Liquor Stores On Every Block

As part of our ongoing discussions about conditions in Baltimore exposed by April's riots, we return to the subject of liquor stores in the inner-city. Three years ago, the Baltimore City Health Department called for a reduction in the density of liquor stores and bars, noting that the city had as many establishments selling alcohol as it did 100 years ago, when Baltimore's population was nearly 50 percent larger. What does the high density of liquor stores mean for the health of people in Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods, and how does it correlate with the local crime rate? Should some stores be zoned out of business? Our guests: Debra Furr-Holden, epidemiologist and founder of the Drug Investigations, Violence and Environmental Studies Laboratory Center at the Johns Hopkins University, and Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott.