Yesterday news organizations reported that the recent health report for California counties noted that the prevalence of liquor stores per 10,000 people in Santa Cruz County is twice as high as in any of the neighboring counties.
Yesterday news organizations reported that the recent health report for California counties noted that the prevalence of liquor stores per 10,000 people in Santa Cruz County is twice as high as in any of the neighboring counties.
The Sentinel thinks so. In the past month, it says, alcohol was given as the cause of death for a 21-year-old UCSC student, who cracked his skull open staggering into a ditch. Just this past Wednesday, four people were stabbed in a fight outside a bar downtown, and, according to the press, Tuesday’s Cops and Courts section of the paper was taken up almost entirely with problems relating to drunk driving. It was almost a surprise that a single car crash on Highway 1 yesterday “did not appear alcohol-related.”
The paper ran an editorial in support of a proposed permitting process that would effectively ban anymore new bars from opening downtown. It also blamed people from outside the area for the trouble. “Part of the problem is Santa Cruz has a number of clubs selling alcohol that draw nonresidents,” it said.
