WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
The City of Bloomington announced the construction of a new apartment complex beside Switchyard Park which will include forty-eight units reserved for people earning 30-80% of the Area Median Income. The apartments will be called Retreat @ Switchyard. They are a collaboration between the City’s Redevelopment Commission and RealAmerica Companies, which was contracted to do the build. The press release noted that, “Ten of the units will be reserved for people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, supported by stone belt, a local nonprofit organization. Critics of the City’s housing policy are calling this a small step forward. They are characterizing it is as a drop in the bucket, when it comes to the expensive, unaffordable housing situation in Bloomington, and the local homelessness crisis.
A new state Republican Bill, SB 5, would greatly restrict local health officials’ abilities to set local regulations during a health emergency. As of now, local health officials, like the Monroe County Department of Health can set more stringent rules about issues like mask mandates, gathering size, and regulations on bars and restaurants. SB 5 would strip local health officials of their abilities to just that. The bill was approved by the statehouse yesterday, and now heads to the state senate. The bill also give business owners more avenues to appeal and contest local health department policies.
The bills passes as Indiana is seeing an uptick in new Covid-19 cases. The state is averaging over 1,000 new cases per day. While deaths are relatively low right now, in the single digits, the statistics suggest that in a week or two, deaths could rise to twenty to twenty-five per day. Many health experts are calling this the beginning of the fourth wave of the pandemic. The fourth wave appears to be fueled by new more contagious and more deadly strains.
