Page 930 – Family Council

Fayetteville City Council Tables Public Drinking Ordinance Indefinitely

Oct 16, 2019Jerry CoxAlcohol, Public DrinkingAlcohol, Entertainment Districts, Public Drinking

This week the Fayetteville City Council opted to table a proposed public drinking ordinance indefinitely.

Act 812 of 2019 by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) lets cities create “entertainment districts” where alcohol can be carried and consumed publicly on streets and sidewalks.

Act 812 narrowly passed the Arkansas Legislature last spring, and it took effect this past summer.

So far Little Rock, Mountain Home, Sherwood, Texarkana, and El Dorado have opted to legalize public drinking in their cities’ so-called “entertainment districts.”

The Fayetteville City Council says it will study the issue and discuss it with local businesses and residents before deciding if and when to take the issue back up again.

This is very good news, but it comes as city councils in Paragould and Camden weigh public drinking ordinances of their own.

Public drinking is a scourge on the community.

It raises serious concerns about drunk driving and public safety.

Public drinking won’t attract new businesses, bolster the economy, or revitalize Main Street. It hurts neighborhoods and families.

That’s why Family Council has put together a free toolkit to help citizens oppose these public drinking ordinances.

Our toolkit contains talking points, information about problems public drinking has caused in other states, photographs of public drinking districts elsewhere around the country, and other resources you can use to fight public drinking in your community.

Click here to download our free toolkit.

Photo Credit: “Old Main from the northwest, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas (autumn)” by Brandonrush – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

Dollar Stores Applying to Sell Wine in Arkansas

Oct 16, 2019Jerry CoxAlcoholAlcohol, Grocery Store Wine, Wine

Based on reports from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, it appears several Dollar General Stores in Arkansas have applied for permits to sell wine in recent weeks.

Act 508 of 2017 lets grocery stores in Arkansas sell wine.

Prior to Act 508’s passage, grocery stores in Arkansas were limited to selling beer and small quantities of locally produced wine, at most.

Since Act 508 passed two and a half years ago, we’ve seen massive expansions of alcohol inventory in major grocery stores like Kroger.

This year we’re seeing a similar expansion among Dollar General Stores.

Since July, at least 52 Dollar General stores in Arkansas have applied for Grocery Store Wine permits with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.

The stores are located in cities and towns across Arkansas, including: