"The notion that you're gonna kill all these family sustaining jobs and that somehow people are gonna go out and work for minimum wage at a damn Sheetz, I think, is outrageous," [Sen. Jim] Ferlo said.
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Archive for “PLCB” news
State Senator Rails Against that “Damn Sheetz” in Liquor Hearing
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 6/07/2013
Comments 2
Sheetz, that backwatery, red-headed stepchild of a convenience store, is lobbying for liquor privatization so that it can sell beer. Boosters say it will create jobs. Some pro-PLCB Democrats, not surprisingly, dispute this.
Senator Ferlo, we don't know you, but we like you. As long you're cool with beer and low-wage jobs at Wawa, that is. [ABC 27]
Drivers Actually Got Busted This Weekend Smuggling in Booze from Delaware
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/28/2013
Comments 1
It's no secret that Pennsylvanians routinely disobey the state law forbidding them from buying and transporting booze back from Delaware and Jersey, where it's typically cheaper. See, supposedly civic-minded journalists not only flout the law--they brag about it!
Just bought two six packs at a private liquor store in NJ. I may end up bringing some of it back to PA. Bring it on, PLCB enforcement goons.
— Eric Boehm (@EricBoehm87) May 26, 2013
Well, state police officially got fed up this weekend, and decided to take sadistic pleasure in busting unsuspecting law-breakers. They even gave their mission a cool name.
Pennsylvania State Trooper
Diddy Was in Harrisburg Yesterday, Pimping His Vodka
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/23/2013
Comments 0
Diddy, aka Sean Combs, is an official endorser of Ciroc vodka. Which explains why the erstwhile rapper was in nightlife, USA, yesterday meeting with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The entrepreneur, as he'd no doubt like to be called, was promoting soon-to-be released Ciroc Amaretto. The PLCB, which is trying to save off extinction, should publicize this appearance as much as possible. Because nothing says 'relevant' like an appearance by Diddy. Said a board spokeswoman: "He's very, very nice." [Patriot-News]
Powerful Liquor Privatization Foe Pulls a 180. Or Does He?
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/26/2013
Comments 1
Last week, National Review lambasted Pennsylvania GOP State Senator Chuck McIlhinney for standing athwart Pennsylvania's liquor privatization effort. A couple days later he was on Dom Giordano's radio show, recanting. The conservative Commonwealth Foundation think tank was psyched, while another right-wing group, the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, thinks he's "just spinning on the issue," and will continue to target him with television advertisements. McIlhinney matters because he is chair of the committee that will essentially decide the fate of privatization in the Senate. (A House bill that he now says doesn't go far enough has already been passed.) [Patriot-News]
National Review Bashes PA State Stores
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/22/2013
Comments 1
But are you surprised? National Review, taking aim at PA's admittedly quirky state liquor laws, makes the case that social values conservatism and union-dominated machinism may again team up to defeat the privatization of liquor sales, as they have many times before. Titled Quakers and Bootleggers, the piece takes aim at Republican Senators like Chuck McIlhinney, who lean leftwards when it comes to this issue.
In the case of alcohol prohibition, teetotaling Baptists supported the law because they hoped that fewer people would raise their spirits by downing spirits, while bootleggers supported the law because they wanted to drive drinkers into the
Corbett’s Liquor Privatization Problem: History Isn’t on his Side
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/01/2013
Comments 3
Tom Corbett is not the first Pennsylvania governor to try and privatize the state liquor stores. (Though, with much of his agenda stifled, unrealized, or unpopular, he may be the most desperate to do it.) The Patriot-News, chronicling some previous near-misses, suggests we shouldn't necessarily read too much into the recent House passage of the governor's bill. Past failures include:
Milton Shapp, 1977
He instituted a task force to examine privatization. The task force, being a task force, did nothing, and the lame-duck Sharp failed in his quest.
Dick Thornburgh, 1983
Thornburgh gave it his all, even "very publicly" bulldozing the bill through committee,
Video: Union Chief Goes Berserk Over LCB Privatization at State Capitol
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 3/14/2013
Comments 2
Mayor Nutter wasn't the only one getting interrupted this week. Yesterday, state liquor employees union chief Wendell Young IV loudly and repeatedly heckled a pro-LCB privatization press conference being held by business leaders in the state capitol.
A sampling of his comments:
"It's a picture of profit before people, folks."
"Only a bunch of business guys could sit there and smile while putting this many people out of work."
"Aw, bullshit, not gonna be any money [for education]."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcKUGredHrY
He’s Doing It! Corbett Plan to Privatize State Liquor Stores Imminent
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/18/2013
Comments 3
Says the Inquirer of the plan: "It will be big, and it will be bold." Corbett, fresh off a completely non-controversial and universally loved plan to privatize the lottery, is ready to privatize again.
The governor and his team are sending strong signals that they want the system squarely in private hands, and that they are leaning toward opening up the wine and beer market to grocery stores, convenience stories, restaurants and taverns, and big-box stores.
The governor's plan would reportedly call for 2,000 retail outlets, divided between beer distributors that would sell wine, liquor, and beer, and all other stores, which
$12 Million Steakhouse Union Trust Closes
By Victor Fiorillo 11/15/2012
Comments 0
If you have a reservation for dinner tonight at Chestnut Street steakhouse Union Trust, you might want to start making other plans. A sign on the door claims that Joe Grasso's restaurant is closed for repairs, but according to court records, the state is refusing to allow Union Trust to renew its liquor license. And what good is a steakhouse without martinis and wine? [Foobooz]
Former PLCB Chairman Quits Board Amid Investigation
By Mike Bertha 10/05/2012
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P.J. Stapleton III has stepped down from his spot on Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board after 15 years with the organization. A confidential report from the state Inspector General's Office was released back in March and indicates that Stapleton and two others received inappropriate gifts and favors while serving on the PLCB. Stapleton informed Governor Corbett of his resignation with a one-sentence letter as the state Ethics Commission continues to investigate the situation. [Inquirer]
