More than 100 residents gathered Thursday evening at the Gary Public Library to discuss the future of one of Northwest Indiana’s most important industries: steel. The town hall, titled “Our Mill, Our Future,” brought together residents, advocates, and elected officials concerned about the future of U.S. Steel’s Gary Works and whether the region will receive […]
Money
How One Gary Restaurant Preserved a Century of Chili, Community, and Tradition
The gospel music hums overhead while the fryer crackles behind the counter. Customers drift in and out of the narrow diner on Broadway, a place that seems stuck in time. At one end of the grill, Elisha Evans flips hamburgers with one hand while dropping fries into hot oil with the other. A few stools […]
Affordable Housing Tour Stops in Gary With Push to Close Homeownership Gap
Music flowed through the hallway at Indiana University Northwest’s Savannah Center as residents walked in with folders in hand and questions on their minds. As the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy Drumline played classic hits to introduce the evening’s speakers, Gary welcomed a program with a clear objective: to bridge the housing gap in the Black […]
Biscuits and Breaking Barriers: How J’s Breakfast Club Brings People Together
This story originally published Oct. 31, 2025 The restaurant was still. Midday light slipped through the windows of J’s Breakfast Club on 26th Avenue and Broadway Avenue. In the back office, Joslyn Kelly sat at her desk, as the soft rustle of her staff moving in and out of the kitchen carried through the restaurant. […]
Council Passes City Budget, Hits Pause on Sewer Rate Hike
Gary’s 2026 budget is slightly smaller than last year’s, but it shifts more money into key departments and adds new workers as part of a broader reorganization of city services. The $65.5 million general fund, the city’s primary fund for day-to-day operations, is down about $725,000 from 2025, yet income, public safety, and infrastructure funds […]
‘Just The Beginning’: Gary Breaks Ground on $60 Million FedEx Distribution Center
Less than six months after announcing its arrival during his State of the City address, Mayor Eddie Melton christened what will become Gary’s new FedEx distribution center. Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at 1 Buffington Harbor, which took place even as crews were at work on the 317,000-square foot facility, was attended by officials from every level […]
Fears Swirl in Gary as Post Suggests Only Walgreens Could Be Closing
When a Facebook video suggested that Gary’s only Walgreens pharmacy might be closing, alarm spread quickly in the comments. Residents fretted about where they would fill prescriptions if the store at West 25th Avenue and Grant Street disappeared. Capital B Gary reached out to the chain’s parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, about the rumor, and […]
How Gary Decides Its City Budget and When Residents Get a Say
Every fall, Gary leaders hash out one of the most important plans of the year: the city budget. It decides how much money goes to things like police, fire, streets, parks, and keeping the lights on at City Hall. For the past three years, the city’s budget has been inflated by American Rescue Plan Act […]
Health Inspectors Threatened as Gary Cracks Down on Unsafe Food Businesses
In the wake of multiple temporary store closures following a wave of citywide health inspections, the City of Gary and the Gary Police Department confirmed today that the Gary Health Department received a threatening phone call directed toward its inspectors. “This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Gary Police Chief […]
Mold, Mice, and Dirty Floors: Inside Gary’s Food Inspection Records
When Gary shut down neighborhood groceries and restaurants in recent weeks, city officials described the move as a sweeping crackdown to raise health and safety standards. Residents applauded the crackdown as a long overdue step toward holding local stores and restaurants to higher standards, while some expressed concern about losing food access. Now, inspection records […]
