Districts leaders cited a projected $10.2 million budget deficit for next year that they blamed on reduced state funding with enrollment declines and revenue lost from state property tax caps.

The EPA says sediment will be dredged in Hammond and East Chicago, Indiana. Work is expected to be completed in 2020.

The new testing follows tests conducted last summer that led the district to remove 52 drinking fountains from service in nine schools.

A northwest Indiana birdwatcher found 18 dead swans in George Lake in Hammond, and six of their bodies had high levels of lead.

The part of the facility that helps control pollutants caught on fire in September.

Hammond, Indiana, and Chicago Heights, Illinois, officials signed a deal under which Hammond will supply more drinking water to the Illinois city for resale.

Teachers say fewer fountains and faulty air conditioning makes it difficult for kids to learn.

The plan presented Wednesday eliminates 170 of the county's 523 precincts, including 54 in Gary, 33 in Hammond and 14 in East Chicago.

The agency will update residents on residential soil sampling and cleanup work in areas of Hammond and Whiting near Federated Metals' abandoned smelter.

Rep. Linda Lawson of Hammond says she'll finish out her term and then give up the seat she first won in 1998.