This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, April 1st, 2021.

This week, we present a four-part WFHB News Special where we revisit the stories we covered over the last year. We selected four areas of reporting, which include: Homelessness in Bloomington, the Coronavirus Pandemic, Social Justice Reporting and the Environmental Edition.

In our fourth installment of this series, we focus on Environmental reporting. We present a story on a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Power and Light, which claimed that the company has been violating the Clean Air Act. WFHB Correspondent Katrine Bruner filed that report.

In March of 2020, WFHB Assistant News Director Sydney Foreman covered the City of Bloomington’s plan to demolish the Griffy Lake Water Treatment Plant, which had been abandoned since 1996.

On Friday, March 12th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an 11.9 million dollar cleanup plan at the Martinsville superfund site. WFHB Correspondent Alex Dederer read that report.

All that and more in today’s edition of the WFHB Local News - the Environmental Edition.

In September 2020, Katrine Bruner filed a report on a federal lawsuit against Indianapolis Power and Light claiming that the company had violated the Clean Air Act repeatedly.

Credits:

You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News.

Today’s show was produced by Katrine Bruner, Sydney Foreman, Alex Dederer and Kade Young.

Anchors were Benedict Jones and Lucinda Larnach.

Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.

Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.

 

This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, March 31st, 2021.

This week, we present a four-part WFHB News Special where we revisit the stories we covered over the last year. We selected four areas of reporting, which include: Homelessness in Bloomington, the Coronavirus Pandemic, Social Justice Reporting and the Environmental Edition.

In our third installment of this series, we focus on Social Justice reporting. The summer of 2020 was marked by protests after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Sean Reed. Monroe County Human Rights Commissioner Vauhxx Booker said he survived an attempted lynching. In this series, we cover the news behind the protests and the protests themselves.

All that and more in today’s edition of the WFHB Local News - Social Justice.

Photos by Sydney Foreman.

Credits:

You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News - Social Justice.

Today’s newscast was produced by Kade Young, Sydney Foreman, Katrine Bruner and Nicholas Di-Brita.

Anchors were Benedict Jones and Sydney Foreman.

Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.

Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.

This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, March 30th 2021.

This week, we present a four-part WFHB News Special where we revisit the stories we covered over the last year. We selected four areas of reporting, which include: Homelessness in Bloomington, the Coronavirus Pandemic, Social Justice Reporting and the Environmental Edition.

In our second installment of this series, we focus on the coronavirus pandemic - providing a timeline of news reports from the Spring of 2020 to the Spring of 2021. This topic is ever expansive and we’ve covered the virus in almost every newscast since 2020. However, we’ve collected an archive of reports to highlight the work of WFHB News Volunteers.

All that and more in today’s edition of the WFHB Local News - the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.

Credits:

You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News - the Coronavirus Pandemic,

Today’s feature was produced by Kade Young, Sydney Foreman, Mia Beach, Katrine Bruner, Braydyn Lents, Clarence Boone, William Hosea, the team at Hearabouts, Aaron Comforty and Jake Jacobson.

Anchors were Benedict Jones and Katherine Patterson.

Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.

Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.

 

This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, March 29th 2021.

This week, we present a four-part WFHB News Special where we revisit the stories we covered over the last year. We selected four areas of reporting, which include: Homelessness in Bloomington, the Coronavirus Pandemic, Social Justice Reporting and the Environmental Edition.

In our first installment of this series, we focus on homelessness in Bloomington - particularly on the city’s two evictions of encampments at Seminary Park and then a failed city council ordinance to add protections for people experiencing homelessness.

All that and more in today’s edition of the WFHB Local News - Seminary Park.

Credits:

You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News - Seminary Park,

Today’s newscast was produced by Aaron Comforty, Jake Jacobson, Katherine Patterson, Kade Young, Benedict Jones, Alex Dederer, Lucinda Larnach and Sydney Foreman.

Anchors were Don Geyra and Alex Dederer.

Engineer and Executive Producer is Kade Young

 

This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, March 25th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have an excerpt from the latest edition of Bring It On - Indiana’s only weekly radio program committed to exploring the people, issues and events impacting the African-American community.

Clarence Boone and William Hosea talk with Dr. Jeff Hauswald, the newly appointed Superintendent for the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Joining them are MCCSC Trustee Board Members, April Hennessey and Jacinda Townsend Gides. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Indiana is set to raise vaccine eligibility to those 16 and older starting March 31st. The state will also end the mask mandate on April 6th. More in today’s headlines.

Indiana to Raise Eligibility to 16+ for Vaccine but Ends Mask Mandate

Indiana health officials announced on March 31st, the state will begin to open up the coronavirus vaccine to those ages sixteen and older.

Governor Eric Holcomb also announced that will end the statewide mask mandate on April 6th. Holcomb addressed the new changes during the state’s weekly Covid-19 update.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box provided an update on the state’s vaccine rollout.

Dr. Box warned that, although the state is progressing on vaccine distribution, new cases of Covid-19 and variants of the virus may be a cause for concern.

On the state’s color-coded map, all but one county are in either the “blue” or “yellow” advisory level. One county is in “orange.”

Covid-19 hospitalizations are at 596 people as of March 22nd. In November 2020, hospitalizations were at 3,460 people.

The state’s positivity rate currently stands at 3.3 percent, compared to almost 17 percent on December 2nd, 2020.

Monroe County Commissioners Work Session 

The Monroe County Commissioners heard a presentation from the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute about results from their Hoosier Resilience Index Readiness Assessment. During their March 24th Work Session, Implementation Manager Andrea Webster said the assessment would help mitigate climate change.

Webster said low-income and minority populations would be most affected by the negative impacts of climate change. Resilience analyst Zack Richardson stated Indiana would most see increases in temperature and precipitation.

Richardson reported heat related illnesses increase when temperatures do not cool down at night. He stated increased precipitation raised warning for developed areas within Monroe County’s large floodplain area. He pointed out some areas of improvement for climate change readiness.

Webster said City of Bloomington Climate Readiness did not affect the County results.

Monroe County Commissioners 

The Monroe County Commissioners approved an agreement with Hope Alight for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative for approximately 5 thousand dollars. Initiative Coordinator Christine McAfee spoke of implementation of the Trust Based Relational Intervention program during their March 24th meeting.

McAfee stated the 5 thousand dollars came from a Department of Correction grant. She mentioned the J-D-A-I program has seen decreased numbers of detainees and increased lengths of stay since 2013.

McAfee mentioned their initiative helped create a common language to talk about the juvenile justice system.

Monroe County Council Work Session 

Lake Monroe watershed coordinator Maggie Sullivan presented a Watershed Management Plan update to the Monroe County Council during their March 23rd work session. She said a management plan would be written by January 2022.

This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, March 24th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have an excerpt from last week’s edition of Big Talk. Producer Michael Glab speaks with author Laurie Borman whose work "1oo% American’ Hate Groups, Christian Nationalism, and the Indiana KKK,” was recently published in the Limestone Post.

Glab says his discussion with Borman is particularly relevant this week in the wake of the mass killing of Asian-Americans in Georgia.

Also coming up in the next half hour, a protest took place earlier this afternoon at the Sample Gates on Gathering Against Asian Hate. More on that in today’s headlines.

Your Local News Brief

 This morning the Indiana State Department of Health announced that all Indiana residents, aged sixteen and older, will be eligible to sign up to receive a Covid-19 vaccine on March 31st.

A handful of other states have already opened up vaccine eligibility to their entire adult populations. In Indiana, almost one million people have been fully vaccinated. That’s about one in six people in the state.

Another million and a half people have received the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The Indiana State Department of Health has documented almost 700,000 cases of Covid-19 in the state. While that is likely an undercount, it represents a large group of Hoosiers who may still have some immunity to the virus.

In Monroe County, about one in seven people has received a full vaccine dose. Another fifth of the population has received their first shot. About 1,000 Monroe County residents are receiving the vaccine everyday.

Hoosiers who are 40 years of age and older are currently eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine. Pre-K through high school teachers and staff, and Hoosiers who work in child care are also eligible. First responders or healthcare workers still qualify to sign up for the vaccine, as well.

If you qualify, you can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance, or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

And a local landmark was demolished yesterday. It wasn’t known for its architecture or for being structurally sound, but for years the Players Pub served as a hub for local musicians and as a touring stop for bands making their way through this part of the Midwest.

Last month, the City Council voted not to give the building an historic status, which would have prevented its demolition.

While the Pub, as it was known, has been closed since early 2019, the demolition of the building, was for some, a symbol of the decline in local music venues. In recent years

Local Music mainstays like Rhino’s, The Void and Max’s Place have all closed down.

Gathering Against Asian Hate Protest at IU Sample Gates

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition organized a Gathering Against Hate protest at the Sample Gates. One organizer holds up a sign containing a QR code to sign up for the socially-distanced event (Young).

At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, about 150 demonstrators gathered at the Sample Gates to protest the rise of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition organized the protest. Protesters held signs that said, “Protect International Students” and “Racism is a virus.” Another said, “You can’t love Asian culture and not stand with the Asian Community.”

An organizer, Pallavi Rao, spoke at the protest over a megaphone. She led demonstrators in a chant.

"Stop Asian hate," shouted protesters in unison.

This protest comes in the aftermath of a shooting...

This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021.

Later in the program, we turn to WFHB Correspondent Aaron Comforty, for a report on newly proposed state education bills that would take money from public schools and give it to private schools. Stay tuned to hear the interview.

Also coming up in the next half hour, workers at the Secretly Group, a string of Bloomington-based record labels, are trying to unionize. More in today’s headlines.

Your Local News Brief:

 As of Monday, Hoosiers who are 40 years of age and older are currently eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine. Pre-K through high school teachers and staff, and Hoosiers who work in child care are also eligible.

First responders or healthcare workers still qualify to sign up for the vaccine, as well. If you qualify, you can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance, or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

***

Governor Eric Holcomb’s latest Executive Order, Executive Order 21-07, went into effect on Monday.

Executive Order 21-07 extends the deadline to file state taxes, from April 15 to May 17. This change is in line with the recent announcement that the U S Treasury has extended the Federal tax deadline to May 17 as well.

The executive order makes two other major extensions. First, E-O 21-07 continues to extend the temporary licensing of health care workers, for an extra 90 days.

EO 21-07 also extends the amount of time a new police officer can, “exercise law enforcement powers” before they have to complete basic training.

This additional six months is on top of the current allotment of one year. This is the second such extension granted to members of law enforcement made by Governor Holcomb.

These multiple extensions are due to the closure of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Curiously, the state’s press release does not touch on this extension.

Bloomington Plan Commission

Development Services Manager Jackie Scanlan Presented an ordinance amendment to the unified development ordinance regarding use regulations during the March 22nd Bloomington Plan Commission meeting. She spoke of changes to parking regulations.

Scanlan said a similar requirement was proposed for student living. She mentioned changes to livestock regulations as well.

Scanlan proposed removal of a required notification to neighbors if a person planned on building an accessory dwelling unit. She mentioned the notification caused confusion.

Scanlan stated no other by right uses require notification. During public comment many residents supported resident Peter Dorfman ’s opposition to the removal of notification.

Commissioner Trohn Enright-Randolph supported the continuance of notification letters. Commissioner Beth Cate argued neighbor conversations could still occur without a required formal notification. Commissioners unanimously approved a positive recommendation of the ordinance to city council as amended.

Workers at the Secretly Group Begin Effort to Unionize

Workers at the independent record company, the Secretly Group, started an effort to unionize.

The Secretly Group is made up of four indie labels, which include: Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans and archival record label, the Numero Group.

Kim Kelly of Rolling Stone magazine, reported that if successful, the Secretly Group Union will make history as one of the first independent record-label staffs to unionize.

Employees wrote in an open letter, “our enthusiasm for the culture in which we work, can lead to exploitation in ways endemic to the creative industries: poor wages, inadequate benefits and an absence of initiati...

This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, March 22nd, 2021.

Later in the program, we have the latest edition of A Few Minutes with the Mayor - a weekly interview segment with Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, where we ask him listener-posed questions on community issues. More coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up, the NCAA issued an apology after reports of a weight room disparity between the women’s and men’s basketball tournament. More in today’s headlines.

Your Local News Brief:

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.

After two months of a significant downward trend, Indiana’s Covid-19 numbers are back to where they were in July of last year, with around 750 new cases per day.

Deaths are at their lowest point since record keeping began, back in March 2020. Experts credit the vaccination campaign and the immunity than millions of people have from actually have Covid-19, with slowing the spread.

However, for the the past couple weeks, Indiana and much of the U.S.’s Covid numbers have stopped declining, and have remained fairly flat.

The flattening of the curve suggests that more contagious variants are likely spreading locally and nationally, and could threaten to increase Covid-19 rates in the coming weeks.

On Saturday protesters held a demonstration called, the March to End The Madness. The goal was to protest economic inequality in Bloomington, as perpetuated by The City of Bloomington’s government and Indiana University.

The main issue concerned people without housing, who have been forced to set up tents in city parks to find shelter and safety.

The City of Bloomington has evicted people without housing a number of times in the past year. Twice Mayor John Hamilton’s orders to evict the Seminary park encampment spawned protests and wide local publicity.

The March started and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie's house. A symbolic criticism of president McRobbie, who, in 2019, earned almost a million dollars from his Indiana University compensation.

His more-than a decade’s long tenure as president was characterized by his general refusal to engage with the press, consistently rising tuition, billions of dollars spent on construction projects and technology investments, and austerity measures that saw the freezing of graduate worker compensation and entry level administration hiring, despite mass understaffing in a number of critical departments.

The Marchers pitched tents in the tailgating fields by the sports stadiums, where NCAA basketball tournament games were being held.

Protestors decried the Millions earned yearly by university sports coaches, highlighting the recent nearly eleven million dollar severance package given to the former basketball coach Archie miller earlier this month.

COVID-19 Press Conference 

WFHB Correspondent Sydney Foreman provides an update of the local Covid-19 response in the latest joint press conference with the City of Bloomington, Monroe County and Indiana University (Photo courtesy of ABC Chicago).

Monroe County Health Administrator Penny Caudill said the Monroe County Convention Center will only be providing second dose COVID-19 vaccines through April. Indiana University Assistant Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Kirk White stated the convention center clinic will be transitioning to IU’s Assembly Hall during their Match 19th COVID-19 press conference.

White stated both IU affiliated staff and community volunteers would run their vaccination clinic. He mentioned a mass vaccination clinic was under consideration.

Indiana University Health South Central Region President Brian Shockney said over 50 thousand vaccines have been administered at the Bloomington hospital site. He mentioned free rides are available for peop...

This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, March 18th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have the latest edition of Civic Conversations, a podcast collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County.

The League is a nonpartisan, grassroots, citizen-led organization that has fought since 1920 to improve our government and engage all citizens in the decisions that impact their lives.

In today’s show, host Jim Allison speaks with Nicole Browne, Monroe County Circuit Court Clerk, about women in politics. More coming up in today’s feature reports.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Indiana health officials are calling on the federal government for more weekly doses of the coronavirus vaccine. More in today’s headlines.

Local News Brief:

By Jake Jacobson

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.

The WFHB Local News Brief breaks down the daily local news cycle into 2-3 minutes of what you need to know each day. Listen live Monday through Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on WFHB Community Radio. Visual broadcasts of the news briefs are available on our Youtube channel, WFHB-TV.

Positive COVID-19 cases have been trending back up in Indiana over the past few days, with 916 new cases on Wednesday, and 966 cases reported today.

With vaccines becoming available for more Hoosiers, it’s easy to feel like we see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, until a majority of Hoosiers have actually received the vaccine in full, it is still important that everyone continues to wear masks and practice social distancing.

Hoosiers who are 45 years of age and older are currently eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine. Pre-K through high school teachers and staff, and Hoosiers who work in child care are also eligible.

Hoosiers who are first responders or healthcare workers still qualify to sign up for the vaccine, as well.

If you qualify, you can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

***

The Monroe County Health Department has launched a new program to help Hoosiers who have trouble leaving their homes receive their COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Homebound Hoosier Program will send teams from the Bloomington Fire Department and Monroe Fire Protection District to administer COVID-19 vaccines to folks who have been signed up on the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Homebound Hoosier portal.

In a press release, the Monroe County Health Department says they have received a shipment of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose, that they will distribute through the Homebound Hoosiers program.

Bloomington City Council Discusses Water Rate Case

By Sydney Foreman

The Bloomington City Council approved a City of Bloomington water rate increase during its Wednesday meeting. WFHB Assistant News Director reports on the city council meeting in partnership with CATS (Community Access Television Services).

Bloomington City Council considered an amendment to the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding water rate adjustments. Director of Utilities Vick Kelson described how water rates affect water services and projects during their March 17th meeting.

Kelson mentioned the last water rate case was implemented in 2016. He stated all City of Bloomington Utilities functions are paid for by customer water bills. Kelson said the project that needing the most funding was the water main replacement project.

Kelson mentioned six other large projects such as, Sludge dewatering improvements, standby generator improvements,

This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, March 17th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have an excerpt from Bring It On, our public affairs program committed to exploring the people, issues and events impacting the African-American community.

Today’s excerpt comes from a two-part series about the impact of COVID-19 on the black community and the response of the black community to the COVID-19 vaccine. More coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Indiana teachers are eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Also, we have reporting on St. Patrick’s Day in Bloomington. More in today’s headlines.

 Local News Brief

The WFHB Local News Brief breaks down the daily local news cycle into 2-3 minutes of what you need to know each day. Listen live Monday through Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on WFHB Community Radio. Visual broadcasts of the news briefs are available on our Youtube channel, WFHB-TV.

by Aaron Comforty

On Monday, teachers and people who work with children or in schools became eligible to sign-up get Covid-19 vaccines. And on Tuesday morning, Hoosiers aged 45-49 also became eligible to sign up.

If you qualify, you can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance, or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

Monroe County is averaging about 15 new cases per day. While that’s only a tenth of the county’s highest average in November, Monroe has twice as many cases as any surrounding county.

Last week, the City of Bloomington announced that it would provide $12,000 one-time mortgage down payments and a vehicle ownership and rental subsidy for Bloomington Police officers.

Chief Diekhoff described the measure as a way to, “Attract and retain the best possible candidates.” Critics of the program have noted that the City consistently musters up funds for the police department, while being unable to muster the same funds for issues like homelessness and other social services.

The 100,000 square-foot warehouse along the B-line in Switchyard Park, which currently houses the emergency winter shelter, run by Beacon Inc. may be torn down and replaced with 19 townhomes and 104 family apartment units.

That’s if the current owner of the building gets City approval for the project. Questions remain about integrating the apartments with the storage company, which uses the front of the building, and about environmental issues regarding drainage and heat islands.

The matter is set to be further discussed on a March 24th Bloomington City Council meeting.

Covid-19 Vaccine Update

Hoosiers ages 45 and older are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. We have an update from Governor Holcomb's coronavirus press conference on Wednesday. Locally, Monroe County will move its primary vaccination site to Assembly Hall starting March 29th. All that and more in today's Covid-19 vaccine update.

by Kade Young

Indiana residents 45 and older are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

The announcement came from the Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday. ISDH also announced teachers are eligible to receive the vaccine at any state clinic starting this week.

According to ISDH, the new expansion makes the vaccine available to an additional 415,640 Hoosiers.

At Wednesday's coronavirus press conference, Dr. Kristina Box broke down the latest vaccine metrics and laid out the state’s goal in its vaccine rollout.

Monroe County will move its primary Covid-19 vaccination site starting...