When you hear the words "public" and "works"... what do you think of first? Potholes, maybe? Street paving? Yeah, that's not uncommon. But it definitely depends on the city you're in. In Bloomington, Public Works does everything from animal control to sanitation. Michael Large, the Operations Manager for the city's Public Works department, lays it all out for us, and surprises host Steve Volan more than once along the way. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserv...
Apr 04, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Professor Pilachowski, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, and the Daniel Kirkwood Chair of the Astronomy Department at Indiana University, has been planning for Bloomington's April 8 eclipse for many years. She talks about its significance astronomically, its impact on people locally, her career in astronomy, and shares the plethora of activities her department and IU generally have in store from Saturday through Monday. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reser...
Apr 03, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Our guest today is new director of Bloomington Parks & Recreation, Tim Street -- and not once...not ONCE was the word "pickleball" mentioned. But he talks with host Steve Volan about the breadth of city parks issues, including the remediation of invasive trees, the state of the Farmers' Market, programs they're sponsoring for the coming eclipse, and how he feels about the Amy Poehler sitcom "Parks & Rec". Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Apr 02, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 56
A look back at interviews The 812 has conducted with: Communications Director Holly McLauchlin of City of Bloomington Utilities, about how the local water works works: General Manager John Connell of Bloomington Transit, about how the local system of busses is so bussin' and Jordan Davis, host of the No Dishes podcast about the local restaurant scene, and Operations Manager for the Chocolate Moose local ice cream shops chain. (PS: No, this is not Radiolab. But Jad Abumrad is in town this week!) ...
Apr 01, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 55
BT General Manager John Connell gives The 812 an overview of the state's busiest bus system per capita, its scope, how it works, and what's next for public transit in Bloomington, including an update on the Green Line, soon to be the city's first bus rapid transit line. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 29, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 54
After the Lineup for Thursday, March 28, we revisit our interview with At-Large Councilmember Matt Flaherty, recorded in January. He discusses how the city can take significant climate action and decarbonization by rethinking policies on development, utilities and parking. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 28, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Our guest today is Jordan Davis, director of operations at the Chocolate Moose. He's also host of the No Dishes podcast which is all about the local restaurant scene, and a board member for Visit Bloomington, the local convention and visitors' bureau. Among other things, we talk about his career in food service, the Chocolate Moose's history, the growth of food trucks in Bloomington, and the logistics of putting on the popular local event known as Food Truck Friday. (As part of the cultural exch...
Mar 27, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Water, water everywhere, but every drop you drink, dear city dweller, is cleaned somehow. Who delivers -- and takes away -- your water? We talk with Holly McLauchlin, the communications director for City of Bloomington Utilities. She'll explain the ginormous operation that provides us drinking water, carries off and cleans our wastewater, and disperses our stormwater. Topics include the prospect of a new headquarters facility at Winston-Thomas, what "MS4" is, and the downtown "Hidden River" proj...
Mar 26, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 51
On this Digest episode we look back at people whom we've interviewed to explore how they became candidates. We'll hear segments from former fire chief Jason Moore and now-city councilmember Courtney Daily about their origin stories, and a longer look at how Jonas Schrodt, who ran last year for an at-large seat and whom we interviewed last week, found his hat thrown into the ring. In the second half, we'll hear an excerpt from our interview with Mike Leonard, the city's last preeminent opinion co...
Mar 25, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Sorry, Bloomington! No public meetings to promote and all our guest prospects fell through. We'll be back with a full schedule next week. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 22, 2024•56 sec•Season 1Ep. 49
What it's like to run for local political office for the first time? What motivates people to run, and how does a campaign make affect a candidate's self-esteem? Our guest today is Jonas Schrodt, the local stand-up comedian and winemaker who ran among six other candidates for one of three at-large seats on the city council last year. We do a post-mortem on his candidacy, exploring his experience as someone running for office for the first time, as a voice for a new generation of local voters, an...
Mar 21, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 48
So far on this show, our interviews have been with decision and policy makers in the city of Bloomington. But there are some people who know a lot about the city, and can explain the issues well, who may never have been elected or appointed officials. Today we debut a new occasional feature: The 812 Work Session. Mike Leonard was the primary columnist at the Herald-Times newspaper from 1985-2013, when he retired; before that, he was a beat reporter for the paper starting in 1979. He's also a 20-...
Mar 20, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 47
The 812 is still re-tooling post-spring break. Today's Lineup of public meetings is fresh for March 19, but please enjoy this encore presentation of our interview with City Clerk Nicole Bolden, originally recorded in January. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 19, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 46
On this digest episode, we hear excerpts from interviews all about the local economy, including: Jane Kupersmith, director of the city's Economic and Sustainable Development department; Jennifer Pearl, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation; Mike McAfee, director of Visit Bloomington, the Monroe County Convention and Visitors' Bureau; and Isak Asare, the newest at-large city councilmember. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Mar 18, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 45
This bonus mini-episode is our first extended interview, in a week when we otherwise have no programming planned. In this inaugural version of The 812 Overtime, Isak Asare, the raconteur city councilmember who stole the show last week, stuck with us for another round of conversation. In this surprisingly serious segment, we talk about the rules of order for meetings, how they came to be, how they can and have been used as tools of exclusion, and how the city might rethink its processes. Support ...
Mar 15, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 44
We're mostly off this week for Bloomington's spring break. Public meetings, however, are not off, so we're still filling out the Lineup to keep you up to date. Also: Happy Pi Day! Celebrate with a local pizza (preferably a round one). Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 14, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 43
We're mostly off this week for Bloomington's spring break. Public meetings, however, are not off, so we're still filling out the Lineup to keep you up to date. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 13, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 42
We're mostly off this week for Bloomington's spring break. Public meetings, however, are not off, so we're still filling out the Lineup to keep you up to date. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 12, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 41
We're mostly off this week for Bloomington's spring break. Public meetings, however, are not off, so we're still filling out the Lineup to keep you up to date. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Mar 11, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Our guest today is Mike McAfee, the director of VisitBloomington , otherwise known as the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau. He'll talk about the CVB, how it's organized and funded, and how it promotes tourism and helps organize events. He talks with Steve Volan about the importance of the Convention Center as a greeting card for the community and the potential economic benefits of attracting more visitors and events to the area on at off-peak weekday times if it were expanded to acco...
Mar 08, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 39
This one's a doozy. In our game of Pokemon Go City COuncilmember edition, we've landed one of the two most elusive creatures in the Bloomington legislature. But one of his powers is to turn the tables. Today, the newest at-large member of the city council, Isak Asare, all but takes over the show, and the putative interviewer finds himself as often as not the interviewee. The conversation went so long The 812 has recorded its first Overtime segment. It'll be uploaded as a separate bonus episode. ...
Mar 07, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Economic development seems to be an emerging theme on this week's shows. Yesterday was about small business; today we'll talk about, well, bigger business. Our guest is Jennifer Pearl, the president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation. She'll explain what that is and how it fits into the overall landscape of local economic development, especially in the era of climate change and action to mitigate it. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Mar 06, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 37
"Economic development." What does that phrase mean , anyway? Is that, like, bringing factories to town? Don't we already have enough of an economy here? Today, you'll learn the spin that our fair city puts on this generic, if not clichéd, phrase. Our guest is Jane Kupersmith, the director of the city's Economic and Sustainable Development department. She'll walk us through the goals ESD has, how her department is structured, and a thing or two about the initiatives they're working on. Support th...
Mar 05, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 36
In the first half of today's show, we look back at recent conversations we had with former corporation counsel Beth Cate and former director of planning & transportation Scott Robinson, both of whose tenures ended with Mayor Hamilton's administration on January 1, but whose perspectives are fresh enough for early 2024. In the second half, Gloria Howell, talks about being chair of the Dr. MLK Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission, and re-elected councilmember Kate Rosenbarger of the newly-redra...
Mar 04, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 35
How did the place where you are right now get built? Who built your home? When was it built, and why was it built in the size and shape that it is? Every place in Bloomington was developed...even that park you may be standing in the middle of, if that's where you happen to be listening to this. People can't just build willy-nilly any more...they have to follow certain rules the community has set up. Our guest today is Scott Robinson. Today he begins a new job as the Community Development Directo...
Mar 01, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Our guest is Kate Rosenbarger, the reelected member now serving the newly-redrawn District 2, which represents the northwest portion of the city including much of the downtown. She talks about her priorities for the term, her biggest focus being on transportation. Happy Leap Day! The Lineup today (in the absence of meetings scheduled for City Hall) is a preview of Eclipse Day, April 8, and the facts reported about the many preparations being made for it by the Thomson administration. A synopsis ...
Feb 29, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The city has dozens of boards and commissions, to contemplate big local issues and recommend or take action on them. What's it like to be on one...what's it like to chair one? Our guest is Dr. Gloria Howell. We learn about what the Dr. Martin Luthe King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission does -- and it's more than just hosting the annual event in its name -- and what a city commission chair does. amd deals with. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Feb 28, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Our guest today is Beth Cate. She was the Corporation Counsel for the City of Bloomington for the last two years of the Hamilton administration. She'll describe the nature of the job as the city's lead lawyer and, yes, counselor to the administration, and anticipate some issues that might face cities like ours in the near future. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.
Feb 27, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this week's digest episode, we look back at talks with Andy Ruff, the at large CM starting his sixth term on Council, amd Doug Bruce of the newly-formed CIB about the Convention Center. To start, though, we'll hear back from our interview with Matt Austin of the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability, about what the word "sustainability" means in theory and in practice. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved....
Feb 26, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The show's host becomes the guest today. This episode is an excerpt from a public talk Steve Volan gave last October at the Collins Living-Learning Center in Bloomington. It was based on his Geography master's thesis called Gownsburg: The Campus as a Municipal Phenomenon . His theory in Gownsburg is that university campuses have all the traits of towns, yet are more like spooky replicas of towns. Hence the talk's title: "Doppelgänger Cities: A History of Campuses." For a podcast all about city g...
Feb 23, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 29
