SWITCH: Mobile | ePaper | Subscribe

Homes Rentals Jobs Autos Contests

Liquor laws

Melody Kennett chats with customers Friday, May 18, 2012 at the contract liquor store she has managed for 37 years in Naches, Wash. Kennett elected to sell her liquor license rather than relocate when her landlord imposed a no-compete clause following passage of a liquor privatization initiative in Washington state. (AP Photo/Shannon Dininny)

Private business liquor sales begin Friday in Washington

Last updated Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - 8:49am

PULLMAN, Wash -- The police chief in the town with the region's largest university is gearing up for Friday, when businesses will assume what had been the state's monopoly on hard liquor sales.

Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins' plans include decoy operations where minors are sent into stores to see if they can buy alcohol. He has also scheduled a training session on June 11 with presentations by police officers and officials from the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

Business, Liquor laws Read more Comments

Should states be in the liquor business?

Melissa Maynard Stateline.org

Last updated Sunday, May 13, 2012 - 8:45am

WASHINGTON -- For about a year, Pennsylvania wine-lovers didn't have to go to a state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits store to pick up a bottle of their favorite cabernet or sauvignon blanc.

They could swing by the grocery store, like Americans in most states, with one major caveat: They had to purchase the wine from a state vending machine.

Business, Liquor, Liquor laws Read more Comments

Liquor licenses dry up in Utah

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 6:24am

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah has run out of liquor permits for restaurants, bars and liquor clubs.

Business, Liquor laws, Liquor licenses, Utah, Utah Liquor Control Board, Alcohol Read more Comments

Federal judge dismisses Utah liquor lawsuit

Josh Loftin The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, March 26, 2012 - 9:23pm

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday challenging Utah’s prohibitions on drink specials and limited bar licenses unless the attorneys for bar and restaurant owners clarify their arguments.

U.S. District Court Judge Bruce Jenkins gave the Utah Hospitality Association 20 days to amend its lawsuit but made it clear the lawsuit cannot proceed without stronger evidence about the negative impacts on businesses.

Business, Federal Court, Hospitality, Lawsuit, Liquor laws, Liquor licenses, Liquor stores, Restaurants, Tourism, Utah, Utah Hospitality Association, Alcohol, LDS Church Read more Comments

Court hearing planned for Utah liquor lawsuit

Josh Loftin The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, March 26, 2012 - 1:36pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal judge is hearing arguments in a lawsuit challenging Utah's ban on happy-hour discounts and limited bar licenses.

Business, Federal Court, Lawsuit, Liquor laws, Utah, Alcohol Read more Comments

Judge to hear arguments over suit on Utah liquor laws

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, March 26, 2012 - 9:21pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal judge is set to hear oral arguments Monday on a lawsuit challenging changes to Utah liquor laws that ban daily drink specials and impose new limits on coveted liquor licenses.

Business, Federal Court, Hospitality, Lawsuit, Liquor, Liquor laws, Liquor licenses, Liquor stores, Tourism, Utah, Utah Hospitality Association, Utah Legislature, Alcohol, LDS Church Read more Comments

Home beer brewers seek changes to alcohol laws

Barbara Rodriguez The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 11:31am

MADISON, Wis. -- About the only thing Kevin Flynn enjoys more than drinking his home-brewed beer is sharing it with fellow beer club members at festivals and tasting competitions. So Flynn and his buddies were shocked to discover that Wisconsin law prohibits sharing homemade suds anywhere outside the brewer's home.

The law could "pretty much be the end of competitions in Wisconsin," he lamented. "At least legal ones."

Business, Beer, Liquor laws, Alcohol Read more Comments

Bob Phinney, right, Greg Shoemaker, second from left, and other workers fill commercial liquor orders as they work at a state-run liquor store, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, in Seattle. Washington state begins the process of fully privatizing its alcoholic beverage business on Thursday when a public auction of state-run liquor stores opens online, marking a historic change for a state that has tightly controlled its booze since the end of Prohibition. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Washington auctioning off state-run liquor stores

Shannon Dininny The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 3:30pm

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Washington state opened a public auction online Thursday of its state-run liquor stores, beginning the process of privatizing a booze industry the state has tightly controlled since the end of Prohibition.

Business, Liquor laws, Liquor stores Read more Comments

Utah House passes liquor law changes

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, March 1, 2012 - 1:03pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Revenues from Utah's profitable liquor business will be collected by the Tax Commission under a bill that has passed the House.

Liquor laws, Utah, Utah House of Representatives, Utah Legislature, Alcohol Read more Comments

Senate panel passes Utah liquor law changes

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 27, 2012 - 2:27pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's liquor commission will increase by two members and the governor will have direct oversight of operations under a bill moving to the Senate floor.

Liquor laws, Utah, Utah Legislature Read more Comments

Bill would require some Utah liquor commissioners to be drinkers

Josh Loftin The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, February 24, 2012 - 4:29pm

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that passed a House committee Friday would mandate that at least two members of Utah’s liquor commission be consumers of alcohol, a requirement that’s designed to provide a stronger voice for responsible adult drinkers in the state.

Liquor laws, State Liquor Board, Utah, Utah Legislature Read more Comments

Changes unveiled for Utah liquor agency oversight

Josh Loftin The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 4:56pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's liquor commission will increase by two members and profits from booze sales will go directly into state coffers under changes unveiled Wednesday by lawmakers.

Business, Liquor, Liquor laws, Rep. Ryan Wilcox, Utah, Utah Legislature, Utah Liquor Control Board Read more Comments

Sales Clerk Craig Roberts stocks the shelves from behind at the State Liquor Store on 2nd street in Ogden Thursday August 10, 2006. Alcoholic beverages are becoming more popular in Utah as state demographics change sales in liquor stores have nearly doubled in the last decade. (Standard Examiner Photo/ Robert Johnson)

Biz owners proposing changes to Utah liquor agency

Josh Loftin The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, January 27, 2012 - 3:01pm

SALT LAKE CITY — When David Cole decided to open a Salt Lake City microbrewery, Utah regulators required him to build the brewing facility before they would give him a liquor license.

Cole had to invest significant capital into Epic Brewing with no assurances he could ever make the beer. While the state did eventually give its approval, Cole said it illustrated the burdensome nature of Utah’s liquor laws.

Cole is part of a group of bar, restaurant and ski resort owners that issued recommendations Friday to put more flexibility in Utah’s liquor regulations. The group was organized by Democratic legislative leaders as a way to bring new voices to a debate that is often driven by Republican lawmakers who abstain from alcohol because of their Mormon faith.

Business, Liquor laws, Restaurants, Ski Resorts, Utah, Utah Legislature, Utah Liquor Control Board, Alcohol Read more Comments

(The Associated Press) In this June 2011 photo, Chris Taketa looks for liquor stored in a walk-in freezer in the back of the Dojo sushi restaurant in Salt Lake City.

AG says Utah's happy hour ban is just

Paul Foy The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, January 13, 2012 - 11:54pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah has authority to prevent beer taverns and liquor clubs from offering happy hour discounts, state attorneys said in a court filing defending peculiar regulations governing liquor in a state dominated by teetotaling Mormons.

A trade group for bars and restaurants filed the federal antitrust lawsuit in June, arguing that the happy hour ban amounted to price fixing by state authorities.

The Utah Hospitality Association amended its lawsuit in October to seek a court order that would prohibit Utah legislators from taking influence from the LDS Church when writing liquor laws.

Business, Liquor, Liquor laws, Restaurants, Utah, Featured Read more Comments

Utah puts off deadline in liquor lawsuit

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - 2:53pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Attorney General's office has been given more time to respond to a federal lawsuit filed by the state's hospitality industry that challenges Utah's ban on discounting bar drinks.

Business, Lawsuit, Liquor laws, Tourism, Utah, Utah Hospitality Association Read more Comments