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Alcohol ban CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Council has arranged a free con cert series, which started Memorial Day weekend, to take place every Saturday evening through Labor Day weekend in Finlay Park. While the ban suspends the privilege of bringing alcoholic beverages from responsible adults, it also brings vendors rev enue so that they will continue to support free events. Mark Rekers, a third-year ac counting student, said he sees both sides of the argument clearly. He said there must be a problem with alcohol abuse in parks if the Council has put this ban into ac tion, but added, “I believe that this ban may be necessary to ensure a safe environment for our families, even though it may seem unfair to penalize everyone because of the irresponsibility of a few.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu The Columbia Action Council’s lineup for their concert series at Finlay Park. June 5: Eugene Dykes (Big Band Jazz) June 12: Sabor! (Latin Jazz Orchestra) June 26: Danielle Howie (Rock & Roll) July 3: Still Cruzin’ (Dance Show Band) July 10: Big John & the Rhythm Brothers (R & B/Beach) July 17: Elliott & The Untouchables (Blues) July 24: Gospel in the Park (local choirs) July 31: Tokyo Joe (Rock & Roll) August 7; Caribbean Calypso (Calypso) August 14: Friends Band with Fred & Bunny (Variety Dance) August 21: Ross Holmes (Big Band Smoothies & Blues) fSTSWinX Deluxe bet Keg. bale -ajppgsf MIN $299 $264 $189 FULL $375 $249 $199 Colonial Reg Sale MIN $249 J156 $137 a FULL $306 $199 $169 10171 Two Notch Hd. * Columbia floated M Columbia, across from Target, Student ID Requited! S.C. Legislature allows voters to decide fate of minibottles in controversial referendum BY JIM DAVENPORT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Voters will decide the fate of minibottles in a November ref erendum. The House on Tuesday reached the two-thirds vote needed to get the question on the ballot. It re quired 82 votes and passed 84-25. That vote came after bar and restaurant workers from across the state packed the Statehouse and its parking garage Tuesday to lobby for passage. A smaller group of opponents were also on hand to try and kill the meas ure. South Carolina is the nation’s only state requiring that liquor drinks served in bars and restau rants be poured from the small bottles normally seen on air planes. Minibottles have been a fixture in the Palmetto State since 1974 and are mandated in the state’s constitution. In the referendum, voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be changed to allow sell ing liquor from containers other than minibottles. The legislation failed twict last week to muster enough votes, but Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, and others ral lied support over the weekend. “I’m thrilled that the people now have a chance to have a choice,” Clemmons said. “Now people can have a voice in the matter and be heard,” said House Speaker David Wilkins, R Greenville. some legislators were scepti cal. They said the issue should not go before voters until a sep arate measure spells out how minibottles will be replaced. “If the voters approve it, we will come back next year to pass enabling legislation,” Wilkins said. Others lawmakers said the po tential for lost tax collections ul timately could end up closing down local alcohol and drug abuse offices. “This is another vehicle to downsize programs for poor peo ple,” Rep. John Scott, D Columbia, said. Wilkins and Clemmons said passage of the referendum — and the elimination of minibottle rules—will increase state high way safety. People visiting the state’s beaches aren’t accustomed to the strength of drinks poured from the 1.7-ounce minibottles, Clemmons said. “We have out-of state folks who are used to a cer tain amount of alcohol in their drinks coming into South Carolina and ordering a drink and getting more alcohol than they are used to,” he said. Jake’s CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Street in Five Points, is better known for its 50 beers on tap and its outdoor television screens than for its efforts to further a Columbia aesthetic. In 2003, read ers of The Free Times voted Jake’s the best Five Points/Shandon bar of the year. Young trees grow alongside the outdoor tables, creating the laid-back atmosphere many pa trons enjoy between drags of their Camels and conversation al pauses over Budweisers and Screwdrivers. In the garden, traf fic noise is hushed, and ever green plants screen the patio from the Five Points clamor. Kent Ragin, 23, a regular pa tron, likes the bar’s fountain, a gurgling fixture of the new gar den. The Columbia Choice awards were the initiative of the Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission, a 1993 brain child of the Columbia City Council in tended to promote and protect Columbia’s natural resources and visual beauty. The Commission enlisted the nonprofit organization Columbia Green, which promotes horticul ture and conservation, to select juries of professionals in fields related to aesthetic development, such as architects and landscap ers. The Columbia Choice awards are now in their third year. Although the awards remain relatively unknown, Debbie Price, Columbia director of Forestry and Beautification, said they are “a positive way to rec ognize those who are going above and beyond what city ordinance requires.” “If the beautification of busi nesses develops into a competi tion within Five Points or city wide, that would be a wonderful result,” Price said. The streetscape outside of Jake’s has perhaps elicited little notice despite the new presence of plants, and owners guess the Columbia Choice award will like ly have little, if any, impact upon business at Jake’s. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu *