Nursing is a demanding profession during normal times. But the COVID-19 pandemic has put nurses on the front line of the greatest health crisis in more than 100 years, placing their physical health at risk and forcing long, stressful days and nights that tax energy and emotions.
Through this most difficult year, nurses have risen to that challenge, saving lives and comforting patients and families through their struggles.
Please join The Times Media Co. in honoring and celebrating nurses throughout the area with a nomination campaign and awards ceremony honoring the Region s best nurses.
Starting today at nwi.com/nurses, people can nominate a nurse who made a difference in their life or the life of a loved one during 2020.
Then-East Chicago Fire Department Paramedic Randy Anderson opened Safari Beach on 45th Avenue in Munster in the early 1980s and it quickly became a destination for those seeking a more bronze hue.
The tanning salon took off so much he was able to quit his job and work full-time as a business owner. It started as a side project and blew up from there, Anderson said.
His tanning business expanded to also include salons in Merrillville and Chicago. But in 2003, he sold them all to L.A. Tan, a chain that quickly spread around the Region.
Anderson opened a new Safari Beach Tan in Valparaiso in 2004 with standup booths he developed.
Little Italy expands
Little Italy, an extremely popular family-style Italian restaurant with a chef/owner who long cooked in Chicago, is expanding after a major renovation project in Dyer.
The restaurant on U.S. 30 temporarily closed for construction at the beginning of the year so it could remodel its space and grow a little bigger.
The eatery, at 1155 Joliet St., is known for sumptuous pasta dishes like rigatoni a la vodka, fireside gnocchi and the side of baked ziti that comes with entrees like crispy pork shoulder, 16-ounce prime ribeye, and maple and balsamic glazed salmon. A date night staple for many Region couples, it serves creative contemporary fare like truffle-roasted garlic bread, brick oven pizza and baked goat cheese in a romantic courtyard-like setting with string lights hung overhead.
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