In Business

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Indiana’s jobless rate down again, bucking national trend; NWI tourism bureaus battle to attract $1 billion and countless jobs; a new plan for revitalizing Gary—and the region—unveiled. Lake County officials approve $180 million for economic development; Steel City’s mayor hopes Jackson museum comes to pop star’s boyhood home; state lawmakers vote for liquor law status quo. And heads of bailed-out firms take government-mandated pay cuts; young people finally embrace Twitter; and Windows 7 and hardware redesigns help give PCs a makeover.—Pat Colander, Editor and Associate Publisher, BusINess magazine, serving Northwest Indiana & Chicagoland

BusINess story of the week

• Indiana jobless rate falls for third straight month
Bucking national trend, state unemployment rate drops to 9.6 percent, even as Illinois’ rate rises by half a point to 10.5 percent. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., had month-over-month unemployment rate increases in September. nwi.com/inbusiness

what’s news

• Region’s tourism bureaus in three-way battle for dollars
More than $1 billion and countless jobs are at stake in a race to entice tourism money to the region, and three bureaus with divergent philosophies and methods remain at the center of that struggle. nwi.com/inbusiness

• ‘Gary Project’ pitches support to business leaders
Supporters of an effort dubbed “Shaping Northwest Indiana and Gary’s Future” have unveiled a plan detailing how organizations such as the Chicago-based Metropolitan Planning Council will help bring ideas to revitalize the city. The idea behind the plan? The region can’t thrive if its largest city is in decline. nwi.com/inbusiness

• $180M in projects bring boost to region
Lake County commissioners voted last week to support $180 million in planned economic development projects in Gary, Hammond and Hobart, including a new hospital, hotel, train station, sports facility, and office building that are together expected to bring 1,000 jobs to the region. nwi.com/inbusiness

• Gary mayor hopes to land Jackson museum in Steel City
Mayor Rudy Clay hopes the city doesn’t roll snake eyes in its effort to land tourism and community venues related to honoring Michael Jackson and his family. On Wednesday, a news conference will likely be held in Las Vegas to announce the locations of a Jackson-themed museum. And Clay will be there. nwi.com

this week on our website

• 20 Under 40 BusINess e-edition
Now in the right-hand column of the home page on our website, check out the live, full-color, all-content version of the newest issue of BusINess magazine. nwi.com/inbusiness

• Spurned Saturn leads to local closures
Months after hoping that a corporate entity would buy Saturn or that General Motors Co. would keep the brand in its portfolio, Walker, general manager of the Merrillville dealership, said her dealership will close and her father will close two others he owns in Illinois. nwi.com/inbusiness

• Scholarships recognize leadership, academic achievement and community service
With high school seniors turning their attention to the college application process, Comcast recently announced that it is accepting nominations from high school principals and guidance counselors for the 2010 Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, which annually awards $1,000 scholarships to students to help support their pursuit of higher education. nwi.com/inbusiness

• Coffee Creek Center has never met potential
A dozen years after planners envisioned a “new urbanism” mecca at Coffee Creek Center and three years after sale of the land gave rise to new hopes of retail and professional campus development, the area off Ind. 49 north of the Indiana Toll Road is still an underachiever. nwi.com/inbusiness

beyond the region

• INDIANAPOLIS—State lawmakers turn cold shoulder to chilled beer, Sunday sales
A legislative panel last week unanimously recommended keeping intact state laws barring Sunday alcohol sales and the sale of cold beer in locations other than liquor stores. But although the study committee favored status quo, changes could still be offered in January. nwi.com

• WASHINGTON—Treasury: bailed-out firms to slash pay in Nov.
Average salaries for the top 25 executives at the companies are being cut 90 percent starting next month. The action will apply to the top executives at Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. Cash salaries will be limited to $500,000 for more than 90 percent of affected employees. nwi.com

upcoming and interesting

• Grudgingly, young people finally flock to Twitter
They think it’s pointless, narcissistic. Some don’t even know what it is. Even so, more young adults and teens—normally at the cutting edge of technology—are finally coming around to Twitter. nwi.com

• With Windows 7 and new designs, PCs looking better
Computers with the Windows operating system suddenly seem a lot less utilitarian: Microsoft’s marketing has gotten savvier and PC makers have followed Apple Inc.’s lead by improving hardware design. nwi.com