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Arlington, Virginia May Ban Backyard Drinking Games
A few years ago, Virginia's power-tripping alcohol control board cracked down on state bars and pubs that sponsored drinking games like beer pong. Naturally, young bargoers in Northern Virginia started playing the games in their backyards. So naturally, the city of Arlington may now ban them on private property, too.
Bluemont resident James Thorne said that, since the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) board banned drinking games (such as “beer pong”) from bars and eateries, they have gravitated toward outdoor areas, such as outside local homes.
“It affects our quality of life,” Thorne said of the resulting noise.
Thorne asked board members to consider an ordinance change that would give county police the ability to request that such drinking games be moved indoors.
Board members said the matter should be investigated.
“What people do in the privacy of their own homes is their business,” board member Walter Tejada said. “When it spills out and affects the quality of the neighborhood . . . we have to take a look.”
County Manager Ron Carlee said his staff would look into the matter, coordinate with police and come back with a report to board members.
Reader Patrick Semmens sent the story, and adds via email:
As far as I can tell, this is being pushed by just one person, my next door neighbor, who is the sole proponent quoted in the Sun Gazette's article.
For the past two years he has called the cops on my well-attended annual St.Patrick's Day party (and last year also the Virginia Alcohol Bureau), but much to his dismay drinking beer outside during the middle of the day (and playing drinking games) is not against the law. So he is trying to change that by imposing a law on the 200,000 citizens of Arlington County.
Now an elected member of the Arlington County Board says they are looking into it, and the county manager is wasting time and money having his staff "investigate." A police captain was even dispatched to my house to talk about the proposed law.
The city already has noise ordinances to deal with any disturbance Semmens' parties may have caused Thorne. Banning drinking games on private property seems a bit ridiculous. Then again, so does the idea of banning them in bars.
Semmens has set up a website to prevent the idea from gaining momentum.
EJM|2.10.09 @ 3:05PM|#
So naturally, the city of Arlington may now ban them on
private property, too.
I know that this is pedantic, but even though it's treated as a
municipality, Arlington
is a fully unincorporated county (except for the portion of the
[independent]
city of Alexandria that covers what would otherwise be
Arlington County land).
Comrade Taktix®|2.10.09 @ 3:05PM|#
Drinking games weaken our brother workers! We are now the stimulated mass, and we must begin acting like one!
libt democrat|2.10.09 @ 3:12PM|#
What is the difference between an unincorporated county and a
municipality?
I really have no idea, except that Stephen King writes alot about
the former in his books.
In other abuse of state power |2.10.09 @ 3:13PM|#
Tejada charged: lying to Congress about steroids:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/tejada_steroids_4
Steve L.|2.10.09 @ 3:18PM|#
I just emailed all five members of the Arlington board. If it really is just one wackjob if a few reasonable people email they will prob take note and act accordingly.
|2.10.09 @ 3:19PM|#
Unincorporated counties have a higher incidence of ancient
and lurking evils.
Apparently serving on the county board.
robc|2.10.09 @ 3:23PM|#
Unincorporated counties are parts of the county which arent in an incorporated city.
EJM|2.10.09 @ 3:27PM|#
What is the difference between an unincorporated county and
a municipality?
Practically, it may not mean anything. But, given Virginia's
very weird system of local political divisions, it may
sometimes mean a lot. Maybe the best example is the
Tidewater/Hampton Roads region, where
a round of annexations during the mid-20th century resulted in
today's
combination of independent cities that can include large
sections of rural areas (e.g., Virginia Beach).
(Full disclosure: I used to live in Rosslyn, which is one of the
[unincorporated] communities in Arlington.)
Patrick Semmens|2.10.09 @ 3:29PM|#
Everyone (and particularly Arlington residents)-
Please do contact the board. Hopefully a little pressure will get
them to quickly abandon this ridiculous idea. The contact info for
board members is here:
www.noboozeban.org/?page_id=13
|2.10.09 @ 3:30PM|#
Unincorporated counties have a higher incidence of ancient
and lurking evils.
If you were incorporeal you'd be evil too.
EJM|2.10.09 @ 3:37PM|#
Unincorporated counties are parts of the county which
[aren't] in an incorporated city.
On a related note, Kentucky has two of the primary examples of
consolidated
city/county governments.
|2.10.09 @ 3:59PM|#
Unincorporated counties are parts of the county which arent in an incorporated city.
|2.10.09 @ 4:00PM|#
Unincorporated counties are parts of the county which arent
in an incorporated city.
In Virginia, *no* part of a county is within an incorporated city.
When a city is formed, its territory ceases to be part of the
county. A book published by the University of Virginia Institute of
Government in the early 70s ("A Body Corporate") tried to explain
how it happened that cities came to be independent of their
counties, and it seems to have happened more or less by accident
some time between the Civil War and 1900. (As the book explains,
West Virginia, carved out of Virginia in 1863, doesn't have
independent cities, indicating that Virginia cities were part of
their surrounding counties before the War.)
Towns, on the other hand, *are* part of the county. The 1971
constitution tried to define towns as incorporated municipalities
with population of 5,000 or less, while cities were those with
population of more than 5,000, but that doesn't reflect practice,
where towns like Vienna (in Fairfax County) have populations much
greater than 5,000, or of cities like Norton (in the Southwest),
which became independent cities back when they had populations over
5,000, but whose population has fallen below 5,000 more
recently.
|2.10.09 @ 4:09PM|#
"What people do in the privacy of their own homes is their
business," board member Walter Tejada said. "When it spills out and
affects the quality of the neighborhood . . . we have to take a
look."
"What children do in the privacy of their home is their business,"
old codger J sub D said. "When it spills out and affects the
quality of the neighborhood ... we have to take a look."
Fucking puritan asshole. Fucking spineless politicians.
Oh well, it's just one more data point in support of my assertation
that Americans are too stupid for self government.
Kolohe|2.10.09 @ 4:14PM|#
Wow, I grew up in the next neighborhood over. There used to be a
simple rule to avoid having your neighbors complain about a party -
invite them to it.
Mr. Thorne seems to be a bit of a prick.
Kolohe|2.10.09 @ 4:17PM|#
Geographically, Arlington is really small, less than the area of D.C. It's the smallest county in the US that's not a leper colony.
dfd|2.10.09 @ 4:43PM|#
Geographically, Arlington is really small, less than the
area of D.C. It's the smallest county in the US that's not a leper
colony.
Kolohe,
According the the Census Bureau, Arlington (26 sq. .mi) is only
half the size of Kalawao (52 sq. mi.) but then only 13 sq. mi. of
that are land so Kalawao definitely is the smallest by land area.
Well, sort of. Unless of course you go by Census Bureau "county or
county equivalents" in which case the smallest is, coincidentally,
Arlington's neighboring independent city of Falls Church, at 2 sq.
mi.
Geographically, Arlington is really small, less than the area
of D.C.
And as long as we're talking county trivia, Arlington County, as
can be seen on a map, is the part of Virginia that used to be part
of the District of Columbia. Well, mostly, as a very small portion
of former DC territory is in, per Seamus above, the independent
city of Alexandria.
|2.10.09 @ 5:25PM|#
So, this guy lives next to someone who's not content with being
the neighbor from hell, he wants to be the neighbor from hell to
the entire county?
Fuck Carrie Nation and all of her descendants.
-jcr
ev|2.10.09 @ 6:16PM|#
People are so weird. I don't get it; why would anyone want to be
such a control freak? Why do people like imposing their will on
others? I have no comprehension.
Oh, "All Your Backyard Are Belong To Us"=win.
BakedPenguin|2.10.09 @ 6:29PM|#
Is Arlington the city that's getting unmanned drone planes? If so, I think I now know the reason why...
ChrisO|2.10.09 @ 6:49PM|#
Arlington (my current place of residence) is yuppie NIMBYism in
almost its purest concentrated form. It's what you get when you
place a high number of overpaid lawyers who need to get a life into
a small geographic area.
Of course, a sizable portion of the county has problems with
Salvadoran gang violence that warrant actual police attention. I'm
sure that beer pong raids won't detract from this...
D.A. Ridgely|2.10.09 @ 7:46PM|#
Of course, a sizable portion of the county has problems with Salvadoran gang violence that warrant actual police attention. I'm sure that beer pong raids won't detract from this...
Oh but surely this must be happening only in South
Arlington.
Taktix®|2.10.09 @ 8:12PM|#
You know, on second thought, I like this law.
I propose every county bordering D.C. enact this law and pretty
much every other draconian law we can find.
The greater D.C. area shold be the most miserable, law-ridden,
oppresive place in the country. Perhaps then we'd be able to get
some freedom from those fucks...
EJM|2.11.09 @ 12:30PM|#
I propose every county bordering D.C. enact this law and
pretty much every other draconian law we can find.
In order to be successful with this, you'd likely have to start
with Fairfax
County--which technically (thanks to Arlington and Alexandria)
doesn't border the District. ;)
T|2.11.09 @ 12:46PM|#
In order to be successful with this, you'd likely have to
start with Fairfax County--which technically (thanks to Arlington
and Alexandria) doesn't border the District. ;)
Speaking as someone who grew up in Fairfax County before fleeing
for my very life and sanity, I can only offer one solution: scour
the earth clean with fire and sow the ground with salt.
But maybe I have an extreme view.
|2.12.09 @ 12:12PM|#
And as long as we're talking county trivia, Arlington
County, as can be seen on a map, is the part of Virginia that used
to be part of the District of Columbia.
Which is why, when Robert E. Lee received his appointment to West
Point, it was as a resident of "Alexandria, D.C." (The letter from
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun can be read at Lee's boyhood home
in the City of Alexandria (which at the time was still part of the
County of Alexandria.)
In order to be successful with this, you'd likely have to start
with Fairfax County--which technically (thanks to Arlington and
Alexandria) doesn't border the District. ;)
Until the District of Columbia was formed, what's now Arlington
County and the city of Alexandria were part of Fairfax County, of
which Alexandria was the county seat. (At that time, the county
seat was moved to Providence, which was later known as Fairfax
Court House and is now the City of Fairfax.)
When D.C. was set up, the Virginia portion was organized as
Alexandria County. When that portion was retroceded to the
Commonwealth in 1846, it became Alexandria County, Virginia. In
1917, the name was changed to Arlington County because people were
getting the county and the city confused.
(As you can tell, I remember my seventh-grade Arlington County
history class. None of which, I admit, has more than a tangential
bearing on the subject of this post, which is how the county has
been taken over by busybody Bolsheviks.)
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