Opponents May Try To Undo Booze Ban

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 5, 2008 at 10:32 AM PST

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

A measure that would ban alcohol at San Diego beaches and coastal parks has been approved. The measure would make the consumption of alcohol unlawful at all city beaches, Mission Bay Park and other c

A measure that would ban alcohol at San Diego beaches and coastal parks has been approved. The measure would make the consumption of alcohol unlawful at all city beaches, Mission Bay Park and other coastal recreation areas. KPBS Environmental Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The San Diego City Council enacted a temporary ban on alcohol at city beaches in November.

Prop. D extends the ban.

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Scott Chipman with SafeBeachesSan Diego says the ban has made beaches safer.

Chipman: The opportunity to have the majority of the year alcohol-free has shown people the difference between an alcohol-free beach and one that's full of binge drinking, alcohol games, intimidation and all the negative effects that come as a result of out-of-control drinking.

He says without alcohol, city beaches are more attractive to families and tourists and there's less crime.

A recent police report found alcohol-related crimes overall dropped this year in San Diego's beach areas after the temporary ban was in place.

Opponents say alcohol-related crime dropped because of a decrease in tourists.

Jacob Pyle, with the group that opposes the ban, says the city has modified bans in the past and could do so again.

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Pyle: The city has voted no on an alcohol-ban twice before and we were outspent by 10-to-1. And so I figure, if we lose this round, we've got two more shots at it to rescind the ban and bring it back and get a little piece of San Diego back for everybody who pays taxes and lives in the city.

Pyle says there are better solutions to a complete ban, including banning alcohol on holidays only.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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