Mayor John Hamilton will ask the Bloomington Common Council to implement an increase to the Monroe County Local Income Tax (LIT) by 0.855% for the purposes of economic development and to adopt two $5 million general obligation (G.O.) bonds to invest in local infrastructure. Mayor Hamilton will present the proposed increase and bonds to the Council this evening at their regular session beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The proposed rate increase is part of Mayor Hamilton’s New Revenue Package shared with City Council on March 16 (bloomington.in.gov/newrevenue), designed to make critical investments in public safety, climate mitigation and resilience, equity and quality of living, and essential city services that will move Bloomington ahead – sustainably, inclusively, and efficiently.
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Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington’s 2022 Commencement Ceremony will take place Friday, May 13 at 6 p.m. at Indiana University Auditorium. An honorary associate degree in College and Community Service will be awarded to Tina Peterson, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Bloomington & Monroe County and Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI). “Tina is an integral member of the Bloomington community, with a passion for making life better for Hoosiers. I can think of no other more deserving recipient,” Chancellor Jennie Vaughan said. “For the past decade, Tina has worked to address our community’s most pressing problems by generating opportunities for residents and employers, in direct alignment with the College’s mission to advance economic prosperity and provide pathways to a better tomorrow.” Peterson has served as President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the past ten years and has held the title President and CEO of ROI since the organization was founded in 2015. In her role with ROI, Peterson collaborates with organizations throughout the Indiana Uplands, an 11-county region in southwest central Indiana. ROI focuses on industry strategy, education, workforce, and quality of place. She co-leads the Uplands READI grant initiative, which pursued and received a $30 million grant for population and economic growth in the Indiana Uplands. The City has contracted with Trahan Architects to conduct an arts feasibility study in Bloomington following Mayor Hamilton’s commitment to a study announced in May 2021 as part of the Recover Forward initiative to help the community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will include an evaluation of arts facilities and activities in the City and result in a report of recommended strategies for successfully advancing the arts across the City.
For their collaboration with the City of Bloomington, Trahan has gathered a team of experts from entities including Theater Projects, Keen Independent, and Designing for Democracy to ensure that the study is inclusive of all Bloomington residents and that their recommended strategies are equitable. Representatives from each group visited Bloomington during the week of March 21 to conduct site visits of arts facilities across the City and to meet with City staff and arts representatives to kick off a discussion of the most pressing needs of Bloomington’s arts community. Additional focus groups will be held in April and May to ensure the group is including the broadest group possible in its assessment. Those interested in participating in future focus groups may contact Holly Warren, Assistant Director for the Arts, at holly.warren@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3534. To help online banking users protect against spoofing, which is the act of disguising a communication, such as a call or text, from an unknown source as being from a known, trusted source like a financial institution, Northwest Bank has compiled a list of best practices for protection and remediation. “Complaints of suspected internet crime increased by seven percent in 2021 compared with the previous year in addition to an increase in reported losses of money to various online scams,” said Lance Spencer, chief information security officer, Northwest Bank. “With cybercriminals becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s important that all online banking customers remain vigilant.” Tickets are on sale for Belt Out Loud! a benefit concert for Stone Belt at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m. The benefit concert features Jenn Cristy with special guests from RESPECT celebrating the women of rock and soul.
Funds raised by the concert will help Stone Belt improve the lives of people with disabilities including providing employment services and increased community involvement through volunteering and self-advocacy. Tickets are on sale at the BCT Box Office (114 E. Kirkwood Avenue) in Bloomington, online at bctboxoffice.org, or via phone at 812.323.3020. Don't miss out on this vocal power-house show celebrating 60 years of women in music featuring the songs of Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, The Supremes, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, and Adele, just to name a few. The benefit concert is sponsored by IU Credit Union and Old National Bank. The Mill, Bloomington’s center for entrepreneurship, announced today that applications are open for the 2022 Crossroads Collegiate Pitch Competition. The competition showcases startup businesses founded by college students across the state of Indiana. The winner takes home a $2,500 investment from Flywheel Fund, the micro-investment fund run by The Mill, and access to its powerful network and mentoring support.
“Last year, we saw pitches from fifteen fantastic startups from eleven campuses around the state,” said Andy Lehman, Head of Accelerator Programming for The Mill. “We’d love to see even broader representation of Indiana’s universities and colleges this year. Crossroads Collegiate is just the first step for these founders. You only have to look at 2021 winner Andre Harakas’s success to see how far a startup can go in a year.” Andre Harakas from Indiana Wesleyan University won the 2021 competition for his company ProBook Sports, which recently rebranded to All In Sports Team Hub. All In streamlines sports team management, providing a complete platform for player development. Coaches can track and foster athlete development while building team culture through an all-in-one app where they can post game videos, set goals for athlete nutrition, share chat and news in a team feed, and more. After winning Crossroads Collegiate, Harakas went on to close a $350,000 pre-seed funding round led by Jim Zarvos and Michigan-based Skypoint Ventures. Flywheel Fund participated with an investment of $50,000. Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that registration for its 2022 National Small Business Week Virtual Summit, “Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship,” is now open. This year’s National Small Business Week (NSBW), held May 1-7, 2022, will acknowledge small businesses from across the country for their resilience, ingenuity, and creativity. It will also recognize SBA partners for their involvement in entrepreneurial development, disaster recovery, government contracting, financial development, and overall support for small businesses and entrepreneurship.
During National Small Business Week, the SBA will hold its NSBW Virtual Summit from May 2-5, 2022, in cosponsorship with SCORE. Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required. Visit online at National Small Business Week 4-Day Virtual Summit Registration (onlinexperiences.com) to register. Smithville – Indiana’s “State Champion” For Rural Broadband – Celebrates 100th Year Of Innovation4/1/2022 Today a nationally recognized Top 100 Broadband Company, Smithville is celebrating its 100th year in business in 2022. “We have come a long way from the days when Indiana quarries who were cutting limestone for the Empire State Building and Washington, D.C. federal offices required then-state-of-the art telephone connectivity,” said Darby A. McCarty, Smithville chairman and CEO. “Today we have gone from connecting quarries to connecting $100 million technology parks, large hospitals, government facilities, manufacturing plants, and more, including many small businesses who need fast and reliable broadband.” Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus has selected Suzy McMahon, adjunct faculty in mathematics, the recipient of the 2022 Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Instruction. She received the most nominations among 20 adjunct faculty nominees across campus. McMahon says that earning this award means so much. “I am honored and humbled by the recognition,” she said. “I hold the mission of Ivy Tech close, and I can say this is the best job that I’ve ever had. I love to teach and pass on my knowledge.” McMahon’s nominations spoke to her ability to teach math in multiple, engaging ways that accommodate the various learning styles of her students. In one nomination a student expressed that McMahon takes extra time out of her schedule to assist her students in learning. “If you are one of Suzy’s students who struggle with math, you know she takes time out of her schedule, even on weekends, to hold a zoom session to go over the material we’re struggling with,” the student wrote. “Her communication, listening, adaptability, empathy, and patience are all reasons she deserves this nomination. Not to mention, she is rather hilarious, which makes math as fun as it can be.” |
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