MERRILLVILLE

NIPSCO natural gas price rises

NIPSCO natural gas customers will pay 4.1 percent more for natural gas this month, due to an increase in the utility's gas cost adjustment for March.

A typical customer using 150 therms of natural gas should expect an increase of approximately $6.91 in the March bill as compared to last month's, according to NIPSCO. The total bill amount will depend on how much gas is consumed.

The gas cost adjustment is tied to the price of natural as on wholesale markets, which has been increasing in recent months. It is subject to approval by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

The gas cost adjustment applies only to the supply charge on a customer's NIPSCO bill. The bill also includes charges for gas delivery and state and local taxes.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

SBA offers Web help for business owners

The U.S. Small Business Administration this week launched its latest free online course, Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts. The instructional, self-paced guide is easy to follow and available on SBA's Web site at www.sba.gov/training. From the SBA's training site, click on the menu of free online courses, and then select the first course listed under Government Contracting.

After completing the 30-minute tutorial, business owners can earn a certificate of completion from the SBA.

VALPARAISO

Business school offers leadership journal

Valparaiso University's College of Business Administration launched a new online journal this week that will promote ethical and moral leadership by business and institutional leaders throughout the world.

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership sprang out of recent incidents of corporate greed and wrongdoing that have shaken people's trust in the business community, said Elizabeth Gingerich, co-editor-in-chief of the journal and an associate professor of business law.

The journal may be read at no charge online at valpo.edu/cba/jvbl. It will be published biannually. Hard copies of individual issues will be available for $20.

For more information, visit the journal's Web site at valpo.edu/cba/jvbl); call (219) 464-5035; or send e-mail to jvbl@valpo.edu.