Post-Tribune

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:05:49 -0500

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An achievable road map to restore financial stability to USPS

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:56:05 -0500

The Post-Tribune’s article regarding the U.S. Postal Service’s proposal to move to five-day delivery of mail and six-day delivery of packages begs clarification. A change to six-day package and five-day mail delivery is one of several components of the USPS five-year plan to return to financial stability. We anticipate that this change will achieve annual savings of approximately $2 billion once fully implemented. It is a necessary part of closing what could be a $20 billion budget gap. Contractually agreed upon processes are followed in regards to employee impacts. The estimated impact in this case would be between 20,000 and …

We’ll miss you Rudy

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:08:54 -0500

When public officials die, there’s an urgency by the media not only to chronicle their lives, but to tell us what their greatest legacy is. Former Gary mayor Rudy Clay, who died last week, spared them the trouble. In his waning days at City Hall as he reflected on his tenure, Clay quickly went to the bottom line. By 2010, Gary’s tax levy was in a free fall—dropping 24 percent in a two-year period. Clay said the city was $72 million in debt. “We’ll leave it almost debt-free. We’re still standing,” Clay said in January, 2012. While Clay is also …

Journalism should be ‘a culture of caring’

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 02:09:00 -0500

Once again, the death of innocent children in an American elementary school dominates the news. This time, the fatalities are a result of violent weather — a devastating tornado — not a deranged gunman. But our emotions of shock, sorrow and grief are the same, as are many of the questions. How could this happen? Why did some live while many died? How are surviving family members and friends coping with the unbearable loss of loved ones? Will they ever really recover? Some of those asking such questions stand in front of the cameras, holding reporters’ notebooks or voice recorders. …

Improving region’s health will require a global approach

Sun, 26 May 2013 02:08:57 -0500

A community’s quality of life is measured by many factors, but physical and emotional health is, arguably, the most important. Health behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol use, obesity and teenage birth rates are often the leading indicators that define a community’s health. When it comes to ranking the state’s health by key risk factors, Lake County fares poorly, ranking 81st out of 92 Indiana counties. A 2013 County Health Rankings report revealed that 26 percent of Lake County residents are smokers, 18 percent drink excessively and 34 percent are obese. While the study ranked Porter and LaPorte counties healthier, …

Cold beer laws outdated and unconstitutional

Sun, 26 May 2013 02:08:48 -0500

Fifty years ago, a panel of unelected bureaucrats unfairly granted liquor stores the sole right to sell cold beer. This week, the members of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association initiated a lawsuit asking for just one thing — to be treated fairly when it comes to the sale of beer. Responsible retailers and consumers have lived long enough under an antiquated, unconstitutional law that governs the temperature at which beer can be sold among different classes of retailers. Indiana has the dubious distinction of being the only state that regulates beer sales based upon temperature. We believe …

Historic Memorial Opera House is worth checking out

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:09:38 -0500

Since being appointed the new business director of Memorial Opera House in Porter County, I have found that many people are completely unaware of its existence. This historic theater, a living memorial to the Civil War built by the Grand Army of the Republic, is 120 years old this year and has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since May 24, 1984. The staff, volunteers and actors mount seven theatrical productions each year while also providing the community access to concerts, orchestras, plays, stand-up comedy, lunchtime cabarets, children’s theater camps and advanced theater/dance classes. In essence, we bring …

Finally, an airport deal that helps the Gary area

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:09:48 -0500

Today I am proud to be a Gary resident! The Gary community has scored a first victory in the never-ending struggle for jobs for area residents. On May 7, the Gary Common Council voted 7-0 and Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson pledged to support a new Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA. The agreement will be brought to the Regional Development Administration for approval, guaranteeing that 30 percent of the hours worked at the Gary-Chicago airport expansion and at future development projects will go to Northwest Indiana residents living in the poorest zones with the highest unemployment rates. The Community Benefits Agreement includes …

Regular exercise is key to a long and healthy life

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:47:42 -0500

The excuses many people — Hoosier women in particular — use to avoid exercise are seemingly endless: Children take all my free time, work leaves me exhausted, it’s not any fun anyway and I’d prefer to sit and watch television. Yet we all know that America is in the midst of a health crisis as we pack on the pounds, keep smoking cigarettes and suffer heart disease at unacceptable levels. Shockingly, however, findings from recent studies conducted at Ball State University detail our poor health habits. In fact, Ball State’s Global Health Institute discovered in 2012 that 66.5 percent of …

Hard decisions necessary to improve Gary

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:47:40 -0500

Life’s changes often play to mixed reviews. Most of us embrace changes that result in positive outcomes. The paving of Fourth, Fifth and 25th avenues and the exploration of a public/private partnership at the Gary/Chicago International Airport are such examples. Although these changes have led to some displacement, inconvenience and uncertainty about new models, they are still viewed favorably, albeit with some caution. Other changes, while greatly anticipated, are occasionally deferred. Examples like the demolition of the Sheraton Hotel and the Dollar House program, while taking longer than anticipated, are still on their way. There are yet other changes, like …

Undocumented kids need legal representation

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:20:58 -0500

Last week, a federal judge in California ordered immigration courts in three states to provide legal representation for immigrants with mental disabilities who are in detention or facing deportation. This happened the day after federal immigration officials issued a new policy that would effectively expand that ruling, making government-paid legal representation available to people with mental disabilities in immigration courts in all states. This is a common-sense move to provide protection to the most vulnerable of a class of people — immigrants facing deportation — who don’t have the right to a lawyer if they can’t afford one. Now that …

Munster residents shouldn’t vote for higher school taxes

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:16:52 -0500

On Tuesday, the School Town of Munster is asking residents to vote on an increase of our property taxes to fund its school districts. According to school corporation officials and its superintendent, homeowners can expect to pay approximately an extra $200 a year in property taxes for a home valued at $200,000. This does not seem like an unreasonable request; for those with homes in the $200,000 price range, it comes to about $17 a month more in property taxes. Such is the pernicious thinking that goes into all tax increases — it is not that much money, so what’s …

Lessons from the legacy media – get it right, first

Wed, 29 May 2013 06:16:29 -0500

Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out. I saw the spirit of that timeless journalistic warning used in the Boston Marathon case. Boston police were closing in on Suspect No. 2 and the people at my table went on high alert. This was at a journalism awards banquet in Indianapolis. The meal had ended and the awards were starting when one of the college students at my table began streaming CNN on a smartphone. He propped it up so we could see. Four other student reporters hunched over their own phones, working the wires, news …

Workplace volunteering improves employee morale, bottom line

Wed, 29 May 2013 06:12:17 -0500

National Volunteer Week was April 21 to 27. In its 40th year, National Volunteer Week serves to remind everyone of the power and impact of volunteering. While everyone knows that volunteering makes people feel better about themselves and their communities, few consider the measurable impact. According to the 2010 “Do Good Live Well Study” commissioned by United Healthcare, 92 percent of employees who volunteer report better health and 96 percent say they feel happier. The benefits of employee volunteerism are endless: it boosts employee morale, helps with recruiting and retention, and enhances the company’s reputation among investors, consumers and the …

The aftermath of terror is chaos, uncertainty

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:21:14 -0500

You know the feeling. You wake up filled with dread but, still groggy, you can’t put your finger on the reason. Possibilities flitter across the landscape of near-consciousness: An exam? A deadline? A speech? What day is it? Oh my God, Boston. For longer than usual, you linger, head on pillow, breathing, thinking, I have my legs. Oh my God. Coffee. “Boston will survive,” someone is saying on TV. The papers lead as expected. Drudge, Lucianne, Beast, HuffPo, Twitter. Two brothers each lost a leg. Horror. Breathe. And then, the worst thing happens. You get a grip. You speak to …

Program gets kids READY for life after schooling

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:19:27 -0500

Growing up as I did in an inner city can be isolating. For a long time, in fact, I did not know there were cows, or that there are many religions. I did not know that highways cross our nation, that there were people who lived beyond the end of the bus line, and that there were many opportunities for me and others who worked toward desired goals. Because of this experience, I am able to understand the challenges of trying to inspire “bigger thinking” among our young people who lack understanding of the possibilities available to them. On the …