WFHB Local News – February 1st, 2024

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This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, February 1st, 2024.

Later in the program, we have Part Two of the latest edition of Prescription for Healthcare, where we welcomed Dr. Michael Hicks, Distinguished Professor of Economics and Business Research and Director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at Ball State University. More in the bottom half of our program.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Dark Past, Bright Future – a segment produced by Bring It On’s Liz Mitchell featuring accounts of Black history that often go overlooked.

But first, your local headlines:

Bloomington Utilities Service Board

At the January 29th meeting of the Bloomington Utilities Service Board Meeting, representatives from Blucher Poole Wastewater Treatment Plant requested approval for multiple agenda items pertaining to facility updates. These updates include a belt press replacement costing about $16,180 and PLC upgrades.

Council Member Kirk White asked if the PLC upgrades would improve cybersecurity. Blucher Poole Data Analyst Jill Minor confirmed.

Council President Megan Parmenter addressed the multiple projects going on at Blucher Poole and requested a master plan. Capital Projects Manager Daniel Hudson said the plant is working on a five year master plan.

The next Bloomington Utilities Service Board meeting will be held on February 12th at 5:00pm.

Ellettsville Town Council

The Ellettsville Town Council met on January 22nd to discuss a new initiative, Ordinance 2024-02, a plan for implementing a new e-commerce utilities platform to pay bills and transfer funds online.

Council member William Ellis asked if the platform would allow residents to pay their utility bills online with their bank information. Deputy clerk Noelle Conyer responded affirmatively, saying that the platform would make it easier for customers to set up and track payments. The town is already paying for most of the services required for the platform.

The council ultimately decided to table Ordinance 2024-02 until their next meeting.

Next, the council discussed approving the hiring of two new employees for the Department of Public Works.

The first position, called Labor 1, is an existing position that needs to be filled. The second, Labor 2, is a new position without currently authorized funds budgeted towards its salary. Town Manager Mike Farmer clarified that the first-year salary for Labor 2 was planned to be covered by the current DNR Next Level Trails grant.

Farmer further explained that after the grant runs out, the recent increase in water rates is supposed to cover the salary for Labor 2 in the future.

Farmer requested that the funds for Labor 2 be authorized by the clerk’s office to proceed with the hiring process. The council approved the hire of Labor 1 and approved permission to hire Labor 2 while salary funding is pending authorization.

The next Ellettsville Town Council meeting will be held on February 5th.

Feature Reports:

Up next, we have Part Two of the latest edition of Prescription for Healthcare, where we welcomed Dr. Michael Hicks, Distinguished Professor of Economics and Business Research and Director of Center Business Economic Research at Ball State University.

His work has appeared not only in scholarly sources but also in such publications and media as Rolling Stone, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, NPR, and Fox Business News. Dr. Hicks joined us to discuss the impact of public schools on a community’s economic development.We now turn to Part II of an interview with Dr. Hicks on Civic Conversations coming your way on the WFHB Local News.

Now it’s time for Dark Past, Bright Future – a segment produced by Bring It On’s Liz Mitchell featuring accounts of Black history that often go overlooked. Today, Mitchell presents a brief history of Madame C.J. Walker’s triumph over adversity to become the first Black woman millionaire in America. We turn to Liz Mitchell for more.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Kelsey Pease, Elyse Perry and Noelle Herhusky-Schneider, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Becky Hill.
Dark Past, Bright Future was produced by Liz Mitchell.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.