Community Post: East or West Side -- Why is That Where the 40's Are?

A former city council candidate who did better than anyone thought and was more astute than anyone thought possible for a candidate of his age -- David Espaza, Jr. -- wrote the following thoughtful piece on the location of liquor stores in Santa Barbara. I appreciate his willingness to speak out on this important issue.

===Written by Dabid Esparza, Jr.====



The issue of liquor stores and availability of alcohol in minority neighborhoods is an issue the City Council seems unable or unwilling to tackle, saying that it is a State issue with State-level jurisdiction under the ABC (Alcohol and Beverage Control). Assemblyman Pedro Nava's office did not respond to an email request for information, not even with a canned generic response.

Though the data from the Census Bureau and my own quick research of locations selling alcohol show that, indeed, Latino neighborhoods are saturated with liquor stores, drug stores, grocery stores and the like. Milpas Street alone has nearly a dozen locations. San Andres and the Lower West Side are similar.

From my own observations:

- Some of these places have clerks who will sell to anyone, even those who are underage. Sometimes the clerks are friends or relatives of underage consumers, other times the clerks simply do not care. These types of transactions are typically conducted later in the evening, as anecdotes from people young and old have shown.

- Many grocery stores and drug stores (Longs, for example) are staying open later. Often times the staffing is low, and I have observed many instances of clearly underage, and some over 21, people walk out with bottles of liquor without ever having paid for it.

- There are people who go to buy more beer and liquor when they are already inebriated, or almost there. This seems to happen more often during the evening, and even more as midnight approaches.

- Reading the Daily Sound and Police Press Releases on edhat.com, underage Latinos represent a significant and likely over-representation of those cited for DUIs.

I believe the City Council needs to show some leadership in what they do. For all of their positive steps in trying to reduce crime for youth in general, and Latino youth in particular, they remain detached from issues such as this that contribute to a negative environment in Latino neighborhoods. And environment is critical in combating gangs and youth violence.

While the City Council seems to be willing to decide on the locations and business practices for Medicinal Marijuana clinics, I question, as a Latino who was born and raised here, why they would seem so apathetic when it comes to a substance that causes more destruction of families, more violence, and more injury and death.

This is an issue that Latinos have been questioning for many years, and as a child I heard older relatives and friends of the family complain that the City allows alcohol to be readily available in these neighborhoods because it doesn't care about Latinos. I don't think the Council to be opposed to action, but they appear, at least, detached from the neighborhoods.

Can the City exert influence and control over the availability and sales of alcohol? Should they limit sales to certain times, cutting of purchases earlier in the evening than the State mandated 2am? Is this just an issue for Latinos and those living in these neighborhoods? Is it an issue for the City at large?

I'd hope to answer 'yes' to all of those questions.