WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, September 21st, 2020.
In today’s program, WFHB Correspondent Katrine Bruner reports on a lawsuit against Indianapolis Power and Light for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. Also, our 22nd installment of A Few Minutes with the Mayor. In today’s segment, Mayor John Hamilton talks about the failed local income tax increase proposal for Monroe County.
First, today’s local news brief:
535 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Indiana on Sunday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
According to the CDC website, “There is generally less reporting on weekends.” The reduced reporting may contribute to the apparent drop in cases, and might have something to do with why yesterday’s positive case count is about 300 under the state’s average.
Monroe County saw 14 new cases yesterday. The county’s positivity rate for unique individuals tested is at 8.8 percent.
The county’s statistics do not appear to incorporate the vast majority, if any, of Indiana University’s Covid-19 testing results. The university reported that, since mid-August, twelve hundred and twenty-six positive cases had been documented at its Bloomington Campus alone.
Since then, it reported another 345 positive tests. The university website did not state how many of the newly reported tests belonged to unique individuals.
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WRTV reports that fire crews are actively attempting to extinguish multiple house fires on South Wickens Street in the Highlands neighborhood on the south side of Bloomington. The number of houses on fire is unclear at this time.
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The Monroe County Correctional Center continues to come under scrutiny after multiple jail employees tested positive for Covid-19, and reports began to surface online that legal mask mandates were not enforced within the jail. In response, the jail’s commander, Sam Crowe, pointed out that no inmates have had Covid-19 to date. It should be mentioned that no inmates have been tested to date either.
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And the Monroe County Community School Corporation is holding a school board candidate forum on Wednesday evening. The forum is an opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves and answer questions. While schools are meeting in-person, this forum will be held on Zoom.
Joint COVID-19 Press Conference
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton reported another city utilities employee with a positive COVID-19 case, totaling 13 CBU COVID-19 cases. During the September 18th COVID-19 Press Conference Monroe County Health Administrator said the positivity rate was 7.3 percent.
Caudill said a person should only seek testing if they are experiencing symptoms or potential exposure. She advised against general routine tests. She mentioned flu vaccination clinic plans.
Caudill said plans are being developed for administering COVID-19 vaccinations once accessible. Indiana University Assistant Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Kirk White reported a decrease in IU’s positivity rate.
White said IU is conducting 10,000 mitigation tests per week. He mentioned testing has raised stress levels in students.
White clarified testing is not a punishment. He reported a high level of student counseling and psychological services visits.
Hoosier Amy Coney Barrett – A Lead Contender for the U.S. Supreme Court
Indiana judge Amy Coney Barrett is now a lead contender to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Ginsberg died on Friday after complications with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Ginsberg was the second woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. She helped pave the way for women’s equality in the courtroom and in society at large.
Her death means there is an open seat on the Supreme Court — which President Donald Trump wants to fill. Regarded as the front runner for Ginsberg’s replacement, Amy Coney Barrett would have the least amount of courtroom experience of any sitting judge on the Supreme Court.
President Trump said on Saturday that he would nominate a woman to the Supreme Court. He mentioned Barrett by name in a call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
According to a report by Elizabeth Diaz and Adam Liptak in the New York Times, her confirmation would be viewed as a home run by conservative Christians and anti-abortion activists.
Barrett, a catholic who currently teaches at the University of Notre Dame, has written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacred. This left some to question her stance of Roe v. Wade — the landmark decision by the Supreme Court that protects a woman’s right to abortion.
However, in a talk at Hillsdale College in May 2019, Barrett said politics and the justice system should remain separate.
“A judge is obligated to apply the law as it is and not as she wishes it would be,” she said.
She goes on to talk about the role of a judge — how she learned from her mentor and former boss Antonin Scalia.
“Being a judge takes courage,” she said. “You’re not there to decide cases as you prefer.”
Barrett currently serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th District after President Trump appointed her in May of 2017.
She is the first and only woman from Indiana to sit on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last year, Barrett wrote a decision that made it easier for students accused of sexual assault to challenge universities’ handling of their cases.
According to the Washington Post, she led a three-woman panel that said Purdue University may have discriminated a male student accused of sexual assault.
Senator McConnell said he plans to have the Senate vote on Trump’s nominee — with only two months before the general election.
U.S. Senator Mike Braun of Indiana pledged his support for Barrett. On Saturday, he said “I think she’d be an excellent candidate. I hope Trump selects her and McConnell has said that he’ll bring a vote to the floor and I think it’d be wonderful.”
Again, Barrett reiterated that a judge should not be swayed by political preferences. She said that’s what separates a judge and a politician.
“If the judge is willing not to apply the law but to decide cases in accordance with personal preference rather than the law, then she’s not actually functioning as a judge at all,” she said. “She’s functioning as a policy maker.”
City of Bloomington Board of Public Works
The Bloomington Board of Public Works approved an agreement with Republic Services for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal and Single Source Recycling. Public Works Director Adam Wason spoke during their September 15th meeting.
Board member Kyla Cox Deckard said contaminated recycling is costly to the city. Wason said recycling must be clean and dry.
Wason reported new waste barrel implementation reduced worker injuries from overloaded.
Feature Reports:
Last Monday, federal officials filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis Power and Light claiming that the company has been violating the Clean Air Act repeatedly.
According to the IndyStar, the coal-fired power plant agreed to reduce its emissions, “on behalf of the state of Indiana and its environmental management agency.” We turn to WFHB Correspondent, Katrine Bruner for Part I. of her series.
In today’s edition of A Few Minutes with the Mayor, Mayor John Hamilton talks about what the future holds for his proposal to raise the local income tax by .25 percent. Last week, the city council voted down the proposal in a 5-4 vote. Mayor Hamilton addresses this and more in A Few Minutes with the Mayor.
Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Aaron Comforty, Kade Young and Sydney Foreman, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Katrine Bruner and Sydney Foreman.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
