Double 8 Store at 39th & Illinois
The Afternoons with Amos PODCAST For Monday, July 27, 2015. A series of meetings and conference calls over the weekend led to various segments of Indianapolis’ African-American leadership to come together to provide some short term immediate solutions to the crisis caused by the sudden closing last week of the city’s four Double 8 Grocery Stores. The stores serving northern Center Township went out of business after fifty-eight years. The closings made it difficult for senior citizen and other residents of the areas served by the four stores to figure out options for grocery shopping. Saturday’s meeting at Flanner House was called by the area’s City-County Councilman Vop Osili. Other lawmakers attending included Councilors Joe Simpson, Majority leader Monroe Gray and Council President Maggie Lewis and State Rep. Vanessa Summers.
Pastor John Girton (foreground) Councilman Joe Simpson (background)
(Extended Interview with Councilman Simpson And Pastor Girton Starts At 9:03 Mark On PODCAST Media Player) On Afternoons with Amos a couple of the leaders who attended the weekend meetings, City-County Councilman Joe Simpson and the new Pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor John Girton stopped by to update the community on the short term steps. They include churches and firefighters providing rides from two former Double 8 locations at 39th & Illinois and 29th and MLK. Daily at 9am, 11am and 1pm. Vans and cars will transport people to nearby grocery stores for shopping. Both men thanked Ebenezer Baptist Church in Riverside for their leadership in this effort.
Mayor Press Secretary Brad Jacklin
Douglas Hairston, Front Porch Alliance
(Interviews with Press Secretary Jacklin and Front Porch’s Hairston Starts At 59:17 Mark On PODCAST Media Player). Brad Jacklin, Press Secretary to Mayor Greg Ballard and Douglas Hairston, head of the Front Porch Alliance talked about the City’s efforts to deal with the problem which includes distributing a Fact Sheet outlining locations of Food Pantries in the impacted neighborhoods, along with IndyGo bus routes to ride to alternate grocery stores. But despite the operational unity among Black political, religious, civic and neighborhood leaders in this crisis, City officials seem to marching to a different drummer. During the program, Press Secretary Jacklin denied this was a “crisis”. Jacklin and Hairston refused to name the individuals and organizations who attended a meeting last Friday afternoon, called by the Mayor, to review what actions the City could take in the wake of the store closings. Despite the Mayor’s Office refusal to provide details of the meeting, Afternoons with Amos learned it included the Health and Hospital Corporation, Kroger and Marsh; but very few leaders or elected officials representing the affected neighborhoods.
Dr. Charles Miramonti of MESH Coalition
(Tongue Lashing of MESH PR Person At 0:40 Mark On Media Player. Interview With MESH’s Gregory Hall At 22:27 Mark. Interview With MESH’s Dr. Miramonti Starts At 1:21:37 Mark). As a result of Friday’s meeting, the City asked a group called the MESH Coalition to provide leadership and coordination. MESH is an innovative non-profit, public-private coalition in Indy that enables healthcare providers to respond effectively to emergency events, and remain viable through recovery. But its puzzling why a health organization would be involved in an effort to find alternatives for residents to find grocery store options. When Afternoons with Amos asked for a MESH representative to appear on Monday’s program, their PR person flatly refused in an e-mail 3 minutes before airtime. A subsequent on air tongue lashing of MESH’s PR person by Amos caused two representatives, Gregory Hall to call-in and MESH’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charles Miramonti to appear live in studio. Despite Press Secretary Jacklin not viewing the creation of a huge Food Desert in northern Center Township as a “crisis”, Dr. Miramonti, Councilman Simpson and Pastor Girton did agree. The program did give insight into how the Black leadership is coming together to deal with the crisis, while city government is taking a more laid back approach. An approach that angered many listeners. The Afternoons with Amos PODCAST For Monday, July 27, 2015 Runs 100 Minutes ©2015 WTLC/Radio One. PODCAST Starts After Brief Video Ad.
