Chicago Avenue closed between Cline and Airport Road

Chicago Avenue is now closed to through traffic between Cline Avenue and Airport Road. The closure is part of the Gary/Chicago International Airport expansion program. Businesses along that section of Chicago Avenue can still be accessed.

Airport Road overpass opens

CSX tanker cars pass under the new Airport Road overpass, which is now open to traffic. Building of the overpass is part of the $166 million expansion of Gary/Chicago International Airport.

Airport Road overpass opens

The new Airport Road overpass is now open to one lane of traffic in each direction. It was built as part of Gary/Chicago International Airport's $166 million expansion project.

Pollution pile could stifle airport development

A huge mound of contaminated soil sits just south of where the Gary/Chicago International Airport runway will be extended. A key airport tenant and a former airport director are alarmed that plans for leaving the pollution on site could stifle future development there.

Chicago developer sets sights on Gary airport

Chicago developer Elzie Higginbottom, center, listens Monday as the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority discusses proposed lease terms that could lead to construction of a new hangar at the airport by his Eastlake Management & Development Corp.

Cline Avenue Bridge demolition

A large section of the Cline Avenue Bridge as seen from a demolished Riley Road ramp on Monday. Demolition work on the bridge continues, despite earlier assurances from state officials it would be down by the end of 2012.

Cline Avenue Bridge demolition

The last remaining section of the Cline Avenue Bridge stands over the west side of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal on Monday. Work on demolishing it continues, despite state officials' earlier assurances it would be down by the end of 2012.

Muhammad: Intermodal operation piqued interest of businesses

Consulting-firm owner Adrian Muhammad said he remains interested in working to develop transportation infrastructure in Gary despite his firm's being accused of owing more than $267,000 for a feasibility study of building an intermodal business park on land United States Steel Corp. owns.

Lawsuit pushing intermodal port project off track?

A company led by an adviser to Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson is the target of a civil lawsuit in connection with its effort to spearhead a "city-centered" economic development project.

Gary-Hammond-East Chicago Empowerment zone incubator

The mailing address for Adrian Muhammad's Midwest International Investment Center LLC is at the Gary-Hammond-East Chicago Empowerment Zone incubator on Broadway in Gary. Muhammad also lists on email letterhead the address of an office in Chicago at 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 555.

Back to broadcasting: Michael Essany's latest TV talk show debuts Monday

GARY | Valparaiso's TV talk show host Michael Essany is ready for a return to the small screen and promises his latest broadcast venture will be bigger and better than his reality chat show series on cable's E! Entertainment in 2003.

Gary pilot dies in gyroplane crash at Lansing airport

LANSING | A gyroplane pilot from Gary died Monday from injuries suffered in a crash shortly after he took off from Lansing Municipal Airport in his one-seater aircraft, according to Illinois State Police.

Family Christian Center threatened with foreclosure

MUNSTER | The Family Christian Center, the state's largest mega-church and one of the 20 largest in the U.S., is facing foreclosure, with Pastor Steve Munsey telling congregants Wednesday night the church owes $750,000 in back payments on its sprawling worship center.

Community mourns teen found dead near Lake Central

St. John police officers and others begin an investigation after a body was found Wednesday evening on Lake Central High School property.

Community mourns teen found dead near Lake Central

St. John police and others begin an investigation Wednesday evening after a body was found at the far southeast corner of Lake Central High School property. The body was later identified as Levi C. Evans II, a 17-year old Lake Central marching band drummer.

THREE YEARS AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION: Manufacturing continuing to boost Indiana economic activity

SCHERERVILLE | From his office window, Joel Chermak can get a visual confirmation of what financial statements for the company tell him on a daily basis.

THREE YEARS AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION: Legacy dims hope to break economic malaise

Things should have been better by now.

Sellers, buyers sail into uncharted waters

Realtor Zeke Morris locks up after showing a home in South Holland. The owners recently decided to drastically reduce the selling price of the home, a decision that is becoming more common as sellers adjust their expectations for the new realities of the housing market.

Illiana Expressway group looking at alternative route options

Indiana and Illinois transportation officials may go back to the drawing board when it comes to a preferred route for the proposed Illiana Expressway.

ArcelorMittal speaks out on Cline Avenue

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has issued an unequivocal statement calling for INDOT to stick to its original pledge and build new on- and off-ramps for Cline Avenue at Dickey Road.

Bitter pay dispute leads to firing of Summit workers

Workers from Summit Inc. scrapyard confer in an empty lot on Chicago Avenue on Wednesday about their next move after being fired following a pay dispute. They allege their pay is often weeks late and they are often shorted hours or overtime pay. A Nov. 19 fire at Summit Inc. burned for two d…

Bitter pay dispute leads to firing of Summit workers

Truck drivers Jose Godinez, left, of Whiting, and Dave Fezler, of Griffith, right, talk to other Summit Inc. workers who were fired Wednesday after they said they protested pay issues. The former employees gathered near the business in Gary.

Bitter pay dispute leads to firing of Summit workers

Truck driver Jose Godinez, of Whiting, holds onto a paycheck from Summit Inc. in which he alleges he was only paid for 45.5 hours when he actually worked 99 in a two-week pay period.

Nathaniel Williams

Nathaniel Williams, Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority president

State Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, discusses a Hoosier's right to carry a gun at work

Click on start to hear an interview by Times staff writer Keith Benman with state Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, in which the senator explains his views on the right of people to carry guns at work in Indiana. The interview segment posted here begins with Benman asking Delph if he believes peopl…

Ed Feigenbaum

Indiana Gaming Insight Publisher Ed Feigenbaum

Wil Davis

Wil Davis, owner/operator Gary Jet Center

Griffith storage site fire sparks inquiry

Smoke rises from a stubborn fire Friday at Reserve Storage in Griffith as firefighers pour on water. It took three hours to bring under control and state fire investigators have been called in to find the cause.

Griffith storage site fire sparks inquiry

Firefighters used two aerial trucks Friday night to quell a stubborn fire at Reserve Storage in Griffith. It took three hours to bring under control and state fire investigators been called in to find the cause.

Griffith fire extensively damages storage facility

Firefighters battle a blaze Friday night at Reserve Storage at 500 Ridge Road in Griffith.

Firefighters battling blaze at Griffith storage facility

Firefighters battle a blaze Friday night at Reserve Storage at 500 Ridge Road in Griffith.

Man dies in 1 of 3 fires in south suburbs

A firefighter works Friday on extinguishing a garage fire in Lansing. No one was injured in the blaze, but the family was displaced. A fire earlier in Calumet City killed 32-year-old Eric G. Salazar, who was paralyzed.

Nonfatal Lansing blaze destroys family's garage

A firefighter extinguishes hot spots Friday after a fire erupted in the garage of a Lansing home. No one was injured in the blaze, which displaced the family living there. A Calumet City man died in a separate fire Friday in Calumet City.

Illiana Corridor Study Area map

The light rectangular area of the map depicts the Illiana Corridor study area running from approximately Hebron in the east to Joliet, Ill., in the west. Indiana and Illinois have begun work on a transportation study of how best to link communities in the study area.

Federal Rail Administrator Joseph Szabo

Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo speaks during Friday's Golden Spike Seminar at Valparaiso University about the jobs and economic development that will come with high-speed rail projects.

Cline Avenue bridge closure

A trucker waits in an empty lot north of the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Dickey Road Friday morning as East Chicago police direct traffic. At 7:30 a..m., truckers said all traffic turning onto Dickey Road had been jammed up for more than 45 minutes by a stopped train. Traffic on Dick…

Cline Avenue bridge closure

Trucks and cars line up on the other side of a stopped train just northeast of the intersection of Dickey Road and Michigan Avenue on Friday morning. The number of vehicles per day using Dickey Road has soared from 3,610 before the Cline Avenue bridge closure to 17,224 recently.

Cline Avenue bridge closure

A line of cars and trucks was stacked up on Michigan Avenue Friday morning waiting to turn onto Dickey Road. Truckers said a train stopped for more than 45 minutes at a Dickey Road crossing was the holdup. The number of vehicles using Dickey Road has more than quadrupled since the closure of…

RBA consolidation move draws fire

Raymond Fletcher, of ADAPT Indiana, makes a point Tuesday at a news conference in Portage. Several groups oppose consolidation of Gary’s bus agency.

RBA consolidation move draws fire

Raymond Fletcher, left, of ADAPT Indiana, makes a point Tuesday at a news conference in Portage. Several groups spoke out to oppose consolidation of Gary Public Transportation Corp. into the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority. Looking on is Karen Pulliam, center, of the NAACP, and Tere…

ArcelorMittal USA CEO blasts 'bring your gun to work' bill, urges veto

The top U.S. executive of steelmaker ArcelorMittal is urging Gov. Mitch Daniels to veto legislation that would outlaw workplace rules preventing employees from keeping firearms and ammunition in their vehicles at work.

Proponent: NWI to get $71M for high-speed rail

A local high-speed rail proponent said funding for a $71.4 million project to improve passenger rail service through Northwest Indiana is expected to be green-lighted in an announcement today from top White House officials.

Few think recession will end in near term

Robertsdale resident Amy Wilson stuck another one of her "Dear President Obama" letters in a mailbox Thursday.

Gary leaders still hopeful Majestic Star can sail inland

Gary leaders said getting a land-based casino in the city remains their top priority, even if the odds may have to be recalculated in the wake of Majestic Star Casino LLC declaring bankruptcy Monday.

One man dead, one injured in two separate Gary shootings

GARY | Police are searching for suspects after two Saturday morning shootings left a Merrillville man dead and a Gary man injured, a police spokeswoman said.

Hammond transfers buses to RBA

HAMMOND | The beleaguered Hammond Transit System will become the first in the region to be managed and operated by the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority.

Indiana, Illinois hike minimum wage

Indiana's minimum wage increased 70 cents per hour July 24, as the federal standard for what employers can pay their workers also increased

Indiana, Illinois hike minimum wage

Indiana's minimum wage is set to increase 70 cents per hour today, as the federal standard for what employers can pay their workers also increases.

Fans can watch Michael Jackson's L.A. memorial at Gary Bennigan's

The Bennigan's restaurant in the King of Pop's hometown of Gary is hosting fans today wishing to watch the Michael Jackson memorial service on television.

'American dream' became nightmare for subprime borrowers

Subprime lenders, many of them now out of business, not only loaned money in minority neighborhoods for mortgages at exorbitant and unnecessarily high interest rates, they also engaged in bait-and-switch practices that forced countless more borrowers into needless excess debt, surprising the…