WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, February 1st, 2021.
Later in the program, WFHB Assistant News Director Sydney Foreman speaks with Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton in our weekly segment, A Few Minutes with the Mayor.
In today’s segment, Mayor Hamilton answers listener-posed questions on gathering-size limits, the Covid-19 vaccine and homelessness in Bloomington.
Also coming up, we revisit last week’s report from WFHB Correspondent Katherine Patterson on the state’s effort to make it easier for seniors to choose between assisted living and a life at home.
But first, your local headlines:
Covid-19 Press Conference
Monroe County Health Administrator Penny Caudill stated Monroe County remains under an Orange Advisory Level, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. She said the advisory would remain for at least two weeks during the January 29th COVID-19 Press Conference.
Caudill mentioned Kroger locations are now administering the COVID-19 vaccine. She said all patients must still have a valid appointment to receive the vaccine form a Kroger clinic. County Commissioner Julie Thomas reported Township Trustees are still providing monetary assistance to residents for rent and utility payments. Emergency Management Director Allison Moore mentioned Trustees could be contacted online.
Indiana University Health South Central Region President Brian Shockney reported COVID-19 inpatient numbers continued to decrease. He said Indiana was the leading state in the country for people fully vaccinated and the second state for total vaccines administered per 1 hundred people.
Indiana Covid-19 Update
As of Monday, more than half a million Indiana residents received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Last week, Governor Eric Holcomb discussed the state’s response to coronavirus with state health officials.
Holcomb touted the state’s downward trend as Indiana counties increasingly shifted toward the “orange” category. As of Monday, only five counties are labeled in the “red” category.
However, the downward trend may be stifled as three variants of coronavirus are slowly starting to spread in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Kristina Box, state health commissioner, gave an update on Indiana’s vaccine program. She said the Indiana State Department of Health is working to expand vaccine eligibility within its supply of doses.
Dr. Box addressed reports of local health departments who are opening the vaccine to ineligible people.
As of Monday, the state has seen almost 10,000 deaths since March of 2020. Nearly 60 percent of those deaths happened in the past three months, according to the state health department’s dashboard.
In last week’s press conference, Dr. Box reiterated the state’s declining positivity rate and hospitalizations.
The governor will provide another update on the state’s response to Covid-19 at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Monroe County Council Work Session
Prosecutor Attorney Erika Oliphant presented a contract to fund research of racial justice disparities within the Monroe County justice system, during the January 26th County Council Work Session meeting. She spoke of contract partnership and project goals.
Oliphant stated the analysis project would cost approximately 58 thousand dollars. She mentioned long term goals would create an information dashboard for public access.
Oliphant mentioned the dashboard creation would begin in 2022, after the initial project, which was projected to run for 10 months. Council members will vote on the request during their February 9th council meeting.
Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission
The Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission considered home alteration to 620 South Ballantine Road. Director Conor Herterich spoke of the alterations during their January 28th meeting.
Herterich recommended to not approve the removal of the stucco from brick columns due to historic integrity. Commissioners unanimously approved alterations and required the replacement of column stucco.
Feature Reports:
Up first, we have the latest edition of A Few Minutes with the Mayor – where Assistant News Director Sydney Foreman speaks with Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton on community issues.
In today’s segment, Mayor Hamilton answers listener-posed questions on gathering-size limits, the Covid-19 vaccine and homelessness in Bloomington.
Last Thursday, WFHB Correspondent Katherine Patterson covered the state’s effort to make it easier for seniors to choose between assisted living and a life at home. Patterson also spoke with Josh Dodds, administrator at the Evergreen Village nursing home in Bloomington. We will now revisit that report.
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.
A Few Minutes with the Mayor is produced by Sydney Foreman.
Our feature was produced by WFHB Correspondent Katherine Patterson.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive Producer is Kade Young.
