This article is sponsored by DeliverEnd.com.

Crimes often associated with Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist have been on a steady rise over the last few months – and are expected to peak this Holiday Season. You can thank the economy and COVID-19 stay-at-home orders for a shift from traditional brick & mortar stores to on-line sales volume.

DeliverEnd, a local Indy company, is poised to reduce the risks often associated with these marketplace transactions. Similar to Uber and Lyft, DeliverEnd has a network of vetted drivers that can facilitate the transaction between buyer and seller.

Their 5-star rated iPhone app contains all the tools you need to seamlessly and safely arrange for the exchange of items.

Some of the most beneficial features of the app are:

● A live video chat, where both buyer and seller can discuss item condition, price, and ask any questions.

● It keeps all your personal information masked behind your username, so no need to worry about your credit card or address information getting into the hands of a stranger.

● The safe and secure payment process (delivered via Stripe) allows the buyer and seller to easily exchange payments digitally. Once the exchange has been completed, the funds will be immediately released to the seller.

DeliverEnd is on a hyper-focused mission to reduce scams, assaults and thefts.

According to Nick Turner, Founder and CEO of DeliverEnd, “When we started, we saw there was a big untapped market when it came to keeping people safe when buying and selling on platforms like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace,” he said. “The pandemic caused even more people to turn to marketplace platforms to make ends meet. COVID has made it incredibly hard for people and businesses, and we are here to help both.”

DeliverEnd has been gaining massive attention over the last few months. They recently hit an impressive company milestone in delivering their 100,000th item.

Investors from Silicon Valley all the way to the North Eastern part of the country are taking note.

DeliverEnd expects to rapidly expand to 20 of the largest markets over the next few months, and has hired some of the best and brightest talent to help with the rapid growth.

Lastly, DeliverEnd is also quickly ramping up their B2B services. The pandemic has been very unkind to smaller local businesses who may not have had a strong eCommerce and logistics network to continue serving their customers amid shutdowns.

By giving these smaller shops an easily-scalable and cost-effective delivery solution, some businesses that may have been on the verge of closing are now able to bring in revenue.

For more information, visit DeliverEnd.com.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On March 9, 2020, Circle City Broadcasting and the National Associated of Black Owned Broadcasters filed a racial discrimination suit against DISH Network.

• READ: See the lawsuit

Circle City Broadcasting, the parent company of WISH-TV and MyINDY-TV 23, filed the federal suit in United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Circle City Broadcasting argues that DISH Network is offering “pennies on the dollar” compared to what was paid to the previous ownership group.

The suit maintains that the “only meaningful change” after the stations were purchased was “that the stations were now majority owned by an African American, DuJuan McCoy.”

Circle City Broadcasting is suing “for retransmission fees at a fair market rate, actual and punitive damages, interest, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs resulting from the intentional misconduct exhibited by Dish in its disingenuous “negotiations” with Circle City.”

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) – The Indiana Retail Council board of directors has named Melissa Coxey its executive director. Coxey most recently served as legal counsel to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Coxey succeeds Grant Monahan, who spent 40 years leading the organization before announcing his retirement last fall. Monahan is set to remain “in an advisory role through the summer” to ensure a smooth transition. 

Coxey has also worked private practice at Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and served nearly 10 years as a commissioner and staff attorney at the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.

“Melissa’s many years of policy and legal experience will be a great addition to our organization during a time of tremendous growth for retailers across the state,” said Kevin Thompson, IRC board chair. “We appreciate Grant Monahan’s decades of leadership on behalf of the retail industry where he has led on strategic opportunities and provided valuable counsel and friendship to small and large retailers.”

Coxey will join Gerry Dick on Inside INdiana Business this weekend to talk more about the role.

(WIVB) — One cruise company wants to take you around the world in 140 days.

Seaborn Cruise Line has announced a five-month cruise on it’s Sojourn luxury liner.

It departs Miami in January 2021, and from there, the cruise will navigate two oceans and 32 countries.

Its 60 port stops include destinations in South America, Australia and Africa before ending in Spain in late May.

Seaborn says there will be 10 overnight stays at select port stops.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana will ring in the new year with a celebration of a huge milestone, the distribution of more than half a billion pounds of food.

Gleaners has been helping to fight hunger in Indiana for 40 years.

Through that time, the food bank has been working on a new plan to address food insecurity. It involves strengthening its network of hunger relief providers and better collaboration in every county, with a goal of ending the meal gap.

Staff, board members and guests will celebrate the milestone and ring in the food bank’s 40th year on Friday.

Guests will gather in the distribution center’s drive-through chute to send off a Gleaners truck loaded with food.

It starts at 10 a.m. with the truck send-off happening at 10:15 a.m.

You can help Gleaners fight hunger year-round by clicking here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Country music superstar, Frankie Ballard, is joining Neil Orne and Nikki Burdine Live on the Red Carpet before the 53rd Annual CMA Awards on November 13^th.

Ballard sat down with Stephanie Langston to discuss how he’s preparing for his first hosting gig, planning for his first child with his wife Christina Murphy, and more.

Be sure to follow Frankie Ballard for behind the scenes updates from the red carpet: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

And check out his music on Spotify and Youtube.

Join News 2 for live coverage from the CMA Awards, starting at 5 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Nov.13^th deep in the heart of Music City.

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, is warning consumers to watch out for so-called “junk” health plans.

These plans, according to Casey, are an attempt by the Trump administration to sabotage the Affordable Care Act and could leave individuals and families unprotected against extreme out-of-pocket health care costs. He says the plans are permitted to exclude coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and are not comprehensive.

“They want to do anything they can to undermine the existing healthcare law,” Casey said.

Casey says in 2018, the Trump administration removed regulations preventing junk plans from being sold.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, says the number of Americans with adequate insurance is going down because of these plans.

“You do a Google search this morning for open enrollment and the first ad that comes up is for a company selling a health insurance plan for $30 a month,” he said. “$30 a month doesn’t get you any health insurance.”

“Might give you coverage for a period of time but doesn’t have the protections like the protection for a pre-existing condition,” Casey added.

Republicans argue the short-term or narrow-coverage plans are a valuable option for consumers because many of the plans on Healthcare.gov cost too much.

“Clearly there’s a concern about affordability that’s what the Trump administration has been trying to address,” Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said.

Cassidy says the administration is helping those who need these low-cost options.

“They’ve given states flexibility to craft affordable options for families that do not have subsidies,” he added.

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act lasts until Dec. 15.

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Congress is still struggling to pass legislation that would put self-driving cars on the roads.

Federal law currently bans fully autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads. Last year, both chambers of Congress tried and failed to pass legislation to change that.

Now, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is working on a bill on the issue. He said industry experts are reviewing a new plan to fund the research and infrastructure needed to make it happen.

“We want to hear from as many people as possible, get as many opinions as we can,” he said.

There’s agreement that fully autonomous vehicles would reduce crashes caused by human error.

“The quicker we can get these technologies out on the highways, the more lives that will be saved,” Peters said.

Two main concerns are privacy and cybersecurity, with experts saying the cars are vulnerable to foreign cyberattacks.

“They’re not foolproof because they haven’t been designed to thwart malicious activity,” Ryan Gerdes, who studies vehicle security at Virginia Tech, said. “Given that we can’t build these perfectly secure systems, the only thing we can do is make the systems more difficult to compromise.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it’s already working on autonomous vehicle policies.

“Many of the things they’re urging us to do in the legislation, the department is already taking action on,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Finch Fulton said.

But he said the legislation is needed, anyway.

“Only Congress provide the entire ecosystem, the certainty that they (automotive companies) need to be able to move forward with the investments in the safety technologies,” he explained.

Last time around, the House and Senate introduced two different plans. This time, lawmakers are working on a unified bipartisan effort to garner widespread support.

Peters said he will introduce his plan as soon as it’s ready.

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) – A mentoring program under the Chaplaincy Division of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department is working with local businesses to provide recently-released inmates with jobs, housing and other essential needs.

TOWER, the Transitioning Opportunities for Work, Education, & Reality program, pairs inmates with a mentor that meets with them in the jail and after their release, helping them navigate the barriers they may face upon reintroduction to society.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Project Coordinator Kelly Gunn said the goal of the program is to build better citizens for Hamilton County by investing in and preparing inmates for successful reentry.

“Participants in this program have shown the desire to break the cycle of incarceration,” says Gunn. “Our goal is to provide them with secure housing, transportation, and employment.”

Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush tells Inside INdiana Business the program is unique in its effort to take a one on one approach with inmates and find a plan that is tailored specifically for them to be successful as an individual.

“The program is more than a work program, it’s really designed to try to provide individual attention remove barriers for inmates as they’re preparing to leave the jail to make them more successful and hopefully less likely to recommit crimes to re-offend and to make them more productive members of society.”  

Gunn selects inmates for the program and pairs them with a qualified mentor that provides face to face guidance and support. The inmates are connected with local businesses that partner with the program to explore job possibilities upon release.

The TOWER program seeks to help the inmates by getting them started down what Gunn calls “the right trajectory” while also feeding into the local economy and helping businesses bridge employment gaps.

“Given the talent environment right now, we’ve got to tap into this wealth of human capitol,” says Chuck Haberman, Leader of Workforce Development at Indianapolis-based Gaylor Electric. “Unemployment is at an all-time low and its cutthroat. Everyone worth hiring has a job. Tapping into other talent pools that some other organizations aren’t willing to tap into is imperative.”

Haberman says he has hired a half dozen people through the TOWER program over the past three years.

The TOWER program is funded by local donors and business owners in Hamilton County, including Gaylor Electric, Custom Concrete, ID Castings, Metro Plastics, Burco Molding, Ginger’s Café, and Mill Top Banquet and Conference Center.

Gunn says the mentorship part of the program has been the driving force and a key piece of the program’s success.

Although the program is currently focused on Hamilton County, both Gunn and Quakenbush say they hope it can serve as a model for future programs throughout the state and that TOWER is actively seeking mentors and partner companies.

“I’m always looking for more mentors, and I’m always looking for employers that have a heart for this kind of mission. Also, I am a completely privately-funded program, I am funded by local business owners in Hamilton County, so that’s always a need to continue sustainable funding , so always looking to meet employers who would love to meet some great candidates, that they have a heart for giving people second chances and seeing people thrive,” said Gunn. 

For more information, click here.