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Volume 9: February 8, 2010
A City Councilman's Thoughts on Selling Alcohol Responsibly
Mike Karickhoff of Kokomo recently published an article discussing the danger of alcohol deregulation in Indiana. "The increased availability of alcohol would increase problems for minors, increase drunk driving, and hurt our local economies," writes Karickhoff. To read the full article and other opinions, visit the Save My Sunday blog.
Legislative Updates on Alcohol Bills
Leg. UpdateMandatory Carding
SB 119 includes a provision that requires retailers to do mandatory carding of anyone making a carry-out purchase.
 
Sunday Alcohol Sales and Cold Beer
SB 189 did not advance, a bill offered by Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville. The bill would have allowed the carry-out sales of alcohol on Sunday as well as cold beer for take-out at all retail outlets.
 
At least 17 other alcohol-related bills did not advance from the Senate to the House. However, some of those measures could still show up as amendments in the process. Senate bills now move to the House for consideration and House bills now move to the Senate.
 
To track a bill, visit here.
What Does One Walgreens Employee Think?
Did you ever wonder what Walgreens employees think about selling alcohol in their stores? We asked. And one Walgreens employee shared her views about the company's sudden change of heart to now sell alcohol when for decades it did not. A female employee recently chatted with us and shared her concerns. She works out of several Indianapolis locations - most of which are in high-crime neighborhoods. She said there are enough problems in her retails outlets as is: significant shoplifting, theft, and customers who clearly have substance abuse problems. Talk to your local Walgreens' employees and find out what they think about the issue. Better yet -- ask to talk to the manager.
Walgreens Continues its Alcohol Sales Push in Indiana

Walgreens logo

As of today, there are 181 permit requests pending from Walgreens throughout Indiana and more expected. We have been posting local board hearing information in this newsletter. From this point forward, we will include the link to the lengthy list of hearings online posted by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.
 
The following counties have a scheduled hearing this week:
 
CLAY COUNTY
 
In Clay County, Walgreens has filed one permit request with the ATC. The request is for a store located in Brazil.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date
: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern
Location: City Council Room, 203 E National Hwy - Brazil
Local Excise Officer Contact: Brian Stewart, 812-882-1292
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Clay County location:

501 E NATIONAL AVE, Brazil IN 47834
 

HAMILTON COUNTY
 
In Hamilton County, Walgreens has filed 6 permit requests with the ATC. One request is for a store located in Carmel. One request is for a store located in Westfield. Two requests are for stores located in Noblesville. Two requests are for stores located in Fishers.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date
: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM Eastern
Location: Judicial Center, Commissioner`s Room, 1 Hamilton Square - Noblesville
Local Excise Officer Contact: Amy Sunier, 765-447-7066
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Hamilton County locations:
1215 S. RANGE LINE ROAD, Carmel IN 46032
555 WESTFIELD ROAD, Noblesville IN 46060
14625 N. GRAY ROAD, Noblesville IN 46062
12570 REYNOLDS DRIVE, Fishers IN 46038
9610 N. ALLISONVILLE ROAD, Fishers IN 46038
3275 E. STATE ROAD 32, Westfield IN 46074


HUNTINGTON COUNTY
 
In Huntington County, Walgreens has filed one permit request with the ATC. The request is for a store located in Huntington.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM Eastern
Location: 2nd Floor Training Room - Huntington
Local Excise Officer Contact: April Tackett, 260-244-4285
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Huntington County location:

1804 NORTH JEFFERSON, Huntington IN 46750
 

JASPER COUNTY
 
In Jasper County, Walgreens has filed 2 permit requests with the ATC. One request is for a store located in Demotte. One request is for a store located in Rensselaer.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern
Location: City Hall, Council Chambers - Rensselaer
Local Excise Officer Contact: Michele Traughber, 219-872-6041
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Jasper County locations:

226 N HALLECK ST, Demotte IN 46310
550 S COLLEGE AVE, Rensselaer IN 47978
 

PORTER COUNTY
 
In Porter County, Walgreens has filed 6 permit requests with the ATC. One request is for a store located in Hebron. One request is for a store located in Chesterton. Two requests are for stores located in Portage. Two requests are for stores located in Valparaiso.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM Eastern
Location: Porter County Admin Center, Suite 205, 155 Indiana Ave - Valparaiso
Local Excise Officer Contact: Walt Collins, 219-872-6041
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Porter County locations:

308 N MAIN ST, Hebron IN 46341
580 E INDIAN BOUNDARY, Chesterton IN 46304
5995 US HIGHWAY 6, Portage IN 46368
6030 CENTRAL, Portage IN 46368
252 MORTHLAND DR, Valparaiso IN 46383
1903 CALUMET AVE, Valparaiso IN 46383
 

WHITLEY COUNTY
 
In Whitley County, Walgreens has filed one permit request with the ATC. The request is for a store located in Columbia City.
 
Local Hearing Information
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern
Location: WHITLEY CO GOVERNMENT CENTER - Columbia City
Local Excise Officer Contact: April Tackett, 260-244-4285
 
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Whitley County location:

535 NORTH LINE STREET, Columbia City IN 46725
 
 
To view the list of all pending Walgreens permits, click here.
Liquor Store Owner Supports RAD

RAD Reader Board

 

We want to mention (and thank) an Anderson liquor store owner for promoting Project RAD at his store. Joel Hackleman sent us this photo. Can you help spread the word about Project RAD? Reader boards do work -- we definitely got a spike in our Web site traffic when Joel posted. On top of that, it also caught the eye of an area legislator. She visited our site and then signed up for the Project RAD newsletter. The newsletter is now publishing every Monday. Thanks Joel! We continue to spread the news about Project Responsible Alcohol Distribution thanks to our online readers.

Lawsuit Update
If you don't understand Indiana alcohol permit laws, please take a moment to read a statement and explanation from John Livengood. The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers turned to the courts for clarification on Indiana's quota system. The system used by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission has been in place for decades, but a change in the law in 2008 has created a new way of counting that the association believes is illegal. Despite losing a preliminary request for immediate relief (thus freezing the ATC's permit approvals), the association is moving ahead with its lawsuit. For the complete statement from IABR's President, click here.
Walmart, are you Serious?
Walmart Liquor/Juice
 

Walmart CloseupWhen we think of Hawaiian Punch, we think of children. So why is Walmart putting hard alcohol at children's eye level in between juice, juice, and more juice? This is just another example of big box retailers being irresponsible in alcohol sales and promotion. We shot these photos Thursday with our cell phone at the 96th Street store in Hamilton County. We assume this was a Super Bowl promo since the punch is blue. We hope it was the juice that was $1.96 and not the Smirnoff Vodka.

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