Bap, bap ba ba bap – bap bap. Around 1 p.m. on a recent Thursday afternoon, 90-year-old Sophia Vann heard a knock on her front door. Standing on the steps of the longtime Gary resident’s Miller home was a very familiar face: former Gary Mayor Jerome Prince, holding a lunch bag filled with food. This […]
Lake County
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 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 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 inCommunity
Free and Low-Cost Summer Camps in Gary for 2025
Capital B Gary has compiled a list of camps happening across the city and nearby communities, offering programming in academics, arts, sports, and outdoor fun. We will update this list throughout the summer. As the 2024–25 school year comes to a close, parents across Gary are looking for ways to keep their children active and […]
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 inEnvironmental Justice
Gary Families Can Now Test Home Air, Soil and Water for Toxins
Gary and other Lake County residents are being asked to help gauge dangerous pollutants after an initial study found contamination at alarming levels. “By participating, you could learn more about pollution in your home, whether you have been exposed, and how that might affect the health of your family and the community,” said Ellen Wells, […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics & Policy
Gary’s Big Win: Convention Center News Sparks Citywide Excitement
Robert Buggs stood alone amid a sea of applause. Clad in a baby-blue fedora and matching sport coat, he was the only person to rise in the county Government Center’s second-floor chamber as the Lake County Board of Commissioners named Gary the new convention center site. “I’m very ecstatic about it, because now’s the time […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics & Policy
New Lake County Convention Center Is Coming to Gary
It’s official. The Lake County Board of Commissioners selected Gary as the site for the new Lake County Convention Center. The commissioners announced the decision Wednesday morning to a packed room and were met with rousing applause from an audience that included Gary residents and city officials. What began as proposals for 14 sites across […]