Local News from WIKY

This is the week of the "Springing into Caring" food drive. It has two goals - to make people more aware of the need to collect food to feed the hungry people - and then to get the job done. The United Way of Southwestern Indiana and the National Letter Carriers Union are spearheading the effort. And Mary Blair of the Tri-State Food Bank is thankful. She says that during a time when the demand for food is higher, donations have been considerably lower. The event culminates Saturday when letter carriers will collect bags and boxes of food that people will leave at their mail boxes.

Internet shoppers could be a step closer to paying sales taxes on items purchased online. The Senate is expected to vote in favor of a bill that will require all online retailers to collect sales taxes for the states where they ship goods. Indiana's Joe Donnelly says he'll vote for it. The legislation still needs to pass the House before it can become a law. read more

A van crashes into a house on Evansville's West Side, and the driver is arrested for drunken driving. The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office says 53-year-old Larry Joe Sanders of Evansville lost control of the van on a curve, and crashed into the home of Keith Vonderahe at 2814 Harmony Way  Sunday afternoon. Investigators say the van slammed into a bedroom shared by Vonderahe's two young daughters, but luckily, nobody was in the room. Members of the family had just returned home before the crash.

The potential for new Illinois casinos is threatening to throw the Indiana spending and tax cut plan out of balance. The Illinois Senate voted Wednesday for a Senate Bill permitting new casinos in Chicago, the south suburbs and three other cities; slot machines at horse racing tracks and the two Chicago airports; and a reduction in casino tax rates. The gaming plan, which now goes to the House, is strongly backed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has pledged to give schools all the revenue from the Chicago casino.