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| Volume 10: February 15, 2010 |
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Maryland Senator Nixes Bill Allowing Direct Wine Shipments
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 State Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat and chairwoman of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, has nixed a bill in Maryland that would have allowed direct wine shipments. She said she had too many concerns to bring the bill up for a vote - citing access to underage drinkers. According to an article published in The Baltimore Sun, she said there's no way to force delivery agencies, whether the U.S. Postal Service or a private carrier, to verify the age of the person accepting a package. The other problem, she said, is that it is difficult for state officials to collect taxes from out-of-state entities - or penalize faraway violators. Maryland's liquor lobbyists strongly oppose direct shipping of wine, saying it bypasses the state's carefully crafted network of government entities that regulate the sale of alcohol. In Indiana, a direct wine shipment provision that was inserted into a bill died in the House. |
Canadian Blog of Note: The Drunk Driving Masses
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| Check out this blog based in Canada, which posts interesting news and updates from time to time. Please share if you think it's worthwhile. Much like the Chicago Tribune's experiment to "out" drunk drivers by publication of mug shots, this blog does the same with a rogue's "Wall of Shame." Mug shots, by the way, are public record. So if you have a friend who drinks and drives, you might remind them that an arrest record, photo and court proceedings are all part of the public record. |
Psychiatric Specialist Speaking in Wayne County
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Wayne County Drug Free is hosting a March 11 program about adolescents featuring Dr. Ken Winters, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and senior scientist with Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia. The Thursday event will be at the Townsend Center at 6 p.m. Dr. Winters will present to the community "Adolescence is a temporary brain disorder," described as a fun and informative presentation. |
National Addictions Specialist Featured on IABR Podcast Series on NPR
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 Chris Thurstone, a psychiatric addictions specialist in Colorado who treats binge drinkers as young as the age of 9, was recently featured on National Public Radio in a Feb. 10 segment with Neil Conan for "Talk of the Nation." If you haven't listened to Dr. Thurstone's podcast yet, click here. |
| Cool Tech Tool: Facebook Ads Really Work |
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 Speaking of events, try checking Facebook ads. You can set your own ad budget and target fans in a specific community or city. We recently tried this out with a budget of less than $200 and landed 317 event confirmations and nearly 500,000 impressions. And BTW, the event was a smashing success. You have to be short and sweet in your ad - and having another online site to land is where you can provide more detail.
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St.
Augustine, Fla., says No to Extended Sunday Sales
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| The issue of extended hours for the
sale of alcoholic beverages within the City of St. Augustine was rolled back
after elected officials expressed concerns. Vice Mayor Errol Jones has
expressed some concern for fishermen who start their day early and want to buy
their beer or liquor before setting out in the morning. The city commissioners,
including Jones, agreed to temporarily extend closing hours for alcohol sales
from 1:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m. The extended hours will end on July 12. City
officials plan to review the ordinance at that time for possible renewal. Jones
stopped short, however, on a proposal to extend opening hours on Sunday
morning. Jones spoke to the traditional values of Sunday worship, as did
Commissioner Don Crichlow. The commission rejected any adjustment to the 1:00
p.m. Sunday opening time.
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| Battle Continues to Brew
over Beer Sales in Colorado
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As many observers predicted in Colorado, once the Distilled
Spirits Council of the United States convinced liquor stores to accept Sunday
sales - now convenience stores are coming back asking to sell full-strength
cold beer calling it an issue of "fairness."
"This is first and foremost a fairness issue," said Mary
Alice Mandarich, a lobbyist with 7-Eleven convenience stores. "Once Sunday
sales got passed, the playing field for convenience stores was no longer
level," she said. When liquor stores were closed on Sundays, she said consumers
were "forced" to buy 3.2 beer at a grocery or convenience store.
That changed in 2008 when liquor store owners agreed to open
on Sundays in exchange for elimination of a bill that would have allowed beer
and wine sales in grocery stores.
Fort Collins liquor store owners maintain putting
full-strength beer in convenience stores is a side door to eventually allowing
sales in grocery stores, a move that liquor store owners also claim will put
them out of business.
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Asking Government Officials for Public Records
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Many of our readers are government officials. Many of our readers are nonprofits. Many are just simply interested citizens and neighborhood groups. But we're learning that all may have an interest in public records - from permits filed at the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to local crime statistics.
Here is a very helpful link to the Indiana Coalition for Open Government's fill-in-the-blank letter to ask for public records on the home page. If you don't know statutory language and are unsure of what you are seeking, we have a few bits of advice.
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Contact the agency and have a conversation over the phone or in person and ask for the public information officer or the person who processes, reviews and responds to public records requests. In most state agencies, there is such a person. The smaller the government group and the leaner the budget, the less likely there is a point person and you may be dealing with someone unfamiliar with the legal obligations of a public agency.
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Make your request very specific. The more details you provide, the more likely your request can be processed within the time frame established by law (generally 7 days). Remember that there is NO final deadline in Indiana law to actually produce a record, but you should expect a "response" of some kind in 7 days.
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ALWAYS ask for the statutory citation if a record is denied. An agency is obligated to tell you why the record was denied and there are many exemptions in Indiana law that keep records private.
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If you disagree with the records denial, ask for an opinion from the Public Access Counselor. The PAC is the public's lawyer when it comes to record requests. You can ask for an informal or formal opinion. We recommend an informal opinion first if you're seeking legal input. The PAC also lists its opinions online if you want to see how other matters have been decided. Additional Resources:
Indiana Coalition for Open Government
Indiana Public Access Counselor
National Freedom of Information Coalition
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Walgreens Hearings Tuesday in Dearborn County
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According to the Chicago Tribune, the Deerfield-based drugstore chain is returning to liquor sales nationwide after getting out of the category in the early 1990s, citing the high costs and burdensome operations of running the business.
In the Chicago area, Walgreens now sells beer and wine in Vernon Hills, Bourbonnais, Rockford and North Aurora and is expanding in Niles.
Walgreens said beer and wine will represent less than 2 percent of the total shelf space in a typical store.
A company spokesman added that Chicago area stores will not sell single-serve quantities such as 40-ounce bottles, mini bottles, pints or "anything conducive to alcohol abuse."
In addition, "we plan on carding anybody who looks younger than 40," said the spokesperson.
Walgreens has 140 stores in Chicago. Nationally, it has more than 7,000 stores.
Rival CVS sells liquor in about 4,100 of its 7,000 stores and has been running the business for at least two decades.
As of this newsletter, there are 181 permit requests pending in Indiana for Walgreens.
A local board hearing on Walgreens permits are scheduled in Dearborn county TUESDAY.
DEARBORN COUNTY
In Dearborn County, Walgreens has filed two permit requests with the ATC. One request is for a store located in Greendale. One request is for a store located in Aurora.
Local Hearing Information:
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern
Location: County Administration Bldg - Lawrenceburg
Local Excise Officer Contact: Lonnie Gibson, 812-523-8314
Walgreens is seeking permission to sell alcohol in the following Dearborn County locations:
432 CRAIG AVE, Greendale IN 47025
512 GREEN BLVD, Aurora IN 47001 | |
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