Nearly three-hundred people from Indiana... about twenty from the Region were registered to participate in the Boston Marathon, an event marred by two deadly explosions Monday afternoon. ABC's Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos spoke to Highland native Rebecca Roche, who had just finished the race when the bombs went off. She was okay. But her mom, Beth, and a friend who were there to support her were badly injured. Roche told Good Morning America she felt guilty that her mother and friends were injured because they would not have been there if it were not for her.  Roche says the double bombings happened right about a minute after she finished the race, and the scene was chaotic panic– with people being pushed out of the way, running with the police, and that people were hiding under buses. Roche says her mother and friends are recovering from surgery.
# # #...

A brief power outage around 2:30 this afternoon has left about 200 NIPSCO customers without power. According to NIPSCO's Outage Map, crews have been assigned, and power is anticipated to be restored by 5:30pm.  To view the outage map, http://www.nipscooutages.com/WSSNisourceOutageMap/outagemap.html?action=city&reloaded=true...

Officials in Highland say in order to prevent flooding issues due to the heavy rains expected in the area, the city's street department is out checking the grates over storm sewers to make sure they are not blocked by any debris. Authorities are asking residents of Highland, if you have a grate over a storm sewer in front of your home, please make sure it is open, in case crews are now able to check all of them.
# # #...

Indiana Governor Mike Pence issued a statement today saying the April revenue forecast is great news for Hoosiers and good news for the budget process. Governor Pence says the forecast has 290-million dollars more in revenue than the December forecast, giving him more confidence than ever that a balanced budget can be crafted to fund priories like roads and schools, and provide the kind of tax relief Hoosiers need and deserve. To view the April revenue forecast, visit http://www.in.gov/sba/files/rev_forecast_20130416_ECONOMIC_OUTLOOK_APRIL_16_2013.pdf...

INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Michael R. Pence is proclaiming April 15-19, 2013 as Work Zone Awareness Week in Indiana. Work Zone Awareness Week marks the ceremonial start to highway construction season and aims to bring awareness to motorist and worker safety in work zones. The danger is real. In 2012, Eight people were killed and more than 500 were injured in Indiana work zones.
This year the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) produced a new public service announcement (PSA) titled “No One Drives Through Your Office at 70 mph”. The new video showcasing the dangers of speeding through work zones is featured on the INDOT YouTube page. INDOT encourages the media to share the new PSA and inform the public about Work Zone Awareness Week. Find the PSA at this link: ">
Highway workers aren’t the only ones at risk. Four out of every five deaths in highway work zones are drivers and their passengers. The majority of work zone injuries and deaths are caused by rear-end collisions, following too closely, or making improper lane changes.
The penalties in work zones are stiff. Motorists face fines of up to $1,000 for speeding, up to $5,000 for driving recklessly, and up to $10,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to eight years for injuring or killing a highway worker. These fines are used to fund additional Indiana State Police work zone patrols.
For more about Work Zone Awareness Week check out our Northwest District’s social media sites: www.Facebook.com/INDOTNorthwest and www.Twitter.com/INDOTNorthwest.
# # #...

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                      April 16, 2013
 
 
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
 
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
 
 
11:30 A.M. EDT
 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  I've just been briefed by my national security team, including FBI Director Mueller, Attorney General Holder, Secretary Napolitano, and my Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco, on the attacks in Boston.  We continue to mobilize and deploy all appropriate law enforcement resources to protect our citizens, and to investigate and to respond to this attack. 
 
Obviously our first thoughts this morning are with the victims, their families, and the city of Boston.  We know that two explosions gravely wounded dozens of Americans, and took the lives of others, including a 8-year-old boy.
 
This was a heinous and cowardly act.  And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.  Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror.  What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual.  That's what we don't yet know.  And clearly, we’re at the beginning of our investigation.  
 
It will take time to follow every lead and determine what happened.  But we will find out.  We will find whoever harmed our citizens and we will bring them to justice.
 
We also know this -- the American people refuse to be terrorized.  Because what the world saw yesterday in the aftermath of the explosions were stories of heroism and kindness, and generosity and love:  Exhausted runners who kept running to the nearest hospital to give blood, and those who stayed to tend to the wounded, some tearing off their own clothes to make tourniquets.  The first responders who ran into the chaos to save lives.  The men and women who are still treating the wounded at some of the best hospitals in the world, and the medical students who hurried to help, saying “When we heard, we all came in.”  The priests who opened their churches and ministered to the hurt and the fearful.  And the good people of Boston who opened their homes to the victims of this attack and those shaken by it.
 
So if you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil -- that’s it.  Selflessly.  Compassionately.  Unafraid.
 
In the coming days, we will pursue every effort to get to the bottom of what happened.  And we will continue to remain vigilant.  I’ve directed my administration to take appropriate security measures to protect the American people.  And this is a good time for all of us to remember that we all have a part to play in alerting authorities -- if you see something suspicious, speak up.
 
I have extraordinary confidence in the men and women of the FBI, the Boston Police Department, and the other agencies that responded so heroically and effectively in the aftermath of yesterday’s events.  I’m very grateful for the leadership of Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino.  And I know that even as we protect our people and aggressively pursue this investigation, the people of Boston will continue to respond in the same proud and heroic way that they have thus far -- and their fellow Americans will be right there with them.
 
Thank you very much.  And you can expect further briefings from our law enforcement officials as the day goes on.  When we have more details, they will be disclosed.  What I’ve indicated to you is what we know now.  We know it was bombs that were set off.  We know that obviously they did some severe damage.  We do not know who did them.  We do not know whether this was an act of an organization or an individual or individuals.  We don’t have a sense of motive yet.  So everything else at this point is speculation.  But as we receive more information, as the FBI has more information, as our out counterterrorism teams have more information, we will make sure to keep you and the American people posted.
 
     Thank you very much, everybody.
 
                             END                11:35 A.M. EDT
# # #
 ...

Minor flooding is occurring on the Kankakee River at Shelby, affecting Lake and Newton Counties. The National Weather Service reports at 9:45 this morning, the river was a half-foot above flood stage, which is nine-feet. Officials reports the river will continue to rise to over ten-feet by tomorrow morning, and the the impact of that could causing flooding of some county and local roads in that area. A flood warning continues until Friday morning.
# # #...

For many, the sights and sounds of the storied Boston Marathon are close to their hearts, as they react to the deadly bombings that marred yesterday's race. Longtime northwest Indiana veterinarian Dr. Larry McAfee ran the marathon about twenty years ago, as a charity runner for Heifers Across America, a veterinary group that sponsors taking care of cows in underdeveloped countries. "You know, Boston is the epitome of marathons in the world," Dr. McAfee said. "To have something like that happen, it just, it hurts. It hurts to the core of your being."
Dr. McAfee says he believes it's important to not “give in", and give in meaning "not run Boston again."  Dr. McAfee also said he's got the Indianapolis 500 Mini-Marathon ahead of him, an event he and others he knows are taking part in. For anyone who's running the Indy, Dr. McAfee said, "Please run. We can't give in."
Officials in Indianapolis say they are closely watching the events in Boston as they prepare for the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon May 4^th, described as the nation's largest half-marathon. The 13-point-one mile race held just a few weeks prior to the Indianapolis 500 has a field of 35-thousand runners.
To hear more of our interview with Dr. McAfee, visit News Audio on Demand here at our website.
###...

Indiana Governor Pence is directing flags at state facilities in all counties of Indiana to be flown at half-staff today. President Obama signed a proclamation this morning honoring the victims of yesterday's tragedy in Boston and ordering flags nationwide to be flown at half-staff. Per the President's directive, flags are to remain at half-staff until sunset on Saturday, April 20.  Governor Pence also asks businesses and residents across the state to lower their flags to half-staff to honor the victims and their families.
Here is the President's proclamation:
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on April 15, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, April 20, 2013. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
###...

Fire officials in Portage say a 43-year-old man was found dead inside a house in the 56-hundred block of Buttercup Monday afternoon after crews responded to the report of an odor of smoke coming from a home. Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris says an autopsy conducted this morning determined the victim suffered smoke inhalation.  Officials say the man's mother had stopped to check on her son,who was wheelchair bound, and when she didn't get an answer at the door and smelled smoke, called 911. Crews arrived within six minutes to find smoke coming from exterior vents. Harris says the man. identified as Nokomis Musenja, was located in a hallway leading to a garage. The fire department says crews had the fire extinguished within 30 minutes. The Portage Fire Department, Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office, and Porter County Coroners Office are investigating the cause.
###...