$50 Million City-Wide, fiber-to-the-home network planned for Bloomington
Infrastructure company Meridiam has announced it will invest more than $50 million to bring high-speed internet access to most neighborhoods in the City, as per a signed letter of intent (LOI) from August of 2021. Meridiam will build and operate an open-access-model fiber network, embodying net neutrality, with a strong emphasis on digital equity. The City of Bloomington will partner in the digital equity components with up to a $1 million investment.
Meridiam is not an ISP but will build a wholesale infrastructure network available for use by ISPs; from which, they will launch with an exclusive internet service provider (ISP) partner. After the exclusive period ends, the network will become a full open-access network, open to other ISPs, including local providers, for the lifetime of the network. Additionally, Meridiam states a commitment to the principle of net neutrality.
Through a contract with the initial ISP, Meridiam’s network will offer service of at least 1 Gigabit per second symmetrical speed (equal upload and download) everywhere the Meridiam network reaches. The cost of service rates with the initial ISP will be competitive locally and regionally.
The City of Bloomington’s digital equity initiative will provide income-qualifying households with 250 Megabits per second symmetrical internet service for $30 per month. The City and Meridiam will together provide the “drop” connection to qualifying households at no cost, which combined with the Biden Administration’s new $30 Affordable Connectivity Program means eligible low-income residents can receive high bandwidth fiber-based internet service at zero net cost.
Because of Indiana’s business personal property tax structure, Meridiam is seeking and the City is proposing a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district to support the city-wide build. Meridiam is prepared to begin construction after the TIF district is in place, as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022.
In 2020 the City Information & Technology Services (ITS) Department conducted a Digital Equity Survey, which informs the City’s Digital Equity Strategic Plan. Related to the Meridiam project, the City’s digital equity plan calls for the City to:
- Continue to pursue potential fiber infrastructure partners to achieve the City’s Goals.
- Reduce financial barriers to adoption through support and promotion of subsidy programs like ACP (US Affordable Connectivity Program).
- Expand the City’s digital equity funding to further support digital equity initiatives. (The fund currently supports annual digital equity grants to nonprofit organizations and was first established under the Recover Forward initiative in 2020.)
Failures at the border and the effects on Indiana
Attorney General Todd Rokita worked with bipartisan, binational colleagues on the border failure this week at a collaborative summit near the southern border. Joined by 5 bipartisan attorneys general from US states and 14 Mexican attorneys general, the event hosted important discussions about human trafficking, drug policy, the cartels who are taking advantage of our open southern border and opportunities for binational legal cooperation.
“We are directly interacting with my Mexican counterparts and Mexican non-governmental organizations who acknowledged, among other things, that President Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy was effective in reducing the sex trafficking of children,” said Attorney General Rokita. “This summit gave me the ability to hear that the drug cartels are driving a significant amount of this crime to inland U.S. states, like Indiana, a lot of the Fentanyl they are sending is originating in China, and the Left’s open-border insanity makes it possible on a grand scale. There was no disagreement from anyone that enforcing our border would dramatically improve the situation for both Mexican citizens and US citizens, like those living in Indiana.”
Attorney General Rokita offers:
- It is estimated that half of illegal aliens entering the US at the southern border are from countries other than Mexico and Central America, utilizing Mexico as a land bridge to the US.
- Summit participants expressed concern for what they see as an increase in children’s organ harvesting and reported that 80% of women are sexually assaulted while journeying to and across the southern border. Approximately 60% of children have been violated by the time they are trafficked across the border.
- Participants discussed how parents of illegal alien children are sold the American dream for their kids by the cartels, told that if they trust their kids to the cartels, the kids will have a new, rich life in the US. Instead, kids are then told that their parents didn’t make full payment for their trip and they must now be sexually exploited in order to compensate the cartel for their journey. It’s reprehensible and those in charge of our country are allowing it to happen because of their open border insanity.
- Illegal aliens who cross the southern border reach Indiana within 48 hours. The current construction of I-69 in Texas means they will arrive even more quickly to Indiana, the Crossroads of America.
- As fentanyl overdoses, drug trafficking, and human trafficking increase across Hoosier communities, the problem must be addressed at its root.
Cops Cycling for Survivors
Cops Cycling for Survivors announced plans for their 21st annual bicycle tour of Indiana as well as unveiled the memorial photos on their support truck in anticipation of National Police Week. The group, whose aim is to raise awareness of and actively support survivors of Indiana Law Enforcement Officers killed in the line of duty, will bike nearly 1,000 miles over 13 days in July to honor fallen law enforcement officers and their survivors. This year, special recognition is given to the eight (8) Indiana line of duty deaths from 2021.
In 2002, Cops Cycling for Survivors began with a ride to Washington, D.C. to honor fallen Officers. The cyclists now ride through Indiana meeting with survivors of Officers to support them as they continue to deal with the loss of loved ones. The group honors the more than 450 Indiana Officers killed in the line of duty by reading a memorial for each officer during the tour. Cops Cycling for Survivors vows to never let Indiana’s fallen heroes be forgotten and to support the survivors of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of the state.
Cops Cycling for Survivors makes every attempt to contact survivors, including family, co-workers, descendants, and others, of fallen Officers but may not have contact information for some. Survivors are asked to be in touch with the group at Cops Cycling for Survivors, PO Box 597, Ellettsville, IN 47429, by phone 812-727-0725, or email copscyclingforsurvivors@gmail.com. Interested cyclists may also contact the group for more information on joining the ride for all or parts of the ride. Cyclists include survivors, Law Enforcement Officers, and friends of law enforcement. Cyclist registration deadline is June 10, 2022.
In addition to memorializing Indiana’s fallen officers, Cops Cycling for Survivors raises financial support for survivors. Proceeds from the annual ride provide line of duty death benefits for primary survivors as well as fund scholarships, camps, and other avenues of support for survivors. The group also assists Line of Duty Death Justice as survivors work through years of court dates, including parole hearings and appeals. More information and a donation page are found at http://www.copscycling4survivors.com/. Cops Cycling for Survivors was granted 501(c) 3 status as a not-for-profit in late 2011 and is no longer directly affiliated with Indiana Concerns of Police Survivors (IN COPS).
The 2022 Cops Cycling for Survivors truck was also unveiled this week. While the group rides in support and memory of all fallen officers, each year the support truck honors Officers killed in the line of duty from the previous year. This year’s truck is in special memory of:
Lieutenant Eugene Lasco, Indiana Department of Correction, End of Watch February 21, 2021; Reserve Deputy James Driver, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, End of Watch March 29, 2021; Sergeant Thomas Sawyer, Hammond Police Department, End of Watch June 17, 2021; Detective Greg Ferency, Terre Haute Police Department, End of Watch July 7, 2021; Corporal Robert Nicholson, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, End of Watch September 26, 2021; Reserve Deputy James Hirtzel, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, End of Watch October 12, 2021; Town Marshal Anthony Hinshaw, Losantville Marshal’s Office, End of Watch November 25, 2021; and, School Resource Officer John Starks, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, End of Watch December 8, 2021.
Recent line of duty deaths in 2022 will receive special recognition next year. Dates and route locations for the 2022 Cops Cycling for Survivors ride are:
July 11, Indianapolis – Richmond
July 12, Richmond – Bluffton
July 13, Bluffton – Angola
July 14, Angola – South Bend
July 15, South Bend – Merrillville
July 16, Merrillville – Kentland
July 17, Kentland – Terre Haute
July 18, Terre Haute- Princeton
July 19, Princeton – Jasper
July 20 Jasper- Jeffersonville
July 21, Jeffersonville – Madison
July 22, Madison – Bloomington
July 23, Bloomington – Crown Hill Indianapolis
As the group rides through locations, area residents are encouraged to show their support for law enforcement officers and the survivors of fallen heroes in whatever meaningful manners may arise.
This Week in Hoosier History
1902 – Dedication ceremonies were held for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Indiana Governor Winfield T. Durbin introduced the program, and General Lew Wallace was master of ceremonies. The celebration included the reading of a new poem by James Whitcomb Riley and original music written and performed by John Philip Sousa and his band. Special guests were Mary Lord Harrison, widow of former President Benjamin Harrison, and Lucinda Burbank Morton, widow of former Governor Oliver P. Morton.
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