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| Volume 36: August 30, 2010 |
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Crackdown Underway to Target Drunken Drivers
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Indiana State Police Lt. Dennis Marshall, commander at the
Evansville Post, says troopers are cracking down on impaired drivers and targeting
the Labor Day Holiday.
 The enforcement initiative will run through Sunday,
September 12. During this 21-day enforcement blitz, Indiana State Police
will join more than 250 other law enforcement agencies throughout the state to
conduct high-visibility saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints to deter
impaired driving across the Hoosier state for the summer season's last holiday.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says more
than 8,800 alcohol-related crashes occurred on Indiana roads in 2009,
resulting in 168 alcohol-related fatalities.
Source: WFIE-TV
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Take the New RAD Poll
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Take the latest poll on the
Project RAD website.
Is the Indiana Alcohol Tobacco
Commission fair and balanced in its review of alcohol permits in Indiana?
- Yes
- No
- Don't Know
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College Students at Risk
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Colleges across the nation are
beginning their fall semester and for many first-year students, the beginning
of college is the first time living outside of their parent's supervision. Is
the temptation to binge drink too high for these young people?
 In a recent study mentioned in the
Kansas City Star, 39 percent of college women binge-drank within a two-week
period, compared with 50 percent of college men. Students who live in a fraternity or sorority house are the
heaviest drinkers: 86 percent of fraternity residents and 80 percent of
sorority residents report binge drinking.
While many universities require
students to attend alcohol awareness programs, especially at the start of
freshman year, several businesses now provide an option: online training to
college students, for a fee. The purpose is to help parents protect not only
their educational investment but the future job eligibility, and possibly
health, of their child.
Click
here for the full article for more information about online training programs.
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Worth Reading: Russ Pulliam's Indy Star Column
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Indianapolis Star columnist Russell Pulliam posted an interesting column Friday we thought worth sharing in our newsletter.
Click here to read the article.
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A Project
RAD Interview with CADCIN
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Project RAD is sharing its Q&A interview on a new
statewide coalition group in Indiana.
Randy Miller, executive director for Drug Free Marion
County, has been instrumental in starting up the group. Here's the information
he shared with Project RAD.
What is
CADCIN and when did it get started?
CADCIN stands for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of Indiana.
The new statewide association was
created in 2009. Our mission is to support and unite Indiana communities in
efforts to reduce substance abuse by Hoosier youth and adults through:
- Advocacy
- Partnernship
- Education
What is
the goal and purpose of the organization?
Our purpose is:
To
promote the development of local coalitions to addresses the causes and
effects of substance abuse and related public health problems; To
promote healthy communities by improving the capacity of local
organizations to assess and respond to existing and emerging public health
concerns; - To
support and conduct education and informational activities to increase
public awareness of substance abuse in Indiana;
To
foster communication and education between community coalitions.
Will it organize as a separate
nonprofit?
CADCIN is incorporated, but has only had preliminary
discussions about becoming a nonprofit.
Will it be
able to lobby legislators directly?
No plans currently to lobby legislators directly.
Does it
have a legislative agenda?
For 2011, we have two primary legislative issues, although
others may be added. These are: 1) increasing the alcohol tax and; 2) increasing
the minimum level of court fees that comprise the local Drug Free Community
Funds.
Are there other organizations like it in
the nation?
There are quite a few states with some type of similar
association, organized in various ways. We believe that Indiana's system of
Local Coordinating Councils and community coalitions in all 92 counties is a
strength that gives us some advantages over other states where this structure
does not exist.
Visit the organization's website for more information.
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New State
Coalition Sponsors Legislative Forum
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About 20 people from nine counties attended a small legislative
forum sponsored this past week by the new Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
Indiana.
Legislators who attended included:
Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn
Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette
Rep. John Barnes, D-Indianapolis
Klinker began the discussion suggesting that alcohol taxes
be raised and used as a bargaining tool in the controversial policy debate over
expanding Sunday sales being promoted by big-box, chain retailers and
out-of-state grocers.
"I know people say this is not a time to raise taxes, but to
be honest with you, sin taxes are the easiest to pass," she said, blaming
lobbyists for successfully defeating an increase in taxes several years in a
row.
She also suggested that if Sunday sales advocates wanted an
extra day of sales, they should be forced to support an increase in alcohol
taxes.
The small group of those attending and affiliated with Drug
Free groups across the state also supported the notion and said a tax should be
relabeled a "user fee," which would target 50 percent of the state's population
that does drink.
Klinker repeated: "My suggestion is -- you have to give
something to get something."
Klinker and Barnes also agreed that the money collected
should be dedicated to specific budget items in local communities, such as
alcohol treatment centers.
Michael Lockard, an outspoken advocate against Sunday sales
and a former emergency medical worker, said he wasn't sure the approach of "give-to-get"
would work for expanding sales in retail outlets who are now aggressively
lobbying to change the state law.
"I'm not sure this is the issue," he said. He said the
tradeoff would have significant community consequences. He also said the claim
of 50,000 Hoosiers pushing for Sunday sales on a special-interest website
petition actually represents only about one-tenth of one percent of the state's
population.
Other complaints aired before lawmakers targeted the Indiana
Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and the local boards staffed with state excise
officers who approve new alcohol permits.
Nancy Beals with Drug Free Marion County said: "We have the
fox guarding the henhouse. They give out permits and also enforce. They
indicate their job is to hand out as many permits as they can."
Klinker also divulged that a former ATC commissioner was
forced to resign when he tried to stringently apply rules and regulations that
applied to the separation of alcohol from other products in retail outlets.
She said he was fired at the suggestion of a high-ranking
official in the governor's office who had previously served as legal counsel to
Marsh grocery stores.
Klinker also said constituent surveys in her area are nearly
evenly divided on Sunday sales with 49 percent supporting and 45 percent
opposing.
(Editor's Note: Sen. Kruse
is a community partner in Project RAD. Rep. Barnes recently helped defeat a
Walgreens alcohol permit requested in the historical Irvington area of
Indianapolis.)
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Traveler
Wants to Know About International ID in Indiana
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We received this comment on our Save My Sunday blog:
"So, I am 59 and visiting Indiana from Singapore. Tonight, while
shopping for a few groceries at Walmart I picked up a bottle of wine. The
cashier asked me for an ID, so I gave her my Singapore national ID card
(picture, birthdate, and all). She said I needed a driver's licence, so I gave
her my Singapore drivers licence (again with a picture and all details). She,
and the on shift manager said that these were not acceptable, and I needed
something issued in the US. I am aware that Indiana is not in the running for a
tourist friendly state, but, it may be in the running for a legislature without
a brain."
Let's give the law a chance to work and give clerks the opportunity to get in
gear.
No one should worry this much about a bottle of wine.
Under the mandatory carding law, this form of ID should have been allowed for
the purchase. The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission should be educating
retailers across the state about this law and making sure it works.
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California
Bill Would Ban Alcohol from Self-Checkout Lines
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Californians looking to purchase alcohol may soon be barred
from supermarket self-checkout lines.
The state Senate voted 22-12 on Monday to send AB 1060 to Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's desk. The bill would require retailers to process alcohol
purchases through the traditional checkout system instead of self-service
checkout.
Supporters say this will cut down on alcohol purchases by minors.
Opponents, including the California Grocers Association, say self-checkout
machines already alert store employees to check identification when a customer
scans an alcoholic beverage. They say there is no evidence the technology has
allowed minors to sneak through.
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Visit our website: Project RAD
www.ProjectRAD.com
| Visit our partner blog: Save My Sunday
www.SaveMySunday.com |
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