Grant Money Adds Clout to Fight Against Alcohol Abuse

Armed with more than just picket signs, community activists across Ventura County have launched an aggressive crackdown on bars and liquor stores that violate the law.

Bankrolled by about $500,000 in county grant money, seven groups stretching from Newbury Park to the Avenue in Ventura are capping the first full year of an innovative program aimed at fighting alcohol abuse.

They have plenty to celebrate.

State investigators, spurred by community complaints, have in recent months shut down or suspended the liquor licenses of four well-known watering holes: Ventura’s Rendezvous Room, Oxnard’s two La Michoacana sports bars and the Launch Pad, a longtime Navy hangout south of Oxnard.

In all, the state has suspended or revoked licenses at 27 Ventura County bars and liquor stores this year, up from 17 in 1996.

Old-fashioned protest has been a major factor behind the shutdowns. But the grant money has enabled activists to bolster their campaign with expensive crime-fighting equipment.

Using the grant money, activists--who are putting a strong focus on teen drinking--have bought computer software that lets police departments track alcohol-related crimes. They have also purchased high-tech breath analyzers to be used at high school dances.

Several activists are being paid to lead the alcohol awareness campaign. Making about $10 an hour, group directors have taken a professional approach, incorporating as nonprofit organizations and setting up offices in police storefronts.

Although they say community service doesn’t have to cost a penny, activists agree the financial support gives them more clout than ever.

In Newbury Park, for instance, Kathy Olsen runs the Community Action Network out of her home. She left her legal billing service for the alcohol awareness campaign. In the past year, she has started a newsletter aimed at keeping Conejo Valley parents up to date on teen drinking issues and lobbied liquor stores to stop selling to children.

“It’s really not much when you compare it to the resources and marketing and advertising these big beer companies have,” Olsen said. She said that program directors work far more than 40 hours a week--but bill for much less than full-time work.

“We don’t have to worry about bake sales, membership fees, and carwashes,” Olsen added. “We’ve gotten right down to the nitty-gritty and gotten the work done.”

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Activists cited an array of reasons for cracking down on alcohol abuse, from personal experience with alcoholics to concerns about drunk driving.

“To me it creates teen violence and teen pregnancy,” said Linda Sickels, 45, a west Ventura volunteer whose adult daughter has been in and out of rehab. “Alcohol is the fuel for a lot of problems in our neighborhood.”

The Partners in Prevention program began in February 1996, when the county’s behavioral health department decided to revamp its approach toward supporting local alcohol and drug awareness groups.

In the past, the county hired consultants or assigned staff members to work with grass-roots groups. Experts lectured community members on alcohol and drugs, giving them advice on how to fight problems.

But county officials wanted a more aggressive approach. So they earmarked about $500,000 in federal money for the new program, said Sharon O’Hara, the county’s community service coordinator.

“The big deal is that the money is going to people with the biggest stake,” O’Hara said. “I can go into a town and talk about what can happen there, but when I go home, I don’t have a stake there. It’s one thing to tell people we’re going to teach them about empowerment. It’s much different to actually give them the tools to make change.”

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The seven groups selected to participate each receive an average of $50,000 per year, O’Hara said. The initial grants last 17 months, and officials expect to set aside another $500,000 to keep the program going through 1999, she said.

Activists have focused on alcohol abuse and the issue of teen drinking. But they have taken on drug abuse, drunken driving and other problems as well. Of the seven groups, four are based in Ventura: the West Ventura Partners in Prevention Coalition, the East Ventura Community Council, the LesBiGay Coalition and Community Partners for Safer Neighborhoods.

Oxnard’s Coalition for Community Development Inc. also received grant money. In east Ventura County, the program includes the Community Action Network in Newbury Park and the Moorpark-based Community Partners Network.

The bar shutdowns have produced the most visible results.

The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control was already investigating the Rendezvous Room, Launch Pad and La Michoacana bars, but activists hastened the process by urging investigators to focus on those watering holes. They did the same with the 9 to 9 Market in Ventura, which was shut down this year after being accused of selling alcohol to teens.

With only one investigator assigned to Ventura County, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control needs all the tips it can get, said Ed Macias, the agency’s regional director.

“We had files going on all them, but if we get the community complaints, we’re putting our energy behind those locations,” Macias said. “We’re spread thin here . . . but when you add the community groups, it increases our awareness big time.”

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In Oxnard, investigators this month suspended the liquor licenses of the La Michoacana sports bars. Residents complained that young girls packed the bars on weekends, and that rowdy crowds were growing out of control. During an undercover operation, investigators said they met about 30 women who had been bused in from Los Angeles to flirt with men and push drinks, confirming neighborhood complaints.

Activist Vicky Gonzales--who lobbied state officials to crack down on the La Michoacana bars--said the B-girl problem is serious.

“It really outrages me, because I know a man who blew his whole paycheck on B-girls. One week’s pay!” Gonzales said. “And when he has to go home, he’ll have to scam off his wife or mother for money. If he’s really desperate, it leads to crime.”

Gonzales, a lifelong resident of the mostly Latino, working-class neighborhood, heads the Coalition for Community Development. Headquartered in the Oxnard Police Department’s Colonia storefront, the group has received strong support from both county and city officials. The city’s Housing Authority, for instance, gave the activists $2,000 to incorporate as a nonprofit organization.

Next year, the group plans to continue targeting bars and liquor stores accused of flouting alcohol regulations. Currently, members are filming a video on alcohol awareness. The video, to be shown on public-access television, guides viewers through the process of filing complaints with the state against liquor stores and bars.

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Because of community activism, the number of bars and liquor stores in La Colonia has dwindled from about 20 to 11 in recent years, Gonzales said. But Gonzales--who routinely walks neighborhood liquor stores and grills clerks about their business practices--says law-abiding alcohol outlets have nothing to fear.

“They say, ‘Why are you picking on me?’ ” she said. “We can coexist. They just have to be responsible.”

In neighboring Ventura, the West Ventura Partners in Prevention group is enjoying similar results. That organization, headquartered in a police storefront off Ventura Avenue, has zeroed in on the issue of teen drinking.

So when community members charged that a 14-year-old boy got so drunk at the Rendezvous Room on Main Street that he had to be hospitalized, the group sprang into action, contacting both police and state investigators.

This month, state officials suspended the liquor license of the 140-year-old landmark bar for 20 days.

But rather than keeping the bar open, owner Janie Robinson--who said she was unfairly targeted by activists--decided to close down the Rendezvous Room for good.

“I’m just going to quit,” Robinson said when investigators announced the suspension two weeks ago. “I don’t like the police storefront here.”

Although the city is in the midst of a downtown revitalization effort, activists and officials say they are not conspiring to rid downtown of some bars.

Sharon Troll, director of the west Ventura group, said the motivation is simple: Alcohol abuse, and teen drinking in particular, continues to be a huge problem. And irresponsible bar and liquor store owners are making the situation worse.

“This isn’t a temperance movement,” said Troll, 55. “They’re always trying to blame somebody else, or think that you’re trying to turn their property into something nicer, redevelopment-wise. We’re simply saying, don’t sell to our kids.”

State investigator Macias said that while activists have been aggressive in their campaign against irresponsible bars and liquor stores, not every violation merits permanent closure.

“You’ve got to be a little reasonable,” Macias said. “These are businesspeople, in there to make money. They’re not running a charity program.”

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West Ventura activists plan to continue their teen alcohol awareness campaign next year using some high-tech tools.

The group recently bought three “passive alcohol sensors”--devices that detect alcohol on the breath and double as high-intensity flashlights--for $700 each. Ventura High School officials recently used the devices at a dance to screen students for drinking.

In addition, Troll’s group has also given about $25,000 of its grant money to the Police Department to help buy a computer program that tracks alcohol-related crime and sales to minors at bars and liquor stores. Other groups have made or are considering similar donations to local police.

Across the county in Newbury Park, Kathy Olsenis also wrestling with the issue of teen drinking.

Parents who either condone teen drinking or leave town for weekend vacations--opening the door for huge teen house parties --are causing the biggest problems, Olsen said.

The whole issue, she said, was highlighted by the recent resignation of Oak Park school board President Jeri Fox. Fox stepped down last month after acknowledging she hosted a homecoming party at which about 50 teens were served alcohol.

“Our point of view is that the choices for kids would be a lot easier if adults followed the law,” Olsen said.

To fight teen alcohol use, Olsen has launched numerous programs. Her group and others in the county program participated in the nationwide “Hands Off Halloween” campaign. Activists and teens went to liquor stores and lobbied owners to take down beer advertisements featuring black cats, ghosts and witches--marketing they believe entices children to drink.

The campaign was so successful that one Conejo Valley store owner agreed to display a poster that read, “What kind of monsters market beer to children?”

Meanwhile, the group has staged mock drunk-driving crashes at Newbury Park High School to warn teens of prom-night dangers. It also has established a parents directory, through which families that pledge not to allow house parties stay in contact.

Next year, the Newbury Park group plans to keep the pressure on local liquor stores with impromptu visits--much the same way Oxnard activist Gonzales monitors liquor stores in La Colonia.

That type of grass-roots activity remains crucial, even as the county’s grant program takes hold.

“We’re still willing to go out there with our picket signs,” Gonzales said. “I think that’s the key.”