California Gov. Jerry Brown has shot down the bill that would have opened the door to the possibility of Calfornia bars serving past 2am in 9 different cities in the state.
Gov. Brown believes there is âenough mischiefâ at California bars open until 2 a.m as it is, his cited reasoning for vetoing the bill.
The lifestyle of a successful electronic music artist or DJ may seem like a dream to an outsider, but in reality, it isn’t always what it seems. You get into it because of a deep love for your music and the scene, but chronic, acute insomnia, jet lag, anxiety, and loneliness are problems that come along with the job. These are problems for any musician, but in the electronic music industry they can be even more destructive thanks to constant touring uninterrupted by the album cycle, and the late night showtimes that are the staple of the scene.
Whenever you’re through for the night, at 3:00am, 4:00am, or later, it’s really not possible to immediately collapse into sleep in a strange room, no matter how tired you are. But come 8:00am or 9:00am, it’s time for a drive or flight. These kinds of crushing schedules can worsen problems like depression and anxiety, not to mention pain and illness.
In 2016, California State Senator Scott Wiener introduced the LOCAL Act up in Sacramento, with the aim of giving local communities the ability (and choice) to regulate when establishments such as bars and restaurants would close, possibly upping the last call timing from 2am to 4am. Ultimately the bill failed to make it out of committee, although it received a lot of support and media attention before it was ultimately turned down.
But Wiener’s battle isn’t over just yet. He has now introduced the idea of a scaled-back “pilot” program version of the original LOCAL Act with the intention of focusing on a few statewide municipalities to gauge consumer interest and iron out any issues as they arise. And, as it goes, three of those chosen locations are in Southern California.
Earlier this year we reported on California Senator Scott Wiener’s campaign to allow the State’s municipalities to make their own choices on whether to extend alcohol last call hours to 4AM.
His Let Our Communities Adjust Late Night Act campaign made headlines in a state that could begin raking in a lot more money through taxes if the proposed bill becomes law, especially thanks to nightlife hubs in large cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
While medical care is not spotlighted much in any electronic dance music festival, this does not discount its critical importance. In fact, medical care is, and should be, a constant in events such as this and others as well.
The critical importance of medical care is all the more apparent given the unique environment present at an music festival where electronic music is focus. The fact that most attendees belong to a younger, healthier demographic and there is the danger of drugs and alcohol lurking around makes medical care in such events even more challenging. As such, it is important that the medical facilities and personnel assigned to such events are able to address the possible situations that may arise in such events.
The State of California is considering a law that may eventually allow alcohol last call to be pushed to 4am, a change that could revolutionize the whole spectrum of nightlife in the entire state if approved.
Nightclubs throughout California, and especially so in larger cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, are currently suffering from a state-wide law that mandates that all venues must stop selling alcohol at 2am. This essentially means that by 1:45am most bars are closing out all open tabs and rightly refusing to serve anymore, causing party-goers to rush around nightclubs ahead of cut-off time to get their last drink in. The current state of affairs is also directly responsible for the programming of set times, with headliners often playing sets near 12-1am in order to hit peak-time with the crowd still in attendance and drinking alcohol. Why? Often-times the crowd simply thins out past 2am for obvious reasons.
The Let Our Communities Adjust Late Night Act, which was proposed on February 14, proposes that the decision on last call should be the responsibility of each municipality, possibly allowing major nightlife hubs such as San Francisco or Los Angeles to continue serving until 4am.
“California currently has a one-size-fits-all 2 am end to alcohol service, regardless of circumstances,” State Senator Scott Wiener stated on a Facebook post. “Nightlife matters a lot, culturally and economically, and it’s time to allow local communities more flexibility.”
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If you’re attending a festival, show at a venue or going to a nightclub, chances are that you and your friends will be drinking alcohol at some point during the night. While it is important that someone in your group remain sober if you’re driving to the party, it is also likely that you will be surrounded by friends and strangers who will inevitably consume too much alcohol and become drunk as a result.
By the time someone has become noticeably intoxicated, the alcohol has left their stomach and is being absorbed through the walls of the lower intestine, meaning that they are beyond the point of return. With more than six people dying daily in the U.S. from alcohol poisoning â a total of 2,200 a year â a helping hand is always necessary. It’s important that we not only look out for our immediate friends, but also for any strangers that are at the same party or venue. We are all in it for the music and a thriving dance music scene relies heavily on the spirit of love, respect and camaraderie. It can be the difference between life and death.
Yesterday Reddit’s Electric Forest board came alive with the news and resultant chatter claiming that this year’s edition would not allow attendees to bring outside alcohol into the camping areas. The overwhelming majority of Electric Forest’s crowd is composed of people who travel to Michigan’s Sherwood Forest and camp out for four days, and as such the Insomniac festival has always allowed attendees to bring outside alcohol into the campsites.
Apparently, this year’s change comes as a result of a new Michigan state law that was passed in 2015. An anonymous user posted the alleged official statement from Electric Forest’s HQ on the festival’s sub-reddit page:
âPer Michigan state law, any alcohol that is found during the search of your vehicle on entry must be confiscated. This applies to both the campgrounds and the festival venue.â
This naturally became the cause of much alarm for hundreds of people who are planning to make the trek for this year’s edition. Plenty of people took to the Reddit post to voice their opinion, raising the valid question of whether Electric Forest’s event organizers are interpreting the new law correctly or not.
The legislation specifically states:
âmcl 436.2021(4) This act and rules promulgated under this act do not prevent a class A or B hotel designed to attract and accommodate tourists and visitors in a resort area from allowing its invitees or guests to possess or consume, or both, on or about its premises alcoholic liquor purchased by the invitee or guest from an off-premises retailer and does not prevent a guest or invitee from entering and exiting the licensed premises with alcoholic liquor purchased from an off-premises retailer.â
It would appear, as some are suggesting on Reddit, that the law in question may be interpreted incorrectly for it’s designed to stop people from exiting a premise with alcohol, rather than entering it. Electric Forest hasn’t put out an official statement clarifying the matter, and this seems to have ignited the anger of people planning to attend who are now taking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit to voice their disagreements.
The debate was sparked by the introduction of the following line in Electric Forest’s Official Guidelines:
UPDATE: Electric Forest has taken to Twitter to let followers know that they will be addressing the situation in the next coming months, reassuring that, “it is fully expected that Electric Forest’s campground experience will be very similar to the way it has always been in the past”
Electric Forest will be held June 23-26 in Rothbury Michigan
Source: Reddit
