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October 11, 2007 -

The Hangover That Never Goes Away

Various proposals for a beach alcohol ban in San Diego are back before the city council for consideration.

Options range from Mayor Jerry Sanders’ suggestion for an alcohol ban on summer holidays only to Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s call for a year-round prohibition on all city beaches, bay shores and coastal parks.

Councilman Tony Young is among the rational voices speaking against overreaction to alcohol-related violence last Labor Day.

“There were 350,000 people at the beach that day, and 15 got arrested,” Young said. “I would ban people who cause problems. But people who are responsible, I think, should have a way to exercise that responsibility.”

4 Responses to “The Hangover That Never Goes Away”

1. Chris says:

   October 11, 2007 at 2:13 pm

   I own a house in PB so I feel qualified to speak on this issue. I am also married with a child. I was at the beach that day. I saw what occured mostly by accident (wrong place at the wrong time). What I observed was cops not enforcing laws until it got out of hand. (this party had 8 kegs – why???? there are laws saying you can’t have parties of 75+ people with 8 kegs) It seems like perhaps the power that be ‘want’ this to happen to enforce some other agenda. I don’t understand why though. The fact is I go to the beach every weekend during the summer that I can. I rarely see issues. When I do it is something small like this that is dealt with quickly. It really does scare me that we pass so many laws – especially for my daughter. My wife is not American and left a contry of limited freedom to enter yet another country limiting freedom ???. I feel pretty ashamed when I hear her say that. Something we should all think long and hard about. Afterall did you know there are over 50k laws in america already. That is really scary.
2. larry says:

   October 11, 2007 at 2:26 pm

   Please join the fight to Ban the Ban! Visit http://www.FreePB.org for more information and get involved TODAY!
3. Jerry says:

   October 14, 2007 at 5:22 pm

   Chris’s story is touching.

   I feel ashamed that our crime rates in PB are astronomical. I’m ashamed that I didn’t do more, earlier, to help get alcohol off the beaches in San Diego.

   This past Labor Day there was a riot/incident/donnybrook (whatever you want to call it) where people were throwing projectiles at the police. People like Chris suggest the cops let things get out of control. I didn’t know it was the police’s responsibility to babysit the (supposedly) adults on the beach. Isn’t that their own responsibility?

   7 of the 15 people arrested were minors. 6 for alcohol violations. One minor was arrested for throwing 4 full beer cans at cops then charging them with a metal horseshoe stake. Lucky for him the cops didn’t shoot him (i.e. try that at night in San Diego and see how long you last).

   The point is that this was yet another incident where people got out of control. This has been happening on and off for years – people throwing things at cops, minors drinking (and ‘adults’ buying for them, serving them and looking the other way).

   Check out http://www.SafeBeaches.org if you’ve had enough and http://www.enjoyPB.com for a lot more info on crime and safety in our beach communities.
4. Chuck says:

   October 14, 2007 at 5:38 pm

   Chris, while your post and your sites suggest making the beach more fun for everyone is your goal, I don’t see how restricting responsible adult activity and diverting law enforcement away from dealing with hooligans toward yet another victimless regulation is going to help anything, except make more people law breakers. Not really a fan of banning alcohol for everyone just so the police don’t have to use judgment and exercise appropriate enforcement of the laws already on the books, i.e., public intoxication, underage possession, contributing to the delinquency of minors, assault. I’m inclined to agree with Chris that the recent problems in PB are just being used to move another do-gooder (or nanny-state if you will) agenda forward.

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Interesting Sites

70 Percent Good site focusing on reporting and documenting break conditions for waveriders
Coastal Marine Resource Center Non-profit from the New York-New Jersey Harbor Bight
Free PB Opposition to additional beach regulations at San Diego’s Pacific Beach
Race for the Oceans A forum for swimmers and swimming fans to dive in to ocean conservation.
Surfrider Foundation Activities and campaigns for clean water, beach access, beach preservation and protecting special places.