Showing posts with label WSU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WSU. Show all posts

Jul 9, 2014

from What's Up Wichita: Hey, There's Not Any Place to Buy Groceries

Seriously, after recently moving to Wichita without a car I realized I was in a grocery no-man's land..........finally walking to the Dollar store where nothing was a dollar......frustration set in.
Actually, if one lives over by WSU there is no where in the world to walk and get food.....how do the poor people, like me, do it.
At the end of the day...the closest food is McDonalds.....while everyone enjoys their dollar menu it is not nutritious for everyday fare.
In the place where inexpensive groceries are needed with easy access--walking--it just does not exist.
Right, I couldn't believe it.....why.
Shall we ask Mike Pompeo......since he is against healthcare for Wichita citizens is he against quality food at a fair price, too.......will he address these issues.....does he care......does his mom care.....
Neighbors concerned about effects of Wichita Dillons closings

  • Published Tuesday, July 8, 2014, at 9:58 p.m.
  • Updated Tuesday, July 8, 2014, at 11:30 p.m.

Photos

Growing up across the street from the angular green-and-brick Dillons store at Harry and Broadway, Amber and Ashlee Kimminau would walk to the store almost daily, for anything from fruit to a quick soda.
The location, along with the Dillons at 13th and Woodlawn, is set to close after 61 years of operation, because it has not performed up to expectations and its location is not conducive to renovations or expansion.
“The assembled fact is there are houses all around here, and they need a Dillons,” Amber Kimminau said. “It’s an oldie, but it’s a good one.”
Neighborhood residents worry that when the stores close July 19, they will become part of a “food desert,” a term for low-income areas more than a mile from the nearest full-service grocery store.
Wichita already has 44 square miles of food desert, according to a survey last year by the Health and Welfare Coalition, a partnership of the Wichita YMCA, city and county government, the Kansas Health Foundation, the Metro Chamber of Commerce and a host of local businesses with an interest in community health.
“One-fourth of our Wichita population lives in a food desert,” said Becky Tuttle, a staff member with the coalition.
She said it’s uncertain whether the closing of the two Dillons stores will expand the food desert or, if it does, by how much.
But it is highly likely that the loss of the two stores will make it more difficult for some in core areas to get access to fruits, vegetables, grain products and lean proteins, the four staple groups that improve individual and community health, she said.
Tuttle said the closures will mean that at least some residents, particularly those who rely on public transportation, will have to go farther to get their groceries and could choose to supplement their diets more often with convenience-store food.
The coalition study found that while nearly half of convenience stores offer fresh fruit – such as apples, bananas and oranges – fewer than 1 in 10 offer fresh vegetables.
Dillons, a division of the grocery giant Kroger Co., did take that into consideration when choosing to close the stores, but it was a business decision that had to be made, said company spokeswoman Sheila Lowrie.
“In all honesty, we have to look at the operations from a business perspective, just as any other retailer would,” she said. “If we have a location that has deteriorating sales and has been underperforming for some time, we have to absorb the costs of that business, of that store, in all areas of our company.”
Dillons won’t provide specifics on just how underperforming the stores were, but the clear trend was that business was moving away from smaller stores toward the bigger supermarkets with wider variety, discounts on gasoline and other amenities.
“With our customers, what we’re seeing from their shopping habits is they’re choosing to shop with us at some of our larger, newly renovated store locations where they can find everything like fresh produce, natural foods and maybe some of the additional amenities like Starbucks or sushi,” Lowrie said.
The Kansas Health Institute recently analyzed community food access as part of a larger study into the city bus system and found many residents struggle to bring home enough healthy food.
“It was particularly true for low-income neighborhoods, because they don’t have alternative modes of transportation to get to the other stores,” said Tatiana Lin, senior analyst and strategy team leader for the institute. “They don’t have additional discretionary funds to pay for gas. It increases their likelihood to rely on convenience stores or Dollar General in the area.”
The loss of the Dillons stores, both of which were on bus routes, could be a further obstacle for people to get the kind of food they need, said Sheena Smith, an analyst who worked with Lin on the study.
Dillons closed four urban stores in Wichita in 2008: 13th and Waco, Central and Oliver, Douglas and Meridian and Lincoln and Hydraulic.
The company kept its store at Douglas and Hillside and built a new and larger store at Harry and Edgemoor that took up some of the slack. The rest of the company’s stores form a more or less ringlike suburban constellation around the urban core.
Longtime south Wichita resident David Bonfiglio said he’s worried his neighborhood Dillons will become another “shuttered store front on neglected South Broadway.”
“This is going to be a huge blow to the neighborhood,” Bonfiglio said.
“It’s one of the most vulnerable areas of Wichita. Many customers here walk to the store, ride their bicycles to the store – now they have miles and miles left to go.”
While there is a Wal-Mart relatively close to the neighborhood – at Pawnee and Broadway, a mile south of the Dillons – the Kimminaus said they fear the corner will go the way of 13th and Waco. Dillons closed its store there in 2008, which “killed everything” in the neighborhood, Ashlee Kimminau said.
“So what if it’s not a super-Dillons?” she said of the Broadway store. “I think it’s just perfect for people around the neighborhood. It feels like they’re taking from the poor.”
Bob Goudy, 79, said he has been going to the Dillons at 13th and Woodlawn for “someteen years.”
Now, he said, he will make arrangements to go to the nearby Walmart Neighborhood Market at 13th and Oliver or the Dillons Marketplace at Central and Rock Road.
“I can see a pattern in the area,” Goudy said. “It was nice to be able to walk here when the weather was nice enough, but it won’t affect me too much.”
Bonfiglio said he hopes the company will reconsider its decision to close the locations.
“I hope Dillons will look at the numbers again and decide that they’re better off serving this community,” he said.
Reach Dion Lefler at 316-268-6527 or dlefler@wichitaeagle.com.


copied from the wichita eagle.com or kansas.com


from the ronnie republic and what's up wichita........


Hey, what do you think is going on in Wichita........


the Dillons is closing....I can't walk for groceries in Wichita...what about you:



Talking about the high prices at the "Dollar" Stores.......




Talking about Mike Pompeo--is he right about ObamaCare...


Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/07/08/3544892/residents-concerned-about-effects.html#storylink=cpy

May 6, 2014

Forty Years/Forty Stories: Celebrating The Ulrich Museum, Millie the Millipede and Wichita State University

Forty Years/Forty Stories:  Celebrating The Ulrich Museum, Millie the Millipede and Wichita State UniversityYarn Bombing at the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University

Hello Wichita:  File under discovering the Ulrich Museum....the unique charm of Millie's yarn bomb outfit.....and the welcoming vibe and peaceful grounds of WSU.

Millie is busy every day welcoming everyone into WSU at the 17th Street entrance--surrounded by flowers and students and visitors and inviting all of the people and all of the children to see her Ulrich Museum situated just past her smiling face and her shoes and socks........yes, she has socks created by the yarn bombers, too.

You really have to come and see it........

The yarn bomb of Millie the Millipede, the giant brass sculpture by Tom Otterness, puts everything into real time......the display is current and temporary.....it's community....it draws the neighbors in by its' unique beauty and curiosity alone.

But right now, Millie has a really cute, colorful knitted outfit......she is so stylish in her pastel springtime stripes.......

Millie shouts welcome to every passer by--come over and see me--touch me.......

Her charm is inescapable--and she knows it.

Obsessed with Millie, the yarn bomb and the Ulrich........so honored to find out more information from Jessy Clonts Day......the PR Manager at the U:

I feel like WSU and the Ulrich is a very friendly and welcoming place.....how would you like to be perceived in Wichita.
We would like to be considered as the regions source for modern and contemporary art, and that we connect viewers with artists and artworks that reflect our world today.


Are you a public museum.
Yes, we are a public museum! We offer free admission to our galleries, and our 76-piece Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection is always free and always open.


Who can go to your museum........what ages.....is it just for the students of WSU
We encourage anyone and everyone to visit the Ulrich. We offer free admission, parking, and group tours. We also offer bus reimbursement to schools to make field trips easier for educators to plan.


Who runs your museum......who do you answer to......who makes the decision about what art work or expositions will be there.  

The Ulrich Museum of Art is a part of Wichita State University. We do have a staff who runs various departments of the museum, led by our director, Bob Workman.


How and why did you get started with the yarn bomb
Yarn bombing is a type of street art that employs crochet and knitting rather than paint or chalk. It’s a worldwide practice that only seems to be growing in popularity. The Ulrich tries to stay at the forefront of the art of our time, so in spring of 2012 we organized the yarn bombing of around 30 sculptures in the Outdoor Sculpture Collection. The project was overseen by Kristen Beal of Harvester Arts, and the group of volunteers worked through the summer to install the show in September 2012. That yarn bombing was up just over two weeks, and we saw thousands of people come through campus to view them. 

This year we celebrate our 40th anniversary of the Ulrich with the exhibition Forty Years/Forty Stories. Throughout the three galleries on our second floor we highlight the art objects, people, and stories that have shaped the museum since its opening in 1974. The yarn bombing was such a memorable story that we enlisted “Millie’s Knitters” to yarn bomb Tom Otterness’ Millipede (affectionately nicknamed “Millie”) once more. And once more, Millie has received lots of attention! 


To me the yarn bomb makes everything seem so homey welcoming and beautiful........it makes it seem like part of the community and it is fun and I usually do not get that impression about most museums.


Also, how much time does it take, can anyone join their group..........

Millie’s Knitters" is a private group of long-time friends who gather weekly to knit and spend time together. Many of them happen to be Ulrich members, which is how we were able to connect with this group this year. 



Also......do you want to talk about the courtyard and fountain......I love the fountain and my dog gets a nice drink of water every time we walk over there.
The courtyard of the museum came about in a renovation in the mid-90s. At that time the museum commissioned Texas artist Jesus Morales to create three granite structures around the museum entrance: Granite LandscapeGranite Weaving, and Fountain Wall, all made in 1995. The fountain is a gorgeous feature that we love being able to share with the public. In fact, just this afternoon we hosted a reception for the WSU Honors College in the courtyard, and they took a group photo in front of the fountain. And of course for maintenance and upkeep, we turn off the water during the winter months. The water was just turned back on April 25.


JESSY CLONTS DAY
Public Relations & Marketing Manager

ULRICH MUSEUM OF ART
Wichita State University
1845 Fairmount St.
Wichita, KS  67260-0046

ON VIEW April 26–August 3, 2014

F: facebook.com/ulrichmuseum | T: @ulrichmuseum



my take.....come over and see me--Millie wants everyone to get up close...........

Thank you, Jessy Clonts Day, for taking time to tell us about your beautiful and friendly museum.....I walk there almost every day and I just love it.........I hope everyone in Wichita can have an opportuity to visit the giant, inspirational, craftsy and fun sculpture of Millie and have a peaceful breath of fresh air at the fountain--it's well worth your time.
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