Today's U-T has an in-depth story.
The killer, a college-educated professional and father of two, drove all the way from the Bird Rock area to drink with buddies in Encinitas' vibrant downtown scene.
From the Inbox:
A few weeks before this accident happened, 3 council members voted against a Deemed Approved Ordinance (DAO) that would have resulted in real consequences for bar owners who over-served patrons. I appreciate that Teresa Barth and Lisa Shaffer voted in favor of the DAO, but they did not have a 3rd vote to pass it.
I think that a vote to put stricter rules into place would have sent a message to bar owners to be more aware of drunk drivers. I am not opposed to people having fun, but if the council had made a different decision and required GREATER responsibility of bar owners, it might have raised awareness, and Rachel might still be alive.
Oh but I'm sure Spock block won't attract partiers or drinkers!
ReplyDeleteWill a lawsuit be filed against the bar and grill that served the drunk driver?
ReplyDeleteLike the professor couldn't get drunk anywhere else.
ReplyDelete1) He wasnt a professor
Delete2) It does appear that something about the vibrant Encinitas bar scene encouraged him to drive drunk 20 miles rather than walking to any of the many local joints in the La Jolla / Bird Rock area.
EU
DeleteAbsolutely horrible story. But drunks have regularly killed innocent people here in Encinitas long before downtown became more "vibrant". Why you assume nice sidewalks and streetlamps attracted him to Encinitas that night instead of his buddies (who he was with initially) escapes me. Why would you think enhancing the hardscape of Downtown Encinitas has anything to do with a bartender breaking the law by over-serving a customer? I'd sooner think the top reasons for this tragedy would rate with vibrancy being way down a long list (if at all) beginning with:
1. Someone driving drunk.
2. Bartender(s) serving someone too intoxicated.
3. Not enough law enforcement at local bars.
4. Too many alcohol establishments permitted.
5. No enough law enforcement for speeders.
6. High risk intersections in Del Mar.
Not sure that he was even IN Encinitas. I may have missed it, but only see references to him returning to Del Mar.
Delete-MGJ
Coast News:
DeleteStockmeyer answered the door just before 1 a.m. and appeared intoxicated. He reportedly told deputies he was drinking with coworkers at Beachside Bar and Grill prior to the crash.
That third vote could have easily beenTony if he hadn't been compromised by his downtown bar friends. That Kristen and Mark voted against any action at that time wasn't a big surprise but Tony wtf! You blew it and I would wish you would now step up and approve the DAO. Are you waiting for the next fatality to come along before you do the right thing? Bring this back onto the agenda and try to make good asap.
ReplyDeleteTwo lives destroyed while Tony Kranz orbits Vulcan. May the farce be with him!
ReplyDeleteThe city council needs to address this issue again and approve a DAO. The downtown bar scene is out of control and they know it. It will not get any better.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if one of their relatives were involved, things would change. Or, does the council prefer a DOA (Dead on Arrival)?
You have the authority council. Do the right thing before more innocent lives are lost.
So does City Council support preserving property values and a good beach environment or selling out to developers and bar owners and killing the existing residents quality of life?
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrible crime.
ReplyDeleteDAO may come around again. Council clearly was influenced by the actions of the bar owners to improve things downtown. Even a few of the neighbors stood up and said that things were getting better. It that doesn't continue, DAO should be back and it should pass 5-0.
The threat of DAO seemed to cause the bar owners to get serious about being better neighbors, if only temporarily. What I looked for (and failed to find) is any statistical results from DAO in other CA cities. How do we know it works in practice? Do nuisance complaints decline after DAO is enacted? What about arrest rates for alcohol-related crimes?
Would DAO have prevented this DUI murder? How?
Probably not. This guy was using alcohol to deal with traumatic emotional issues and only intensified the dilemma exponentially. Getting into a car drunk was a disasterous decision and changed two lives forever. The only way to test patrons would to analyze them with detectors - you won't see businesses doing that. Maybe breathanalyzers can be installed in the "hot" spot bars for patrons' free use - make them aware of their impairment. There is no magic bullet to curb drunk driving, short of the cops having check points up and down the coast highway that filters traffic.
ReplyDeleteAs the city burns the council fiddles....meanwhile our streets fall apart.
ReplyDelete8:02 AM
ReplyDeleteThe bartender has the responsibility of cutting off drinks to any customer. Isn't the bar owner liable?
I would think proving that one particular bar bears all the responsibility is almost a legal impossibility.
DeleteYou only have to prove the last bar that served him.
Delete12:30,
DeleteNot that easy. All bars serve patrons well beyond the .08 limit, but not all patrons are driving home. And this guy had moved bars, so the second bar he went to wasn't aware of how many drinks he'd had. And as a practicing alcoholic, he may not have slurred or stumbled as he was ordering his last double as much as amateur drinkers at the same BAC would.
One thing that could be done would be to make Encinitas less of a well-known regional drunkfest zone. Then Bird Rock folks could just walk down to their corner pub rather than driving 20 miles for the big scene.
EU, how do you know why he drove here? He worked in construction, and met his buddies here. Maybe the buddies were working on a high-density housing project here. Maybe the buddies all live here. Maybe the construction company offices are here.
DeleteYou might be right that our critical mass of bars were the attraction, then again maybe not. Did this come up in court?
Maybe he was meeting Encinitas friends. We may never know. But having a well-known regional drunkfest zone certainly doesn't help, and could certainly cause the next fatality.
DeleteI don't think anything came up in court, as he pleaded guilty.
There's three elements here: Personal responsibility, the bar not overserving the patron and if you want to put a dent in the DUI #'s, cops out on the street in their cars. Word gets around quickly when the big 502's are handed out.
DeleteUntil the cops start cracking down, you're screwed. So if I was you, I'd be lobbying for more enforcement after 12. That's your angle. Worked in C-bad, worked in Solana Beach.
-MGJ
5:54 Unfortunately, we have a city council that is cozy with the bar owners so they don't want to ruffle their feathers. I guess the bar owners are more important than the citizens who pay the taxes and their salaries.
DeleteThey wouldn't want the cops to do any more than they have to do. If so, they would demand an increase in pay. So, the cops just sit and ticket people for stupid things, rather than going after the real problems.
The Sheriff's are contracted to the city, so if you want them to run a special patrol you have to pay for it. I'm sure DM and SB paid for it in the past. If you want a change, I recommend picketing city hall. Complaining on the blog won't cut it on this issue.
Delete-MGJ
WC, I may have missed it, but in any of the articles on this tragedy, does it specify the city and bar he was drinking in? It's irrelevant to the tragedy, but it would be background info of note if it was Encinitas.
Delete-MGJ
MGJ,
DeleteYes, the media have reported that he was drinking at Beachside Bar & Grill. Not sure if that was the first establishment with his buddies or the one he later went to alone.
Got it. Thanks. couldn't track it down. Sadly, our own problems with too many establishments are independent of this guy's alcohol problems and the life he took. It could have been any place in North County. The bottom line is don't drink and drive for one. Two would be maybe to try AA.
DeleteI would still say if you want a respite from the stupidity, you have to get some cops handing out DUI's. Works every time...
-MGJ
7:14 and 8:02 = city spin meister having conversation with self.
ReplyDelete11:13 AM OK, genius - solve the problem.
DeleteI can't help but think that the sheriff's sometimes have their priorities wrong. They ticket skateboarders without a helmet, which is OK, but they just don't want to stay up late to catch drunks. Maybe they need to hire a sheriff that works from 11PM until 6AM? That person's main job would be to be vigilant as to what is going on downtown Encinitas, and other parts of our city. Is there a person like that now? If not, why not?
DeleteYes, 11:13. Asking questions about whether DAO is effective is the tip off. Only a secret spy from the city would ask questions. Questions lead to thinking, and we can't have that. Real citizens should be angry and demand action now without questions or evidence of effectiveness.
DeleteI'm with you, brotherman.
I agree with 1:17. If there is a problem, and it is as everyone here seems to say there is, why can't one or two Sheriff cars petrol the area on weekends?? Encinitas is paying for the sheriffs, and there seems to be a crime and public safety issue. The solution to this problem lies in more enforcement and if that does not work, more regulation. Why doesn't the Sheriff's department own it! Perhaps anyone that sees anything criminal should be calling 911 to get a car to come.
Delete1:25 nailed it. Without 2-3 cop cars at strategic areas downtown, you'll just have to wait for the attraction to die down. This was always coming, and is one of the reasons I've always lived away from downtown, because once one bar/restaurant succeeds, more are coming, and at this point in history, the city is not going to go against the bus. owners...
Delete-MGJ
A patrol car, plus two walking beat cops, and a paddy wagon on weekend nights would be way more effective than any new unenforced paper regulation.
Delete1:25 - why can't we have the oversight you describe? Answer: because the city will never, ever, get between business and the "right" to revenue. Never. Ever.
DeleteDoes anyone know how the city's deal with the County for public safety works? Do we get a set percent of resources (cars and deputies)? It would seem for a city of 60,000 we'd have at least 10 cars and 10-20 deputies working on a Saturday night. And, it would seem reasonable to have 1/3 - 1/2 of that along 101.
DeleteWe pay for a contracted level of service. If we want more sheriffs, we have to pay for them.
DeleteOf course, we don't have a lot of extra money because 1) pensions 2) underfunded road maintenance 3) Encinitas Community Park 4) Pacific View.
Dora's the city get a share of ticket / fine / penalty revenue? If downtown is as bad as some say, policing should pay for itself.
DeleteNo. Ticket revenue is trivial to the city. Most fines get siphoned off to various county, state, and court charges.
DeleteSee the city's ridiculous red light camera contract with corrupt vendor Redflex, which takes more than a million dollars per year out of the local economy and provides no net financial benefit to the city.
Maybe the Sheriffs should walk a downtown beat on weekends - remember how they didi that in the" olden' days? Now they just want to stay in the Dodge Charger and case out the chicks.
ReplyDeleteSorry to change the subject. But is proper grammar and spelling no longer required for big city journalists?
ReplyDeleteOh God, not again. Grammar nut is back.
DeleteHow has Pacific Beach "survived"? They've put up with this drunken debacle for years. Maybe it is the 'downside' of this particular economic venue (bars) - but the revenue offsets it for the advantage of the ones' sponsoring the activity and those supposed to regulate it. In other words, not a lot of incentive to change.
ReplyDeleteRoll out the barrel!
PB is part of the city of San Diego....
DeleteHappy St. Patrick's Day. Get off the roads by 7.
ReplyDeleteÀ couple of years ago some folks fromPB cared enough to come speak at a council meeting when the downtown bar issue was on the agenda. They predicted, in detail, all the promises that PB bar owners had made to residents and warned Encinitas against believing the bar owner propaganda.
ReplyDeleteEncinitas bar owners spoke next and all the PB language came out verbatim to what the PB folks predicted. The result? A staring council voted to in favor of our bar owners.
The cynically-named "Encinitas Hospitality Association" claimed that they'd contracted with a security service at their own expense. It turned out the "security" was one lobe perso whose only recourse in the face of violations was to - ready? Call the sheriff. Council heard that, stared, and voted in favor of our bar owners.
There is zero will on the part of our council to do the right thing. Zero.
Excuse typos...thing you can get the gist though.
DeleteMoney rules....
DeleteYep. Awful to say, but it will take a personal experience on the part of a Council member to drive home the issue.
DeleteIts not the bar's fault or the city council's fault that someone acted irresponsibly and criminally! People need to take responsibility for their own actions
ReplyDeleteWhose fault is it when bars regularly violate capacity limits? Noise ordinances?
ReplyDeleteWhen bars overserve? There's a law against that, you know.
ReplyDeleteFind out who over served him and don't patronize those establishments and spread the word. The over serving continues and I've recently seen people stumbling drunk downtown.
ReplyDeleteNot my job. Between the city and the bar owners, they need to figure it out. Needless to say, I already don't patronize those bars. Somehow, I don't see my absence making a difference....
DeleteThe bars are pick up joints - always have been, always will be. The 20 somethings and 30's set will flock here. looking for the one night stand to the meaningful relationship. Alcohol is a drug of the emotions and those can be all over the map. Over doing it for certain people is a compulsion; for others, it is having a "good" time. Just stay out of the cars!
DeleteAlcohol does nothing but damage to your mind and your body. Over a period of years of use, even slight amounts, it will start affecting your vital organs. So, keep drinking folks and take your chances. There is such a thing as having a good time without alcohol.
DeleteStudies in peer-reviewed medical journals consistently show abstinence from alcohol shortens lifespan relative to peers who drink.
Deletehttp://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/09/why-alcohol-is-good-for-you
Yes, but if you don't drink, it feels longer.
Delete718 A very weak article at best.
Delete8:01, if you are more interested in dry academic primary research, try the link below. Or, just read the results:
Delete"Controlling only for age and gender, compared to moderate drinkers, abstainers had a more than 2 times increased mortality risk, heavy drinkers had 70% increased risk, and light drinkers had 23% increased risk. A model controlling for former problem drinking status, existing health problems, and key sociodemographic and social-behavioral factors, as well as for age and gender, substantially reduced the mortality effect for abstainers compared to moderate drinkers. However, even after adjusting for all covariates, abstainers and heavy drinkers continued to show increased mortality risks of 51 and 45%, respectively, compared to moderate drinkers."
http://while-science-sleeps.com/pdf/628.pdf
Or just say it's weak because it doesn't support your personal opinion.
8:45 WEAK. My suggestion to you would be check with your doctor.
DeleteMany doctors and the AMA refuse to recommend drinking because they are concerned that people will overdo it.
DeleteThat does not refute the fact that moderate drinking is associated with better health and longer lives.
"Moderate" is the key word. Every one has their own definition of what number of drinks per day that would be. Some think 1-2 drinks is moderate. For those who only drink once a week and consume 4-7 drinks that day, consider that moderate.
DeleteThe overall health of the individual must be taken into account, along with family history and genetics. In addition to that, what medications does the individual take, whether prescription or over the counter? Mixing some meds with alcohol can be lethal.
If a person has a weak liver and is not aware of it, even moderate drinking will cause further damage.
It's best not to play with fire.
Wine and Tylenol can be fatal. Just sayin'. I'm lucky to get the spins after 4 beers, so I never abuse alcohol. I do think it can be beneficial in the right smaller doses for many people though.Except for those alcoholics who have one sip and it's binge time.
ReplyDeleteAn article was just released regarding a lawsuit that makers of wine have been putting some pretty toxic stuff in their wine. This not only includes some of the cheaper brands, but well known brands that I know a lot of people buy. So, guess what folks, all that wine you thought was good for you turns out to have some awfully bad toxins in it.
ReplyDeleteMany comments talk about how drinkers themselves need to be responsible, but if a drinker is a alcoholic, this is a disease, and the drinker may not be able to monitor his/her own actions.
ReplyDeleteThis is why a Deemed Approved Ordinance (DAO) is a good idea. It shifts the burden to the bar owners who are benefiting from serving drinkers. In those towns that have DAO's there have been about 6 times that there have been actions taken, but having the rule in place raises the stakes on the bar owners--which is not a bad thing if they are following the rules themselves.
This town is famous for sweetheart deals for developers and bar owners that maximize profit at the expense of public safety and well-being.