Website launched to track lines at Marion County polls, vote centers
The website is the product of a partnership among Vote Safe Indiana, Lessonly, IN Tech for Progress and Common Cause Indiana.
Samm Quinn
Articles
Marion County warns voters to check absentee ballots for errors
The election office said absentee voters should verify that the precinct on their ballot matches the precinct on their ballot envelope and that two sets of initials—belonging to election officials—are there.
City gets serious about enforcing minority contracting goals
But not everyone agrees the change will make a significant difference in ensuring the city’s bidding process is more inclusive, and they argue more work needs to be done.
Marion County easing some, not all, pandemic restrictions
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Friday that he would ease some pandemic restrictions on businesses in Indianapolis starting Monday, but not as much as the rest of the state.
Bar owners sue city, health department over ‘arbitrary and unreasonable’ pandemic rules
The owners of 20 Marion County bars and nightclubs are suing Indianapolis, Mayor Joe Hogsett, Dr. Virginia Caine and the Marion County Public Health Department over COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that they say violate their constitutional rights.
UPDATE: Indianapolis to waive its option to purchase BlueIndy assets
After issuing a request for information and performing an infrastructure analysis, the city said it found that the existing charging stations “perform at a level below what is considered viable for reuse.”
Q&A: Digging for dinosaur fossils
Jenn Anné, lead paleontologist and manager of the Natural Science Collections at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, recently returned from Wyoming where she and her team dug for fossils to bring back to the museum. The trip garnered more than two tons of findings.
Handmade leather-goods shop finds its groove
Five-year-old Howl and Hide is preparing to open a second location, a pop-up shop at Clay Terrace in Carmel.
Republican council members call for repeal of mask mandate in Marion County
The Republican Caucus of the Indianapolis City-County Council said Thursday that it plans to introduce a resolution calling for the repeal of the county’s pandemic mask requirement. It called the order an “overreaching mandate.”
City announces plan for remaining $76M in pandemic relief funds
In a plan approved Wednesday by the City-County Council, Indianapolis will appropriate its remaining federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to various public health, social services, economic and government-related investments.
Council imposes penalties on vendors that don’t meet minority-contracting goals
The changes would allow officials to withhold payments from vendors, terminate their contracts or ban them from future city contracts if they don’t comply with the program.
City’s corporation counsel leaves administration for private sector gig
Anne Mullin O’Connor will become corporation counsel for the city of Indianapolis at the end of the month, replacing Donald Morgan, who has worked for the city since 2016.
City-County Council approves financing plan for convention center expansion
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night voted unanimously to issue up to $155 million in bonds to pay for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center at Pan Am Plaza.
Colleges won’t offer tuition refunds if learning moves online
Despite pressure from frustrated families, some schools don’t plan to refund room and board fees, either, even if students aren’t staying in dorms or eating in cafeterias.
Indianapolis to use $7.1M in federal grants to house 500 homeless households
The funding will serve 350 people or families currently living in non-congregate shelters, especially those at risk of contracting COVID-19 and dying, and 150 unsheltered households that face high barriers to find housing.
City government workers not as diverse as residents they serve
Indianapolis city-county government has work to do recruiting and retaining more minority employees—particularly Hispanic workers—if its staff is going to reflect the population it works for.
Indy airport granted $10.3M to rebuild runway, add electric charging infrastructure
The funding was part of $1.2 billion in airport safety and infrastructure grants being awarded to 405 airports across the country by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Marion County bars, nightclubs can reopen Tuesday—with restrictions
Marion County’s COVID-19 testing-positivity rate and hospitalizations have been on the decline in recent weeks, allowing the county to reopen more of the economy.
Council considers penalties for vendors that don’t meet minority-contracting goals
The proposal gives more power to the Office of Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprise in ensuring city contractors work to meet the city’s goals for utilizing minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
Downtown Indy launches marketing campaign to encourage people back to the Mile Square
In addition, on Friday and again on Sept. 11, dozens of community leaders will spend the day cleaning and sprucing up the area.