This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, June 17th, 2021

Later in the program, WFHB Correspondent Max Campbell speaks with two organizers of the Bloomington Renters’ Association - Andrew Guenther and Vauhxx Booker. The Bloomington Renter’s Association is an organization intended to be an alternative to the current homeowner-dominated neighborhood associations that can be found around the city. More coming up in today’s feature reports.

Also coming up in the next half hour, on Saturday, Bloomington will host a Juneteenth celebration from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at Switchyard Park. Juneteenth commemorates the date the last group of those who had been enslaved in the United States were informed of their freedom. More in today’s headlines.

But first, your local news brief:

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.

The City of Bloomington will be hosting a Juneteenth event at Switchyard Park this Saturday from 3 to 6:30PM. The event will feature food, treats, games, and scannable QR codes with information on the history of Juneteenth. Attendees may also bring gently used shoes to donate to a Delta Sigma Theta Alumnae chapter shoe drive. The Monroe County Health Department will also be providing free COVID-19 vaccines.

The Indiana Department of National Resources has announced that the CRISP charity motorcycle ride will take place on June 26th this year. Riders can choose one of several routes running through six of Indiana’s state parks. The event will feature an all-you-can eat buffet breakfast at Hardy Lake State Park, a poker run at Versailles State Park, and lunch discounts at Clifty Falls and Spring Mill state parks. Proceeds will go to Friends of Hardy Lake, which provides funding and volunteer service to Indiana’s state parks. Those interested can register at indianastateparksride.org.

The Monroe County Public Library and its Ellettsville branch will rescind some of their COVID-related restrictions this Monday. Both libraries will be resuming their usual hours of operation, will cease to enforce library capacity and time limits, and are scheduling a wide range of educational and children’s events. Hours and programs can be found on the library website.

According to the latest Indiana Department of Health numbers, 750,432 total Hoosiers have had COVID-19. 13,344 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from the virus. The Federal Public Health Emergency remains in effect, and the COVID-19 vaccine is available for free to all Indiana residents aged 12 and up.

Bloomington City Council

At its June 16th meeting, the Bloomington City Council resumed discussion on occupancy affidavits. Director of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development John Zody presented changes made to a resolution that would require tenants and their landlords to sign an affidavit confirming that the number of residents meets occupation limits. He said the ordinance would no longer require landlords to file the affidavit with HAND to avoid privacy issues.

Resident Jordan Evans spoke in opposition to the resolution. As the President of the Monroe County Apartment Association, he said he believes the resolution addresses a problem that does not exist in Bloomington.

Councilmember Susan Sandberg supported the resolution. She argued that the low number of overoccupancy cases is because of the efforts of Bloomington’s HAND department.

Councilmembers voted to approve the resolution 5 to 3, with Councilmembers Isabel Piedmont-Smith, Kate Rosenbarger, and Matt Flaherty dissenting.

Bloomington Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday at Switchyard Park

On Saturday, Bloomington will host a Juneteenth celebration from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at Switchyard Park.