Summit strengthening environmental ties across state line

Clouds pass quickly over the Chicago skyline looking from Whihala Beach County Park in Whiting. This year's Calumet Summit, taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, is aimed at strengthening the connections across the state line between groups working on environmental issues.

Lake County progress moved to fast lane

South Shore Line conductor Randy Jackson of Chesterton ensures all passengers are on board an eastbound train during a stop at the McCormick Place NICTD/Metra station last March.

Renaldo Thomas, Roosevelt

It's not been the kind of boys basketball season first-year Roosevelt coach Renaldo Thomas was hoping for.

Family Christian Center threatened with foreclosure

Members of the church perform on stage in March 2010 during the Palm Sunday celebration "Living Lord's Supper" at Family Christian Center in Munster.

Family Christian Center threatened with foreclosure

Members of the church perform on stage in March 2010 during the Palm Sunday celebration "Living Lord's Supper" at Family Christian Center in Munster.

U.S. Steel Yard

The RailCats open the season at U.S. Steel Yard in this 2010 file photo.

Former Hobart football coach expected to head Portage program

Hobart coach Wally McCormack watches from the sidelines in the first quarter of Griffith's 35-10 win over the Brickies in Sept. 2010.

Coach Wally McCormack

New Portage coach Wally McCormack had a 56-37 record at Hobart following a 14-1 season and a trip to the Class 3A state title game in 2002 at Andrean.

Bloom Township's Lejavius Johnson

Bloom Township's Lejavius Johnson, left, shoots past Homewood-Flossmoor's Tyrone Sherman during Bloom Township's 43-32 win against Homewood-Flossmoor in the Boys Basketball. Class 4A Lockport Sectional final on Friday. The Blazing Trojans are one win from a berth in the state semifinals and …

NWI commuters, airfields on alert for restrictions caused by NATO summit

The South Shore Line commuter railroad will not make stops at McCormick Place on Saturday or Sunday because of the NATO summit, said John Parsons, planning and marketing director for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

Bowman Academy fans

Bowman Academy fans cheer during Bowman Academy's 81-67 win against Elkhart in the 11th annual Region Roundball Rumble on Jan. 1, 2010 at Valparaiso University. Bowman faces Cathedral today at 5:30 p.m.

Munster High School swimmer Jillian Homans

Senior Jillian Homans, captain of the Munster High School girls swimming team, holds the team record in the 500-meter freestyle (5 minutes, 16.04 seconds) and the 200 (1:52.64). "I truly believe we have a top five team this year," Homans said. "We have a lot of experience coming back and a l…

Philpot, 3 sheriff's officers indicted in separate charges

Lake County Coroner Thomas Philpot reacts to results that show him trailing in the Lake County sheriff's race on election night May 4, 2010, at SS. Helen and Constantine Church in Merrillville. The U.S. attorney's office on Thursday announced an indictment against Philpot on charges related …

Local apple orchards and pumpkin patches make great family destinations

Visitors walk their finds back to a tractor after visiting a pumpkin patch in 2010 at County Line Orchard in Hobart.

Michael Jackson birthday celebration highlights 'Legend's Weekend' in Gary

Hundreds gather at the 2300 block of Jackson Street in front of Michael Jackson's childhood home on the one-year anniversary of his death on June 25, 2010, in Gary. The city will be hosting a birthday party in his honor starting Friday, partly outside his childhood home at 2300 Jackson St.

Whiting refinery project nearly two-thirds complete

A worker builds around the current refinery Nov. 29 at BP Whiting Refinery in Whiting. The work is part of BP's $3.8 billion Whiting Refinery Modernization Project.

Industrial projects prop up flagging construction industry

A worker builds around the current refinery at the BP Refinery in Whiting late last year. Industrial projects in Northwest Indiana have helped construction companies struggling with the recession.

Industrial projects prop up flagging construction industry

Workers build around the current refinery late last year at BP Refinery in Whiting. The work was part of BP's $3.8 billion modernization project. The modernization project will increase the refinery's ability to refine heavier crude oil, including the oil from the Canadian tar sands. This …

Ford posts best 1Q profit in 13 years

A Ford employee works on the assembly line at the Chicago Ford Assembly Plant in Chicago in December. New arrivals such as the Ford Explorer, made and the Assembly Plant, and Fiesta small car are selling well, which has boosted the automaker's first-quarter profit.

Midwest transportation industry excited about growth

Wind turbine propellers are stacked up on a ship in the Port of Indiana Burns Harbor in October. The Ports of Indiana saw an increase of 500,000 tons of cargo, or 8 percent compounded growth, during the last three years. Bigger numbers are expected when the Ports of Indiana releases a 2010 u…

Merrillville player Kenny Wright, left, is congratulated by Autry Phillip

Merrillville player Kenny Wright, left, is congratulated by Autry Phillips after Wright scored a run last season. Wright is a four-year letterman for the Pirates and will take his talents to Kentucky State in the fall.

Chicago-built Ford Explorer sales up 111 percent in March

A Ford employee inspects a Ford Explorer on the assembly line Dec. 1 at the Chicago plant. Last month's sales of the Chicago-built Explorer were more than double March 2010 figures.

Chicago-built Ford Explorer sales up 111 percent in March

A Ford employee installs parts on the Explorer on Dec. 1 at the Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch. Soaring sales of the Chicago-built Explorer helped Ford top GM sales for only the second month since 1998.

Lew Wallace's DeVonte Harris

Lew Wallace's DeVonte Harris has helped lead the Hornets on their second-half resurgence to their second-straight sectional title.

U.S. Steel helps propel Chicago area to the top

In its annual Governor's Cup awards released Tuesday, Site Selection magazine ranked the Chicago area as the No. 1 metropolitan area in the U.S. in corporate facility expansion projects in 2010. The magazine cited U.S. Steel's investment of $220 million to modernize its Gary Works facility.

Water plays dual roles in Cedar Lake

Dean Martin Sr.'s cardboard boat, dubbed Spirit of Cedar Lake, capsizes during the second race in the annual Great Cedar Lake Cardboard Boat Race in July. Martin won the Anchor Award, sinking in 2½ minutes.

Officials: C.P. 'ideally positioned' for future

The first line of cars enters the southbound lane of Interstate 65 during the opening of the interchange at 109th Avenue on Sept. 30 in Crown Point.

Retail seeds sown in '10 start to sprout in Hammond

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, right, shakes hands with Dennis C. Radowski, manager of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, during a dedication ceremony for the first home rehabbed with federal economic recovery money. Philip Taillon, left, is the city's executive director of planning an…

Lakefront upgrades touch only the surface

Construction continues at the BP Whiting Refinery. The work is part of BP's $3.8 billion Whiting Refinery Modernization Project. The modernization project will increase the facility's ability to refine heavier crude oil, including the oil from the Canadian tar sands. This oil contains more i…

Projects keep Schererville moving

Foreman Jeff Ozanus installs playground equipment in October at Grimmer Park in Schererville. The playground was bought with bond money.

Lake County is a diverse workplace and playground

A coker refines oil at the BP Whiting Refinery in November. BP is spending about $3.8 billion on the Whiting Refinery modernization. The modernization project will allow the facility to refine heavier crude oil, including oil from the Canadian tar sands. This oil contains more impurities tha…

Lake county developing north and south

Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Michael Cline addresses an audience gathered in September to mark the opening of the newest interchange at Interstate 65 and 109th Avenue.

Transportation moves ahead in region

Passengers wait in line to get on a blue line bus at the Dan Rabin Plaza in Hammond. The Northwest Lake County Transit Services buses are emblazoned with the easygo label of the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Property crimes, 911 consolidation key public safety issues

Law enforcement officials in the region will face challenging times this year as Lake County deals with consolidated dispatching centers and police deal with increased property crimes.

Griffith's Brooke Brinkley shoots in the first round of the Vincennes Shootout

Griffith's Brooke Brinkley shoots in the first round of the Vincennes Shootout during the 11th annual Region Roundball Rumble Friday, January 1, 2010.

Rail agreement opens gate for growth at Burns Harbor port

Wind turbine propellers are stacked on a ship in October at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor. An arrangement with Norfolk Southern will relieve congestion within the port's boundaries as well as provide better connections with other railroads across the greater Chicago area, according to Por…

Munsey lived, loved his work

Bishop Frank Munsey, right, and his wife, Ruth, second from right, listen during a November 2009 class at the Family Christian Center. Munsey, who founded the Munster church, died Saturday at age 80.

BP

A worker builds around the current refinery at BP Whiting Refinery in November as part of BP's $3.8 billion Whiting Refinery Modernization Project. The company plans to concentrate its U.S. refining and marketing activity at Whiting and Cherry Point, Wash., as well as in its 50 percent stake…

BP earnings

A worker builds around the current refinery at BP Whiting Refinery in Whiting in November as part of BP's $3.8 billion Whiting Refinery Modernization Project. BP said a stronger-than-expected end to 2010, in which high oil prices lifted fourth quarter profit by 30 percent, was not enough to …

Revitalizing the region

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay talks before a building was razed to mark Gary's redevelopment program late last year. The city is able to demolish the buildings with the help of funding through the HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Nikki Anderson dives for a loose ball

T.F. North's Nikki Anderson (23, fights to maintain control of the ball against Rich Southduring the 32nd annual Hillcrest Holiday Classic 2010 on December. Anderson is one of the reason's T.F. North is having another successful season.

Nikki Anderson goes for a shot

T.F. North's Nikki Anderson (23, center) prepares to shoot against Rich South players during T.F. North's loss to Rich South in overtime during the 32nd annual Hillcrest Holiday Classic in December.

Crown Point's Jose Andrade runs

Crown Point's Jose Andrade runs towards home after smacking a home run against Portage last May. Andrade, a first-team All-State selection, will go to Goshen College next year.

U.S. Steel earnings

U.S. Steel, whose Gary Works facility is shown, is "cautiously optimistic" that the economy will grow stronger in the first quarter. It expects more shipments and higher production volume to outpace rising raw material costs.

MLK Bridge defects spawn suit

The Indiana Department of Transportation is suing Superior Construction Co. over extensive concrete cracking which forced the closing the Martin Luther King Drive Bridge over the Borman Expressway.

Mike Neal

Green Bay Packers defensive end Mike Neal, a Merrillville grad, offers encouragement to teammate Ryan Pickett during a Sept. 27, 2010 game at Soldier Field. Packers coach Mike McCarthy says Neal will miss a "significant" amount of time after having surgery this week.

Rise in signed contracts lifts housing market

In Munster, many small homes are being demolished and larger, more amenity-filled homes have been built on those lots, including a home at the 7900 block of Monroe Avenue. Signed contracts to buy homes increased in November, with a big reason being people are buying foreclosed homes.

Dean Tillema III sentencing set for Wednesday

Dean Tillema III is escorted in handcuffs to a police car after reaching a plea agreement Dec. 3 at Jasper Circuit Court in Rensselaer. The 22-year-old DeMotte man pleaded guilty to drunken driving in a May 22 crash that killed two of his passengers, Eric Sims and Taylor Cavinder.

Tillema pleads guilty to two felony counts

Chelsi Poletta, of DeMotte, hugs Erica Fisher on Dec. 3, 2010, after a plea hearing for Dean Tillema III, who was charged in the crash that killed Fisher's son Eric Sims and Taylor Cavinder, of Wheatfield.