http://statenews.com A proposed bill that would allow bars to stay open until 4 a.m. might seem like a two-hour legislative bonus to many college students. The bill states that bars and restaurants could remain open an extra two hours for an annual $2,500 fee. en-us Foundry4 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:13:38 -0400 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:35:22 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14786/view So, the position of this article is they should think about legislation before they pass it? Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:09:19 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14786/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14789/view “extending bar hours and tempting students to drink more for longer, would be an irresponsible move by East Lansing city officials”??? I thought students wanted to be treated like adults and contributing members of the East Lansing community. Now the SN is telling us that the students need to be restrained with legislation? And “potential for alcohol-related incidents including drunken driving and public intoxication likely would increase”, do you have any evidence of this or is this just one of those “we are the SN so we can make up anything we want” type of statistics? Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:52:52 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14789/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14806/view Longer bar hours don’t necessarily mean more people are drunker at the end of the night. Underagers are more likely to binge drink than older drinkers because the source of alcohol isn’t freely available to them. If the bar stays open until 4 am, I’ll probably still only want to spend the same amount of money between midnight and 4 as I did between midnight and 2 – I will be less intoxicated at the end of the night. Also, the potential for drunk driving incidents in East Lansing is high because of the parking issues. As long as you can’t park your car anywhere legally between 2 and 6 AM, there is little incentive for students not to try taking their car home and avoiding being ticketed. The only reason a 4 AM bar night would fail is the city’s desire to gain parking ticket revenue. Unless the parking ordinances change, there’s no social benefit to the majority of students in East Lansing. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:37:42 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14806/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14821/view If you live close enough to leave your car and walk home after the bars, why could you not just walk to the bar to begin with? I agree parking in EL sucks, but that part of your argument doesn’t make sense. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:10:50 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14821/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14825/view It is true, many of the bar-goers in East Lansing walk to the bar of their choice, and the 4am really would have no bearing on the drunk driving situation. If East Lansing really wants to “tackle” the drunk driving issue, they should allow parking in the streets all night long instead of forcing people to move their cars at 2am. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:24:02 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14825/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14833/view What if the bars stayed open until 4am but stopped serving alcohol at 2 or 3 am? I think that might be a good idea, but I can’t see any bars actually doing that. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:43:51 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14833/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14856/view So the bars would be open but not selling anything? That might be a good idea? What part of that is a good idea? And you can’t see bars actually doing that? Of course you can’t, why would bars pay workers and bills to continue running their establishment while no revenue is being earned? And why would anyone stay in a bar that isn’t selling alcohol? The only thing that makes sense to me about your comment is that you posted it anonymously. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:02:59 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14856/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14901/view you idiots…it would be a good idea, stop selling alcohol at 2 but stay open till 4. This might sober some people up and prevent alcohol related arrests and accidents Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:41:33 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14901/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14917/view Bill Lumburg, thank you, you are a voice of reason. Unfortunately, the editorial board has continually shown that they lack the journalistic abilities of even a high schooler. Again, they base their entire article on assumptions and opinions was not supported with facts. Why is a 2am closing good or bad – what supports this opinion? Why is an extended bar time bar good or bad – what supports this? Simply because bars are open until 4 does that mean everyone that normally stays out until 2am will stay out an additional 2 hours? Again, they failed to address simple, yet fundamental issues. It is easy to simply say something is good or bad, but there needs to be a why supported by facts. Unfortunately, SN does not understand this. Considering the school year is coming to an end, stating that they are merely students to justify their lack of due diligence is no longer valid. These mistakes are excused in August and September (or in middle and high school), but not in college and at the end of the year. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:16:19 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/14917/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/15082/view Matt – I don’t live close enough to campus to walk to the bars in East Lansing. If I did, sure, that part of my comment would make no sense, but I have a 20 minute drive to campus on good days. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:13:11 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/15082/view http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/15461/view After 2 the only thing left to do is to sober up. The drunkeness and drinkin and driving will stay the same, perhaps even lower because by 4 am most will be sober after a LONG night. Get some brains and think outside the box. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:35:22 -0400 http://statenews.com/index.php/comment/15461/view