A report in the Times says Lake County police and fire chiefs are expected to announce their choice Thursday May 30 12] for the county's new E-911 director – a recommendation that'll still have to be approved by county officials. Whoever that is faces the task of consolidating the 911 services of seventeen city, town and county law enforcement agencies by the end of next year –as mandated by state law – or face losing millions in public safety dollars from the state. The former director resigned in February.
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The mayors of Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, Congressman Pete Visclosky, Northwest Indiana RDA President/CEO Bill Hanna and EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman are scheduled to gather for an announcement this morning about a new partnership between the RDA and EPA they say will benefit the Region. A news conference is being held at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.  The Region News Team's  Karl Berner is covering the announcement, and we'll bring you details today.
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With Summer approaching gas prices have actually gone down in many parts of the country, including Northwest Indiana.   The Energy Department says nationwide regular unleaded is down 3 cents in the past week to 3-65 a gallon. The biggest drop was in the Midwest down 9 cents. The most expensive gas is in California and Minnesota where drivers are paying 4-02 per gallon.  According to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, a gallon of regular unleaded in the Gary metropolitan area is averaging 3-dollars-87-cents, over ten-cents less than a week ago but still the highest in the state.
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The Indiana Department of Transportation reports that in LaPorte County, east of Kouts, U.S. 421 between SR 8 and U.S. 30 is closed for poles and lines down. Avoid the area if you can. NIPSCO is on the scene.
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Indiana is represented by a dozen 'spellebrities' among the 281 regional spelling champs competing this week at the Scripps National Spelling Bee ... including 13-year-old Sean Ives of Crown Point, a seventh-grader at Trinity Lutheran School and sponsored by Kankakee Valley REMC... and 14-year-old Ted Tobias of Wheatfield, an eighth-grader at Kankakee Valley Middle School, sponsored by the Journal and Courier out of Lafayette. Preliminaries got underway this morning. For the first time in the 86-year history of the event, vocabulary is being formally incorporated into the competition.  Ives was also on the national stage last week, representing Indiana among the more than fifty students who competed in the National Geographic Bee in Washington DC.
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Northern Indiana Public Service Company says storms in the Region resulted in damage to power lines and outages. Crews worked throughout the night to restore power to 52-hundred customers. The utility says the majority of damage was in Lake and LaPorte Counties, specifically East Chicago, Merrillville and LaPorte. Some scattered outages remain in northwest Indiana, including Hobart and Michigan City this morning. NIPSCO urges everyone to stay away from downed lines and report any outages from your mobile device or at 1-800-4NIPSCO.
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Officials say a 57-year-old Knox man died after a piece of metal flew through his windshield and he crashed near Plymouth Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say he was on State Road 17 when some metal came off a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck going the other direction. The Marshall County Coroners office says the victim, Manis Stacy, Jr., then went off the roadway and struck a tree. Stacy was pronounced dead at the scene.
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June gives Hoosiers and their neighbors the chance to celebrate the Lake Michigan coast and increase awareness of its importance to Indiana.
Coastal Awareness Month will kick off June 1 with events in Michigan City and end June 29 with a Clean Water Celebration in Gary. The full lineup of Coastal Awareness Month activities is at cam.dnr.IN.gov  
Lake Michigan is a source of recreation, drinking water, industrial resources and many other uses. The 45 miles of shoreline in Indiana is the most diverse in the Great Lakes Region. This month provides a chance to learn and appreciate it more. The Lake Michigan Coastal Program and its partners orchestrate Coastal Awareness Month each year.
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The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is taking nominations for the 2013 Community of the Year Award. The winning community will be announced in August or September. Valparaiso won in 2009, La Porte in 2005. Indianapolis was named Community of the Year last year. The Chamber says the purpose is to give special recognition for significant contributions to local business climate and overall image during the past year. Entries must be received no later than June 17 to be eligible for consideration.  The last five Community of the Year recipients were Indianapolis, Kokomo, Terre Haute, Valparaiso and Noblesville.
The criteria and application form are available online. Submit entries to: Nick Ostergaard, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 850 South, Indianapolis, IN 46204 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The honor will be presented at the Indiana Chamber's 24th Annual Awards Dinner on November 12 in downtown Indianapolis.
Link:  http://www.indianachamber.com/index.php/chamber-seeking-2013-community-of-the-year-nominations 
Past Community of the Year recipients:
2012: Indianapolis
2011: Kokomo
2010: Terre Haute
2009: Valparaiso
2008: Noblesville
2007: Anderson
2006: Evansville
2005: LaPorte
2004: Muncie
2003: Warsaw
2002: Marion
2001: Greater Lafayette
2000: Jeffersonville
1999: Fort Wayne
1998: Rochester
1997: Batesville
1996: Elkhart
1995: Indianapolis
1994: Kendallville
1993: St. Joseph County
1992: Columbus
1991: Muncie
1990: Bluffton
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A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Tuesday to unveil a state-of-the-art TravelCenters of America Ptero Stopping Center in Gary. Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson was joined by TravelCenters senior management, State Representative Vernon Smith and a host of others at the site, located at I-80/94, exit 9. Gary Economic Development Director J. Forest Hayes says the facility hired 164 Gary residents, through a series of job fairs held back in April. TravelCenters Preseident and C-E-O Tom O'Brien says groundbreaking for the facility began in November, and although the weather this winter and spring set construction back about two to three weeks, 23 acres of the 28-point-six acre site have been developed, including more than 46-thousand square-feet of building space, and it was still able to open on time.
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