A one-point-three million federal grant will fund a pilot program where dental hygienists help prevent cavities in Region kids from low-income families. Dr. Angeles Martinez-Mier , Director of the IU School of Dentistry's Division of Community Dentistry. says the program marks the first use of a change to Indiana law governing dental hygienists.  What makes it different is that in the past, Dr. Martinez-Mier said, the dentists had to be there when dental hygienists place the sealant. Now as...

The Region News Team learned of a structure fire in East Chicago early this morning. The fire had Indianapolis Boulevard closed between 143rd and 144th Avenues.  At latest word, Indianapolis Boulevard had reopened.  We have no other information on the fire at this hour.
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Triple A's Fuel Gauge Report says Region drivers are paying on average about 3-dollars-80-cents a gallon for regular unleaded in the Gary Metropolitan Area... about 55-cents more compared to a month ago... and about forty-cents more than we were paying this time last year.
Drivers around the country are feeling a pinch at the pump, with the average price for a gallon of gas going up twenty-five cents in just two weeks. According to Oil analyst Tom Kloza with the Oil Price Information Service,...

In Rome... and the Region... people are still coming to terms with the surprise announcement Monday hat Pope Benedict XVI is retiring at the end of the month.  ABC's Tom Rivers in Rome says the Pope is the only story there, front-page news across all the papers. Milan Cardinal Angelo Scoli is considered a top candidate to succeed Benedict.

Bishop Dale Melczek of the Diocese of Gary issued a statement saying he last met with Pope Benedict last February in his study, and described the Pope as “one...

Legislation to further strengthen anti-methamphetamine laws across Indiana passed the full Senate Monday 44-to-4, and among things, it more strictly limits the amount of cold and allegy medicine you could buy without a prescription. Senate Bill 496 caps the amount of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine in a one-year period to 61-point two grams – described in the Indianapolis Star as enough for a daily dose for just over eight months. The bill now moves to the House.
Here's more info:
STATEHOUSE (Feb. 11,...

Legislation to further strengthen anti-methamphetamine laws across Indiana passed the full Senate Monday. Senate Bill 496 would allow ephedrine/pseudoephedrine to be sold only at retailers participating in the National Precursor Log Exchange database, prohibits anyone convicted of certain meth-related crimes from possessing ephedrine/pseudoephedrine without a prescription for seven-years, increases the criminal penalty of those who buy more than ten-grams of certain meth ingredients, with the...

The East Chicago Police Department recently released their 2012 crime statistics, reporting a 13-percent reduction in violent crime from 2011 and a five-percent drop in property crimes from the previous year, for a six-percent decrease in total crimes overall from 2011 totals. Chief Mark Becker says he is pleased with the numbers because in 2011, East Chicago was designated as the most violent city in Northwest Indiana on a per capita basis, and now homicides, of which three were reported in...

INDOT has announced overnight lane restrictions of I-80/94 and I-65 starting tomorrow night through Friday. INDOT reports crews will be out patching potholes and performing maintenance during overnight hours, and work will be rescheduled if weather becomes a factor. The work begins Tuesday at 10pm on I-80/94 eastbound lane restrictions, between the Illinois state line and the Indianapolis Blvd/U-S 41 exit.
I-80/94 Lane Restriction Schedule
Tuesday, February 12^th, 10 p.m. (until 6 a.m....

2/11/13- The Diocese of Gary, Bishop Dale Melczek, issued a statement this afternoon saying,
“Pope Benedict XVI, as a priest, later bishop and cardinal, and for the last eight-years as pope, has given his life and all his strength in response to Jesus' call, “Come, follow me.”
He is a man fully committed to living his life in response to God's love. As he said in his very first encyclical, “God is love”: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.” His passion was always to...

The Mayor of Gary and the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority's president today announced an intergovernmental agreement to pursue a public-private partnership to invest in Chicago's third aiport, and to grow the region's competitiveness in the global economy. A report recently compiled by the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority identified the economic impact of a revitalized third airport as 400-million in capital investment, 24-hundred direct and indirect jobs, and an...