The 812 - Steve Volan / Plateia Media

Latest Episodes:

066: Mat Alano-Martin, Co-Founder of the Limestone Comedy Festival Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

Mat Alano-Martin is a professional stand-up comedian who got his start at the city's first comedy club, the Comedy Attic. In 2013, he and the owner of the club, Jared Thompson, created the Limestone Comedy Festival, which is now entering its eleventh year. We learn from Mat what it takes to launch a comedy festival, and how Bloomington helped nurture it through advice from the city and the convention and visitors' bureau.

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065: The Lineup for Tuesday, April 16 Apr 16, 2024

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Our planned guest fell through for today (it wasn't Dave Rollo...but it could've been you, Dave). We're presenting the Lineup of public meetings happening in City Hall today on its own. Full episodes coming the rest of this week.

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064: The Digest for the Week of April 9: Children and Homelessness; Sustainability and Economic Development; Greenways and Protected Bike Lanes Apr 15, 2024

Show notes

After the eclipse hubbub died down, we interviewed several interesting people. On today's highlights from last week's interviews, clips from:

Emily Pike, director of New Hope, the only shelter in the county for families experiencing homelessness;
lex Crowley, the city's former director of ESD; and
Hank Duncan, the city's bike and ped coordinator.

(Dave Rollo Watch: 64 Days and Counting)

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063: The 812 Overtime -- More about Public Buses and Public Banking Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

Today's episode is not just one, but two doses of The 812 Overtime, extra segments recorded for us by recent guests who just had too many interesting insights for us to fit into our regular half-hour interviews. It's a couple of good, deep dives into local government.
Our first Overtime interview we made back in March with John Connell about Bloomington Transit, where he's the general manager. In this segment, he tells us about the Bus Rapid Transit line coming to Bloomington and how it'll be different from a similar service in Indianapolis. He also talks about the difference between BT and Rural Transit, and the key metric the federal government uses to define who can serve where: the so-called "urbanized area" around Bloomington.
In the second Overtime segment, made last week, we had Alex Crowley on to talk mostly about his time as director of ESD at the city of Bloomington. In this segment, we learn more about how the Indiana Energy Independence Fund, where he's been the Executive Director since last August, will get itself off the ground. He also compares "green banks" like his new organization to community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, which are regulated like banks, and compares their public-oriented missions. First, he goes into more detail about direct pay, a new benefit to not-for-profit organizations that compares favorably to tax credits.

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062: Hank Duncan, City Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, on People Who Walk and Roll Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

Hank Duncan, who works in the city's Planning and Transportation Department, is the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. He explains his role in how pedestrians, cyclists, scooter users, wheelchair users, stroller-pushers and more get around town. We discuss protected bike lanes, sidepaths, sidewalks, greenways, curb cuts and more.

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061: Alex Crowley of the Indiana Energy Independence Fund: On Economic and Sustainable Development Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

From 2016 to 2023, Alex Crowley served in the Hamilton administration as Bloomington's director of Economic and Sustainable Development. Since last summer, his new role is as executive director of the new Indiana Energy Independence Fund. In the second half of the show, he'll explain what a "green bank" is and his new job running one. In the first half, though, he talks about his time with the city.

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060: Emily Pike, Director of New Hope for Families, on Children Who Are Homeless Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

How much do you really know about the typical homeless person? Are you sure, or are you just making assumptions? Homelessness among children, for example, is a significant thing. Our guest today is Emily Pike, the executive director of New Hope for Families, the only shelter in Monroe County dedicated to helping children under the age of 18 experiencing homelessness, and the parents or guardians who come with them.

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059: Eclipse Clips -- How Bloomington's Preparing and Celebrating the Big Event Apr 05, 2024

Show notes

To everyone visiting Bloomington, and about to make Monday the largest tourism event in the city's history, this episode is for you.
The 812 podcast is all about explaining how the city of Bloomington works. In the first half of today's episode, we talk with

Michael Large from the Public Works Department
John Connell, general manager of Bloomington Transit, and
Tim Street, the city's new Parks and Recreation Director.

Each of them shares what they and their departments are doing about, or for, the eclipse.
In the second half, we highlight excerpts from our interview with Prof. Catie Pilachowski, chair of the IU Astronomy Department, to put the eclipse into celestial and personal perspective. She also talks about many of the programs happening this weekend on campus and in town, from Science Fest this Saturday in IU's Old Crescent to the many activities on Monday, April 8.

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058: Michael Large, Public Works, on Trash and Infrastructure Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

When you hear the words "public" and "works"... what do you think of first? Potholes, maybe? Street paving? Yeah, that's not uncommon. But it definitely depends on the city you're in. In Bloomington, Public Works does everything from animal control to sanitation. Michael Large, the Operations Manager for the city's Public Works department, lays it all out for us, and surprises host Steve Volan more than once along the way.

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057: Catie Pilachowski, Chair of the IU Astronomy Department Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Professor Pilachowski, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, and the Daniel Kirkwood Chair of the Astronomy Department at Indiana University, has been planning for Bloomington's April 8 eclipse for many years. She talks about its significance astronomically, its impact on people locally, her career in astronomy, and shares the plethora of activities her department and IU generally have in store from Saturday through Monday.

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