Latest news with #underageDrinking
The Herald
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
Nine years on and Liquor Amendment Bill stalled: Call for action by Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance
The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) has called out the near decade-long delay in passing the Liquor Amendment Bill of 2016, expressing its concern that inaction is enabling underage drinking and other alcohol-related harms. The bill proposes raising the legal drinking age to 21, restricting advertising and limiting liquor outlet proximity to schools and places of worship. SAAPA stressed underage drinking is not simply the result of peer pressure or poor parenting but is structurally enabled through weak enforcement of age restrictions, such as at Enyobeni Tavern where 21 children died. It said it is concerned about an over-saturation of liquor outlets in residential and impoverished areas, marketing of alcohol, including at youth-linked events, and a lack of legislation and enforcement. SAAPA-SA communications lead Julian Jacobs said raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 is a key proposal in the stalled bill which would provide 'a firmer legal barrier' during a period of heightened vulnerability. 'It would also send a strong normative signal that alcohol is not appropriate for adolescents undergoing cognitive and emotional development,' he said. 'The recently passed Bela Act, which prohibits alcohol on school premises, is a step in the right direction. Schools must be places of learning and safety, not venues for the normalisation and socialisation of alcohol,' said Jacobs. The alliance welcomed findings from recent study on tackling underage drinking. 'We fully agree that education and prevention strategies must be tailored. The study's insight that younger teens are open to learning, while older teens seek practical, real-world skills, is important. However, while educational campaigns are vital, they are insufficient on their own. We must address the systemic issues that allow youth access to alcohol and contribute to its normalisation,' said SAAPA secretary general Aadielah Maker-Diedericks. She accused the alcohol industry of pushing an 'education over regulation' narrative to avoid stricter laws. 'We are clear: education alone cannot address a regulatory failure. The initiatives must be backed by strong, enforceable laws.' SAAPA's demands include immediate passage of the Liquor Amendment Bill, effective implementation of the Bela Act to keep schools alcohol-free, a moratorium on new liquor licences and a national audit of outlets, full transparency from the alcohol industry on distribution data and stronger law enforcement against Liquor Act violations. Maker-Diedericks said: 'If we are serious about protecting youth, we must stop asking what's wrong with our children and start asking what's wrong with our laws, our institutions and our political courage.' TimesLIVE
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Yahoo
Pub's licence under threat due to crime complaints
A north London pub could lose its premises licence over repeated reports of underage drinking and fights between customers. There were 40 callouts to North Eight pub in Hornsey between May 2024 and June 2025, of which 28 involved violence, and a further 16 in July. The Metropolitan Police and Haringey Council said the number of incidents were "shocking". A licensing consultant for the pub had previously said some calls ended with a "no crime" result and claimed they had been made maliciously due to prejudice against the pub's customers, many of whom are from the traveller community. The council held a meeting of its sub-licencing committee on 5 August to review the pub's licence, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Committee member Adam Small said the pub had "repeatedly and egregiously" failed to uphold "the most basic requirements set out in the Licensing Act". He added: "We are facing a sustained pattern of serious failings that have caused repeated and serious distress and fear to Hornsey residents." The Metropolitan Police called the pub a "hotspot for violence and public order", stating that the landlord had "failed to implement effective security measures and uphold licensing conditions". The pub was formerly named the Hornsey Arms and was taken over by James Kearns in 2021. The sub-licensing committee initially met last month to discuss revoking the pub's licence. However, this was delayed after licensing consultant David Dadds, acting on behalf of the North Eight pub, disputed the Metropolitan Police's claims, and said that some of the calls made had resulted in "no crime" and were "malicious". He also claimed that "indirect discrimination" was involved as many of the pub's customers were from the traveller community, accusing residents of not wanting "a traveller pub" close by. The police said that approximately 19 of the 40 callouts involved members of the traveller community refusing to leave or fighting inside the pub. They gave examples including a woman being served "to the point of vomiting" before being arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour, and a 16-year-old child being served until 02:55. The police noted that almost all callouts happened between 00:00 and 03:00. The July meeting also heard from neighbouring residents, who said their daily routines had been disrupted by the venue and disturbances could be heard until 04:00. Lowena Waries said she had changed her public transport routes and travel times after being verbally assaulted by patrons of the pub, with one customer climbing on to her balcony and throwing an object. 'Excessive noise' At Tuesday's meeting, licensing barrister James Rankin, representing the police, said the situation had worsened in July. He said there were 16 calls on nine separate dates between 4 and 30 July, made by residents, the alarm company, bar staff and security. PC Carey Denham from the Metropolitan Police said there had been a "substantial" amount of times when bar staff and security were concerned that a big group of people had "got out of hand". Mr Dadds asked again for the meeting to be adjourned, but this was refused, leading him to withdraw from the hearing. The council's noise and nuisance officer, Craig Bellringer, said that the premises had received an abatement notice and two fixed penalty notices due to "excessive" noise. He added that there had been four or five further noise complaints since June, and this was "one of the worst [pubs in Haringey]" for noise issues. Mr Bellringer, Mr Small and the Metropolitan Police all advised revoking the pub's licence entirely, following the evidence heard at the hearings. A decision will be published within five working days of the meeting, expected to be early next week. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to More on this story Plans for pubs to get greater protection from noise complaints Mayor could overturn council bans on late venues BBC secret filming shows pubs not enforcing safety scheme Related internet links Haringey Council Metropolitan Police
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Yahoo
NAS Pensacola bans military members from Wild Greg's Saloon over drug, sex allegations
U.S. Navy and Marine service members are no longer allowed to patronize Wild Greg's Saloon in downtown Pensacola. NAS Pensacola Base Commander Capt. Chandra 'Mamasan' Newman designated Wild Greg's Saloon and a Gulf Beach Highway convenience store known as Pharaoh Grocery as off limits to all military service members assigned to NAS Pensacola. As of last week, the designation was going to be distributed to all Navy installations in the Southeast United States. The decision was made after a unanimous vote of the base's Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board. The board found numerous cases alleging underage drinking, cocaine and other drugs being distributed, with service members gaining access to the drugs, witnesses seeing multiple people use drugs in bathroom stalls, fake or altered IDs being accepted, and sex acts in bathrooms. Newman notified the city of Pensacola about the decision on July 30 in an email to Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves. The News Journal obtained a copy of the email in a public records request. Wild Greg's Saloon has had a reputation for rowdiness and aggressive staff. The owner of the saloon lost a lawsuit against the city last year alleging he was falsely arrested in 2018 after being acquitted on a charge of obstructing an investigation into an alleged assault by a bouncer. The Pharaoh Grocery on Gulf Beach Highway was blacklisted for selling alcohol to underage service members and employees selling illicit drugs from behind the counter to service members, Newman said. Newman also said that Mojo's was sent a warning letter over the sale of 'huffing gas and other mind-altering substances' to service members. 'Our intent is not to do harm to local businesses, and we want healthy, positive relationships with our community,' Newman wrote. 'We ask local businesses help us help sailors make responsible decisions, mitigate risks, have fun, and ultimately protect our military readiness through active mitigations when our concerns are voiced.' Newman said the Navy provided warnings to both businesses in January and met with Wild Greg's owner Greg Urban in April, but neither business had addressed the military's concerns. 'We will continue to review these two establishments every quarter until we have a reasonable 'try, then trust' standard we can expect them to support,' Newman wrote. The News Journal reached out to Wild Greg's Saloon for comment, but no one was immediately available for comment. Reeves told the News Journal that he was disappointed that Wild Greg's 'continues to threaten the safety and well-being of our community.' 'We hope that this action by our local military officials — action we completely support — leads to operational change that prioritizes our community, our law enforcement officers, and our downtown patrons,' Reeves said. 'We have many quality establishments in Pensacola where our residents and visitors can have a good time and do it lawfully and safely. These types of consistent issues reaching this point cannot and should not be tolerated.' This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: NAS Pensacola bans military service members from Wild Greg's Saloon Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
21-05-2025
- New York Times
Police charge man with giving alcohol to underage Pirates fan who fell from PNC Park stands
A man from outside Pittsburgh is facing criminal charges for allegedly giving alcohol to Kavan Markwood, the 20-year-old who fell from the PNC Park stands onto the right field warning track during an April 20 game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Police arrested 21-year-old Ethan Kirkwood of McKeesport, Pa., on Tuesday. Online court documents show he is charged with two third-degree misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to an underage person. Kirkwood is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 23. Advertisement Kirkwood's criminal record includes several past run-ins with law enforcement over alcohol-related incidents. He pleaded guilty in two separate public drunkenness cases from January and February of 2023. Both of those cases included charges for purchasing alcohol while underage. Kirkwood was 18 years old at the time of the first case, and 19 for the second. A criminal complaint obtained by WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh said Kirkwood admitted to buying alcohol for Markwood. The complaint said police reviewed surveillance video from PNC Park that showed Kirkwood buying two 24-ounce beers, and later showed Kirkwood and Markwood walking together, each holding a beer. After Markwood fell, the complaint said, security cameras recorded two women 'running down the stairs and looking for Kirkwood. Kirkwood is then seen handing a can to a female who throws it in the trash and jumping over a railing and then jumped on the field to help his friend.' Medical staff took Markwood off the field on a stretcher after his fall from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall. He arrived at Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. A week later, Markwood's doctor confirmed he suffered injuries to his skull, spine, ribs and lungs, and Markwood said he was dealing with 'a lot of back pain.' He had already started physical therapy at that point and had begun to walk again.
