At 2109 Adams St. in Gary, a small community park is coming back to life not just with flowers and fences, but with purpose. A stage, once overlooked, will soon host spoken word events. A newly paved path leads into the city’s first handicap-accessible community garden, surrounded by a safety fence built with children and […]
Calvin Davis
Calvin Davis is Capital B Gary's government and politics reporter. You can reach Calvin at calvin.davis@capitalbnews.org.
Posted inHealth, Mental Health, News
Gary Launches Behavioral Health Division, Awarding $900K to 10 Local Health Organizations
Gary is launching a new Behavioral Health Division and awarding $900,000 in grants to local organizations, marking a major step in the city’s effort to expand access to mental health and addiction services. At a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Eddie Melton announced the new division along with the recipients of the funding while highlighting […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy
Gary Residents Could Soon Be Free From Vehicle Emissions Testing
After years of debate, Gary residents may soon see an end to the every-other-year vehicle emissions testing that’s long been required in Lake and Porter counties, thanks to a push state lawmakers are making to end it. The policy, a holdover from decades-old federal air quality regulations, has disproportionately impacted working-class residents in Northwest Indiana. […]
Posted inEducation, Youth
Pre-K Access Shrinks in Lake County and Gary as State Cuts Budget
Lake County families are bracing for the fallout of major cuts to Indiana’s On My Way Pre-K, the state’s first full-scale preschool program for low-income 4-year-olds, which advocates warn could severely limit access to early childhood education in communities already struggling with inequity. The program allows families to use state vouchers at participating public and […]
Posted inLocal Government, Politics & Policy
July 2025 Public Meeting Schedule for Gary
Gary officials will tackle zoning changes, paid parking at the lakefront, and long-planned park upgrades during meetings throughout July. The city’s infrastructure remains a focus as officials advance upgrades to pump stations and other critical systems.The Common Council’s first meeting of July will be held at the Gary Public Library on Fifth Avenue, temporarily moving […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Housing, Politics & Policy, Redevelopment
A Walkable, Mixed-Use Future : Inside the Plan to Rebuild Gary’s Downtown
What began as an opportunity last summer for Gary residents to share their hopes and conceptions for a reimagined downtown has become an in-depth master plan produced by the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture in partnership with the city. After weeks of talking with neighbors and months of behind-the-scenes preparations, the final blueprint […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics & Policy
$15B Nippon Steel Deal Is Completed, Bringing Hope and Uncertainty to Gary
After more than a year of off-again, on-again negotiation talks, Nippon Steel’s $15 billion acquisition of American staple U.S. Steel has officially been completed, according to releases from both companies. The details for Gary could be transformative. Nippon’s leadership has already earmarked at least $1 billion for Gary Works, including a rebuild of the aging […]
Posted inCommunity Spotlight
Restoration Project Brings New Life to Hatcher Park and Marshalltown Marsh
Glimmers of the evening sun shining through the trees gave Vertis Shirley all the light she needed to catch a glimpse of a gray catbird through her binoculars. “Right there on that tiny little branch,” said Kayla Lindsey-Fisher, senior stewardship associate for Audubon Great Lakes, as she directed Shirley’s attention to the spot where the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Public Services
June 2025 Public Meeting Schedule for Gary
After voting in April to go forward with a zoning change to the Beckman School property, the Gary Common Council last month overrode a pocket veto from Mayor Eddie Melton that would have blocked the change. The 6-3 vote cleared the way for an industrial business to move into the Midtown neighborhood site near 23rd […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Larry Hoover’s Federal Sentence Commuted. How Have Chicago Streets Changed?
Larry Hoover, founder of a notorious Chicago street gang who has spent the past three decades in solitary confinement in federal prison, was granted clemency by President Donald Trump on Wednesday — but his legal troubles are far from over. Hoover’s six life-term federal sentences have been commuted to time served, but he will serve […]
