Archive for the ‘Northwest Indiana’ Category

If you are like me, you got a little pink surprise in your Porter County Spring property tax bill.

The State of Indiana is requiring taxpayers who receive the homestead standard deduction to verify that they are eligible to receive the benefit. You must file State Form 53569. Failure to file the form will result in the removal of your homestead credit exemption. Residents of Porter County received the form (pink sheet) with their tax statements and must submit the form before June 1, 2010 to the Porter County Auditor at 155 Indiana Avenue, Room 204, Valparaiso, IN 46383.

On September 16th, Attorney Sarah Lawson attended the VIP party hosted by the Porter County Builders Association at the Village in Burns Harbor.   The Porter County Builders Association sponsored the Nation’s first Green Homes on Parade at the Village  from September 18th through September 27th. The Village in Burns Harbor, a neighborhood community in the Town of Burns Harbor, has been recognized as the first national “Green” development under the American National Standard Institute standards used by the National Home Builders Association.

David, Toni, Martha, and Brad

Attorney David Hiestand, with his wife, Martha, and friends, attended the National Geographic BioBlitz at the Indiana Dunes on May 16, 2009.  From the BioBlitz website:

BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of scientists, volunteers, and community members join forces to find, identify, and learn about as many local plant and animal species as possible. National Geographic is helping conduct a BioBlitz in a different park each year throughout the decade leading up to the U.S. National Park Service Centennial in 2016.

Last year’s BioBlitz took place in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area May 30 and 31 in collaboration with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and California State Parks. The public found and identified more than 1,700 unique species in the park, plus several that have not yet been identified.

In 2007, National Geographic hosted the Rock Creek Park BioBlitz in Washington, D.C. Teams made up of biologists, families, school groups, youth groups, conservationists, and government leaders spent 24 hours combing the city’s urban park. They found and identified 661 unique species in the park, plus several that have not yet been identified.