Gary City Council

Plans are moving ahead to bring a mobile mental health response initiative to Gary. Under the proposal, a clinician would be available to respond to mental health crises 24 hours a day, without necessarily involving police.

Changes are coming to the Gary Police Department. Three months after Gary officials announced a nationwide search for a new police chief and a policy review with the Indiana State Police, an update on their progress was given Wednesday.

An abandoned Gary school could soon be replaced with a trucking business, following zoning approval from the city council Tuesday. The council voted eight-to-one to establish a planned unit development district at the former Edison School at 5400 West 5th Avenue. That will allow Djuric Trucking to move its facility from Hammond.

Gary leaders are planning their response to the city's gun violence. A gas station, nightclub, high school graduation ceremony and a 4th of July block party have all been scenes of shootings in recent months.

Gary leaders are planning their response to gun violence, after what police are calling "a terrible night" in the city. Gary Police say they responded to four shootings in five minutes Monday afternoon.

The Gary City Council has approved spending for a dedicated warming and cooling center. Arlene Colvin, the director of Gary's Department of Community Development, says the city plans to rehabilitate the old fire station at 41st and Washington.

Gary City Council members continue to voice concerns with Mayor Jerome Prince's administration's plans for federal COVID-19 money. The Ways and Means Committee recently reviewed a proposed ordinance allocating American Rescue Plan funds for various equipment needs. But council members questioned whether some of the items — like half a million dollars to upgrade the mayor's office — really provided the biggest benefit for Gary residents.

The Gary City Council is considering how to address a shortage of paramedics.

A two-decade effort to rename a Gary street in honor of Malcolm X remains stuck in a bureaucratic stalemate. According to a discussion during Wednesday's city council meeting, organizers got the necessary signatures to rename Georgia and Virginia streets to Malcolm X Boulevard and got unanimous approval from the city's plan commission. But organizer Kwabena Rasuli said more than two years later, the street still hasn't been renamed.

The Gary City Council is joining other local governments in opting back into a statewide opioid settlement agreement.