An Atlanta City Council committee is bracing for a big crowd today to hear dicussion of a proposal to close the city’s bars an hour earlier as a crime-prevention measure.
The lawmakers will consider a proposal to close bars at 3 a.m. instead of 4 a.m, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. Last call would be at 2 a.m. The debate was prompted by recent violence in the Buckhead Village area and by residents’ complaints about noise and rowdy behavior. Two men were shot dead last week as they left a bar in the entertainment district. The shooter was wounded and is awaiting trial. The incident occurred after an argument inside a club.
The deaths bring to nine the number of people killed in Buckhead Village since 2000. All nine homicides occurred between 3:40 a.m. and 4:20 a.m.
People living near the area say recent events warrant an earlier closing; bar owners say closing earlier would hurt business, and bar owners elsewhere in the city say that problems in Buckhead shouldn’t mean an earlier closing time for them.
Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/1103/20buckhead.html