The Times of Northwest Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS | Contractors would be required to staff statepublic works projects with Indiana residents under a proposal to bevoted on Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | City Center, a 15-acre retail and officedevelopment on 112th Avenue west of Broadway, was sold at auctionWednesday. Full Story »

One week before the Cline Avenue bridge closure, a bridgeinspection firm warned INDOT that truck loads there must be reducedor a "structural failure" of the massive structure could occur. Full Story »

The release Wednesday of the bridge inspection report that ledto the sudden closing of the Cline Avenue bridge on Nov. 13 didlittle to dispel the mystery surrounding its closure. Full Story »

HAMMOND | A city bus driver who claimed he was beaten and robbedwhile waiting for passengers outside the Indiana Welcome Center inOctober now admits he made up the whole story, police said. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | With an ice skating rink, Christmas tree sales anda Christmas light tour, Crown Point's downtown will look like a Christmas card come to life Saturday. And that's pretty much theidea. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | The Lake County Council played Santa Claus tocounty government's more than 1,600 employees, who will get aweekday off next year for Christmas . Full Story »

INDIANAPOLIS | The assessed value of a home would only beallowed to increase 1 percent a year under a proposal debatedWednesday by an Indiana House committee. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | The Lake County Government Complex will reopenThursday after commissioners closed the center Wednesday morningbecause of a water main break, Commissioner Gerry Scheub said. Full Story »

UNIVERSITY PARK | Just in time for the holiday season GovernorsState University presents the Salt Creek Ballet's performance of"The Nutcracker," at 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 12 at The Center forPerforming Arts, 1 University Parkway. Full Story »

PORTER | The Porter Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday nightto approve a document known as the Porter Beach Overlay Zone, whichgoverns how new construction or changes to existing structures andlots can proceed. Full Story »

The first major snowfall of the season missed the regionovernight, but other weather problems are on the way. Full Story »

GARY | A group of Indiana University Northwest students measuredthe carbon footprint of the commuter campus. Full Story »

PORTAGE | For most of the year, Portage firefighters and medicsare running to calls to help the community. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | A federal investigation of the Lake County Jailhas determined certain conditions at the jail violate theconstitutional rights of its inmates. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | Satellite courthouses in Gary, Hammond and EastChicago are once again being targeted by county governmentcost-cutters. Full Story »

CHESTERTON | Marlene Rumbach's voiced cracked Tuesday morning asshe pointed to the backyard of a neighboring house where she sawRonald Greenfield working on a deck improvement project lastweekend. Full Story »

In an appeal that casts jailed Lake County political fixerRobert Cantrell as a charitable, patriotic "Indiana legend andhero," Cantrell's lawyer asks Chicago-based federal appeals judgesto toss out Cantrell's 6 1/2-year prison sentence. Full Story »

MUNSTER | Sharing a meal and a commitment to Northwest Indiana,more than 100 members of the area's faith community gatheredTuesday at Café Borgia to learn about One Region: One Vision andhow their united efforts will make a difference. Full Story »

CEDAR LAKE | Delaying construction of a new middle school fortwo years has paid off for taxpayers within Hanover CommunitySchool Corp. Full Story »

MERRILLVILLE | The Town Council on Tuesday approved separateagreements with the Lake County Solid Waste Management District andthe city of Crown Point and renewed its contract with the RossTownship Fire Service. Full Story »

Indiana State Police reported numerous minor crashes on slipperyhighways Tuesday evening in Northwest Indiana and urged motoriststo slow down. Full Story »

VALPARAISO | It looks like the Surben Trails subdivision willfinally be built. Full Story »

MUNSTER | Thieves who stole a Salvation Army kettle from a DyerWalgreens can't steal the shine from a 1 ounce gold coin that agood Samaritan plunked into a kettle outside a St. John Kmart. Full Story »

CROWN POINT | Attorney Donald Stepanovich has been appointed thesole probate commissioner for the Civil Division of Lake CountySuperior Court, effective Jan. 1. Full Story »