A new, affordable housing development for Bloomington families will be under construction by the end of the year. But what's unique about this project is that it will be built to state-of-the-art environmental standards.

The city of Bloomington officially broke ground on the EverGreen Village development last May 1 on the site at 2300 S. Rockport Road.

The driving force behind the project is Bloomington Public Works Director Susie Johnson.

"The idea started a few years ago when Mark came into my office," she said, referring to Mayor Mark Kruzan. "We were talking about which initiatives we wanted to move forward in terms of housing."

Members of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan (HCHP) are working earnestly across the state to gain support and raise awareness for their proposed bill, which will be introduced to the Indiana State Legislature in January.

If passed, the legislation would make major reforms to today's health care system. By using Medicare as a model, the HCHP plan would use tax dollars to expand public healthcare to include everyone, including those currently without medical insurance.

"We're traveling all over the state working on this," said Dr. Rob Stone, one of the organization's three co-founders. "There are five of us who are giving talks in different settings, in different formats, all over the state."

It's safe to say David and Kristen Tallent don't see much free time these days. With packing and moving their small business across town in a few short months while maintaining normal business hours, they rarely find themselves with any leisure time.

But while many would complain about such a regimen, for this married couple and co-owners of Restaurant Tallent, it's an exciting change they hope will increase business and solidify their restaurant as part of the downtown community.

"Right now we're trying to make as much progress with the move as we can, while of course still putting in about 60 hours a week like normal," Kristen says. "It's a very hectic time to say the least."