Wednesday September 30,1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Going out includes ID checks
Continued from page 1A
have its license suspended between one day and two weeks.
Davis said that any bar would have a difficult time dealing with the stiffer regulations because of the availability and perfection of fake IDs.
"On the Internet, you can even make one from any state in the U.S. in about 10 minutes," he said.
Sheila Walker, public information officer for Kansas Department of Revenue, which regulates the ABC, said she thought an attempt to cut down on underage drinking was a step in the right direction.
But Thompson said that the new system was only as good as the employee working the door.
"As an owner, I cannot sit and watch the door
man all night," he said. "But I can go back and watch the video to see how he is doing."
An employee of Bleachers, Jeff Drilling, Overland Park junior, said that the system had increased the wait to get into the bar.
Dreiling also said that the system led to some timid actions by bar patrons.
"The first time people came in, they were scared and some actually left," he said.
But once they saw the identification checkers in other local bars, they became more comfortable with the system, Drelling said.
One bar patron, Tim McShane, Brookfield, Wis., junior, thinks that the new systems are used exclusively to get the bar out of trouble.
McShane, who said that he had used false identification in order to get into the bars, was not worried by the new systems.
"Their liability is out the window," he said.
"The bars cannot get in trouble for taking a fake
ID."
"Bars with this system will take any fake ID as long as they can take the picture and have liability on their side," McShane said.
In the end, he said, people will have an easier time drinking underage than before the systems were installed.
"The way people would be scared to use a fake is when the doorman takes a real long look at the drivers' licenses."
Dean Reynoldson, enforcement manager for the Kansas Department of Revenue, said that bar owners still could get into trouble for allowing patrons with obvious fake identification to enter.
ABC cracks down on bars with new penalties
By Liz Wristen and Pallavi Agarwal Kansan staff writers
Drinking establishments and retail liquor stores in Lawrence that sell to minors have to contend with enhanced penalties.
In an effort to tighten the noose on repeated underage drinking violations by those with state alcohol licenses, the Alcohol Beverage Control, implemented a new penalty structure July 1.
The ABC is a state regulatory body, and the alcohol watchdog of state alcohol licensees.
The penalties
get steeper with every violation, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue, which controls the ABC.
Previously, fines were levied arbitrarily, said Sheila Walker, public information officer with the department.
“If a person had four violations, he was charged, say, $500,” she said. “A different person was charged the same $500 for two violations. The new structure prescribes set penalties per violation and is consistent for each violator.”
Penalties include fines, temporary suspension of licenses and optional training sessions.
A first offense will result in a week's suspension from selling liquor or an optional training session with no fines levied.
Fines and temporary suspension of licenses will be levied starting with the second offense. The penalties increase with each successive offense.
Landon Thompson, manager of Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second St., said the new penalties were changing the nature of the bar business.
"A lot of bars used to have nights for anyone 18 and up, but now pretty much every place has gone to 21 and over," he said.
Dean Reynoldson, enforcement manager of the department of revenue said that statistics from July 1 to Sept. 24 showed that the penalty structure was working.
While 65 percent of the bars and retail liquor shops monitored complied with the law by not selling to minors before July 1, the figure has risen to 79 percent, he said.
Ninety-two drinking establishments with state licenses, and 29 retail liquor stores in Lawrence fall under ABC's jurisdiction. Cereal and malt beverage violations are not included, said Sgt. George Wheeler, Lawrence Police media relations officer.
The student community at the University of Kansas appeared divided about the efficacy of the new penalty structure.
Liquor penalties
The following are some of the penalties for violations where the licensee sells alcohol beverages under the License that consume alcohol on the preamis.
Source: Kansas Dept. Angle Kuhn/KANSAN of Revenue
Craig Lybarger, Akron, Ohio senior, said that many minors have the desire to drink alcohol because it is the in thing to do.
1. No fine KDOR training or 1 weekday
2. $100 1 weekend day (Friday or Saturday)
3. $300 1 weekend day (Friday or Saturday)
4. $500 2 weekend days (Friday and Saturday)
5. $700 2 weekend days (Friday and Saturday)
6. $800 3 weekend days (Friday, Saturday and Saturday)
owner who will voluntarily sell drinks to minors. Many do it because of fake DDs," she said.
"I am definitely for the enforcement of stricter regulations against younger people," he said.
KU minors, who drink at parties, did not see the drinking culture changing very much.
Amy Jones, Topea sophomore,
said she did not go to bars but
knew several minors who did.
"It's pretty easy to get alcohol," she said. "I don't know of anybody who has gotten caught."
She thought that liquor store owners should not get penalized for selling to minors.
Licenses owners sometimes do not know they are selling to underage drinkers because underage drinkers have false identification.
"I don't know any liquor store
Reynolds said that to address this problem, the ABC had arranged more training sessions for licensees so that they could better learn strategies to detect fake identification.
The penalty structure is part of ABC's larger strategy to curb illegal alcohol drinking and selling.
two surveillance programs were instituted last year in which underage ABC volunteers posed as customers in bars and liquor stores to nab owners selling alcohol to minors, and ABC agents acted as liquor store employees, busting underage buyers in ABC's cops-in-shops program.
From July 1 to Sept. 24, underage ABC volunteers made 75 random visits to bars and caught 16 violators.
A swoop on 119 drinking establishments and liquor stores with past records of illegal liquor sales revealed 39 cases of alcohol sale to minors. Reynoldson said.
The 250 cops-in-shops operations caught 63 underage drinkers and 528 bar checks yielded another 105 violations by minors, Reynoldson said.
By Chad Bettes
Kansan staff writer
Rising beer prices drain student funds
Buoyed by a strong economy and the strongest beer market ever, beer companies hope that not even price can come between beer drinkers and their beer.
Industry-leading breweries such as anheuser-Busch and Coors announced their intentions to raise prices this fall. The companies have indicated that strong demand for beer will overcome any negative impact the price increase could have.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch said its prices probably will increase by less than 2 percent.
"This is due to our strong sales trends and the fact that many markets have not had a price increase in two years," a company representative said.
While retailers have concerns about the price increase, Jeff Simmons, Independence senior, said it will not change student drinking habits.
"It won't slow anyone down at all," he said. "They might complain more, but they'll still drink beer."
Other breweries are expected to follow Anheuser-Busch's increase.
would be unusual to see much disparity in pricing."
"This industry is competitive," said Mary Anschutz, marketing manager for Coors. "It would be unusual to see much disparity in
Anschutz said many factors go into setting beer prices. Cost of goods, taxes, shipping and marketing efforts all affect the consumer's price. The industry is particularly sensitive to barley, aluminum, glass and railroad shipping prices, she said.
Greg McDonald, president of McDonald Beverage, downplayed the price increases. He said they were below the rate of inflation.
peer might increase by an average of 35 cents.
McDonald is the local distributor for products such as Budweiser and Michelob.
He said the increases were not across-the-board. Keg prices will increase, but the 12-ounce container price will not change. He said a case of
Rick Renfro, partner at Johnny's Tay,
ern, 401 N. Second St., said retail outlets have felt the pinch of increased prices.
"That's one of the reasons business is so slow in taverns and bars now," he said. "We have to charge based on what the distributor sells the beer for."
He said if prices go too high, people who are not brand-loyal might switch to less expensive brands to save $2 or $3.
Liquor store owner Jim Myers said customers were price sensitive. His store, Myers Retail Liquor, 902 W. 23rd St., caters to cost-conscious buyers by being a discount retailer.
Anheuser-Busch sales figures support the idea that people will pay for premium beers. July was the best sales month in the history of the brewing industry, with Anheuser-Busch selling 9.1 million barrels of beer domestically.
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