Thursday, August 30, 2012

Weber County Forum Thursday Morning News Roundup

Utah restaurant and bar owners claim lawsuit settlement "victory;" and Ogden officials seek "blue ribbon" designation for rehabbed 1.1 mile Ogden River stretch

We'll put the spotlight on several interesting items from the Northern Utah print media, as we wedge in items of local interest amidst our continuing 2012 GOP National Convention news coverage:

1) Via the Standard-Examiner we learn that "Utah restaurant and bar owners are toasting the settlement of a lawsuit in their fight to get the state to allow drink specials," as the the Utah Hospitality Association settles its federal lawsuit:
This morning's AP story reports that "Allen Whittle, the association’s vice president and owner of Bogeys Social Club, said the state agreed to allow establishments to change their drink prices daily, but they’re still not allowed to advertise them as specials or discounts."

Nor can can Utah hooch-serving establishments participate  that venerable tradition of American dram shops and public houses across the land: "Happy Hour."

Assistant Utah Attorney General Kyle Kaiser puts it all in context, we believe, reminding the gleeful UHA plaintiffs that "there was [actually] no victory this week, noting the only thing the association won was “peace of mind.” “We didn’t do anything. We did not change our position. We did not give them anything,” sez spoilsport Assistant A.G. Kaiser (quite rightly wethinks).

An even further reminder for the lumpencitizens of Utah, we think, that under the autoritarian thumb of the Utah nanny-state, civil liberties "victories" are usually achieved only in tiny "baby steps."

2) "Wildlife officials are thinking about naming a newly rehabilitated stretch of the Ogden River as one of the best places in the state to catch fish." "On Sept. 20, the state’s Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council will decide whether to designate a 1.1 mile stretch of the Ogden River a Blue Ribbon Fishery,"
according to this morning's Standard-Examiner story:
Practitioners of the art of catching the wily trout-fish will immediately note that a "blue ribbon" designation would at least technically put that re-habbed 1.1 mile stretch of the Ogden River in the same class as some of the greatest trout fishing rivers in America.

Go figure.

5 comments:

blackrulon said...

The UHA gained more than 'peace of mind'. They gained a clarification of the rule and how it would be interpeted. Unless there is clarification on the jumble of Utah liquor laws all bars owners have the threat of overzealous enforcement of a rule hanging over their head.

rudizink said...

It's unfortunate that achieving this little bit of new "certainty" necessitated a full-blown federal lawsuit, methinks.

blackrulon said...

Perhaps you could talk to Heidi Harwood or Bill Parker(Brewskis) about the havoc caused by liquor commission ruling on liquor law enforcement.

rudizink said...

I'm not knocking the UHA for pursuing this litigation, BR.  All I'm saying that when the smoke cleared, and all the overriding issues were dismissed out of the case, the final settlement of this case really didn't yield much to cheer about, IMO.

Smaatguy said...

As an avid fly fisherman,  I would harldy call ANY part of the Ogden River "Blue Ribbon"....give me a break...dumping little rainbows into a river does not cut it.  Is it a nice fishery...yes...blue ribbon..no...

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