Post by Logan on Feb 7, 2016 22:27:28 GMT -6
Bar closing debate teaches a valuable civics lesson
Some saw the Erie County Legislature’s six-month foray into the merits of the late-night bar scene as an absurdist exercise that arrived at the status quo. In the end, after letting the proposal linger for months, a divided Legislature allowed bars to remain open until 4 a.m.
But something unusual happened last week: People packed Legislature Chambers to debate the pros and cons of rolling back the county’s last call at a public hearing that lasted nearly three hours.
Professors brought studies. Business owners brought stats. A grieving father made a passionate plea.
Legislators were hard pressed to remember such a packed public meeting in the five years since county government was roiled by a fight over funding for arts and cultural groups.
Read more: www.buffalonews.com/columns/denise-jewell-gee/bar-closing-debate-teaches-a-valuable-civics-lesson-20160207
Some saw the Erie County Legislature’s six-month foray into the merits of the late-night bar scene as an absurdist exercise that arrived at the status quo. In the end, after letting the proposal linger for months, a divided Legislature allowed bars to remain open until 4 a.m.
But something unusual happened last week: People packed Legislature Chambers to debate the pros and cons of rolling back the county’s last call at a public hearing that lasted nearly three hours.
Professors brought studies. Business owners brought stats. A grieving father made a passionate plea.
Legislators were hard pressed to remember such a packed public meeting in the five years since county government was roiled by a fight over funding for arts and cultural groups.
Read more: www.buffalonews.com/columns/denise-jewell-gee/bar-closing-debate-teaches-a-valuable-civics-lesson-20160207