STATEHOUSE (April 23, 2013) — Military veterans would have access to more affordable college education under legislation authored by State Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City). A final version of Senate Bill 177 passed both the Senate and House of Representatives today and now moves to the governor’s desk for signature into law.
SB 177 grants in-state tuition eligibility to honorably discharged veterans and active National Guard members who enroll in one of Indiana’s state colleges within a year of settling in Indiana. Currently, veterans serving in a different state or country may not qualify for in-state tuition upon returning home, increasing their college costs by thousands of dollars.
“With this legislation, Indiana has an opportunity to make significant strides in helping veterans earn their college degrees,” Banks said. “A recent Indiana University study showed that 18 percent of Hoosier veterans have at least a bachelor’s degree, which is below the national average of 26 percent. Expanding in-state tuition eligibility could help bridge that gap by easing veterans’ financial burden and improving their access to higher education.”
To be eligible, veterans are required to enroll in a state college or university no later than 12 months after their discharge or separation from the armed forces. They will then have to take steps to establish Indiana residency within 12 months of enrollment.
Rep. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle) is the bill’s sponsor in the House of Representatives.
# # #...

Read more: Veterans Tuition Bill Moves to Governor's Desk

(Photo Courtesy of the LaPorte PD)
In LaPorte, police say a 21 year old currently wanted for felony forgery is their “Wanted Person of the Week.” LaPorte Police say Allan Best is described as a white male, five-feet ten-inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact 9-1-1, the LaPorte Police Department, at 219-362-9446, or LaPorte County Metro Operations, at 219-325-9022, and you can remain anonymous.
# # #...

Read more: LaPorte PD Wanted Person of the Week Allan Best

A new Howey Politics Indiana poll released today (Tuesday) shows 72-percent of Hoosiers support an income-tax cut – either Governor Pence's plan for a ten-percent reduction (39-percent support), or the smaller tax cut proposed by Senate Republicans (33-percent support). The poll of six-hundred registered voters April 18-21 also showed 83-percent support the expanded gun background check legislation that was recently defeated in the US Senate. Other key findings included... 16-percent said they felt abortion should be illegal without exceptions, while 45-percent said illegal except for rape, incest and endangering the life of the mother....50-percent said they would support a proposed constitutional amendment stating marriage is between a man and a woman... and 56-percent favor decriminalization of marijuana. Howey Politics Indiana polling is conducted with corporate and academic sponsorships.
###

...

Read more: Poll Shows Hoosiers Want Tax Cut

The board of directors of Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority has hired advisers, including a consulting firm led by former Indianapolis International Airport CEO John Clark, to assist in exploring a public-private partnership for the airport. It comes as construction of a large-scale 167-million-dollar runway extension project nears completion by the end of the year. Also, the board wants the city of Gary to name the new Airport Road overpass after Tuskegee Airman and long-time Gary educator Quentin Smith, who died in January at the age of 94.
###...

Read more: Airport Board Hires Advisers

[Courtesy INDOT]
Eight spans down, one to go... Crews have been taking apart the old Nine-Span Bridge in Lake County for the past few months, and this month the final span was being disassembled piece by piece so it can be saved for historic purposes. The bridge, spanning the railyards as it connects Hammond and East Chicago, was built in the mid 1930s. INDOT spokesman Matt Deitchley told us that when it's rebuilt, it'll look very different from the bridge so many Region residents have traveled over, over the years. INDOT officials say it's possible that pieces of the old bridge may one day be incorporated into a trail bridge. The INDOT detour directs motorists to use Cline Avenue, the Borman Expressway, and US 20/ Michigan Street to get around the closure, which is expected to last most of the year.  Underneath the 75-year-old nine-span is big new economic development, as an international fertilizer giant from Canada is building a facility in the vicinity.

The website hammondindiana-dot-com says at one point it was reported to be the longest bridge over dry land in the country.
The new bridge is expected to open before the end of the year. Photos of the demolition are courtesy of the Indiana Department of Transportation --


Here's a link to their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299041910229213&set=pb.115599371906802.-2207520000.1366733724.&type=3&theater
###...

Read more: Last Stand for Nine Span

[Image courtesy of FBI]
The FBI has confirmed that a Lake County native who was among their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives was arrested in Nicaragua, a little more than a year after being placed on the list. Officials say 31-year-old Eric Justin Toth, originally of Hammond, was wanted for alleged possession and production of child pornography. Authorities have been looking for Toth for nearly five years, when he disappeared from the Washington DC area where he had been working as a teacher at an exclusive elementary school. The FBI says the former Washington, D.C., private school teacher had been on the run since 2008, after pornographic images were allegedly found on a school camera that had been in his possession. Authorities say a tip led law enforcement to Nicaragua, where Toth was living under an alias.
###...

Read more: FBI Confirms Fugitive Arrest

Authorities confirm a 22-year-old Calumet City man was shot to death Monday in the 400 block of Freeland Avenue in a police-involved shooting. More information is expected to be released later today. The Lake County Coroners office says Victor Johnson suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died shortly after 6-o'clock Monday night at a Hammond hospital. Calumet City and Illinois State Police are investigating.
###...

Read more: Fatal Calumet City Shooting Police-Involved

A Chicago woman who's been arrested nearly four-hundred times since 1978, including 92 times for theft and an alleged attack on a City Council member, was due before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board today. Over the years, 51-year-old Shermain Miles has also been arrested on disorderly conduct prostitution-related charges, among other things. Miles is at the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. If it's determined she violated her parole, she will be behind bars until April 2014.
###...

Read more: Hearing for Chicagoan with 400 Arrests

Town officials in Munster are looking into flooding issues in different areas of town. Street flooding was a concern in the 99-hundred block of Tanglewood Court in White Oak Estates after last week's heavy rains, reportedly preventing some people from getting to work. About three miles north, in the eight-thousand block of Kooy Drive, some residents were dealing with flooded backyards and water getting into their basements.
###...

Read more: Flooding Concerns in Munster

Published reports say a Lake County native who was on the list of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives list for allegedly possessing child pornography has been arrested in Nicaragua. Various media are reporting that 31-year-old Eric Justin Toth, originally of Hammond was taken into custody Saturday. Authorities have been looking for Toth for nearly five years, when he disappeared from the Washington D-C area where he had been working as a teacher at an exclusive elementary school.
###...

Read more: Reports: Region Native, FBI Fugitive in Custody