Leah Lewis stepped carefully over a crack in the pavement as she pointed to the remains of a crumbling home — one of several still standing on the old Colonial Gardens site. “We need to knock that one down next,” she said, motioning toward a house about 800 feet away. Six years ago, when the […]
Gary
Posted inArts, Community, History
Gary Youth Bring History to Life Through Art in ‘Greatness of Gary’ Project
The smell of pancakes filled J’s Breakfast Club as people crowded in, hoping to grab a bite to eat and catch the commotion unfolding in the back of the restaurant. A crowd of people huddled together around tables, artworks, and snacks on Sunday as Gary native and world-renowed artist PeQue prepared to unveil the monthslong […]
Posted inPublic Services, Utilities
Electric Bills Rise Again, and Northwest Indiana Residents Say They’ve Had Enough
As triple-digit temperatures gripped Northwest Indiana this summer during a national heatwave, cities opened cooling centers and residents cranked up their air conditioners to stay safe. Days later, the region’s primary utility company hiked its electricity rates to a record high. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., the state’s largest natural gas and second-largest electric company, […]
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 inBusiness, Community Spotlight
A Taste of Home: Sistas with Soul Brings Soul Food to Broadway
At the corner of 13th Avenue and Broadway, the smell of a home-cooked meal wafts to the sidewalk as the doors to Sistas with Soul open. Inside, Pamela Junior stands behind the counter, greeting regulars, welcoming newcomers, and serving food. Her sister, Alici’a Junior, slips between the kitchen and dining room, frying fish in the […]
Posted inEducation, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
Money for Indiana After-School Programs, Professional Development in Limbo After Trump Freeze
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. An estimated $107 million in federal funds to support after-school programs, academic enrichment, English language learners, and more in Indiana are in limbo following a decision by the Trump administration to withhold the funding as it completes a program review. States […]
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 inArts, Community, Culture
Gary’s Jackson 5 Mural: It’s Bigger. It’s Better. And It’s Back.
In 2013, when the first Jackson 5 mural was unveiled in downtown Gary, it became one of the most beloved pieces of public art in the city. But over time, it gradually deteriorated and the building was torn down in 2018. Now, over a decade later, the mural has been reborn on Lake Street. Commissioned […]
Posted inHealth
Lake County’s Free HIV Testing Effort Aims to Reduce Stigma & Save Lives
Talking about HIV – It’s uncomfortable. It’s necessary. It’s lifesaving. The Lake County Health Department, in partnership with HIV awareness group The Aliveness Project, is offering free HIV testing to Lake County residents in recognition of National HIV Testing Day on June 27. The effort comes at a time when testing remains uneven, stigma persists […]
Posted inLGBTQ
Gary Pride Parade Ended Years Ago. Residents Still Feel Its Absence.
Tyona Jackson Wesley-Stitt still recalls the hot June day in 2008 when marchers swung from 25th and Adams Street onto Taft Street and claimed Gary’s first Pride parade, capping it with a family picnic at Marquette Park. She had formed Rainbow Days, a local grassroots group, two years earlier, laying the foundation for what would […]
