One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
1 Huntington Beach Bar, 22 Months, 72 DUI Arrests
Photo by jorizaga via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
Do the drunks make the bar? In Huntington Beach, the city with the most DUI arrests in the state, one bar is now the subject of an investigation because of their "excessive problem with alcohol-related issues spilling over to the city's streets," according to the LA Times.Over a period of 22 months, 72 patrons from the Baja Sharkeez bar were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving--the highest number from bars in the area, as logged by arresting officers, who ask the motorists they pull over where they were drinking.
Driving under the influence is a big problem in Huntington Beach; the city "ranked No. 1 among California cities of its size in per-capita alcohol-related traffic collisions in 2009," reports the Independent. Last month, the City Council rejected a proposal to post photos of DUI arrestees on Facebook as part of a public "shaming," deterrent plan.
HB's Police Chief, Ken Small, asked for the investigation into Sharkeez late last year, when he wrote a letter to a state official. "The numbers are a reflection of Sharkeez' careless outlook on the danger of drunk driving," Small said in his letter, according to the Independent.
The owner of Sharkeez disputes the connection between his bar and DUI arrests. "What happens on the highway, we cannot control," he said.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
