Booze
Friday, February 24, 2012
Booze Stricter license requirements sought for bars, package stores
Posted by Scott Henry on Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 6:55 PM
Last night's turnout for a public hearing at City Hall on a proposed re-write of Atlanta's alcohol code was modest, but those who spoke were passionate and seemed to represent neighborhood concerns from across the city.
Among the requests and complaints heard from the podium:
• Stop granting temporary liquor licenses to new bars or clubs that have replaced an existing business
• Crack down on convenience stores selling glass pipes and other druggie paraphernalia
• Yank licenses from bars and stores that have high numbers of on-site crimes or violations
• Give the Neighborhood Planning Units more say in approving new licenses
I can tell you now, that last one is unlikely to happen — and that's as it should be. NPUs are given a chance to review license applications and make recommendations, but neither the License Review Board nor the mayor — who ultimately approves all licenses — is required to follow those recommendations. The system is designed that way for a couple of reasons. The official reason is that the LRB has a citywide perspective on the booze landscape and is better equipped to ensure that the alcohol code is applied in a legally responsible and uniform manner. The unofficial reason is that some NPUs are hotbeds of NIMBYism and can't be trusted to fairly consider applications.
That said, the NPUs do represent voters, and so their complaints will likely be listened to by city officials. It's early in the code revision process, but we plan to follow the issue, so stay tuned…
Friday, December 30, 2011
Booze Atlantans, buy booze on Sunday
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 4:16 PM
Start the new year the same way you ended 2011: by drinking!
Yes, at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, Atlanta will join the growing list of Georgia cities and counties which allow gas stations, bottle shops, and grocery stores to sell alcohol on Sundays.
Once you've slept off all the boxed wine you guzzled while listening to Kansas at the Peach Drop (?!?), venture to the nearest store and pick up a bottle of... what the hell do y'all drink anyways?
Please celebrate this bold new chapter in Atlanta's history responsibly.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Free Shit / Booze You should totally take advantage of free rides on New Year's Eve
Posted by Gwynedd Stuart on Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 4:14 PM
The Georgia Office of Highway Safety developed an app for iPhone and Android that "allows Georgians to have mobile access to organizations around the state providing free rides home for those who are impaired by alcohol" on New Year's Eve and again on Superbowl Sunday. From the looks of the app, you hit free rides and then your city or region, which connects you with one of the "wide variety" of taxi companies and designated driver services.
Of course, if you don't want to download an app that you can only use on two specific nights or you don't have a phone with app downloading capabilities (I didn't until, like, a couple months ago, so no judgment here), you can go to the GOHS's website and print out/write down the applicable phone numbers.
In Atlanta-proper, it looks like Zingo and Designated Driver Alternative are the free-ride options. Anyone utilized these services in the past? Are they reliable? Timely? Regardless, getting home late is better than getting home dead, I suppose.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Shenanigans / Booze Christmas wreaths made from tiny gin bottles are the new holiday must-have
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 11:52 AM
A creative downtown Atlanta couple sick of seeing their neighborhood littered with teeny tiny Tanqueray bottles decided to collect the plastic containers, wash 'em, and put them to good use. The result: A Christmas wreath, which they've hung on their door. Brilliant.
- @wcdarling
(Courtesy of downtowner, the couple's neighbor, and friend of CL @wcdarling)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Booze / Guv'ment Sunday alcohol sales begin in some Fulton, DeKalb cities — Atlantans will have to wait until Jan. 1
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 2:26 PM
It's a lovely day to visit Avondale Estates. Or College Park. Or maybe even Alpharetta, Jonesboro or Villa Rica. They're just a few of the metro Atlanta municipalities where stores, starting today, are now allowed to sell booze on Sundays. (Atlantans can start purchasing alcohol on Sundays on Jan. 1 — the very day many people swear they'll never drink again.)
If you headed outside Atlanta to pick up a six pack on the Lord's Day, let us know how things went. Make new friends during your visit to these quirky cities? Notice any lightning bolts? Smell sulfur when you opened the fridge at the gas station?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Booze / Guv'ment Recount reveals Forest Park actually did approve Sunday alcohol sales?
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 1:50 PM
OK, this is kind of hilarious.
Last night, Forest Park — along with Palmetto in south Fulton — rejected an overwhelmingly popular ballot measure that would allow stores to sell alcohol on Sundays. It was a strange move, but not entirely unexpected in a city that's recently tried to crack down on strip clubs.
Well, Forest Park officials reviewed the votes this morning and discovered that, whattaya know, voters might have actually approved the Sunday alcohol sales measure. Reports the AJC:
Elections Superintendent David Painter said an accumulator programmed to tally votes cast on touch-screen machines spat out grossly erroneous results. A recount will be conducted at City Hall on Thursday, but the new, unofficial count has Sunday sales passing 369 to 331."We had to revert to using a calculator," the superintendent said.
Painter said he realized something had gone wrong when he got home Tuesday night and saw that the results would mean nearly 1,500 ballots had been cast, when the true number was closer to 700.
David Painter is a hero. All hail David Painter!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
News / Booze / Guv'ment SUNDAY SALES PASSES IN ATLANTA; LET THE FREEDOM EAGLE™ SOAR O'ER THE LAND OF LIBERTY!
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 11:00 PM
- Gwynedd Stuart/Blingee
Though a handful of precincts have yet to report, we think it's safe to call this one: Atlanta voters have approved — by a very wide margin — a measure that will allow retail stores to sell alcohol on Sundays. Roughly 82 percent of voters gave their blessing to the proposal.
Now, from what we understand, the new law won't take effect until the first Sunday of next year — which is, appropriately enough, Jan. 1. So keep following former Gov. Sonny Perdue's advice and "planning ahead" until then. But still... it finally happened, eh?
Expect details about other local elections in a bit.
Booze / Guv'ment Visit the polls today and vote for your right to buy alcohol on Sundays
Posted by Thomas Wheatley on Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 8:45 AM
Yep, today's the day. Voters in many Georgia cities and counties — including Atlanta and Decatur — will visit the polls to decide whether stores should be allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays.
Other elections and ballot initiatives will be decided, including whether a 1-cent sales tax benefitting Atlanta Public Schools should be extended. Voters will also choose a new board member for the school system's 2nd district.
But c'mon, we know you're interested in the booze. And if you want that freedom, you need to exercise your civic duty and cast a ballot. Here's Scott Henry's two-part take on the sales-tax extension and how it factors into upcoming ballot initiatives, including the sewer-tax extension and T-SPLOST. Here's a rundown on the school board candidates.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. Locate your local polling place and view a sample ballot here. And don't forget to bring one of these six forms of identification to the polls. Notice any shenanigans at your polling place? Send us a line or leave details — or any other interesting observations — in the comments.
We'll keep a close eye on the results so check back for updates.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Booze Say yes to booze, no to school tax, Part 2
Posted by Scott Henry on Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 8:56 PM
Just today, at an unrelated press conference, Mayor Kasim Reed was asked more than once about his position on the Atlanta school SPLOST. He declined to answer. Now, I haven't talked to him about it lately, but from much earlier conversations, I know he hoped that penny in sales tax would go to the regional transportation tax that he had backed as a state senator.
But the politics are somewhat more complicated. If it were just Atlanta schools up for the tax renewal, I'd say it's a no-brainer: They had their seat at the table for 12 fraud-besmirched years; give someone else a chance. But, unfortunately, you can't vote against Atlanta without also voting against Fulton County schools. Similarly, you can't vote against the corruption-plagued DeKalb school system without also punishing the top-ranked Decatur city schools. Under what must be described as an outdated state law, school SPLOST votes are countywide only.
So, if you live in Alpharetta or College Park and your kid goes to Fulton County schools, I can't fault you for voting in favor of the SPLOST. In fact, even if everyone in Atlanta voted against the SPLOST and the rest of the county voted for it, the APS would still get the penny sales tax because a majority of Fulton residents live outside the Atlanta city limits. I realize this is an uphill battle.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Booze / Scandal Vote yes for booze. No for school tax. Please.
Posted by Scott Henry on Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 7:43 PM
First things first: On Tuesday, Atlantans vote on whether to renew the 1-cent sales tax for city schools. This coming March (I think), we vote on whether to renew the city's 1-cent water and sewer tax. In July, we return to the polls to vote on the proposed Regional T-SPLOST, which will fund the Beltline, MARTA extensions and a light-rail line from Midtown to Cumberland.
If all three measures are approved, the local sales tax in Atlanta would bump up by a penny from the current 8 cents. Chicago, L.A. and plenty of other big cities have higher sales taxes, but my guess is that 9 cents represents a psychological barrier that many voters will not want to cross — which could spell doom for the transportation tax only because it follows the other referenda.
I'll put it simply: If you want to improve the chances of the T-SPLOST passing, you should vote against the school tax. (A vote against the sewer tax, on the other hand, would only serve to ratchet up our water rates again, since the city is under a federal consent decree to upgrade the system.)
As for the threat of a property tax increase if the APS doesn't get its penny, let's just see if school board members have the cojones to vote for a tax hike. If they thought they were unpopular during the whole "Step Up or Step Down" campaign, they would need to wear disguises in public if they tried to raise folks' taxes.
That's what's so aggravating about the Nov. 8 school tax referendum: If it passes, the school board can claim they're only spending money that voters approved — and they'd be right. Don't let that happen. Call their bluff. If they think they need the extra funding, they should be forced to go on the record in voting for a tax increase. Don't let them take the money through a stealth referendum by not going to the polls on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, I'll discuss why we haven't seen more public opposition to the school tax.
