OFFBEAT: 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' a rare web of stage greatness

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Suspect in Hobart sex case was convicted in school bus crimes

HOBART | Police said a Hobart man caught exposing himself and shooting photos up a woman's skirt recently at a Hobart department store was convicted three years ago for repeatedly terrorizing students on a Portage school bus.

EDITORIAL: Legislature must focus on unfinished work

On two issues -- sentencing reform and local government reform -- the Indiana General Assembly took a step in the right direction this year, but not far enough.

Musical ministry new life chapter for Valpo man who served his time

VALPARAISO | Delwyn Gring is using music and a microphone to help change lives.

Illinois prison officials want more money

SPRINGFIELD | State prison officials are predicting more problems at the embattled Illinois Department of Corrections if lawmakers don’t give them more money to operate in coming weeks.

Senate approves flurry of legislation

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Senate voted in favor of 40 proposals Wednesday, the final day for the Senate to act on House-approved legislation.

GUEST COMMENTARY: A rewrite of Indiana’s criminal code

For the past several years, state legislators from both parties have been working with prosecutors, judges, public defenders and many other experts to reduce recidivism - the number of repeat offenders - in Indiana by overhauling the laws governing our criminal justice system. The end result…

EDITORIAL: Senate must recalibrate scales of justice

Indiana's criminal code, no less than any other mechanism, requires periodic maintenance.

Ind. criminal code rewrite wins House approval

INDIANAPOLIS | A five-year project to rethink and reform how Indiana sentences its felony criminals won approval by the House late Monday night.

Kubina gets 35 years in prison for 'great sin'

CROWN POINT | The stepmother of a boy whose body was discovered in 2011 in a shallow grave in Gary was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison.

Criminal code rewrite clears second committee

INDIANAPOLIS | The first wholesale rewrite of Indiana's criminal code since 1977 is headed to the House floor after winning unanimous approval Monday by the Ways and Means Committee.

OFFBEAT: Mike Tyson Broadway one-man show good and 'gloves off'

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

EDITORIAL: Balance Indiana's scales of justice

Indiana needs sentencing reform to restore balance to the criminal justice system. House Bill 1006 offers the right road map for change.

Reform of Indiana's criminal code clears first hurdle

INDIANAPOLIS | Five years of bipartisan review, debate and negotiation paid off Wednesday as a House committee unanimously approved the first major overhaul of Indiana's criminal code since 1977.

EDITORIAL: Probe mental health care in prisons

Incoming Gov. Mike Pence should make it one of his first tasks to address concerns about how mentally ill inmates are treated in the Department of Correction system.

Times Columnist Philip Potempa with Westiville Correctional Center Inmates at May 2012 Honors Luncheon

Times Columnist Philip Potempa at the May 2012 Honors Luncheon at Westville Correctional Center dining with inmates taking Purdue college courses and earning semester Dean's List recognition.

FROM the FARM: Special recipe from prison for holiday trays

I hope Times readers had a wonderful Christmas, as the holiday season continues.

EDITORIAL: Save prison for serious offenses

A recent Indiana Department of Correction report shows Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties are to be commended for their community corrections programs. We concur.

Early release denied in thefts from Valpo senior's residence

VALPARAISO | A 22-year-old woman who stole money and rings from a 96-year-old Valparaiso woman while working in her home was denied early release from prison Tuesday.

Life sentence tossed for Jada Justice killer, Supreme Court sets 65-year term

INDIANAPOLIS | Engelica Castillo was ordered to serve 65 years in prison instead of life for murdering her 2-year-old cousin, Jada Justice. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Castillo's original sentence of life without the possibility of parole was inappropriate.