News
California Senate Urged to Vote NO on Dangerous 4 a.m. Bar Bill Experiment at Intuit Dome in Inglewood
AB 3206, Bar Bill proposed by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, would extend alcohol sales to 4 a.m. in VIP areas, risking public health and safety.
AB 3206 Places Billionaire Steve Ballmer’s Profits Over Public Health & Safety
Bar Bill
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Alcohol Justice and the California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA) are calling upon the California State Senate to stop a dangerous “district” bill that will punch a hole in the protections of uniform last call and expose the entire Los Angeles area to great risk.
If passed, California AB 3206, introduced by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), would allow the VIP lounge at the new Intuit Dome Arena to keep selling alcohol long after a Clipper’s basketball game or other event has ended – and long after the legal closing time of any other bar.
“It’s just absurd to think that the success of billionaire Steve Ballmer’s $2 billion dollar investment in the L.A. Clippers and the Intuit Dome hinges on the ability to keep selling alcohol until 4 a.m.,” stated Cruz Avila, Executive Director of Alcohol Justice. “Years of peer-reviewed research has proven that maintaining existing last call times is a key policy for reducing the harms from reckless drinking and from alcohol-related motor crashes. Extending to 4 a.m. is a fatal step in the wrong direction.”
Even one more hour of alcohol sales in just this one venue will disrupt the protections of California’s uniform, statewide 2 a.m. last call. It will expose surrounding communities–in fact the entire L.A. basin–to increased harms and costs while only the alcohol sellers in the epicenter of Ballmer’s dome see the marginal economic benefits.
In 2018, the evidence for increased harms was presented to the legislature in an Alcohol Justice/CAPA report entitled The Late Night Threat, Science, Harms, and Costs of Extending Bar Service Hours. It highlighted the existing data supporting how the acute effects of extending alcohol sales would spread to “Splash Zones” surrounding various cities in California.
More recently, another analysis was released by the respected Oakland-based Alcohol Resource Group (ARG), a project of the Public Health Institute. “The High Cost of the 4 A.M. Bar Bill” was a first of its kind cost-benefit analysis detailing the effects of changing state alcohol policy to allow later last call at bars, restaurants, and clubs. The analysis disturbingly documented the worst concerns of Alcohol Justice and CAPA that public health and safety would be severely compromised if California’s 2 a.m. last call fell.
“Since 2013, there have been six attempts to pass statewide extension of alcohol sales in bars and restaurants to 4.a.m, but California said NO to all of them because it’s a recognized, dangerous policy change,” stated Raul Verdugo, Advocacy Director at Alcohol Justice. “And now it’s time to say NO again, this time to a district bill that will benefit just one entity at the expense of the entire L.A. area. If the bill becomes law, a flood of similar district bills will demand the same privilege and soon every corner of the state will be experiencing increased early morning consumption, and ensuing costs for public health and safety harms.”
There is considerable and widespread opposition to AB 3206 throughout the state and in the Legislature…
“Despite the narrow scope of the Bar Bill, it sets a dangerous precedent,” stated Senator Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta). “Making an exception for one venue to allow operation into the early morning hours will add drunk drivers on the roads of Inglewood and the surrounding communities, at the time that early morning commuters are getting on the road. As a retired firefighter who worked in those very communities, I cannot support AB 3206.”
“Driving under the influence kills. Enabling residents to drink into the early morning hours is dangerous, and public policy should never worsen an already deadly situation,” said Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), a retired California Highway Patrol Sergeant who has witnessed tragic, unnecessary deaths.
Despite opposition within the Legislature, AB 3206 has advanced up to now, most recently by just one vote – in a key Senate Governmental Organization Committee hearing in June. It will soon be up for a full Senate floor vote. Advocates are asking Senators to place public health and safety above Steve Ballmer’s bottom line and Vote NO on the bill.
“Though the language of this Bar bill seeks to collect an impact assessment report one year after implementation — as advocates for “communities” and the reduction of harm associated with alcohol, we firmly hold to the belief that one life lost is one life too many,” added Verdugo on behalf of the California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA). “Any effort to introduce alcohol legislation that exacerbates the life-threatening conditions impacting innocent lives — should never be considered advantageous to any city or county in our state, VIP status or not.”
“This would be another capitulation to deregulation by California, at a time when alcohol-related deaths have continued spiraling year after year,” said Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, Research Director at Alcohol Justice. “We think of our state as cutting edge, compassionate, intelligent. But we are losing our friends and neighbors to alcohol for the same reasons other localities saw horrific death tolls from COVID-19: a refusal to listen to the science, and a refusal to care about human lives.”
FACTS
- AB 3206 will allow extending alcohol sales to 4 a.m. in the VIP lounge at Steve Ballmor’s Intuit Dome Arena where his L.A. Clippers will play.
- The risks of extended service times apply to VIPs the same as they do to anyone else, POSSIBLY MORE—consumption tends to increase with wealth. Rich people running into working-class people.
- These “VIP” areas are notoriously devoid of accountability and incentivized to cover up violence, sexual assault, and injury, much more so than bars open to the public
- Keeping consumption confined in a “VIP” area creates a space even more devoid of accountability than most late-night bars and clubs
- AB 3206 trades the public health and safety of the greater Los Angeles area for enhancing an Inglewood corporation’s profits
- AB 3206 will subsidize and reward nightlife alcohol-sellers at tax-payer expense
- AB 3206 concentrates profit while spreading risk, disruption and harm
- Aside from the risk of assault, accidental injury, and motor vehicle crashes, drinking until 4 a.m. creates conditions where exhaustion + alcohol becomes more deadly than either would be alone
- AB 3206 would create a slippery slope to strip away statewide uniform protections of 2 a.m. last call
- A later last call does not fill any need expressed by any reasonable adult, and granting this will make every major venue with a “VIP” room demand the same
- AB 3206 disregards 40 years of peer-reviewed, public health research on the dangers of extending last call
- AB 3206 would cost cities and towns in the Inglewood/L.A. “Splash Zones” millions in harm, disruption, and additional police and ambulance service
- Alcohol-related deaths are out of control in California, climbing from 70% in only six years. (From 10,800 deaths annually in 2015 to 19,335 in 2021. Esser et al. 2020; Jiménez, Demeter & Pinsker 2023)
- Alcohol-related driving fatalities also continued to rise, from 966 in 2019 to 1370 in 2021. (California Office of Traffic Safety 2023)
- AB 3206 ignores $35 billion in annual alcohol-related harm in California
- A 4 a.m. last call anywhere in Los Angeles is a threat to all of Los Angeles
“We keep forgetting that, when someone gets wasted and crashes their car, they often crash into someone else,” added Benowitz-Fredericks. “AB 3206, like so many ill-conceived alcohol free-for-alls that are so popular in Sacramento, might make one extraordinarily wealthy person’s night a little more fun, earn one billionaire another couple thousand dollars. And the cost? The life of an innocent early-morning commuter who never asked for any of this, never benefitted from it, never voted for it, and leaves a family behind.”
CAPA Member Organizations
- Alcohol Justice
- Alcohol-Narcotics Education Foundation of California
- ADAPP, Inc.
- ADAPT San Ramon Valley
- Bay Area Community Resources
- Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
- CA Council on Alcohol Problems
- CASA for Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods
- Center for Human Development
- Center for Open Recovery
- Eden Youth & Family Center
- Institute for Public Strategies
- FASD Network of Southern CA
- FreeMUNI – SF
- Friday Night Live Partnership
- Koreatown Youth & Community Center
- Laytonville Healthy Start
- L.A. County Friday Night Live
- L.A. Drug & Alcohol Policy Alliance
- L.A. County Office of Education
- Lutheran Office of Public Policy – CA
- MFI Recovery Center
- Mountain Communities Family Resource Center
- National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
- Partnership for a Positive Pomona
- Paso por Paso, Inc.
- Project SAFER
- Pueblo y Salud
- Reach Out
- San Marcos Prevention Coalition
- San Rafael Alcohol & Drug Coalition
- SF DogPAC
- SAY San Diego
- Saving Lives Drug & Alcohol Coalition
- South Orange County Coalition
- Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc.
- The Wall Las Memorias Project
- UCEPP Social Model Recovery Systems
- Women Against Gun Violence
- Youth For Justice
Jeanne Shimatsu, Prevention Director at the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) stated, “Our organization has long partnered with the Inglewood community to provide treatment services, including educating, informing, and advocating a safer and healthier environment for youth and families. We want to emphasize that extended bar service hours are detrimental to Inglewood’s community wellness. A few drinks after 2 a.m. can cost more than material damage—it will cost lives.”
TAKE ACTION to STOP AB 3206 https://www.votervoice.net/AlcoholJustice/Campaigns/115851/Respond
Or Text PUBLICSAFETY to 50457
For More Information go to: https://alcoholjustice.org/projects/california-alcohol-policy-alliance/ or https://alcoholjustice.org/
SOURCE Alcohol Justice and the California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA)
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
https://stmdailynews.com/category/stories-this-moment
Author
Discover more from Daily News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Long Track Back
Why Downtown Los Angeles Feels Small Compared to Other Cities
Downtown Los Angeles often feels “small” compared to other U.S. cities, but that’s only part of the story. With some of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi and skyline clusters spread across the region, LA’s downtown reflects the city’s unique polycentric identity—one that, if combined, could form a true mega downtown.
Last Updated on February 18, 2026 by Daily News Staff
Panorama of Los Angeles from Mount Hollywood – California, United States
When people think of major American cities, they often imagine a bustling, concentrated downtown core filled with skyscrapers. New York has Manhattan, Chicago has the Loop, San Francisco has its Financial District. Los Angeles, by contrast, often leaves visitors surprised: “Is this really downtown?”
The answer is yes—and no.
Downtown LA in Context
Compared to other major cities, Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is relatively small as a central business district. For much of the 20th century, strict height restrictions capped most buildings under 150 feet, while cities like Chicago and New York were erecting early skyscrapers. LA’s skyline didn’t really begin to climb until the late 1960s.
But history alone doesn’t explain why DTLA feels different. The real story lies in how Los Angeles grew: not as one unified city center, but as a collection of many hubs.
Downtown Los Angeles
A Polycentric City
Los Angeles is famously decentralized. Hollywood developed around the film industry. Century City rose on former studio land as a business hub. Burbank became a studio and aerospace center. Long Beach grew around the port. The Wilshire Corridor filled with office towers and condos.
Unlike other cities where downtown is the place for work, culture, and finance, Los Angeles spread its energy outward. Freeways and car culture made it easy for businesses and residents to operate outside of downtown. The result is a polycentric metropolis, with multiple “downtowns” rather than one dominant core.
A Resident’s Perspective
As someone who lived in Los Angeles for 28 years, I see DTLA differently. While some outsiders describe it as “small,” the reality is that Downtown Los Angeles is still significant. It has some of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi River, including the Wilshire Grand Center and the U.S. Bank Tower. Over the last two decades, adaptive reuse projects have transformed old office buildings into lofts, while developments like LA Live, Crypto.com Arena, and the Broad Museum have revitalized the area.
In other words, DTLA is large enough—it just plays a different role than downtowns in other American cities.
View of Westwood, Century City, Beverly Hills, and the Wilshire Corridor.
The “Mega Downtown” That Isn’t
A friend once put it to me with a bit of imagination: “If you could magically pick up all of LA’s skyline clusters—Downtown, Century City, Hollywood, the Wilshire Corridor—and drop them together in one spot, you’d have a mega downtown.”
He’s right. Los Angeles doesn’t lack tall buildings or urban energy—it just spreads them out over a vast area, reflecting the city’s unique history, geography, and culture.
A Downtown That Fits Its City
So, is Downtown LA “small”? Compared to Manhattan or Chicago’s Loop, yes. But judged on its own terms, DTLA is a vibrant hub within a much larger, decentralized metropolis. It’s a downtown that reflects Los Angeles itself: sprawling, diverse, and impossible to fit neatly into the mold of other American cities.
🔗 Related Links
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
Author
Discover more from Daily News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Knowledge
Century City: From Hollywood Backlot to Business Hub
Century City, originally part of 20th Century Fox’s backlot, transformed into a prominent business district in Los Angeles during the 1950s amid the decline of cinema. Developer William Zeckendorf envisioned a mixed-use urban center, leading to iconic skyscrapers and establishing the area as a hub for law, finance, and media, blending Hollywood history with modern business.
Before Century City became one of Los Angeles’ premier business districts, it was part of 20th Century Fox’s sprawling backlot, used for filming movies and housing studio operations. By the 1950s, as television rose and movie attendance declined, 20th Century Fox faced financial challenges and decided to sell a portion of its land.
Developer William Zeckendorf envisioned a “city within a city”—a modern, mixed-use urban center with office towers, hotels, and entertainment facilities. Branded Century City, the name paid homage to its studio roots while symbolizing LA’s vision for the future.
The first skyscrapers, including the Gateway West Building, set the tone for the district’s sleek, futuristic skyline. Architects like Welton Becket and Minoru Yamasaki helped shape Century City’s iconic look. Over time, it evolved from Hollywood’s backlot to a corporate and legal hub, attracting law firms, financial institutions, and media companies.
Today, Century City stands as a testament to Los Angeles’ postwar optimism, westward expansion, and multi-centered urban growth—a unique blend of Hollywood history and modern business.
Related STM Daily News Links:
- The Evolution of Los Angeles Public Transportation
- Why Los Angeles Grew Into a Sprawling City
- Downtown Los Angeles: Past, Present, and Future
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
Discover more from Daily News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Community
Local governments provide proof that polarization is not inevitable
Local politics help mitigate national polarization by focusing on concrete issues like infrastructure and community needs rather than divisive symbolic debates. A survey indicates that local officials experience less partisanship, as interpersonal connections foster recognition of shared interests. This suggests that reducing polarization is possible through collaboration and changes in election laws.
Lauren Hall, Rochester Institute of Technology
When it comes to national politics, Americans are fiercely divided across a range of issues, including gun control, election security and vaccines. It’s not new for Republicans and Democrats to be at odds over issues, but things have reached a point where even the idea of compromising appears to be anathema, making it more difficult to solve thorny problems.
But things are much less heated at the local level. A survey of more than 1,400 local officials by the Carnegie Corporation and CivicPulse found that local governments are “largely insulated from the harshest effects of polarization.” Communities with fewer than 50,000 residents proved especially resilient to partisan dysfunction.
Why this difference? As a political scientist, I believe that lessons from the local level not only open a window onto how polarization works but also the dynamics and tools that can help reduce it.
Problems are more concrete
Local governments deal with concrete issues – sometimes literally, when it comes to paving roads and fixing potholes. In general, cities and counties handle day-to-day functions, such as garbage pickup, running schools and enforcing zoning rules. Addressing tangible needs keeps local leaders’ attention fixed on specific problems that call out for specific solutions, not lengthy ideological debates.
By contrast, a lot of national political conflict in the U.S. involves symbolic issues, such as debates about identity and values on topics such as race, abortion and transgender rights. These battles are often divisive, even more so than purely ideological disagreements, because they can activate tribal differences and prove more resistant to compromise.
Such arguments at the national level, or on social media, can lead to wildly inaccurate stereotypes about people with opposing views. Today’s partisans often perceive their opponents as far more extreme than they actually are, or they may stereotype them – imagining that all Republicans are wealthy, evangelical culture warriors, for instance, or conversely being convinced that all Democrats are radical urban activists. In terms of ideology, the median members of both parties, in fact, look similar.
These kinds of misperceptions can fuel hostility.
Local officials, however, live among the human beings they represent, whose complexity defies caricature. Living and interacting in the same communities leads to greater recognition of shared interests and values, according to the Carnegie/CivicPulse survey.
Meaningful interaction with others, including partisans of the opposing party, reduces prejudice about them. Local government provides a natural space where identities overlap.
People are complicated
In national U.S. politics today, large groups of individuals are divided not only by party but a variety of other factors, including race, religion, geography and social networks. When these differences align with ideology, political disagreement can feel like an existential threat.
Such differences are not always as pronounced at the local level. A neighbor who disagrees about property taxes could be the coach of your child’s soccer team. Your fellow school board member might share your concerns about curriculum but vote differently in presidential elections.
These cross-cutting connections remind us that political opponents are not a monolithic enemy but complex individuals. When people discover they have commonalities outside of politics with others holding opposing views, polarization can decrease significantly.
Finally, most local elections are technically nonpartisan. Keeping party labels off ballots allows voters to judge candidates as individuals and not merely as Republicans or Democrats.
National implications
None of this means local politics are utopian.
Like water, polarization tends to run downhill, from the national level to local contests, particularly in major cities where candidates for mayor and other office are more likely to run as partisans. Local governments also see culture war debates, notably in the area of public school instruction.
Nevertheless, the relative partisan calm of local governance suggests that polarization is not inevitable. It emerges from specific conditions that can be altered.
Polarization might be reduced by creating more opportunities for cross-partisan collaboration around concrete problems. Philanthropists and even states might invest in local journalism that covers pragmatic governance rather than partisan conflict. More cities and counties could adopt changes in election law that would de-emphasize party labels where they add little information for voters.
Aside from structural changes, individual Americans can strive to recognize that their neighbors are not the cardboard cutouts they might imagine when thinking about “the other side.” Instead, Americans can recognize that even political opponents are navigating similar landscapes of community, personal challenges and time constraints, with often similar desires to see their roads paved and their children well educated.
The conditions shaping our interactions matter enormously. If conditions change, perhaps less partisan rancor will be the result.
Lauren Hall, Associate professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge
Discover more from Daily News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
