Mayor McGinn & Closing times...

Mayor Mike McGinn of Seattle at least kick-started the discussion of a sensible liquor policy in Washington - suggesting *Seattle* go to staggered closing times rather than proposing Seattle continue with "let's concentrate all our drunks and rowdies as much as we can in a 90 minute time span so we can overwhelm police and emergency services" as policy.

A better choice, of course, would be to abolish a mandatory closing time state-wide.

Some bars will run 24/7 - with their patrons trickling out in dribs and drabs throughout the day and night.

Other bars will only open from 5pm until 1am (harvesting the "sweet spot" of profitability, and writing off other hours as unprofitable or of unacceptable risk).

In all likelihood there will be room not only for both, but for numerous variants.

Most of the time and in most circumstances, one or two folks that are intoxicated are limited by issues of scale in causing major trouble without some kind of mechanical assistance (say, for instance, getting behind the wheel of a car while in such a condition). They can still do damage, but it's at a retail level rather than wholesale.

Get a whole group of them together, and the chances for the sort of stupid to erupt that sends folks to morgues and hospitals...gets a whole lot better - but not a whit more necessary or less tragic.

Making it a matter of public policy, as we have in Washington since Prohibition was finally repealed, to create such groups by mandating but a single closing time for liquor establishments could be reasonably considered less than completely wise, and more than a bit heartless towards the inevitable victims of such a policy.

Noise and over-service are separate issues, not surprisingly. And even less surprisingly, they require separate and closely tailored solutions.

Anyone who's been in a bar can tell you of the "Great Closing Time Liquor Gulp", also known respectively as "Last Call" and "Drink'm Up, boys and girls, it's time to close". Folks buy 2-3 drinks (and, before even starting to propose to limit how many drinks folks can buy at a time, factor in "buying an extra for friends...and the potential for bar fights caused by such a restriction) and in a short space, when they already have drinks in hand, slam them down...with the alcohol not hitting them nor having obvious affect for some variable time thereafter.

To the extent that abolishing a mandatory closing time reduces that self-imposed or addiction-imposed pressure, we are all that one whit safer. But any improvements gained thereby are purely icing, not cake. The real benefits on this front, it seems to me, are to be found in seeking ways to expand treatment opportunities for alcoholics and facilitating bars that have stronger social and entertainment elements in comparison to the heavy drinkers dive.

Closing time isn't a real driver behind night-time noise levels - architecture, development, and bar theme has a lot more to do with noise than an arbitrary closing time ever will.

An extreme example of noise-creating architecture/design would be a outdoor beer garden holding 24/7 amplified heavy metal concerts - loud, under such circumstances, isn't an accident. But lesser examples abound - opening a bright shiny new live music bar, for instance, in the middle of a residential neighborhood in an old drug store with uninsulated wood frame walls...has it's own little challenges in containing noise. Some times the fix is as simple as some sound insulation and a more complex entry - usually it's not.

Similarly, if a developer picks up some entertainment district property surrounded by a lively music scene and lots of nightlife - neither developer nor anyone that buys lovely new condo's from said developer should be surprised that things stay open loud and late in such an environment. And they have no reasonable right to complain about noise they knowingly moved in next to an night life establishment(and if they didn't know...their issue is with their real estate agent for not fully informing them, not with the entertainment establishments...).

Some entertainment venues are louder than others by their very nature. A private club for elderly folks will *usually* be a bit quieter than a live music bar with twenty-somethings as a primary focus. The first will tend to fit fairly seamlessly in the quietest of neighborhoods - the second, not so much. One size, in this as in many things, does not fit all - nor does one rule. And mandatory closing times won't and don't change this.