West Hollywood
The City Council split 2 to 2 last week over whether to grant an entertainment license to a controversial Sunset Boulevard nightclub.
The club, Glitter, in the 9000 block of the boulevard, has been trying to obtain entertainment, dancing and public eating licenses.
At a hearing last Thursday, Capt. James I. Cook, commander of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department station, objected to granting the licenses, citing a history of abuses of state liquor laws and questions over the role of the club’s owner, Demetrius Johnson, in past ventures at the address.
Johnson and supporters of the club have said they will comply with liquor regulations and have complained that they are victims of racial discrimination. Last month, joined by members of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, Johnson’s supporters picketed outside a City Council meeting.
At last week’s council meeting, council members Stephen Schulte and Valerie Terrigno voted in favor of granting the entertainment license, while Alan Viterbi and Mayor John Heilman were opposed. Councilwoman Helen Albert was absent.
The council postponed further action until its Oct. 17 meeting. Viterbi also directed Johnson’s attorney, Geraldine Green, to supply the board with further information on the club’s history.
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