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Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
The ban on the sale of single beers keeps marching on, so it seems.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council approved legislation that bans the sale of single beers in Ward 6, Ward 2 and part of Ward 1. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who sponsored the measure, had this to say in a statement:
“Over the last year, I heard increasingly from neighborhood leaders and our elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners that they wanted Ward 6 added to the growing list of wards prohibiting the sale of singles,” commented Mr. Wells. Wards 4, 7 and 8 have previously enacted similar bans on single sales. The legislation passed on Tuesday adds Ward 6, Ward 2 and parts of Ward 1.Like earlier bans on single sales enacted in various neighborhoods, ANCs can grant exemptions to the rule, much like Logan Circle has for Whole Foods. (A good lesson for an elected official -- don't come between a voter and his 22-ounce bottle of Belgian Trappist ale.)
“More often than not, single sales of alcohol are bought so they can be consumed as soon as you walk out the door – turning alleys and backyards into public restrooms and leaving empty bottles strewn through our neighborhoods,” stated Wells
Interestingly, the part of Ward 1 included in the legislation -- Mt. Pleasant -- has actually voted against the imposition of such a ban. In early September, ANC 1D, which covers Mt. Pleasant, voted unanimously on a resolution calling for the Council to remove the neighborhood from the legislation. In the resolution, the ANC commissioners noted that the ban "merely causes these Chronic Public Inebriates to take their unpleasant behavior into adjacent neighborhoods, where there is no ban." One commissioner, Jack McKay, has become something of a champion of doing away with such bans, much to the chagrin of some of his constituents. (If you have the time, just read through the extended discussion on the issue in this Mt. Pleasant online forum.)
The issue will likely keep coming up, as it was even a question thrown to the candidates vying for the two At-Large seats up for election this November in a recent debate. Of seven hopefuls, only Statehood Green candidate David Schwartzman expressed opposition to the bans, calling them "discriminatory." Current Council member Carol Schwartz, who is fighting to keep her seat as a write-in candidate, said she supported the bans, though she admitted that they targeted the working poor and did nothing to attack chronic alcoholism.
The one remaining ban-free part of the city is the place where you'd least imagine someone stopping in their local liquor store to by a 40-ounce bottle of Hurricane Malt Liquor -- Ward 3. (Watch out, Friendship Heights and Spring Valley!) Interestingly, the Examiner reported yesterday that the Council may soon consider a measure that would allow bars and restaurants to sell six packs to go, similar to how it works in Baltimore, and permit on-site consumption of alcoholic drinks in grocery and liquor stores. So while we're losing the single beers, we could end up gaining a more liberal alcohol sales regime.
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As I commented earlier, I'm a bit of a beer snob that loves to enjoy some fine, oftentimes limited-edition beers that come in 22oz and 750ml bottles. One of my favorite places to get such niceties is D'Vines, in Columbia Heights. Does anyone know exactly what the extent is of the "part of Ward 1" where the ban extends?
nanny state strikes again
Soon, certain wards will be limited to one piece of chicken, one taco, one burrito, one soda, one ...
I mean look at all those chicken bones everywhere.
How dare we let people buy chicken in any increment! That is obviously the problem.
If a certain industry would have allowed a deposit return law, these bans probably wouldn't have ever come about.
Next up- bans on 375 ml bottles of whatever's cheap.