Alcohol on the Lower Eastside
[ SBN-P, 4/14/2005 ]:
'40 pounders' take a beating
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Two stores take different paths as S.B. works to stop flow of cheap booze near Eastside homeless shelter
Santa Barbara's Eastside Circle K/Union 76 service station has stopped selling 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor and single cans of beer in an attempt to keep homeless people from drinking near the Casa Esperanza shelter.
Shelter officials in March sent letters to the Circle K and another station nearby, requesting that they quit selling the so-called "40 pounders" of malt liquor. This week the Circle K did so, but the other station has no intention of following its lead.
Officials believe that the sale of the cheap but potent beer leads to public drunkenness in an area where homeless people are loitering on corners, sitting under bridges and sleeping in parks.
Casa Esperanza and city officials, who have pressured the businesses to stop selling the booze, are hoping other businesses along Milpas Street will follow Circle K's lead.
"When people are choosing to do the right thing over making a little extra money, it just gives me faith in human beings," said City Councilman Das Williams. "I don't care whether you are homeless or not, malt liquor is a substance that is being used to victimize poor people. End of story."
Santa Barbara is struggling with its homeless problem. Homeless people can be seen throughout downtown Santa Barbara, beach areas and lower Milpas, near the Casa Esperanza homeless shelter.
Critics of the shelter contend that it attracts homeless people from throughout the state. A separate nonprofit organization, the Community Kitchen, serves lunchtime meals daily at Casa Esperanza. But shelter officials say that a key way to reduce homelessness is to stop sales of malt liquor.
"It is like a first step," said Roger Heroux, Casa Esperanza's interim executive director. "It's not going to curb alcoholism altogether, but it makes it a little more difficult to access for those who are alcoholics. It's a first step to try and encourage individuals to stop drinking."
But not everyone is happy with the pressure from the city and Casa Esperanza.
The other letter went to Al Loper, who owns an independent service station, formerly a Texaco gas station, near Casa Esperanza and across from the Circle K. He described the whole situation as "ridiculous."
"What they should have done is put that Casa Esperanza shelter somewhere else," said Mr. Loper, whose family has owned the store for 27 years. "It's ridiculous for them to try and tell me what to do. It's not my fault."
He said he's seen a rise in sales of malt liquor since Circle K stopped selling.
One of his customers on Wednesday was a homeless man, Ricardo Longzon. Placing a bottle of King Cobra on the counter, he pulled out change -- quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies --and slid them across the counter to the sales clerk.
"It's cheap," he said, paying $1.82 for a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. "It's a deal."
Nearby, Janice Hull, a 45-year-old homeless woman, sat under the Highway 101 overpass. Inside her blue shopping cart were her belongings -- a blanket, a rain jacket, a water bottle and an old sandwich.
Ms. Hull, who used to buy malt liquor at the Circle K, said city officials are trying to drive out the homeless.
"They are kicking everybody out of town," she said, rubbing her hands together.
She joked that banning malt liquor doesn't matter to her because she's "moved on to wine."
She does see benefits of stopping the sales, she said.
"There's too much broken glass around," she said.
Homeless man Keith Green said he has lived in Santa Barbara for 45 years. He said it's wrong to stop selling malt liquor.
Furthermore, Mr. Green said, business owners should be more responsible when they sell the beer and not sell it to people who are drunk, rather than banning sales to everybody.
"It's different strokes for different folks," he said. "What about the people who aren't homeless? They get off work. They want to have a good time. That's not fair."
He said he buys 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor because it's inexpensive. "I buy it because it's enjoyable. But I don't get stumbling drunk. I don't get stupid on it."
Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum said it's time to stop selling malt liquor to homeless people who are alcoholics.
"This is something we have been hoping for," the mayor said. "It will make it more difficult for homeless people to find malt liquor at a cheap price. It's been a long struggle, frankly. There's still problems in that area, but generally things are getting better. It seems to be a better day for the city."
e-mail: jmolina@newspress.com
[ SBN-P online edition:
'40 pounders' take a beating ]
'40 pounders' take a beating
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Two stores take different paths as S.B. works to stop flow of cheap booze near Eastside homeless shelter
Santa Barbara's Eastside Circle K/Union 76 service station has stopped selling 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor and single cans of beer in an attempt to keep homeless people from drinking near the Casa Esperanza shelter.
Shelter officials in March sent letters to the Circle K and another station nearby, requesting that they quit selling the so-called "40 pounders" of malt liquor. This week the Circle K did so, but the other station has no intention of following its lead.
Officials believe that the sale of the cheap but potent beer leads to public drunkenness in an area where homeless people are loitering on corners, sitting under bridges and sleeping in parks.
Casa Esperanza and city officials, who have pressured the businesses to stop selling the booze, are hoping other businesses along Milpas Street will follow Circle K's lead.
"When people are choosing to do the right thing over making a little extra money, it just gives me faith in human beings," said City Councilman Das Williams. "I don't care whether you are homeless or not, malt liquor is a substance that is being used to victimize poor people. End of story."
Santa Barbara is struggling with its homeless problem. Homeless people can be seen throughout downtown Santa Barbara, beach areas and lower Milpas, near the Casa Esperanza homeless shelter.
Critics of the shelter contend that it attracts homeless people from throughout the state. A separate nonprofit organization, the Community Kitchen, serves lunchtime meals daily at Casa Esperanza. But shelter officials say that a key way to reduce homelessness is to stop sales of malt liquor.
"It is like a first step," said Roger Heroux, Casa Esperanza's interim executive director. "It's not going to curb alcoholism altogether, but it makes it a little more difficult to access for those who are alcoholics. It's a first step to try and encourage individuals to stop drinking."
But not everyone is happy with the pressure from the city and Casa Esperanza.
The other letter went to Al Loper, who owns an independent service station, formerly a Texaco gas station, near Casa Esperanza and across from the Circle K. He described the whole situation as "ridiculous."
"What they should have done is put that Casa Esperanza shelter somewhere else," said Mr. Loper, whose family has owned the store for 27 years. "It's ridiculous for them to try and tell me what to do. It's not my fault."
He said he's seen a rise in sales of malt liquor since Circle K stopped selling.
One of his customers on Wednesday was a homeless man, Ricardo Longzon. Placing a bottle of King Cobra on the counter, he pulled out change -- quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies --and slid them across the counter to the sales clerk.
"It's cheap," he said, paying $1.82 for a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. "It's a deal."
Nearby, Janice Hull, a 45-year-old homeless woman, sat under the Highway 101 overpass. Inside her blue shopping cart were her belongings -- a blanket, a rain jacket, a water bottle and an old sandwich.
Ms. Hull, who used to buy malt liquor at the Circle K, said city officials are trying to drive out the homeless.
"They are kicking everybody out of town," she said, rubbing her hands together.
She joked that banning malt liquor doesn't matter to her because she's "moved on to wine."
She does see benefits of stopping the sales, she said.
"There's too much broken glass around," she said.
Homeless man Keith Green said he has lived in Santa Barbara for 45 years. He said it's wrong to stop selling malt liquor.
Furthermore, Mr. Green said, business owners should be more responsible when they sell the beer and not sell it to people who are drunk, rather than banning sales to everybody.
"It's different strokes for different folks," he said. "What about the people who aren't homeless? They get off work. They want to have a good time. That's not fair."
He said he buys 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor because it's inexpensive. "I buy it because it's enjoyable. But I don't get stumbling drunk. I don't get stupid on it."
Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum said it's time to stop selling malt liquor to homeless people who are alcoholics.
"This is something we have been hoping for," the mayor said. "It will make it more difficult for homeless people to find malt liquor at a cheap price. It's been a long struggle, frankly. There's still problems in that area, but generally things are getting better. It seems to be a better day for the city."
e-mail: jmolina@newspress.com
[ SBN-P online edition:
'40 pounders' take a beating ]
Posted by Malcolm on
4/14/2005
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