On May 28, 2025, Mayor Eddie Melton proudly announced the recipients of the 2025 Love Your Block mini-grant program. This program is designed to support local grassroots organizations dedicated to transforming Gary’s neighborhoods through creative, resident-led projects. The City of Gary received over 60 applications and selected 21 winning proposals that embody the spirit of community pride, beautification, and civic collaboration.

Starting in June 2025, approximately $100,000 in mini-grants will be awarded to support these 21 neighborhood projects, with $80,000 contributed by the City of Gary, and $20,000 provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“These projects show what’s possible when neighborhoods lead—and the city listens,” stated Mayor Melton, “I’m proud to support these visionary residents who are revitalizing and beautifying Gary, one block at a time.”

The Love Your Block program, powered by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins, brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. Love Your Block grants fund resident-led revitalization efforts across the country, turning vacant lots into vibrant gardens, repairing public spaces, and clearing debris to create cleaner, safer communities. A 2021 Urban Institute study found that Love Your Block programs improve social cohesion, civic participation, and trust in local government.

In Gary, the winning projects reflect alignment with city priorities including public safety, youth engagement, and sustainable neighborhood beautification. From Glen Park to Black Oak and Midtown, these grantees are reshaping the landscape and the spirit of the city.

Selected Projects Include:

• Dump Away and Have a Great Day Dumpster Program (Midtown): Hosting community dumpster events to reduce blight and promote responsible waste disposal.
• Operation R.E.C.O.N. (Midtown): Clearing overgrowth and engaging youth in environmental care and skill-building.
• Pyramid Drive Beautification Project (Midtown): Murals on a privacy wall that honor 40 years of community excellence.
• Mystical Farm Agri-hood Elevation Project (Midtown): Transforming a community garden into a full “agri-hood” with sustainable amenities.
• Glen Park Changers – 3724 Broadway (Glen Park): Creating a public plaza with astroturf, stage, and bold neighborhood signage.
• Midtown Changers – 17th & Washington (Midtown): Developing a welcoming gateway with flower beds, a stage, and community sign.
• RPG Basketball Court Revitalization (Midtown): Renovating a neighborhood court with fresh blacktop and new equipment.
• RPG Park Expansion Project (Midtown): Youth-led construction and repair of local recreational space.
• Phoenix Project #2 (Glen Park): Building the first community park for children and families in the area.
• Greater Gary Gateway (Midtown): Public art honoring Gary icons with murals and carved benches along Broadway.
• The Butterfly Block (Black Oak): Converting vacant lots into healing spaces with literacy stations, tire art, and outdoor stages.
• GPTC Public Art and Placemaking (Midtown & Glen Park): Colorful murals at transit stops that inspire civic pride.
• Van Buren Connection Community Garden (Glen Park): A 2,000 square foot garden project bringing neighbors together to grow food and unity.
• C3 Commons + Green Space (Midtown): A community sanctuary with art, native gardens, and gathering zones.
• Promise of Tomorrow Sunflower Field (Midtown): Transforming vacant lots into sunflower fields promoting hope and regeneration.
• Neighborhood Revive Drive (Black Oak): Beautifying parks and teaching children sustainable gardening.
• Polished in the Park (Glen Park): Summer-long park cleanups, mural painting, and community festivals.
• Midtowners United (Midtown): Multi-site beautification with planters, safety signage, and lighting.
• Bright Future Urban Agriculture Project (Glen Park): Creating gardens and a chicken coop for healthy food access.
• Bright Future Basketball Court (Midtown): Renovating a court into a vibrant hub for play and connection.
• Junedale Little League Field Revitalization (Glen Park): Restoring a historic ballfield into a dynamic youth sports center.

“I have had the privilege of working closely with these incredible grassroots leaders during the Love Your Block process,” stated Kianna Grant, Director of Constituent Services. “They bring a depth of vision and understanding to each of their neighborhood projects. We’re honored to support their work and see how it transforms our city.”

Residents are encouraged to volunteer to support one of these projects by visiting the City of Gary’s volunteer hub at: https://lakeshorepublicmedia.galaxydigital.com/agency/detail/?agency_id=170332

For more information on the Love Your Block initiative, visit gary.gov/loveyourblock or email [email protected].  

CHARLESTOWN, NH— Roger Chester Dearborn, 85, passed away on May 27, 2025, one day shy of his 86th birthday. Born May 28, 1939 to Antoinette (Lizotte) and Roland Dearborn, he was a lifelong Claremont and Charlestown, NH, resident who spent his final years under excellent care from the staff at Sullivan County Nursing Home in Unity, NH.

Roger graduated from Stevens High School in Claremont in 1957, after which he was employed at several of the area’s major manufacturers for approximately 30 years before transitioning to the service and retail industries. He married Linda (Kenyon) on July 21, 1973, in Claremont, NH, where they resided until moving to Charlestown to enjoy retirement.

Roger particularly enjoyed outdoor activities and sports, and was an avid supporter of community organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Youth Sports that his children and grandchildren participated in. He would often volunteer to help in activities such as park clean-ups and fundraisers to support those groups. He was also a huge fan of New England sports teams, especially the New England Patriots, and never missed a game during the Patriots’ Super Bowl runs.

He was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Joyce; and sons Brian and James. Surviving members of his family include his loving wife of 51-plus years, Linda; sons Jason and Jeffrey; and grandchildren Dana, Dillon, and Kiera.

A gravesite service will be held at the Mountain View Cemetery in Claremont on June 5 at 1 PM.

Arrangements are with Stringer Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 146 Broad Street, Claremont, NH 03743. To view an online memorial or send a private message of condolence, visit www.stringerfh.com.

CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — California’s high school track-and-field state championships kicked off Friday in the sweltering heat to a relatively quiet atmosphere despite controversy leading up to the meet over the participation of a transgender athlete.

The meet is the testing ground for a new participation and medaling policy for competitions that include transgender athletes.

The California Interscholastic Federation let an additional student compete and potentially offer an extra medal in three events in which a trans athlete is competing. The athlete, high school junior AB Hernandez, is the second seed in the triple jump and is also participating in the long jump and high jump.

A small protest of fewer than 10 people, including parents, gathered outside the stadium to oppose Hernandez’s participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts.

It was quiet inside the stadium before the long jump and high jump events began. But once Hernandez started her events, a couple isolated protests occurred. At one point, as she was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands yelled an insult. An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the events, carrying a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!”

It may be the first effort by a high school sports governing body to expand participation when trans athletes are participating, and it reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.

State law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

President Donald Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.

What the new participation and medaling policy will look like

The meet, which is taking place at a high school near Fresno, opened the girls triple jump, long jump and high jump to one additional athlete each who would have qualified had Hernandez not participated. Hernandez led in the long jump in the preliminaries Friday with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final Saturday. She also advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease. She is scheduled to compete in the triple jump Friday night, where she’s expected to perform well.

Under the pilot policy, if a transgender athlete medals, their ranking would not displace a “biological female” student from medaling, the federation said.

The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.

The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.

Medical experts say gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting of only males and females.

The two-day meet is expected to draw attention from a coalition of protesting parents and students. Critics have objected Hernandez’s participation and heckled her in qualifying events earlier this month. Leaders from the conservative California Family Council joined Republican state lawmakers Thursday for a press conference blasting the policy change and saying Hernandez shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

“If they have to create special exceptions and backdoor rule changes to placate frustrated athletes, that’s not equality, that’s a confession,” Sophia Lorey, the council’s outreach director, said in a statement. “Girls’ sports should be for girls, full stop.”

CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti urged participants and bystanders to behave respectfully toward all student-athletes in a message shared in the championship program.

Nationwide debate over trans athletes’ participation

A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats.

Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about critics.

“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.

She noted that she has lost some of her events, saying that disproved arguments that she can’t be beat.

Hernandez has a personal best of over 41 feet (12.5 meters) in the triple jump. That is more than 3 feet (1 meter) short of a national record set in 2019. She’s the fifth seed in the long jump but ranked much lower in the high jump.

California’s state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify.

More than 57,000 high schoolers participated in outdoor track and field in California during the 2023-2024 school year, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. California had the second-largest number of high school outdoor track-and-field athletes, only behind Texas.

Of the 12 high school athletes who have set national records in the girls triple jump between 1984 and 2019, eight have been from California, according to the national sports governing body.

Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).

Davis Whitfield, the national federation’s chief operating officer, called a state championship “the pinnacle” for high school student-athletes.

“It’s certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience in some cases to participate in a state championship event,” he said.

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

A local teen is trying to make youth sports more affordable for families.

Whether it’s a touchdown or the game-winning goal, 17-year-old Caroline Mohamadi believes sports should be available to all.

That’s why she started an organization called Play it FWD.

“Basically anything an athlete could need, we say, ‘Come bring it and we’ll distribute it,’” Mohamadi said.

The Sidwell Friends School junior hosts donation drives for gently used sporting goods and donates the equipment to organizations that give them to kids who can’t afford them.

“The equipment’s really expensive,” Mohamadi said.  “Being able to, you know, pay for training is really expensive. And I wanted to help with at least one of those things.”

Play it FWD started out small — as a school club. Now, Mohamadi works with about six other schools in the DMV and across the country, recruiting more students to collect donations.

So far, she’s collected 900 pieces of equipment valued at about $30,000.

Much of that equipment ends up at Leveling the Playing Field in Silver Spring.

“Our motto is getting kids off the sideline and giving them opportunities they might not have had,” Leveling the Playing Field Greater Washington Program Director Phillip Williams said.

Mohamadi interned there.

“When people do these collection drives or equipment drives and things like that, we appreciate it because it actually helps serve all these students in all these areas and all these participants of sports that we’re actually looking for,” Williams said.

Mohamadi is an athlete, herself. She has played field hockey since the fifth grade and says the skills she’s gotten on and off the field changed her life.

“I think that’s the biggest thing — is the way that a sport has helped shape my identity,” Mohamadi said. “I can now spread, you know, that feeling for people that may not have had access to do that before.”

Mohamadi will be very busy when school lets out. She hopes to plan two more drives this summer.

Editor’s Note: This story is a part of Peak, The Athletic’s new desk covering leadership, personal development and success through the lens of sports. Peak aims to connect readers to ideas they can implement in their own personal and professional lives. Follow Peak here.

More than anyone, professional athletes have been exposed to a wide range of leadership and coaching styles. When they leave professional sports behind and start coaching young athletes, they have plenty of experience to draw from.

We checked in with three former professional athletes who now coach youth sports to gather their advice for other coaches and parents.

Remember why you’re there

Drew Stanton was an NFL quarterback for 14 seasons and now coaches his son’s football and baseball teams, as well as helping run a youth football organization.

He said he’s noticed that kids are harder on themselves now than they were when he was a young athlete.

As youth sports become increasingly intense, he often reminds kids why they’re playing in the first place.

“We just become so wrapped up in the results of it as opposed to, ‘What is the intentionality behind what you’re trying to do?’ ” Stanton said. “Control the controllables. You get wrapped up in somebody else’s success, or you start comparing yourself, and you start to rob these children of their childhood because we’ve become hyper-focused on making them professionals at such a young age.

“I think the ability to teach life lessons through sports has always been my approach.”

He encourages his athletes to focus on setting their own goals and acknowledge that mistakes are learning opportunities.

“We have to stick to the process,” he said. “Sitting there and yelling or trying to break them down to build them back up, that doesn’t need to happen. These kids already break themselves down enough, or they look to social media to gain their understanding or worth from how many likes they get.”

Travis Snider, a former MLB outfielder, now leads a youth sports company that offers resources and education for parents and coaches. It’s essential, he said, that adults remind athletes that failure isn’t a bad thing.

“We’re trying to teach kids more skills, but with that understanding of where they’re at emotionally and physically,” he said. “These are just experiences that give us an opportunity to learn and grow, and oftentimes failure is a much better vehicle to learn these lessons and grow and become a better version of yourself.”

Know what you value as a coach

Matt Hasselbeck spent 18 seasons as a quarterback in the NFL. He spent one season playing for Pete Carroll, someone he viewed as completely authentic. It’s what he admired about Carroll. But now, after coaching high school football, he realizes just how important it is to find your own identity.

“Put in some speed bumps for yourself,” Hasselbeck said. “Maybe even write some stuff down. Like, here are some non-negotiables — who I am as a coach.”

Hasselbeck, who has non-negotiables like no cursing and putting health and safety above all else, has picked up a few examples. When his son, Henry, played for former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, Dilfer had a rule that no one was allowed to sit at a new table during a meal unless all the other tables were full.

“So if you just picture there’s 10 seats at a table, it’s not a table of four, then somebody else starts a table of 10,” he said. “No. Every table has to be full before you can start another table. That’s just community. No one gets left out. No one’s not valuable. No one doesn’t have friends.”

Understand who your players are as people

One year, when Hasselbeck coached high school football, a lot of “mental mistakes” happened along the offensive line, he said. When Hasselbeck approached his offensive line coach and suggested they simplify a few things, the coach, who was also a math teacher at the school, replied, “No. No, that’s not the issue. This is one of the smartest kids I teach. He’s capable. This is just a teenage boy having a focus problem.”

That’s when Hasselbeck began to understand the strong link between learning the little things about his athletes and improving their play.

“Like, ‘Hey, we know this guy struggles learning. Let’s make his menu a little smaller so he can do less better. It’ll help him succeed. He’s got enough on his plate,’ ” Hasselbeck said. “I think just doing less is better.”

To him, even small things, like knowing what someone’s commute from home or family structure looks like, can make a significant difference.

Being uncomfortable can be a good thing

Stanton feels strongly about the lessons we can learn from sports, including trust, respect, and effective communication. But to him, embracing adversity is one of the most important lessons he wants to pass along to his athletes.

“I’m telling the kids, ‘I want you to be comfortable when it’s uncomfortable,’” he said. “Because we’re all in different situations. If you can learn to deal with adversity, if you can learn to deal with all these other things and be able to find a way to persevere, that’s how you grow. Eventually, you’re going to find something or somebody that’s better than you. And what do you do? How do you respond?”

To Stanton, it can be as simple as changing the way you speak to an athlete when they make a mistake. Encouraging them, rather than reprimanding them, can help a young athlete develop a better outlook over time.

Be mindful as a parent

Youth sports require more specialized training, travel, and equipment than ever before. Snider said parents and coaches can’t let the time and money they invest in young athletes turn into added pressure.

“It’s tough to differentiate your child and their experience in sports versus the time, money and energy that you’re investing in and what that return on investment looks like,” he said. “We built a culture that is geared towards performance and achievement. But your failure and success are not going to define who you are.”

Snider believes that if parents and coaches can work on themselves and gain a deeper understanding of how their experiences influence their responses, it can be the difference between a positive experience for a young athlete and a negative one, which is particularly important at such an impressionable age.

“We don’t recognize how our past experiences show up in those moments when our son or daughter strikes out or misses the kick and how that perpetuates something inside of us that we haven’t processed or we weren’t aware of,” Snider said. “We’re a product of our childhood and what that generation of parents and coaches did and did not do during that experience. What can we do? It’s making child development a priority.”

Elise Devlin is a writer for Peak, The Athletic’s new desk covering leadership, personal development and success. She last wrote about how to deal with failure. Follow Peak here.

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images, Rex Brown / Getty Images)

CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — California’s high school track-and-field state finals will award one extra medal Saturday in events where a transgender athlete places in the top three, a rule change that may be the first of its kind nationally by a high school sports governing body.

The new California Interscholastic Federation policy was written in response to the success of high school junior AB Hernandez, a trans student who competes in the girls high jump, long jump and triple jump. She led in all three events after preliminaries Friday. The CIF said earlier this week it would let an additional student compete and medal in the events where Hernandez qualified.

The two-day championship kicked off in the sweltering heat at high school near Fresno. The atmosphere was relatively quiet Friday despite critics — including parents, conservative activists and President Donald Trump — calling for Hernandez to be barred from girls competition leading up to the meet.

There was some pushback Friday. A group of fewer than 10 people gathered outside the stadium ahead of the meet to protest Hernandez’s participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts. At one point as Hernandez was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands yelled an insult. An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the events, carrying a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!”

The rest of the night ran smoothly for Hernandez, who finished the triple jump with a mark close to 41 feet (13 meters), nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) ahead of her closest competitor, San Francisco Bay Area junior Kira Gant Hatcher.

Hernandez also led in the long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease.

She did not address the press.

California at center of national debate

The CIF rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.

A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats.

The federation announced the rule change after Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The CIF said it decided on the change before then.

The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.

Some California Republicans also weighed in, with several state lawmakers attending a news conference to criticize the federation for keeping Hernandez in the competition and a Republican gubernatorial candidate planning to attend Saturday’s finals.

California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.

The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.

Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about critics.

“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.

Another student breaks a record

California’s state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. The state had the second-largest number of students participating in outdoor track and field in the nation during the 2023-2024 school year, behind Texas, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).

The boys 100-meter dash heats were also a highlight Friday. Junior Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord finished in 10.01 seconds, about .2 seconds faster than a meet record set in 2023. Jefferson’s time won’t count as a record unless he can replicate his results in the final.

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

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