Convenience Store Oakland

How do you stop underage drinking? Florida town thinks it has the answer

Restaurateurs, bartenders and convenience store employees may soon have to take a class on the dangers of underage drinking if they work in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

The mayor of the 160,000 town Frank Ortis wants to have an ordinance passed that makes it mandatory for anyone who sells alcohol after 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. to take the course.

“We’ve learned there is a lot of underage drinking going on in the hours of 11 pm., until 3 or 4 am,” said Ortis in a phone interview with the Star.

“If a convenience store, gas station or restaurant is open until 4 a.m., we want to educate their employees on the consequences of underage drinking.”

In exchange they’ll get a certificate saying they’ve taken the course which will include tips on how to spot identity cards that have been duplicated or falsified, he explained.

They’ll also be able to extend the hours of last call — selling alcohol between the cut off times of 3 a.m. for stores and 4 a.m. for clubs and bars — and the start time of 11 a.m.

Ortis doesn’t know how widespread underage drinking is in Pembroke Pines, which is located in southeastern Florida near the Everglades. He believes it’s high enough to warrant action.

But a 2010 Department of Children and Families survey showed that more than 60 per cent of South Florida high school students and 30 per cent of middle school students have already had a drink in their lifetime, according to a news report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel .

In the same study, another 40 per cent of high schoolers and 17 per cent of middle schoolers said they had a drink in the last 30 days.

If those figures are true, he said, then “that’s your alarm clock” for passing the law. The educational course which will also look at car crashes, fights, alcohol poisoning and increased risk of alcoholism.

Ortis must still take the matter before the town commission before it becomes law. He hopes to get input from businesses about his proposal, and then get commission to pass a town ordinance implementing it. But he has not firm time line yet.

Grocery chain looking to open stores in Oakland's flatlands ...

A writer and photographer, Jennifer Inez Ward has been documenting Oakland neighborhoods for more than 10 years. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, she focuses on the uniqueness and beauty of everyday life in a city that is too often overlooked for its treasures and pleasures. Throughout the years, Jennifer has had the honor of showcasing her work at a number of venues, including a permanent loan of images that are displayed on the front wall of Barnes and Nobel in Jack London Square. Jennifer is a featured artist documented in “Images of America: Black Artists in Oakland."

Hi there! This is great news to hear. 

I am a recent homeowner to West Oakland and would LOVE to see more healthy grocery stores in our neighborhood.

You might be interested to know that a small store front, located on 35th and Market, in West Oakland is up for sale and would make a great, small healthy grocery store to serve the families in the area.

Please pass the word on to others who may be interested.

Thanks!

-g

Such a modest list of demands by Ms Lin. Cheap quality food, good wages, and aunion friendly. What subsidies, loans or other enticements,   does Ms Lin know something that the City is giving the East Oakland site that the taxpayers haven't been told

if in fact little or none, then we should just be glad that a big grocery is willing to take the risk that they can prosper at sites where many have tried and failed before.

Meanwhile, why not allow that arch demon evil incarnate retailer whom we graciously allowed to open and hire our residents, aka WALMART,  the right to expand their fresh food section from about 40 square feet?

Restricting their fresh food section, might give some scant protection to the union  rate jobs at a handful of local Safeway and Lucky stores, but it surely harms the health and pocketbooks of the thousands of poorer residents who  flock to our Walmart because it has low prices, great selection, and doesn't require you to buy a case.

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