STATE REP. David LeBoeuf will lose his license for 45 days, pay $1,380 in fees and fines, and enroll in a driver alcohol education program as a consequence of his arrest for drunk driving. His criminal case will be continued without finding for a year, which means if he completes the terms of his probation […]
Alcohol
Posted inThe Download
Liquor license ballot question has layers of controversy
Nurse staffing ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list. The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores […]
Posted inPolitics
Liquor license ballot question has layers of controversy
NURSE STAFFING ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list. The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores […]
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts doesn’t need happy hours
MULTIPLE EFFORTS are under way to repeal the longstanding ban on happy hour in Massachusetts. If you’re not old enough to remember, happy hour ended here in 1984, when legislators, seeking to reduce drunk driving and its devastating consequences, passed a law banning bars and restaurants from offering free or reduced-price alcoholic beverages. Previous efforts […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC allows alcohol sales question to advance to 2020 ballot
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ruled Tuesday that a proposed ballot question allowing for expanded alcohol and beer sales can proceed to the November ballot. Massachusetts state law limits the number of alcohol licenses that are issued for package stores or others who want to sell alcohol for off-premises consumption. Under current law, no company can […]
Posted inEnvironment
Time to take a stand on nips?
MAYBE IT’S TIME for Beacon Hill to take a stand on nips, those little liquor bottles that many communities are coming to regard as a public nuisance. Chelsea banned the 50 milliliter version last March, extended the ban to 100 milliliter bottles in August, and was thinking about going after the 250 milliliter flask-size when […]
Posted inThe Download
Time to take a stand on nips?
Maybe it’s time for Beacon Hill to take a stand on nips, those little liquor bottles that many communities are coming to regard as a public nuisance. Chelsea banned the 50 milliliter version last March, extended the ban to 100 milliliter bottles in August, and was thinking about going after the 250 milliliter flask-size when […]
Posted inEconomy
Open bar
WHEN VOTERS PASSED the referendum legalizing adult use of marijuana, most people focused on the ability to use pot in their own homes or with friends. State regulators, however, are being urged to set their sights on another place to get high – the neighborhood pot bar. At a meeting of the state’s Cannabis Control […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Mega booze store out for self
MASSACHUSETTS LAWS AND regulations governing the sale of alcohol are partially based on the idea of maximizing carefully considered controls and oversight to help reduce negative impacts associated with over-consumption. Recent reports show the Commonwealth’s regulatory approach works. The Bay State has the nation’s second-best record on limiting driving under the influence (DUI), trailing just […]