Big Mike’s B-town: Cristian Medina, Scientist, Poet, Chess Leader

Chaz Mottinger

Cristian Medina, a poet, cook, IU researcher, and chess leader from Arica, Chile, has found plenty to keep him busy since moving to Bloomington in the mid-2000s. LP columnist Michael G. Glab talks to Medina about his hometown — bordered by ocean, mountains, and desert — geology and climate change, his work founding Cardboard House Press, and more in the latest Big-Mike’s B-town. Click here to read the full story.

September 13, 2018

Randi Cox, left, and Kathy Gutowsky of Green Camino Inc. originally planned to make their composting business a nonprofit. But after some research, they learned that they could become a benefit corporation or "B corp" — a for-profit business that also strives to create a general public benefit. | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

‘Benefit Corporations’ Reflect New Vision of What Businesses Can Be

Chaz Mottinger, Chaz Mottinger

Social impact startups — for-profit businesses that also strive to create a general public benefit — can make their intentions official by forming as benefit corporations, or “B corps.” Writer and attorney Erin Martoglio shows how two trailblazing B corps in Bloomington, Green Camino and The Bee Corp, can do more than just turn a profit. Click here to read the full story.

August 21, 2018

Sponsorship

Members of the Blockhouse Bar Call & Response House Band before a show. | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

‘Wednesday Is Jazz Night’ — A Conversation with Drummer Ben Lumsdaine

Chaz Mottinger, Chaz Mottinger

With Bloomington’s jazz pedigree, it’s fitting that one of the hottest acts in town is a jazz band. On Wednesday nights at Blockhouse Bar, the Call & Response House Band features local and national jazz artists. Jim Manion, music director at WFHB, talked with C&R leader and drummer Ben Lumsdaine about the weekly jazz series. Click here to read the full story.

July 19, 2018

Abby Lee, who plays Sarah Whitmore, during rehearsal for Jewish Theatre of Bloomington's "Church and State." | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

Behind the Curtain: Jewish Theatre of Bloomington’s ‘Church & State’

Chaz Mottinger, Chaz Mottinger

Politics, like theater, relies on the relationship between the stage and the audience, writes LP columnist Jennifer Pacenza in her Behind the Curtain preview of Church & State. The latest production of Jewish Theatre of Bloomington puts this relationship center stage in a “funny and heartrending play with a powerful message about God, guns, and politics.” Click here to read the full story.

May 3, 2018

Knowing where your food comes from is more important than ever. With the first Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market of the season on Saturday, getting to know the farmers who produce it is easier than ever. Photographer Chaz Mottinger visited three farms to give us a closer look as they prepare for the spring market season: Barnhouse Farms, Linnea's Greenhouse, and Living Roots Farm and Sustainable Living Center (pictured here). | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

Local Farmers Prepare for Spring Market Season

Chaz Mottinger

Knowing where your food comes from is more important than ever. With the first Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market of the season on Saturday (and markets in Ellettsville and Smithville starting soon), getting to know the farmers who produce it is easier than ever. Photographer Chaz Mottinger visited three farms to give us a closer look as they prepare for market. Click here to see her photos.

April 5, 2018

Sponsorship

Director Jonathan Michaelson, second from left, chats with (l-r) Nina Donville (Jasmine), Talia Santia (multiple characters), and Longfei Zhao (Maurice) during a rehearsal of "Nice Nails." | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

Behind the Curtain: ‘Nice Nails,’ A Play That Cuts to the Quick

Chaz Mottinger, Chaz Mottinger

Social issues are rarely black and white, as revealed in Nice Nails, a play by Aaron Ricciardi, presented by IU’s theatre department. LP columnist Jennifer Pacenza looks Behind the Curtain at the circumstances in which a Korean family, a South African immigrant, and a trans man are entangled in labor-law violations in Long Island nail salons. Click here to read the full story.

March 27, 2018

Local art lovers are anticipating the opening in April of FAR Center for the Contemporary Arts at Fourth and Rogers. Pictura owners David, left, and Martha Moore are doing more with FAR than moving their photography gallery into a historic building — they’re on a mission to “create a different experience” by bringing different kinds of art together. | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

New FAR Center Joins Arts Community at 4th & Rogers

Chaz Mottinger, Chaz Mottinger

Local art lovers are anticipating the opening of FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, the new art venue opening in April at Fourth and Rogers. Pictura owners David and Martha Moore are doing more than moving their photography gallery into a historic building — they’re on a mission to bring different kinds of art together. Writer Claude Cookman gives us an in-depth look at the FAR project and its creators. Click here to read the full story.

January 11, 2018

Writer Allison Yates talks to several local literati to find out what they’re reading now. Judging from the books they’ve covered, Bloomington is a literary haven. | olegdudko / 123RF Stock Photo

Local Book Lovers Share Their Current Reads

Chaz Mottinger

People read books for many reasons, and a highly literate community like ours has voracious readers. Writer Allison Yates spoke to just nine local literati, and she discovered people are reading books that help them to reflect inwardly, learn about (or escape!) the outside world, stay informed, and investigate the past. Click here to read the full story.