Panelists and readers answered the following: Do you agree with the council’s recent decision to mandate that bars stop selling alcohol at midnight during the biker rally?
Ann Ross: I think the bar owners should decide when his or her business closes. The opportunity cost of lost revenue, even at the margin, in terms of net to the businesses and sales tax to the city, may be too high to a city and its constituency who wishes for amenities such as a community pool.Â
Mary Zanger: No. I suppose this decision satisfies the fearful. However supplies of wine, beer, and gin can be stashed any place for quick retrieval. If this motorcycle event produces criminal behavior, then law enforcement needs to be properly budgeted and dealt with intelligently.Â
Ruth Erickson: This should be discussed at a city council meeting for the public input, not in closed session. By closing Hollister bars early, any bars outside the city limits within San Benito County and in San Juan Bautista, will accept the extra customers from Hollister, with pleasure. Hollister’s businesses and bar employees will lose the income and the city will lose the taxes that would have been earned. Many businesses earn a huge percentage of their annual income within the three days of the rally so they’ll lose an important part of their income with fewer hours.Â
Catherine Booth: No. If you have to police adults, you should not give permits.Â
Sandra Leigh Clinton: I do not agree. It just means they are going to buy their 12 packs early.
