IDS Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017
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Clinic offers new HIV services By Peter Talbot
pjtalbot@umail.iu.edu | @petejtalbot
ROSE BYTHROW | IDS
The Prospect Hill historic district is a block of houses located west of IU’s campus. Most people living in historic districts don't have solar panels that are visible from the street because of restrictions from the Historic Preservation Commission; the panels are installed instead on the backs or sides of the roof.
Getting the green light
Homeowners in historic districts debate aesthetics versus sustainability. By Rose Bythrow
cbythrow@umail.iu.edu | @RoseBythrow
Jacob Emery used to run out of his house in the historic Prospect Hill neighborhood to look at the electricity meter every morning during the first week his solar panels were installed. The panels create more energy than his house consumes, so the meter spins backwards. This excess energy is measured and turned into net-metering credits, which can be used at night or during the winter when the panels are not producing as much energy. “It feels like I’m magically violating the space-time continuum,” Emery said. The Historic Preservation Commission has veto-power over any change to homes in historical districts, from replacing a window to installing $10,000 worth of solar panels. Emery was surprised by the hoops he had to jump through to install solar panels on his roof, which included a commission meeting and having someone present on his behalf. If Emery’s installation was not approved by the commission and he chose to install the panels anyway, he could get fined. “I thought it would be rubber stamped without controversy,” Emery said. “Which was perhaps foolish of me.” The tension between wanting sustainable energy and preserving history was clear at the commission’s meeting Sept. 14, where Emery’s petition to install solar panels on his roof was approved, 6-2, after much debate. “It was touch and go there for a minute,” said Al Jarvis, founder of Solar Systems of Indiana, who attended the meeting to speak on Emery’s behalf. Chris Sturbaum, a commission member who voted against Emery’s solar panels, said his choice was a matter of trade-offs. As a preservationist, Sturbaum says he likes to see a house how people saw it 100 years ago. “Some people may consider that solar panels trump everything, but I don’t think that’s a reasonable approach,”
Sturbaum said. The commission approves or denies solar panel installations based on strict national guidelines in combination with guidelines each neighborhood writes. These guidelines vary from each other, especially in the case of Elm Heights and Prospect Hill. People like Emery in Prospect Hill, a small, quiet cluster of 28 houses just west of campus, struggle to get their projects approved because of these neighborhood guidelines. Residents of Elm Heights, a larger district south of campus, do not have this issue and recently participated in a project to buy panels in bulk. Thanks to a group of Bloomington High School South students last year, Elm Heights has almost tripled its number of solar systems. IU freshman Katherine Tilghman was one of the founders of Interfaith Community of Environmentalist Youth, a high school group that helped people in Elm Heights buy panels at a discounted rate. They went from 20 systems to about 60 in a year.
“It’s not the prettiest thing in the world. It does detract from the historic front of the house.” Chris Sturbaum, Historic Preservation Commission member
“We just really wanted to make a big impact,” Tilghman said. Tilghman said she sees the conflict between installing solar panels and keeping the home’s historic look, but she hopes people will get inspiration from their neighbors and amend the guidelines. Solar panel regulations do not just affect people living in historic neighborhoods. Tilghman’s neighborhood, Winslow Farm, which is not historic, bans solar panels altogether.
Tilghman started another initiative in her neighborhood to vote to change the guidelines to allow panels. The voting period ends Dec. 15. “Solar proponents are more hopeful about this,” Tilghman said. “The biggest obstacle will be getting enough homeowners to vote.” Jarvis and his team from Solar Systems have been working 10 hour days, six to seven days a week to install all the solar panels on order before the new year starts and Senate Bill 309 goes into effect. The bill will decrease the net-metering benefits for anyone who installs panels after Dec. 31, 2017. The actual installation takes one to three days, but the other requirements for the homeowner can make the process take months. Aside from Historic Preservation Commission approval, which can involve a month-long wait for a hearing, the process includes a site visit, a connection agreement with an energy company, and an inspection from the Monroe County Building Requirement. After Emery’s installation was finished in October, Sturbaum went to look at the 1904 red roofed house, now outfitted with black panels. “It’s not the prettiest thing in the world,” Sturbaum said. “It does detract from the historic front of the house.” Jarvis disagreed, saying his team put effort into making the installation look as clean as possible by consciously hiding the wires and conductors. “When I drive by, I’m like ‘that looks good. I think that looks tight,’” Jarvis said. As someone who appreciates aesthetics and has written several books on art, Emery said he understands how installing solar panels can change the appearance of the neighborhood. On the other hand, Emery thinks it would be foolish to insist every visible part of the house be kept in the condition it was a century ago. “Solar panels, like shingles or gutters are detachable elements of the house,” Emery said.
MEN’S SOCCER
Men’s soccer prepares for College Cup test By Michael Ramirez
IU (17-0-6) vs. North Carolina (17-3-1) 8:45 p.m. Friday, Chester, Pennsylvania
michrami@umail.iu.edu | @michrami_
For just the second time this season, No. 2 IU will face an ACC opponent in the NCAA Tournament semi-finals, and it comes in the biggest moment of its season. No. 3 North Carolina stands in the Hoosiers’ way from reaching the national championship for the first time in five years, and IU has little familiarity with the breed of opponent the Tar Heels bring. Earlier this year, the Hoosiers faced then-No. 7 Notre Dame, welcoming the Fighting Irish to Bill Armstrong Stadium in the thick of their season. It was the only time IU faced ACC opposition in its 2017 campaign, and the
BOBBY GODDIN | IDS
IU celebrates after defeating Michigan State on PKs, 3-2, to advance to its 19th college cup.
Hoosiers put a dominant performance on display, defeating their rivals from the north 1-0. Defense played a major role in that game, like it has
all season for the Hoosiers, and the mentality will be no different this weekend, while also riding a hot attacking front. “Defensively, we’re a re-
ally confident group, and we have players that have come back from last year on that back line,” senior defender Grant Lillard said. “We’ve been able to have strong
defensive performances for a few years now, and the attacking options going forward, we always have a good chance to find a way to win.” IU hopes the score against Notre Dame will translate from September to December when they take on the Tar Heels. North Carolina also fell to the Fighting Irish in the second round of the ACC Tournament, a result that the Hoosiers will look at when preparing their game plan. “You can see how good they are technically from SEE SOCCER, PAGE 5
Positive Link HIV Services has helped people living with HIV since 1994. With the grand opening of its new health clinic Tuesday, Positive Link will be able to offer clinical care for the first time. Positive Link is a program of IU Health Bloomington Hospital Community Health. It offers preventative services through education on HIV/ AIDS and testing, as well as direct services for those affected by the disease. “This is the first time that we'll actually be able to do clinical service for our clients,” said Carol Weiss-Kennedy, director of community health for IU Health Bloomington. “Many of our clients usually wait to get into primary care or to see their specialist, and that takes quite a while. Or, they're going to Indianapolis or somewhere else for their care." About 30 people gathered for the grand opening. The ceremony included tours of the facility, remarks from staff at Positive Link and a ribboncutting ceremony. Weiss-Kennedy said that previously, Positive Link was only able to offer services for prevention and care coordination, which meant connecting people with other social services. The clinic will now provide billed services, meaning clients’ insurance can be billed for the costs. Positive Link is remaining in the same building on East Miller Drive and South Henderson Street, but it will now be open for clinical services every Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Weiss-Kennedy said they have the potential to add more if the need is there. Weiss-Kennedy said part of the importance of the clinic is its accessibility. The clinic is on the bus line, making it more available to the community. Julie Hiles, a care coordinator at Positive Link, led a small group on a tour of the exam room they will be utilizing. She spoke with people on the tour about what the clinic meant for Positive Link. “We’re in a much more stable place now,” Hiles said. Hiles began the ribboncutting ceremony by talking about the history of Positive Link. She began working there in 1994. At the time, Positive Link did not have a name and there were only four staff members, two of whom were part-time. Holes said HIV/AIDS was a whole different ballgame in 1994 than it is today. “When I first started as a care coordinator, most of my job was essentially planning funerals and helping people get on disability, and there wasn’t a lot of hope at that time," Hiles said. Hiles said that with good leadership, Positive Link has gone from planning funerals to working with people to get them back to work and having their own children and families. Jill Stowers, clinical lead manager of community health at Positive Link, said that historically, people have only wished for a vaccine or cure for HIV/AIDS to come along. Now, Stowers said, there’s another way. The CDC announced Sept. 27 they had scientific evidence that people who are HIV-positive and have an undetectable viral load, meaning less than 200 copies of HIV genetic material per milliliter of blood, cannot transmit the disease. SEE POSITIVE, PAGE 2