PORTAGE

Commission approves engineer salary hike

The Redevelopment Commission this week approved increasing the salary for the city engineer by a 3-1 vote. It was the third board to approve a pay hike for the position. Increases for the position had already been approved by the City Council and the Water Reclamation Board.

The pay hikes increase the salary of the city engineer/director of public works to more than $89,000 per year, up about $7,500 from the previous year.

The Redevelopment Commission approved an increase of $268 to $483 per month.

Member Richard Trowbridge cast the lone no vote.

"I don't think the city engineer's contributions warrant the raise, and I don't think the city engineer should make more than the mayor," Trowbridge said.

LAKE MICHIGAN

DNR program accepting early grant proposals

Coastal program accepting grant pre-proposals

The Department of Natural Resources' Lake Michigan Coastal Program is accepting proposals for the 2009 funding cycle until Sept. 10.

Proposals receiving favorable recommendation will then be eligible to submit a full proposal for funding, which will be available in July 2009.

The annual competitive grants program awards up to $700,000 to units of local government, regional and state agencies, colleges and universities, as well as to other non-profit organizations.

Funds may be spent on low-cost construction, land acquisition, planning and coordination, education and outreach, and applied research projects. Projects must be located entirely within the coastal area of northern Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties.

For more information, visit dnr.IN.gov/lakemich.

VALPARAISO

VU professor gets NASA grant to study dying stars

Valparaiso University astronomy professor Bruce Hrivnak has received a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to study differences in the composition of dying stars in the Milky Way compared to those in a nearby galaxy.

Hrivnak received a $13,000 grant from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to support his participation in the collaborative research project "Astrochemistry and Astromineralogy at Low Metalicity."

He and other astronomers involved in the study will investigate the composition of gas and dust around dying stars in a nearby galaxy, in order to better understand how their properties differ from those of dying stars in our galaxy. The project could provide scientists with important information about stellar evolution, according to VU.

Astronomers from the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and Australia are involved in the research project.