A man has filed a lawsuit against San Diego Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips alleging the player broke a Champagne bottle over his head at a Pacific Beach bar in 2009. San Diego Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips talks at a news conference Monday Dec. 21, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) — AP Antonio Cromartie ...
Assault, Bars and Restaurants, Injuries and DeathsSee the video SAN DIEGO — A Pacific Beach resident told 10News on Tuesday he has proof that too much easy alcohol is making his beach community one of the most crime-ridden areas in San Diego. In September, a man was stabbed in Pacific Beach. Less than a week later in the same area, a ...
Alcohol Licensees, SolutionsThis afternoon KPBS Radio featured a story on the PB Planning Group’s report on the alcohol licensing and CUP issues. Todd Brown of Bub’s Dive Bar and Jennifer Hill from the ABC were also interviewed. Click here to listen to the audio of the interview which lasts approximately ten minutes. And click here for a ...
Alcohol Licensees, CUP/DAO, PB in SD Media, The Problems
The Pacific Beach Planning Group approved by a vote of 11-5 with one abstention, to submit a report their Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC), conducted over the last two years, to the city. This report concluded that City of San Diego needs to take control over it’s alcohol licensing issues – perceived by many to ...
Here’s a letter I sent to the San Diego Police Vice Department, the ABC as well as a number of community groups and committees (PB Town Council, Hospitality Task Force, Discover PB): As an individual community activist and blogger, communicating with a subscriber base of approximately 250 interested folks, I am writing this letter in ...
Bars and Restaurants, Commentary
An advertising agency is offering a reward for information leading to the return of a $10,000 life-size statue that was stolen from a Pacific Beach restaurant last week. The 40-pound statue, which depicts a man pulling a keg of Newcastle Brown Ale out of the bar’s wall, was stolen from PB Bar & Grill July ...
From a reader: Not surprising you didn’t post this article to your web site. It doesn’t help your cause. http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/data-drive/article_11d044a6-b33e-11e0-b0ea-001cc4c03286.html It mentions the East Village in downtown SD as an area where alcohol related crime has increased significantly. Didn’t I hear at a PB Planning Committee meeting that downtown SD has a CUP in effect? ...
Alcohol Licensees, Business District, Commentary, Crime and Safety, CUP/DAOA group of Pacific Beach residents has not given up trying to convince City Hall to impose added regulations on late-night bars and restaurants. But some of the most vocal supporters said the effort is meeting new resistance. “There’s a lot of pushback from bar owners and their employees,” said Scott Chipman, member of the ...
Bars and Restaurants, CUP/DAO, PB in SD Media
Focus on alcohol-related and other safety issues in Pacific Beach, California What’s going on? There are many residents, businesses and civic groups struggling with alcohol-related issues in our community. This struggle is exacerbated by a noisy few bar and restaurant businesses that are intent on belittling those of us that are willing to spend countless ...
This video is of a variety of things seen yesterday, Saturday evening in Pacific Beach… All after 12:30 am no less. Double-click video to see full screen and Esc to return to this page. Here’s some questions one might consider: When people are urinating on business storefronts who is negatively affected? The bar patrons or ...
Pacific Beach seems to draw the worst out of our NFL Chargers players. What are the odds that such a small group of players could have so many alcohol-related crimes done by or near them? In November 2009 Antonio Cromartie, then a NFL Charger’s player was questioned after someone broke a champagne bottle over another ...
A Pacific Beach alcohol licensee was approved to continue operations in PB and also recently applied to sell full-spirits in his convenience store? Well, that was before he was arrested by the FBI last week in a major sting. Richard F. Garmo is the Vice President of this business doing business as Qwik Korner in ...
Recently, Channel 10 News featured a story where a small portion of video I shot over 6 months in 2010 was used to illustrate typical problems in PB’s business district. Some bar and ‘restaurant’ owners representing the Discover PB Hospitality Task Force were asked what they thought. They dismissed these incidents as sensationalistic and implied ...
Check out the story at Channel 10 News featuring a film shot in PB over about a 6 month period here: Source: 10News.com Here’s a radio interview with myself as well as with two bar owners who serve on Discover PB’s Hospitality Task Force leading the charge to resist any change. The interview begins near ...
Amir Khan Severely Injured In Incident At Bar West POSTED: 10:57 am PST December 14, 2010 SAN DIEGO — San Diego police have determined Chargers wide receiver Legedu Naanee was not involved in a Pacific Beach fight that left one man severely injured. Amir Khan, 21, was hospitalized and placed in a medically induced coma ...
Assault, Bars and Restaurants, PB in SD Media
Pacific San Diego did a ‘news’ piece which was more a platform for two bar owners to espouse why they are such fantastic operators and why the ones of us working to improve conditions are somewhat wacky. I’m not sure why the bar owners fear a CUP (conditional use permit) so badly but, they sure ...
The following is a handout presented to the La Jolla Town Council as part of my personal public comment: Alcohol Licenses and a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) / Deemed Approved Ordinance (DAO) The dread we experience in Pacific Beach several evenings a week and most weekends throughout the year appears to be building over La ...
Alcohol Licensees, Commentary, La JollaYou couldn’t make this stuff up. It seems the agency responsible for the enforcement of alcohol laws in California (ABC) received an award from the Neighborhood Market Association, where a good deal of their 2,500 members include shops selling alcohol. The award lauded the ABC as their Law Enforcement Agency of the Year also lavishing ...
Alcoholic Beverage ControlSAN DIEGO — A security guard Thursday said a mixed martial arts fighter known as War Machine punched him in the mouth during a fight inside a Pacific Beach bar in March. Matthew Compton told the court the man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver struck him during a brawl that erupted at the Thruster’s Lounge.” ...
Assault, Bars and RestaurantsReporting on the PB Town Council meeting last night: There were obviously many (i.e. estimated 25 minimum) new ‘members’ (in the strictest sense of the word) attending what looked like their first PB Town Council meeting. Coincidentally, where the issue of the Shore Club was on the agenda, many of these new ‘members’ said they ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcohol Licensees, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, CUP/DAO, Liquor StoresWell, it appears the Pacific Beach Town Council, well past its 50th year in existence, is at it again. I served on this Board for years and am bothered about recent blocks of membership enrollments. Word has it that, earlier this year, the allowed nearly 40 applications for membership to be bought by one entity ...
Alcohol Licensees, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, CommentaryThe Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) held a public forum tonight where the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC) could present evidence of a system that appears to be broken. Here are the three presentations. Also, see below for the video of the entire 1.5 hour meeting so you can understand more and stay involved. Here ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcoholic Beverage Control, CUP/DAO, Solutions, The ProblemsIn response to the Beach & Bay Press April 15 article, “Winning Formula”: It may be a winning formula for the bar owner, but it is a losing formula for the community. We don’t need any more establishments catering to the excessive drinking crowd. Pacific Beach has 15 licensed bars plus dozens of licensed restaurants ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Business District, Crime and SafetyChaos befell the April 21st Pacific Beach Town Council meeting when 35-year Pacific Beach resident Scott Chipman raised the issue of the Shore Club alcohol license/deck expansion, an issue Chipman felt was a land use issue that should be addressed by the Pacific Beach Planning Board. “Who’s running the meeting, the membership or the board? ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, The ProblemsChaos befell the April 21st Pacific Beach Town Council meeting when 35-year Pacific Beach resident Scott Chipman raised the issue of the Shore Club alcohol license/deck expansion, an issue Chipman felt was a land use issue that should be addressed by the Pacific Beach Planning Board. “Who’s running the meeting, the membership or the board? ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and RestaurantsAre bars liable for what person does after leaving their establishment? It depends.From my understanding they definitely could be if the person was a minor. Here’s two interpretations from different sources. n. a statute (Dram Shop Act) or case law in 38 states which makes a business which sells alcoholic drinks or a host who ...
Alcohol Licensees, Drunk in Public, Local LawsRoger Lee, General Manager and family member that owns PB Bar and Grill, Tremors and Johnny V in Pacific Beach, when asked about the alcohol beach ban was quoted as saying: “I understand and appreciate the ban,” he says, “because I have seen firsthand how out of control these beach parties can be. I also ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, Drunk DriversJust in time for summer, beachgoers will have a new place to enjoy a rooftop drink at sunset. The Beachwood, a three-story bar and restaurant, is set to open at the Promenade in Pacific Beach in May. “The foundation is going to be our food and our staff,” said general manager Justin Lopez. “You can ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Business DistrictA year-round survey is conducted by asking impaired drivers, arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), to respond to a variety of questions. One major purpose is for researchers to determine the offender’s place of last drink (POLD). This is the location the arrested individual reported they had their last drink before being detained. The ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Commentary, Drunk DriversAlcohol-focused games were banned recently in Huntington Beach. The ban was inspired by Police Chief Kenneth Small, who wrote to businesses in the fall, asking them to voluntarily stop allowing alcohol games and warning those who continued that they ran the risk of not having their entertainment permits renewed. “It’s an alcohol game that encourages ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Other CommunitiesAs if we didn’t have enough liquor licenses in Pacific Beach, especially in census tract 79.01, here’s another brand new application. This location is at 717 Thomas St. and the application was apparently posted on February 1, 2010. If you have concerns about this location or license application you can click here for the forms ...
Alcohol Licensees, Bars and RestaurantsUpdate: The public relations firm for Bar West said the Chargers never pose a problem. That champagne bottle and some dude’s head thing? It was a “minor incident.” Source: Michael Stetz. The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Dec 2, 2009. pg. B.1 Listen to this eyewitness account. If this the kind of ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Bars and Restaurants, Binge Drinking, Drunk in PublicA parolee who was months out of prison when he stabbed a bar patron 17 times during an alcohol-fueled fight outside the Pacific Beach establishment was sentenced Friday to 20 years in state prison. Matthew Thornton, 27, was convicted March 24 of attempted murder in the March 9, 2007, stabbing of Clifford Riek. A jury ...
Assault, Bars and Restaurants, Crime and SafetyAn argument at a bar over the Chargers-Raiders football game ended with a hometown fan being beaten by five men early yesterday, San Diego police said. The argument started inside the Firehouse American Eatery and Lounge on Grand Avenue near Ocean Boulevard with a Chargers fan telling Raiders fans to return to Oakland. When the ...
Assault, Bars and Restaurants, Crime and SafetyBy Sebastian Ruiz Councilman Kevin Faulconer and San Diego Police Department officials joined local bar and nightclub owners outside of Bub’s Dive Bar to unveil a new ID scanner system that would increase security at the bars in Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. The scanner lets security staff keep track of people who might become ...
Bars and Restaurants, Business DistrictFrom my understanding bars and nightclubs are supposed to provide parking to their customers. I believed this was part of their zoning requirements – in order for them to open up for business. I’ve done a really cursory inventory of exclusive, reserved and common parking spaces provided by the bars and restaurants below. Notice the ...
Bars and Restaurants, ParkingA Bakersfield man who attacked and raped a woman after she left a Pacific Beach bar was sentenced Monday, March 17, to six years in state prison. Hosh Deion Thomas, 24, was visiting friends in Pacific Beach when he struck up a conversation with a woman in her 20s at The Tavern bar on Dec. ...
Assault, Bars and Restaurants, Designated DriversAn apparent case of crosswalk rage resulted in a young man being dragged from his car and beaten in Pacific Beach early this morning.Police said the victim was driving on Jewell Street near Garnet Street about 1:40 a.m. when he honked his horn at a pedestrian in the roadway. The pedestrian then assaulted the driver, ...
Bars and RestaurantsChet Barfield. The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Oct 12, 2007. pg. B.2 SAN DIEGO — San Diego State University and a Pacific Beach business group launched a campaign yesterday intended to reduce drinking and driving. The merchant association Discover Pacific Beach said at least 20 bars and restaurants in Mission Beach ...
Alcohol Task Force, Bars and Restaurants, Drunk DriversI am very concerned with the amount of Pub Crawls that take place in Pacific Beach many weekends throughout the year. Pub Crawls are organized events where participants gather at a set location, usually donning some type of clothing (t-shirts or golfing outfits) or, gear (ie. shot glasses on a lanyard, etc.). Then, participants visit ...
Bars and RestaurantsIn March of 2006, on St. Patrick’s Day, Hennessey’s – a local PB bar, was charged by the San Diego City for the misdemeanor violation of overcrowding. The posted occupancy limit is set to provide a safe environment for all patrons and employees. The limit for this establishment is 188 patrons. By the time the ...
Bars and RestaurantsThat’s right. I did a survey of every liquor licensee from March 2002 through March 2007 and found that The ABC cited only 16 alcohol licensees in PB, in the last 5 years (March 2002 – March 2007)! The Alcohol Beverage Control is responsible for issuing, monitoring and enforcing alcohol laws for the State of ...
Alcoholic Beverage ControlPart 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 This is the second installment of the general topic: The Predominant Culture of Alcohol in Pacific Beach, CA . Please feel free to contribute to any section posted, which you will see below. To read other’s comments click the link at the end ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcohol Licensees, Commentaryby Neil Putnam A hit-and-run driver who killed a taxi driver in Pacific Beach was sentenced Oct. 25 to nine years in state prison, and the judge added six months consecutively because the driver was on probation for drunk driving. University City resident Anthony Michael Valanos, 26, a mortgage loan officer, had been free on ...
Bars and Restaurants, Crime and Safety, Drunk DriversStreet News: Sleaze and Pacific Beach nightlife just go together, so it comes as no surprise that clubgoers should compare Margarita Rocks to the infamous Safari in Tijuana. For starters, both have platforms where drunk female dancers can exhibit their moves while the guys below try in vain to look up their skirts. Both have ...
Bars and Restaurants, Business DistrictOn the third day of his preliminary hearing, Anthony Michael Valanos unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Aug. 30 to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and faces 11 years in state prison for killing a taxicab driver in Pacific Beach. Valanos, 26, a loan officer who resides in University City, admitted the allegation of hit and run ...
Bars and Restaurants, Drunk Drivers, Hit and RunLetter to the editor – San Diego Union Tribune The Pacific Beach model for drawing tourists How interesting that La Jolla is going to begin advertising to attract more tourists, (La Jolla is aiming to attract visitors,” News, Nov. 30). It has always seemed to me that La Jolla is well populated with people buying ...
Alcohol Licensees, Business District, CommentaryAngela Lau. The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Sep 27, 2003. pg. B.1.1.7 Liquor licenses that once flowed freely in Pacific Beach have dried up, and new restaurant owners say the prohibition is hurting their business. While many residents applaud the denial of new liquor licenses, restaurant owners say the practice is ...
Alcoholic Beverage Control, Bars and RestaurantsLetters to the editor: San Diego Union Tribune Re: “Reducing youths’ access to alcohol” (Opinion, March 30): At the risk of stating the obvious, Vincent Jimno probably had Pacific Beach in mind when he wrote about youth-related alcohol problems. Our community has 177 liquor licenses, where only 78 are allowed by law. The lack of ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, Local Laws, The ProblemsA retired San Diego judge who was convicted of drunken driving two years ago avoided jail recently in a second case through a plea bargain quietly arranged by the City Attorney’s Office. The deal with former Judge Robert P. McDonald blew up last week, however, when San Diego’s presiding Municipal Court judge voided it and ...
Alcohol Culture in PB, Alcohol Licensees, Bars and Restaurants, Business District, Commentary, Liquor Stores