Nation in brief
Seattle eyes impact area
Pub Date: 2/1/2006
Seattle Alcohol Ban
The city of Seattle is seeking to expand an alcohol impact area where the sale of certain alcohol products inexpensive varieties favored by chronic alcoholics is banned.
The councilman who proposed the ordinance has acknowledged that it does nothing to address the problem of alcohol abuse, but instead is a response to business and resident complaints regarding public drinking, loitering and panhandling.
The sole councilman who voted against the request said it would not do anything about the root causes of the problem but would simply disperse it or shift it to other areas.
The city created an alcohol impact zone in its Pioneer Square area in 2003 and now is considering a major expansion of the area to include its entire downtown and university districts. The ordinance prohibits sales of a long and specific list of alcohol products based on strength of the beverage and size of the containers.
Mixed Holiday Sales Figures Plague Wal-Mart
Despite early and aggressive discounting and promotion, expected returns on the nation s largest retailer s holiday sales have failed to meet the company s expectations.
After last Christmas lackluster take, the Wal-Mart s executives had sought to be more forceful with their discounting, which is already traditionally steeper than most other retail outlets and tends to attract holiday shoppers in droves.
Is this a chink in the armor and thus an exposure of weakness in the behemoth retailer? Experts won't go that far. Despite only projecting to show same-store sales growth to be 2.2 percent, that still falls within the 2-4 percent forecast and is quite a sum when considering how far and wide the reach of Wal-Mart extends.
The seemingly ubiquitous retailing giant has more than 3,600 retail stores in the United States.
Wal-Mart has recently revealed its desire to enter the distilled spirits market, one retailing niche its tentacles have yet to reach into very deeply. While many of its super centers can legally sell beer and wine, a patchwork of state laws governing distilled spirits sales have left the retailing juggernaut largely perplexed when it comes to spirits.
In addition to navigating laws restricting license square footage and an assortment of other state, county and even municipality-specific laws governing liquor licenses, the
regulatory nature of the beverage alcohol industry is anathema to the hyper-free-market, quantity king.
The three-tier system of beverage alcohol production, distribution and sales could prove to be a hindrance to the company that generally does not like to be bothered by distributors and, due to its size, can often hurdle those obstacles with ease while rolling over small, family-owned retailers.
Arizona To Issue New Liquor Licenses
In a move that the state expects will raise around $6 million in takings, Arizona will for the first time in 17 years start issuing new licenses for retailing beverage alcohol.
The largest chunk of those licenses will end up in Maricopa county, home of Phoenix and it s suburbs one of the fastest growing population centers in the country.
The new state law allowing issuance of the 126 new licenses was part of a large legislative package passed last year that also allows for the sampling of beverage alcohol products in stores with off-premise licenses.
Three types of licenses those for bars, beer/wine-only bars and package stores will be dispersed throughout 15 counties, and should moderate the cost of purchasing licenses from existing license holders. The value of the new licenses will be appraised on a county-by-county basis.
Suds in Space?
A hard day s work is often rewarded with a cold one and it looks like that may soon be the case aboard the international Space Station (ISS). There is talk of lifting the ban on strong drink for those aboard the ISS, Russia's interfax news agency recently reported.
A strict ban on alcohol has been in place since Russia and the United States began working together on the ISS five years ago. It has been reported that some alcohol consumption was sanctioned on Russia s MIR space station, but the station has since been decommissioned.
The question is thus begged, just what type of quaff would the cosmonauts and astronauts enjoy?
Russia is known for its vodka but has seen recent growth in beer consumption in the post-Soviet era. The U.S., on the other hand, has witnessed a decline in the beer market in the past few years and a growth in spirits and cocktail consumption.
Perhaps the two cultures could find some middle ground over a nice Chardonnay?
Individual Wine Servings Create Possibilities, Raise Concern
The idea seems obvious now but just like a fine bottle of Bordeaux, it has taken some aging to reach maturity.
Single-serving plastic wine bottles are coming to a package or grocery store near you. These shatterproof, screw-capped and eminently concealable vessels are the latest trend in wine and one that wine producers hope will gain traction with those who think that Le Cirque is a Las Vegas show with acrobats, and the French Laundry is where the Gauls clean their whites.
Advances in technology have made the prospect of drinking wine out of a plastic bottle with a screw-cap top not entirely unappealing. Coming in six-ounce bottles or, for the more adventurous, cans, cartons and boxes, wine makers are trying to tap into a demographic that may seek the sophistication of a nice glass of wine but do not attach the formality that many assign to the ritual of enjoying a bottle of wine.
In their minds, if the quality is the same, make it as convenient as possible.
However, some question whether this advent of convenient, pocketable and more carefree wine consumption is such a good thing.
After all, single serving alcohol container bans pop up in urban areas all the time and, for the most part, wine contains a higher percentage of alcohol by volume than the beer and malted beverages that are frequently targeted.
The technology and phenomenon are new enough that public issues such as these have not come to maturity yet, but if history has shown us anything, it is that if there is an opportunity to abuse something, someone eventually will.
Until then, it appears that it is about time to spice up your next picnic with some of your favorite vino, and this time leave the corkscrew at home.
Source: ABL Leader, February, 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.