Latest news with #NorthwestIndiana
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Worship news: Veterans meal share and neighborhood cookout
Bethel Church: 10202 Broadway — Bethel Church will have 'Steps' beginning at 6:30 p.m. June 2. Steps is a 12-step care and recovery ministry that offers practical steps, care, encouragement, accountability and community to anyone struggling with life hurts. There are groups designed to tackle and overcome addiction, anxiety, trauma, family issues and a host of distress. There will also be a limited online option. Register online St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church: 101 W. Burrell Drive — St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church will have a Northwest Indiana Veterans Village Meal Share on May 25. The event calls for volunteers to prep and deliver meals, with prep from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and meal delivery and serving from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, visit Cathedral of the Holy Angels: 640 Tyler St. — Cathedral of the Holy Angels will have a day of service and 'Neighborhood Cookout with Christ in the City' from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 31. There will be volunteer training at 11 a.m., prep for lunch at 12 p.m., lunch from 1-3 p.m. and cleanup from 3-4 p.m. Those interested can register here: Marquette Park United Methodist Church: 215 N. Grand Blvd. — All are welcome to worship at 11:15 a.m. Sundays at Marquette Park United Methodist Church. There will be refreshments to follow in the Fellowship Hall. River Pointe Country Club: 6700 Country Club Rd. — Bethel Church will have a Men's Golf Scramble beginning at 12 p.m. May 31 at the River Pointe Country Club. All levels of golf are welcome to attend for fun, food and fellowship. The cost is $60 per person and includes green fee, a cart, prizes and dinner. Register here: Bethel Church: 704 W. County Road 700 North — Bethel Church Hobart-Portage campus will have a women's morning Bible study from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings beginning on June 5. The Bible study will go for eight weeks and will be reading through 'When You Pray' to explore different types of prayers modeled in Scripture. Childcare is available for $25 per child. To register, visit: The Gathering Church: 360 E. Lincoln Hwy — The Gathering Church will have its Worship Night, held on the first Friday of every month, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 6. The event is a night of worship and prayer. For more information, call 219-765-2124. St. Michael Parish: 1 W. Wilhelm St. — St. Michael Parish will have a Memorial Day Mass and 150th Time Capsule Burial from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. May 26. This is an outdoor event and those who attend are asked to bring a chair and join in remembrance and hope. For more information, call 219-322-4505. St. John the Evangelist: 11301 W. 93rd Ave. — Young adults, ages 18 to 39, are invited to the 2025 Young Adult Summer Speakers Series, held each Wednesday evening from May 28 to June 25. The first session will begin at 7 p.m. on May 28 with speaker Adam Ayers, who will discuss 'searching truth from doubt to depth.' To submit worship news, email cnance@
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Worship news: Veterans meal share and neighborhood cookout
Bethel Church: 10202 Broadway — Bethel Church will have 'Steps' beginning at 6:30 p.m. June 2. Steps is a 12-step care and recovery ministry that offers practical steps, care, encouragement, accountability and community to anyone struggling with life hurts. There are groups designed to tackle and overcome addiction, anxiety, trauma, family issues and a host of distress. There will also be a limited online option. Register online St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church: 101 W. Burrell Drive — St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church will have a Northwest Indiana Veterans Village Meal Share on May 25. The event calls for volunteers to prep and deliver meals, with prep from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and meal delivery and serving from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, visit Cathedral of the Holy Angels: 640 Tyler St. — Cathedral of the Holy Angels will have a day of service and 'Neighborhood Cookout with Christ in the City' from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 31. There will be volunteer training at 11 a.m., prep for lunch at 12 p.m., lunch from 1-3 p.m. and cleanup from 3-4 p.m. Those interested can register here: Marquette Park United Methodist Church: 215 N. Grand Blvd. — All are welcome to worship at 11:15 a.m. Sundays at Marquette Park United Methodist Church. There will be refreshments to follow in the Fellowship Hall. River Pointe Country Club: 6700 Country Club Rd. — Bethel Church will have a Men's Golf Scramble beginning at 12 p.m. May 31 at the River Pointe Country Club. All levels of golf are welcome to attend for fun, food and fellowship. The cost is $60 per person and includes green fee, a cart, prizes and dinner. Register here: Bethel Church: 704 W. County Road 700 North — Bethel Church Hobart-Portage campus will have a women's morning Bible study from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings beginning on June 5. The Bible study will go for eight weeks and will be reading through 'When You Pray' to explore different types of prayers modeled in Scripture. Childcare is available for $25 per child. To register, visit: The Gathering Church: 360 E. Lincoln Hwy — The Gathering Church will have its Worship Night, held on the first Friday of every month, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 6. The event is a night of worship and prayer. For more information, call 219-765-2124. St. Michael Parish: 1 W. Wilhelm St. — St. Michael Parish will have a Memorial Day Mass and 150th Time Capsule Burial from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. May 26. This is an outdoor event and those who attend are asked to bring a chair and join in remembrance and hope. For more information, call 219-322-4505. St. John the Evangelist: 11301 W. 93rd Ave. — Young adults, ages 18 to 39, are invited to the 2025 Young Adult Summer Speakers Series, held each Wednesday evening from May 28 to June 25. The first session will begin at 7 p.m. on May 28 with speaker Adam Ayers, who will discuss 'searching truth from doubt to depth.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mrvan urges Energy Secretary to give green light for Hydrogen Hub
As the future of the Northwest Indiana hydrogen hub project hangs in the balance, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, questioned the energy secretary about its next steps. Mrvan asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright Wednesday in a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development hearing about the criteria for review and status of the Northwest hydrogen hub project. Under the Infrastructure Bill, Mrvan said seven hydrogen hubs were awarded federal funding. One of the hubs, the MachH2, is located in Northwest Indiana, Mrvan said, and it is currently under review. Energy Department officials are considering cutting funding for the development of four hydrogen production hubs in mostly Democratic-leaning states and maintaining funding for three hubs in mostly Republican states, according to a March Politico article. Congress and the Biden administration allocated the funding for the seven projects, so cutting the funding would politicize federal funds, according to the Politico article. Mrvan said his office has worked with fellow members of Congress, former Gov. Eric Holcomb, current Gov. Mike Braun, and the state legislature 'to set the table for the hydrogen hub.' The project creates 12,000 construction jobs, which Northwest Indiana unions can fill, and allows the area steel industries to have a cleaner distribution by capturing carbon, Mrvan said. 'It is a blue hydrogen, and it is something that will be transformational. Transformational in economic development within my community,' Mrvan said. 'This is something that creates work and wealth, has passed the Congress, and is now being reviewed by the Department of Energy.' Acknowledging 'people's frustrations,' Wright said no decisions have been made for hydrogen hub projects because he wanted to collect 'thorough data' and establish a process for reviewing the projects. Currently, the department is funding feasibility studies, Wright said, to review the economic viability of the projects. Under review procedures, Wright said, the department will consider legal aspects, the technology, the engineering and the market for the hydrogen hubs. 'We are just looking the same way any business would look at investments,' Wright said. To Wright's point about the market, Mrvan said both Northwest Indiana steel mills — Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel — have created a system to use hydrogen through the carbon capture project, which uses a blast furnace 'to be able to make more globally competitive steel and put less carbon out in my district, so we have cleaner air and cleaner water.' Andrew Fulton, a spokesman for U.S. Steel, said the company has partnered with CarbonFree as part of its effort to look 'for ways to reduce emissions through advanced technology.' 'This carbon capture and utilization project will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions by converting emissions to calcium carbonate, which is used in a variety of products for consumers and industry,' Fulton said. If a hydrogen hub project has established cofinancing, the science and engineering work, has viability and had an offtake agreement then 'those are the kind of things that we're going to go forward with,' Wright said. 'We want to improve the energy system,' Wright said. Mrvan said he wants to work in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the Northwest Indiana hydrogen hub project moves forward. Mrvan asked about the certainty of the project moving forward. 'Because it was awarded, now it's held, and uncertainty is blowing up our economy,' Mrvan said. The department's goal is to review all nearly 500 large projects by the end of the summer, Wright said. 'I've always said energy should not be political. It's the basic infrastructure of human lives,' Wright said. Mrvan and U.S. Senator Jim Banks, R-Indiana, recently wrote Wright a letter to urge the Trump administration to prioritize Northwest Indiana as a regional hydrogen hub. 'Prioritizing a hydrogen hub in Northwest Indiana is a bold, pro-American decision that plays to our state's strengths. Indiana offers the Hoosier workforce, infrastructure and industrial knowledge to deliver results fast,' the Congressmen wrote in the letter. The bp Whiting Refinery could be used for blue hydrogen production, which is created from clean natural gas using carbon capture technology. Blue Hydrogen uses existing infrastructure and could provide 'a scalable energy source capable of meeting immediate energy demands,' according to the letter. A spokesman for bp declined to comment. The Whiting Refinery can process up to 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to the letter. Continuing the project 'will ensure that our energy and steel industries remain well positioned for success into the next century,' according to the letter. 'Investing in blue hydrogen production at this facility will bolster existing supply chains and will best position the United States for energy dominance,' the Congressmen wrote. 'We believe the success of the hydrogen energy project will support the administration's stated goal to reshore our critical industries and strengthen our manufacturing base.' The congressmen asked the Trump Administration to make the Hydrogen Hub a priority. 'Indiana is ready to lead the way in blue hydrogen innovation, strengthening American manufacturing, boosting our domestic energy supply and lowering costs by maximizing the potential of our abundant and reliable fossil fuel resources,' they wrote. akukulka@
Hospitality Net
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
New Book Captures the Entrepreneurial Spirit and Values-Driven Leadership of Hospitality Industry Icon Bruce White
Book foreword written by J.W. 'Bill' Marriott, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of Marriott International Documentary film version to launch later this year Launch coincides with White Lodging's 40th anniversary Forty years ago, Bruce White founded White Lodging in 1985 in Northwest Indiana with a single hotel and built the company into one of the largest and most respected hospitality companies in the United States. He passed away in 2023 from cancer, leaving behind a company that never knew anyone else at the helm. Hospitalitarian: Bruce White's Legacy documents and shares the stories that built White Lodging from a small hospitality company into a player on a national scale. The biography was researched and authored by Kathi Ann Brown, who is the co-author of two books with Chairman Emeritus of Marriott International J.W. 'Bill' Marriott, Jr., including Spirit to Serve and Without Reservations. Bill Marriott authored the book's foreword. Hospitalitarian, published by Spectrum Creative, is now available on most online platforms, including Amazon. A Bigger Story to Tell Bruce always believed that 'a leader is to be judged by how effective the organization is in their absence' as a reference to leadership in general, however this phrase took on a different meaning once he was diagnosed with cancer and the company considered its future without its founder. That's when White Lodging's CEO, Jean-Luc Barone, and Bruce's wife and newly appointed Chair, Beth White, determined the best way for the company to thrive without its founder was to lean into the values and mission the company was founded on. That meant truly understanding and documenting how Bruce built White Lodging and ultimately became one of the hospitality industry's earliest franchise success stories. Since Bruce's passing, his adult children have taken on a bigger role in the company and stewarding the values that made White Lodging successful, including serving on the Board of Directors, in addition to Conner White serving as Chief Investment Officer. We began documenting the company's history and Bruce's entrepreneurial journey to help ensure that every associate at the company – now and in the future – knew about White Lodging's founder and his expectation for the company and our people, including our culture and the relentless pursuit of excellence for each other, our guests and our owners. As Kathi researched and assembled the manuscript, we saw that the stories and lessons could appeal to a much broader audience, so we decided to pull it all together into a book. Beth White The book is expertly summed up in a quote from Bill Marriott, who was a long-time friend of Bruce: You couldn't be a Marriott franchisee without knowing and benefiting from the knowledge, insights, and friendship of Bruce White. He wanted us all to win: Marriott, White Lodging, and hundreds of his franchisee peers. If that meant rattling our cages or pushing us to reconsider our policies, so be it. His heart was in the right place and his integrity was unquestioned. Bruce was a self-proclaimed lifelong learner and valued education as a core value – something his grandmother instilled in him. The White Family supports a variety of education-based and community organizations for which this book will serve as a foundation for sharing Bruce White's legacy. This includes those involved in Big Shoulders Fund and Purdue University, where he is the namesake of the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute within the Mitch Daniels School of Business and White Lodging – J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University. There are only a select few in any generation that have the combination of intelligence, street smarts and firmly held values that Bruce had. His relentless pursuit of excellence across every aspect of his life – personal, professional, and philanthropic – is something we hope to instill in every student at Purdue University. And thanks to the generosity of the White Family, we are well on our way. Mitch Daniels, Former Indiana Governor, and President Emeritus of Purdue University A film version of the book, narrated by television host Mike Rowe, is in the works and expected to be available to the public later this summer. Any income from the sale of the book or documentary distribution will be matched with donations to education initiatives in Northwest Indiana from the White Family foundations. Hospitalitarian: Bruce White's Legacy Bruce White was a hard-working, relentless perfectionist who was never satisfied with the status quo. As one of Marriott's first franchisees, Bruce built one of the most successful and well-respected hospitality companies from a humble start in Northwest Indiana. From roadside hotels to some of the largest and most experiential urban hotels in the United States, Bruce ultimately developed more than 200 hotels and 60 independently branded restaurants across the country. He was an inspiration to hospitality entrepreneurs for four decades and introduced innovative concepts like the first dual- and tri-brand hotels. Most of all, he challenged conventional thinking in his quest to be the best and leaves a legacy of entrepreneurial excellence and an inspiring model of a life well-lived. Hospitalitarian is written chronologically and starts before Bruce's birth with the influence of the generations before him in their search for the American dream – and ultimately his parents' unexpected move to Shelby, Indiana, where his father Dean White took a fledgling sign company his father started and transformed it into a booming business. In the book, Bruce and others discuss the influence his grandmother had in his life and how growing up in 'The Region' of Northwest Indiana among blue collar steelworkers and neighborhood fist fights helped him develop thick skin and a keen ability to befriend individuals from every background, religion and race. Fast forward to Bruce's enrollment at Purdue University where he acknowledged that he 'never let school get in the way of his education' and that he was more likely to be found on a basketball court than in class. Yet, Purdue had an immense influence on Bruce that helped strike deep business, personal and philanthropic relationships that were foundational to his success. One of those relationships was with his wife of 35 years, Beth, whom Bruce met at a Purdue homecoming football game after he graduated. Bruce fell in love with the hospitality industry as a teenager when he helped his dad open the Holiday Inn in Merrillville, Indiana. Bruce recruited his friends to help load furniture, bus tables and clean dishes. While he ultimately skipped his plan to go to graduate school to help his dad at the Holiday Inn, it was a chance meeting with a Marriott executive that was the impetus to a lifelong passion and entrepreneurial success. Hospitalitarian highlights the highs and lows Bruce experienced growing White Lodging, raising a family, keeping friendships and maintaining a values-driven life regardless of the circumstances. Reflecting his own love of learning, the biography contains more than two dozen 'Bruc-isms' that help readers more deeply understand what shaped his entrepreneurial focus and journey. The biography includes stories and interviews with friends, family members, early coworkers, and business partners, including Mitch Daniels, former Indiana Governor and President Emeritus of Purdue University, and Liam Brown, Group President, U.S. & Canada at Marriott International. About White Lodging White Lodging, established in 1985 by hospitality icon Bruce White, has evolved into one of the country's largest privately held hospitality companies focused exclusively on highly curated urban and lifestyle properties. The company develops, owns and manages a portfolio of brands in destination-driven markets, including Austin, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Indianapolis, and Louisville. With a focus on elevated and experiential service, White Lodging's portfolio consists of approximately 60 premium hotels; a private collection of world-renowned luxury ranches; 50 locally relevant, award-winning restaurants; and 10 market-leading rooftop bars. White Lodging focuses on hiring and developing hospitalitarians that are committed to exceptional service and fostering meaningful connections. White Lodging is the second highest in the 2021 J.D. Power Guest Satisfaction Benchmark for third-party management companies, and has been near the top since the first benchmark was published. For more information about White Lodging, visit or follow the company on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorneys: Indiana's immigration bill is unconstitutional, an unfunded mandate for municipalities
Northwest Indiana immigration attorneys raised concerns with an immigration bill that received final approval by the legislature this week as unconstitutional and an unfunded mandate on local governments. House Bill 1393, authored by State Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg, was amended in a Senate committee to require jail and detention facility employees to tell county sheriffs when they have probable cause to believe an arrestee, who is facing misdemeanor or felony charges, is not in the county legally. The sheriff would then be required to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the bill. Initially, the bill required police officers who arrest someone for a misdemeanor or felony and have probable cause to notify the sheriff. Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, sponsored the bill in the Senate, which approved the bill Monday in a 37-10 vote, with two Republicans – Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen – joining all Democrats present to vote against the bill. 'I am firmly of the camp and firmly believe that when somebody is arrested, they've been put in a car and they're taken to a detention facility, I think we should determine who those people are. If you are not here legally, I think somebody needs to know that,' Freeman said. Freeman said he amended the bill in committee to shift the notification from police officers to jail and detention center employees. 'I amended the bill because I did not want to put law enforcement in the position of even being able to pull somebody over or to detain somebody just because somebody may not be here legally,' Freeman said. On second reading by the Senate, Freeman amended the bill to remove the provision that would offer law enforcement officers and agencies immunity from civil lawsuits sparked by ICE notices. 'I made the bill a lot better,' Freeman said. Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, said when the bill reached the Senate, he 'had a number of concerns about how that was going to be applied.' Pol said the amendments improved the bill, but he still opposed it. 'I still have a lot of questions about whether or not this is going to be fruitful at all, whether or not this is going to achieve the intent that it's meant to do so without the collateral damage that could also happen here,' Pol said. Pol shared a story of his grandfather, who was born in the U.S. to Puerto Rican parents. His grandfather, who had an accent, was once in a car accident, at which point he realized that his insurance had expired and he didn't have his driver's license with him. 'The police officers couldn't identify him. He was only speaking in Spanish,' Pol said. 'At that point, I could've had to have dealt with an ICE referral for somebody who had been a United States citizen since the day he was born.' Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said he is a proud U.S. citizen who emigrated to the country. Legislation like House Bill 1393 addresses an issue 'that is good for campaigning, that is good for politics, but it's not good policy.' Qaddoura said police officers don't have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, reading a statement from Indianapolis Chief of Police to that effect. 'My concern is that the national partisan politicized debate about immigration is going to politicize our law enforcement work at the local level,' Qaddoura said. 'The impact of these types of legislation … could have unintended consequences.' Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said the bill will target those in minority communities. 'It's going to be somebody that looks Spanish, speaks Spanish, has broken English, doesn't look like the majority of the people, which is going to lead to lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit,' Taylor said. 'We're doing this to make ourselves feel good, and it ain't going to do nothing but lead to a whole bunch of people in the Black and brown community to be scrutinized once again.' Alfredo Estrada, a Northwest Indiana immigration and municipal attorney, said when he read the latest version of the bill, he saw the impacts to municipalities. After contacting ICE, local sheriffs will get an ICE detainer request, Estrada said, which means a local jail will hold the person until ICE can respond. Local governments will have to pay for clothing, housing, feeding, potential medical care and other costs for a number of days before an ICE agent can respond, Estrada said. 'This is an unfunded mandate,' Estrada said. 'I'm concerned about that. I'm concerned about budgets.' Sophia Arshad, a Merrillville immigration attorney, said she was not surprised that the bill passed the legislature because of its Republican supermajority, but she was disappointed that it passed. The bill will open the way to racial profiling, she said. In Northwest Indiana, Arshad said her clients have called her to express their fear about the implementation of House Bill 1393, which will result in them no longer going to work or engaging in their communities. 'This is fear of the unknown,' Arshad said. 'It's sending the message of, if you look like an immigrant, if you sound like an immigrant, then I have the ability to say that you don't have constitutional protection or procedural due process for me to start asking you about your immigration status.' Immigrants don't carry their immigration file around with them because it involves a lot of important paperwork, Arshad said. Permanent residents are supposed to carry their permanent resident cards with them, she said, but many times permanent residents don't carry that card because they are scared of losing it. But even if immigrants carried their immigration case files with them, Arshad said local law enforcement aren't trained on reading through immigration paperwork to understand someone's status. If Gov. Mike Braun signs the bill into law, Arshad said lawsuits will be filed to stop its enforcement. 'I don't think it's going to pass constitutional muster,' Arshad said. 'Local law enforcement has no authority to determine if someone is in or out of status or if there's any reason to question someone about that.' akukulka@
