GOV DANIELS STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

Governor Daniels is expected to discuss the state budget when he delivers his annual State of the State speech tonight before a joint session of the Indiana House and Senate. The governor has been forced to cut the budget by hundreds of millions of dollars recently in the wake of a serious decline in state tax revenues. However, Daniels maintains Indiana is still better off financially than many other states. The 30-minute speech is scheduled to begin at 6pm local time and will be broadcast live right here on the Lakeshore 89.1FM and on Lakeshore Public Television. 1/19/10

LOCAL VOLUNTEERS AID HAITI EFFORT

A Calumet Region medical team is scheduled to leave today for Haiti, where they plan to help those affected by last week's devastating earthquake. Methodist Hospitals' paramedic medical director and mobile I-C-U associate director Nicholas Johnson and emergency medical assistant Johanne Theodule will working with a group there and return to Indiana next Tuesday. Theodule. a Haitian-American, hopes to work as a translator in addition to using her medical expertise on the team. The Red Cross estimates that nearly one-third of Haiti's population is in need of medical attention. The non-profit group "Hospitals for Humanity" is organizing the trip. 1/19/10

DEGUILIO VIES FOR FEDERAL JUDGESHIP

Highland lawyer and former U-S Attorney Jon DeGuilio has been nominated for a seat on the federal bench in South Bend. Senator Evan Bayh submitted DeGuilio's name to President Obama to fill the seat that was vacated by the death of Judge Allen Sharp last summer. DeGuilio is currently legal advisor to Peoples' Bank and its parent company, Northwest Indiana Bancorp. He was also a Hammond city councilman in the 1980's. If approved, DeGuilio will join Indianapolis judge Tanya Walton Pratt and Magistrate Jane Magnus-Stinson as Indiana's newest federal judges. Pratt would also become the state's first black federal court judge. 1/19/10

NIPSCO PARTNERS WITH NATURE CONSERVANCY

NIPSCO and its parent company NiSource have announced a new environmental initiative with The Nature Conservancy. Company officials say that, for every customer who enrolls in NIPSCO's free Direct e-Bill paperless billing service from now until April first, the utility will contribute ten-dollars to The Nature Conservancy to help rebuild the endangered Atlantic Forest in Brazil through the organization's Plant a Billion Trees program. The contribution is equivalent to helping plant ten trees on behalf of each customer who signs up. A check will be presented to the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy on or before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd. The reforestation effort will restore more than two-point-five-million acres of land and remove ten-million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, the equivalent of taking two-million cars off the road. To learn more about the Plant a Billion Trees campaign, visit "www-dot-nature-dot-org." To sign up for free paperless Direct e-Bill services, visit "www-dot-NIPSCO-dot-com" and select “Manage Your Account.” 1/19/10

MAJOR SNOWFALL FORECAST FOR NWI

A major snowfall is expected over the next couple of days. The National Weather Service reports 7 to 9 inches of snow could fall in Northwest Indiana by late tomorrow. A winter storm watch goes into effect this evening and continues through late tomorrow night. Snow is expected to begin later this afternoon and become heavy during the day tomorrow. Most of the snow will move east by Friday morning. Weather conditions could impact both the morning and evening rush hours tomorrow, as well as on Friday morning. 1/6/10

TAX DEBATE PURSUES

A local citizens group is challenging the city of Gary's appeal to be exempted from statewide property tax caps. Doug Grimes, president of the Miller Citizens Corporation, says his group opposes any additional taxes. Gary city leaders will make their appeal to the state's Distressed Unit Board of Appeals in Indianapolis later today, and Grimes says his group plans to be there to speak out against the effort. Grimes adds that Gary should use a more generally-accepted accounting practice to track its finances. 1/6/10

POLICE SEEK SUSPECT, EVIDENCE IN SOUTH CHICAGO SHOOTING

Hammond police are looking for suspects in connection with the fatal shooting of an Illinois man last night near Harrison Park. Police Chief Brian Miller says 22-year-old Jharvis Anderson of Lynwood was shot several times in the 59-hundred block of Hyslop Place while sitting in the front seat of a white Cadillac. He was pronounced dead at Saint Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Hammond. Police are also seeking a dark-colored van they suspect may have been the getaway vehicle. Officials have interviewed two other people who reportedly were with Anderson when he was shot. 1/6/10

VISCLOSKY ANNOUNCES PUBLIC FORUM SCHEDULE

Congressman Pete Visclosky will hold two dozen public meetings to allow residents in his district to air their thoughts on important issues. Yesterday, Visclosky announced the schedule for his 2010 town forums, which he holds throughout Indiana's First Congressional District each year. Among the scheduled meetings are January 9th in Cedar Lake, Schererville, Dyer and Crown Point, January 10th in Whiting and Gary, January 12th in Hammond, Munster, Highland, Griffith and Hobart, January 14th in Chesterton, Valparaiso, Portage, Lake Station and Miller, and January 15th in East Chicago and Hammond. Visclosky will commence each town forum with an assessment of the last year and discussion of his goals for the year ahead. As in years past, a local middle or high school student will have the opportunity to introduce the Congressman in his or her community and lead the forum in the Pledge of Allegiance. Visclosky encourages everybody to attend their local forum to discuss the issues that matter to them. 1/6/10

GOVERNOR VISITS CONDEMNED BRIDGE

Governor Daniels will be in Northwest Indiana this afternoon to get an update on the closure of the Cline Avenue bridge. Daniels is to visit the Riley Road ramp entrance to the westbound lanes of the bridge at 3:30pm. He'll be joined by representatives of the Indiana Department of Transportation and engineers who recommended that truck sizes be restricted last fall. INDOT announced last week that the bridge would be permanently closed. INDOT said it will work with the affected communities to identify the best long-term options for replacing the roadway. 1/5/10

SNOW IN NWI

The lake effect snow that battered Porter and LaPorte Counties over the weekend is tapering off, but weather forecasters say there is more snow to come, coupled with some serious Arctic air. National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Allsopp says LaPorte County has more than a foot of snowfall in some areas. He says the storm has passed to the east and is now mainly over Michigan. However, he adds that another round of snow is forecast for Wednesday night into Thursday, and this storm will likely affect a more widespread area of Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. Allsopp says it's still too early to predict how much snow will fall. 1/5/10

INDOT ANNOUNCES LANE RESTRICTIONS ON BORMAN

INDOT officials say motorists traveling on the Borman Expressway between Broadway and Central Avenue will occasionally have additional lane restrictions in each direction between 9pm and 5am through January 9th. Between midnight and 5am each night, two lanes in each direction may be restricted and the ramp from northbound I-65 to the westbound Borman may be closed. During the ramp closure, a posted detour will direct traffic to take the eastbound Borman to the cloverleaf ramps at Ripley Street to the Borman westbound. The work schedule is subject to change in the event of inclement weather. 1/5/10

VALPO MAN CHARGED

A Valparaiso man is facing multiple charges following a traffic stop over the weekend. Indiana State Police officials say a trooper stopped to help a disabled motorist Saturday evening in the westbound lanes of the Borman Expressway near Cline Avenue. After getting numerous conflicting reports about the situation from a female passenger, the trooper asked the male driver for identification, but he was unable to provide any. Police say the driver was finally identified as 30-year-old Douglas Ewing, who was wanted on warrants out of Lake County for theft, forgery and fraud, and in Cook County, Illinois on a dangerous drug warrant. Ewing was taken to Lake County Jail and charged with numerous misdemeanor offenses. 1/5/10

BIG WEEKEND SNOWSTORM

A big weekend snowstorm hit parts of Northern Indiana over the weekend. It dumped about a foot of lake-effect snow on Michigan City, at times falling at a rate of an inch or two an hour. Residents bought shovels and ice- scraping equipment at a torrid pace, then shoveled continuously to keep their walkways and driveways clear. Road crews worked around the clock to plow the streets and lay down salt to keep them from icing. Bitter cold is forecast for the area for the rest of the week. 1/4/10

SOUTH SHORE RIDERSHIP FALLS

South Shore railroad officials say ridership fell in 2009 as the recession caused fewer people to use the trains. Marketing director John Parsons says that ridership will likely be down about seven-percent for the year to between three-point-eight and three-point-nine-million passengers. That compares with about four-point-two-million riders in 2008. Final figures will be available in early January. Officials blame the decline on depressed employment levels in Chicago and the recession causing people to scale back trips to Chicago festivals and attractions. 1/4/10 

FEDERAL RAIL OFFICIAL TO VISIT NWI

Business and government leaders from Indiana and Chicagoland are being invited to a luncheon later this month that defines the Midwest Regional Rail System. "Inside Indiana Business" reports the January 29th event at the Gary/Chicago International Airport will feature Joseph A. Szabo, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, which is an office of the U-S Department of Transportation. Szabo is expected to define the proposed Midwest high-speed rail system and discuss its economic benefits. It is not known if he will announce any awards at this time. The event is scheduled to begin at 11:30am. 1/4/10