In the latest move from multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporation BP, who is navigating a contract dispute with 800 local workers at the BP Whiting Refinery, the company has asked a judge to deny these locked-out laborers unemployment benefits. These laborers, represented by USW Local 7-1, have been without work since March, as contract negotiations with their employer have not made meaningful progress. BP aims to force these workers, who did not go on strike or walk away from their jobs but were locked out of their place of employment, to not only not get unemployment benefits, but pay back any benefits they’ve already received over the course of the nearly seven months they’ve been without work. Negotiations hit a wall when laborers rebuked BP’s proposal to eliminate the union’s ability to give 24-hour strike notice, opting for a 150-day notice period instead. It remains to be seen what will come of the continually stagnant negotiations, but we here at NWI Explored hope the locked-out employees get everything they’re fighting for and more.

City Council pushed a moratorium on future data center projects after public pressure from residents, but the planned Google data center has already started, meaning that one will still go through. The resolution has support from 6 of 9 councilors and will be considered again at a meeting in November.

After federal prosecution filed a motion to review James Gerodemos’ pretrial release, US District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund has ruled he will remain jailed until a formal order for his bond hearing is written. Gerodemos has been charged in a federal indictment for running an illegal gambling ring, among other charges.

Aylesworth Middle School began construction this week, with construction planned to be complete in 2028 and full campus completion aimed for 2029. Aylesworth is being built directly next to Willowcreek Middle School, of which it will be replacing once construction is fully complete.

The outages were reported mostly in Gary, East Chicago and Griffith, with no real explanation provided as to why so many experienced outages. The high winds that left a few thousand without power late last week were nowhere to be seen. Service seems to have been restored quickly for those affected.

Progress has been made at the 10-acre site in Valpo as of late, with new infrastructure installed and excavators making short work of the mountain of rehabilitation the site needed. The new owners expect to have an update on progress in the coming weeks, which will allow them to offer a clear timeline for reopening.

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On Oct. 20, 1904, the lantern was moved from Michigan City's 1858 lighthouse to the newly constructed Pierhead Light, where its beacon shone until it was replaced in 1980. The 1858 light, built with a Joliet stone foundation and Milwaukee Cream City brick, had served as both light and keeper's quarters, and it was enlarged into duplex apartments in the same 1904 remodeling that removed its lantern tower. Its longtime keeper Harriet Colfax, who tended the light for 43 years and retired at age 80 in 1904, became a Great Lakes legend, and the original fifth-order Fresnel lens that served both lights is now on display at the Old Lighthouse Museum in Washington Park.

$3,700,000 — Custom modern farmhouse in Valparaiso, 3bd/4.5ba, 7,973 sqft, completed in 2019 behind a private gated entrance on 67.46 acres atop the rolling hills of the Valparaiso Moraine. A 20-foot foyer and great room with vaulted European white oak ceilings, a showpiece kitchen with Brazilian cherry cabinetry and Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, a screened porch with outdoor kitchen, and a walkout lower level with a glass-walled gym, sauna and media room, plus a heated 36-by-48 pole barn. Listed Active on the NIRA MLS feed.