CROWN POINT

Not guilty plea entered in death of bar worker

Veronica Zamora, 31, of Highland, pleaded not guilty Monday to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

The Lake County prosecutor's office alleges Zamora fatally battered 54-year-old Margarita Aguilar on Feb. 10 during a dispute at Beto's Bar in the 1300 block of East Chicago Avenue in East Chicago.

Police said Aguilar, a bar employee, was cleaning tables when Zamora threw her on the floor. Aguilar suffered fatal head injuries and died five days later.

Zamora is free on bond. She faces eight years in prison if convicted. No trial date has been set.

CROWN POINT

Gary man gets work release in DUI crash

Lake Criminal Court Judge Thomas P. Stefaniak Jr. sentenced John Jasaitis, 56, of Gary, to 18 months in a work-release program for causing serious bodily injury while driving drunk.

Jasaitis pleaded guilty last year to allegations he had a blood-alcohol concentration that was more than double the legal limit Aug. 30, 2006, when he was driving west on 21st Avenue and struck a 36-year-old woman walking in the street. She suffered facial disfigurement and severe tissue injuries.

INDIANAPOLIS

Shoreline development bill signed by governor

Gov. Mitch Daniels on Monday signed legislation designed to jump-start redevelopment of the region's Lake Michigan shoreline.

House Bill 1227 adds one representative each from NIPSCO and Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor to a shoreline development commission established in 2001. The new law, which takes effect in July, also encourages Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman to tap a local tourism official for her appointment to the commission.

State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, sponsored the legislation as a means of accelerating redevelopment of 600 acres of shoreline property near Buffington Harbor in Gary, including a former NIPSCO power plant. The legislation was supported by the Indiana Port Commission and the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Harris has said his next step will be to seek roughly $150,000 in annual funding to hire an executive director and an assistant for the shoreline commission.