California's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is out of Control
Just last week California's ABC went after San Francisco bars that serve drinks in which fruits have been steeped, a very popular item. ABC claimed people could be sickened by the liquor, even though it cited not a single complaint.
Now it wants to shut down (for 10 days) the 120-year University Club for serving liquor to non-guests. Who were these people? They were two ABC investigators who crashed a private party, requested and were served a glass of wine.
The ABC has been granted broad powers ever since the repeal of Prohibition, and it seems it is abusing those powers. It's time for the agency to be reined in. State Senator Mark Leno wanted to establish a civilian oversight board to control the agency. I don't know if that is necessary. Maybe it would just be enough to remove the current head, Steve Hardy, and appoint someone who would lead the agency back into its mainstream duties.
