Our guest today is Doug Bruce. He's the owner of Tabor/Bruce Architects. He's also a member of the newly-formed Capital Improvements Board, the joint city-county entity created to take responsibility for the County Convention Center and its management. The CIB's first meeting was Oct. 4. Steve Volan asks Bruce to comment on the present and speculate on the future of the Convention Center. Bruce has a history of serving on local boards. He also discuss being the former vice-chair of the Historic ...
Feb 22, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Our guest is Matt Austin, a member of the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability ("BCOS", pronounced "bee-koss"). We talk about BCOS, compare it to the Environmental Commission, and talk about what BCOS is working on, including a composting program in the wake of the closing of EarthKeepers' composting program, and rethinking the chicken ordinance to allow people to keep even more hens. He also talks about urban and vertical farming, and his role as chair of the Citizens' Advisory Committee of...
Feb 21, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 27
On today's show, we catch up with Andy Ruff, one of three at-large members of the city council and, even though he was off last term, is the Council's most senior member, first elected in 1999. In our interview he looks both forward to his return to Council and the goals he has for it, as well as backward to his first term, and to life as a townie. Ruff is also a country musician in the tradition of the Bakersfield Sound and artists like Buck Owens. He's played for years with the local honky-ton...
Feb 20, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 26
On this edition of The 812 Digest, we revisit conversations with: Andrew Krebbs and Martha Whitmill of the Monroe County Humane Association, about it and other nonprofits help care for the local animal population; Brad Wisler, president of the city Plan Commission, talking about the Commission's work and the advent of the Summit District project, the largest proposal in the city's history; and David Henry, chair of the county Democratic Party, on the statutory process of replacing elected offici...
Feb 19, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 25
What happens when an elected official leaves office early? In many states, they hold a special election a few months later. Not in Indiana, though. In Indiana, the party whose candidate won the seat in an election holds a partisan caucus to elect someone new. Our guest, David Henry, the chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party, has had to call for no fewer than four caucuses in the past year to replace elected officials or ballot candidates. Most recently, he had the responsibility to fix the...
Feb 16, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Brad Wisler is the president of the Bloomington Plan Commission, now in his tenth year serving on that body. He also served as a member of the City Council for then-district 2, from 2005 through 2011. In today's show, Steve Volan (his former City Council colleague) asks him to unpack the complex process that anyone who wants to build a building in Bloomington must navigate. They also spell out the alphabet soup of planning-related acronyms like ADUs (accessory dwelling units), PUDs (planned unit...
Feb 15, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The 812 Primer is designed to give you the background you need to fully enjoy the show. In Primer Lesson 1, we described Bloomington's "second-class" city status. In today's Lesson 2, we enumerate the various departments of the city overseen by its chief executive, the Mayor, and briefly describe what they do. The Lineup segment is pretty substantive today, because on this Valentine's Day, dear listener, we want you to know that you are loved. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024...
Feb 14, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 22
We talk with Andrew Krebbs, the executive director, and Martha Whitmill, the development director, of the Monroe County Humane Association. We'll learn a little about MCHA's long history, and more about what they, the city of Bloomington, and other organizations do and don't do for the sake of animal welfare in the Bloomington area. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Feb 13, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 21
In this episode of The 812 Digest, we'll hear: new councilmember Hopi Stosberg address an issue in her newly-drawn District 3: the ongoing assessment of the design College Avenue and Walnut Street called for in the city's Comprehensive Plan; Gabe Gloden talk about forming a super-organization to save not only the missions of three performing-arts organizations, but the city-owned venue they all rely on that has proven difficult to maintain over the decades; Beverly Calender-Anderson talk about t...
Feb 12, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Courtney Daily is the state co-lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and chaired the Bloomington chapter for 3 years before that. She's also the second of three candidates for the District 5 seat who we've interviewed, along with Jason Moore. We've also invited Jenny Stevens to interview. Daily talks about her work with Moms Demand Action, her motives for running for City Council, and her thoughts on governing. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights re...
Feb 09, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Our guest today is Gabe Gloden, the managing director of Constellation Stage and Screen, the performing-arts superpower formed in 2022 out of three well-regarded organizations: Cardinal Stage, the Bloomington Playwrights' Project, and the Pigasus Institute which hosted the Bloomington Academy of Film and Theatre. A major reason for their Wonder-Triplet-power team-up was to take over ownership of the 1915 building that was the former City Hall, but since 1991 has been the John Waldron Arts Center...
Feb 08, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Our guest today is Hopi Stosberg, the latest in our series of interviews with members of the new city council. She represents the newly-drawn District 3, the northeast quadrant of the city. She talks about her priorities for the coming term, and explains why in her campaign last year she emphasized her experience with and the importance of local schools, even though they're overseen by a different elected body. She also talks about her new roles as council parliamentarian and as their representa...
Feb 07, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Kindness in the public realm, as it turns out, takes a lot of work to nurture. Today, we interview what you could call the city's chief kindness officer: Beverly Calender-Anderson, director of the city of Bloomington's Community and Family Resources Department. She's held the job for nine years and was the city's Safe and Civil City Director for nine years before that. She'll explain some of the myriad programs she oversees that help people get by, whether it's appealing to the city's human righ...
Feb 06, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 16
We revisit interviews with the Rev. Forrest Gilmore, executive director of Beacon, Inc., about the challenge of fighting misconceptions and bias against people in extreme poverty; Laurence "Buff" Brown, who influenced changes in city transportation policy by bringing in the experts; and the new District 6 city councilmember Sydney Zulich, who talks about what her newly-drawn constituency, the vast majority of whom are students, want from the city. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©...
Feb 05, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Our guest is Sydney Zulich. She got her bachelor's degree after only three years at IU. At 21, she became the youngest-ever member of the Bloomington City Council last month, and (at least through next week when Councilmember Shruti Rana steps down after a very short tenure to take a job in another state) is a member of the first majority-female council in city history. Zulich replaced Steve Volan, who interviews her today, in the District 6 seat on City Council. She shares her thoughts about ho...
Feb 02, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 14
We're taking a break today to retool. Instead of our usual full-length interview, we're starting an occasional segment called The Primer. We don't want to assume that you have all the background you need to fully enjoy the show. The Primer is designed to give you that background. In Primer lesson one, you'll get background on what exactly it means for Bloomington to be a "second-class" city in the state of Indiana, including how its executive and legislative branches work. We also explore the ci...
Feb 01, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Our guest, Lawrence "Buff" Brown, has been a transportation planner for 20 years, working with INDOT, IDEM, the Columbus, Indiana, MPO, and cities on the west coast. Buff's childhood experiences in Bloomington included being able to bike freely around town, which instilled in him a profound appreciation for accessible urban spaces. In the nineties this led him to involvement in transportation policy starting with the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Bloomington MPO, and then the Traffic Commis...
Jan 31, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Rev. Forest Gilmore, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, is the Executive Director of Beacon Inc. He discusses the evolution of the organization from its origins as the Shalom Center, established in 1999 as a response to the lack of daytime resources for people experiencing homelessness, as it gradually expanded its services over the years, including hunger relief, case management support, an overnight shelter, permanent housing, and street outreach. Gilmore dispels common misconception...
Jan 30, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Selected clips of last week's conversations with: City Councilmember Matt Flaherty , City Human Rights Director Michael Shermis , former Fire Chief and now candidate for the open District 5 Council seat Jason Moore , and Charlotte Zietlow , who was the city's first-ever female council president in 1972. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Jan 29, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Charlotte Zietlow is well-known in Bloomington and Monroe County for many reasons. This episode focuses her time on the Bloomington City Council in the early 1970s -- the subject of her second book, "1971: How We Won". She talks about how the previous council was unresponsive to public input and concerns, motivating her to run for office. She campaigned on issues like zoning changes and lack of transparency. By 1972, she was one of ten newly elected city officials who had swept all but one incum...
Jan 26, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Shruti Rana recently resigned as the District 5 representative on the Bloomington City Council. barely two weeks after being sworn in, to take a job out of state. This episode is the first of three to meet the candidates running to replace her: Courtney Daily, Jason Moore, and Jenny Stevens. (Invitations have been extended to Daily, Stevens and Rana; we hope to have them on the show as soon as possible.) Citing his background as Bloomington's most recent fire chief, Jason Moore discusses his mot...
Jan 25, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode features an interview with Michael Shermis, the city's Human Rights Director. It's probably good that he likes wearing hats: he's also the the Special Projects Coordinator for the city's Community and Family Resources Department, which earned him titles like the city's ADA Coordinator and liaison to the Council for Community Accessibility, the South Central Community Action Project, and the Nonprofit Alliance. He investigates claims of discrimination, ensures compliance with accessi...
Jan 24, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Councilmember Flaherty discusses climate action for the city through such projects as decarbonization through reduction of gas infrastructire, strategic use of the Redevelopment Commission, and encouragement of all-electric and sustainable construction of the city's built environment. He also takes on topics like planned unit developments, the Unified Development Ordinance, the Hopewell development project and his new roles on the Utilities Service Board and the Parking Commission this term. Sup...
Jan 23, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This episode provides an overview of The812, and its mission of explaining local government in Bloomington. We hear highlights of interviews with city council president Isabel Piedmont-Smith, city clerk Nicole Bolden, and council attorney/administrator Stephen Lucas; we also hear from Christopher Emge, from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Jan 22, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Our guest is Stephen Lucas, the attorney for and administrator of the Bloomington City Council. He'll talk about what it takes to organize and advise the city's primary legislative body, what it's like to have nine bosses, the life cycle of an ordinance, and how he herds the cats. Plus...it's time for FreezeFest! Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Jan 19, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Our guest today is Christopher Emge. He works for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce as its director of advocacy and public policy. He'll talk about what it's like to advocate for local businesses in a blue town in a red state. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Jan 18, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3
We'll talk with Nicole Bolden about the Clerk's duties -- from tracking the legislative work of the city council, to adjudicating parking tickets, to marrying people. And we'll talk about the number of firsts she set, like being the city's first elected woman of color. Also on the show: a preview of the city council's first regular session tonight. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Jan 17, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 2
The inaugural episode introduces your humble host and lays out the case for The 812. Our first interview is with Isabel Piedmont-Smith, the newly-elected president of the Bloomington City Council. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Jan 16, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1
