made a pitch to the city council to adopt his proposed 2022 budget. After expressing discontent with the mayor’s 2022 budget at their Oct. 13 meeting, and before voting on it, councilmembers recessed the meeting until

School files lawsuit against Monroe County over pandemic mask mandate citation

School files lawsuit against Monroe County over pandemic mask mandate citation

Seven Oaks Classical School is again challenging its citation for violation of the county’s indoor mask mandate, which is connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time the challenge comes in papers filed with the Monroe County circuit court. The county has enacted a mask regulation to help prevent the

Monroe County hits one benchmark for pandemic cases, but far from trigger to lift mask mandate

Monroe County hits one benchmark for pandemic cases, but far from trigger to lift mask mandate

Sunday’s 14 positive COVID-19 cases for Monroe County contributed to a rolling 7-day average of 19.7 cases. That’s good news, in terms of the state’s metrics for community disease spread. But it still leaves the county at about twice the number of daily cases needed for

Trash talk analysis: Bloomington city councilmembers want to rethink cart fees

Trash talk analysis: Bloomington city councilmembers want to rethink cart fees

The roughly 6,000 Bloomington residents who currently pay the city $11.61 a month for weekly pickup of their 64-gallon trash cart, could see that amount more than doubled—to around $24 a month. That kind of increase would come from applying some assumptions floated at city council sessions—