The 812

Rev. Forest Gilmore, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, is the Executive Director of Beacon Inc. He discusses the evolution of the organization from its origins as the Shalom Center, established in 1999 as a response to the lack of daytime resources for people experiencing homelessness, as it gradually expanded its services over the years, including hunger relief, case management support...

Selected clips of last week's conversations with: City Councilmember Matt Flaherty , City Human Rights Director Michael Shermis , former Fire Chief and now candidate for the open District 5 Council seat  Jason Moore , and  Charlotte Zietlow , who was the city's first-ever female council president in 1972. Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.

Charlotte Zietlow is well-known in Bloomington and Monroe County for many reasons. This episode focuses her time on the Bloomington City Council in the early 1970s -- the subject of her second book, "1971: How We Won". She talks about how the previous council was unresponsive to public input and concerns, motivating her to run for office. She campaigned on issues like zoning changes and...

Shruti Rana recently resigned as the District 5 representative on the Bloomington City Council. barely two weeks after being sworn in, to take a job out of state. This episode is the first of three to meet the candidates running to replace her: Courtney Daily, Jason Moore, and Jenny Stevens. (Invitations have been extended to Daily, Stevens and Rana; we hope to have them on the show as soon as pos...

This episode features an interview with Michael Shermis, the city's Human Rights Director. It's probably good that he likes wearing hats: he's also the the Special Projects Coordinator for the city's Community and Family Resources Department, which earned him titles like the city's ADA Coordinator and liaison to the Council for Community Accessibility, the South Central Co...

Councilmember Flaherty discusses climate action for the city through such projects as  decarbonization through reduction of gas infrastructire, strategic use of the Redevelopment Commission, and encouragement of all-electric and sustainable construction of the city's built environment. He also takes on topics like planned unit developments, the Unified Development Ordinance, the Hopewell deve...

This episode provides an overview of The812, and its mission of explaining local government in Bloomington. We hear highlights of interviews with city council president Isabel Piedmont-Smith, city clerk Nicole Bolden, and council attorney/administrator Stephen Lucas; we also hear from Christopher Emge, from the  Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. Support the show A production of Plateia Medi...

Our guest is Stephen Lucas, the attorney for and administrator of the Bloomington City Council. He'll talk about what it takes to organize and advise the city's primary legislative body, what it's like to have nine bosses, the life cycle of an ordinance, and how he herds the cats. Plus...it's time for FreezeFest! Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All right...

Our guest today is Christopher Emge. He works for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce as its director of advocacy and public policy. He'll talk about what it's like to advocate for local businesses in a blue town in a red state.  Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.

We'll talk with Nicole Bolden about the Clerk's duties -- from tracking the legislative work of the city council, to adjudicating parking tickets, to marrying people. And we'll talk about the number of firsts she set, like being the city's first elected woman of color. Also on the show: a preview of the city council's first regular session tonight. Support the show A produ...

The inaugural episode introduces your humble host and lays out the case for The 812. Our first interview is with Isabel Piedmont-Smith, the newly-elected president of the Bloomington City Council.  Support the show A production of Plateia Media ©2024-5. All rights reserved.