This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, September 15th, 2021.

Later in the program, the Bloomington City Council will take a final vote on annexation tonight at 6:30 p.m. during a special session. WFHB News spoke with Monroe County Residents Against Annexation Member Margaret Clements about her hopes and expectations ahead of tonight’s meeting.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Zero Day hacks and StubHub refunds on Better Beware - your weekly consumer-watchdog segment with Richard Fish. More at the bottom half of tonight’s program.

But first, your Environmental News Brief:

Over this past summer, a mysterious and unknown illness was affecting songbirds throughout Indiana. This illness causes neurological symptoms that result in widespread sickness and death among the bird populations. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is still investigating the illness, but has now lifted the moratorium on bird feeders throughout the state. The Department recommends that before setting up your bird feeder, check to make sure there are not any sick or dead birds in your yard, as well as to thoroughly clean the bird feeder at least once per week.

Last week, Sunrise Bloomington, a subset of the Sunrise Movement, held a meeting announcing the launch of their “Disclose Divest Reinvest” campaign. The goal of the campaign is to call on Indiana University to shift away from the use of fossil fuels in favor of more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy. The concerns derive from the recent wildfires and flooding in multiple states that many have attributed to climate change. The group believes that it is important for IU to make investments in clean energy despite the cost, in order to have a sustainable planet for future generations.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service have recently responded to Hoosiers who are questioning why the sun is looking a lot more red than usual. Due to the smoke particles coming from the wildfires in the western United States, there is a smoke layer in the sky that is filtering the sun’s rays. These smoke particles scatter the light in the sky, which impacts the wavelength and causes the sun to appear red. This occurs under certain conditions such as when the air flows precisely from the west coast to the midwest. While this is an interesting phenomenon, it is important to understand that it negatively affects air quality in our state.

Ellettsville Town Council

Photo courtesy of the Town of Ellettsville.

The Ellettsville Town Council approved amendments to the zoning map on 3888 West State Road 46, Bloomington, IN. The council initially motioned to table to vote until more council members could be in attendance, however since it had been tabled for the same reason multiple times, the council agreed to move ahead on the ordinance to ensure it was heard before the 90 day deadline.

There was a significant amount of public comment surrounding the issue. Residents in the area expressed concern that the new multi-unit development will over-saturate traffic and lead to more accidents. Member of the community, Linda Summers, spoke on behalf of her neighborhood to share why she did not want the council to approve the zoning amendment.

Similarly community member, Megan Pease, urged the council to vote no on the zoning plan. She explained why she believes the community has nothing to gain from the complex being developed.

Ridge Group chief operating officer Tyler Ridge, explained that since the zoning at the site was marked as a C-3 zone, they could go ahead with the apartments or someone else could come along with a larger project. Ellettsville resident Brian Thomas commented on the poor zoning in the area.

Council member Dan Swafford conveyed reluctance and said he sympathized with the residents opposed to th...