The city has decided there will be an investigation launched into the Madrid Affair.
Also, the woman in the SUV - Trisha Turner, 34 - was apparently also drunk, slumped in the drivers' seat a block from Art's home, her feet pointing out the open door.
So think of this. She's slumped behind the wheel, the driver's side door open, her feet pointed out, vomit around the SUV. More vomit surrounded the Mayor, who was lying on the sidewalk when the police arrived.
Tremendous.
I for one am excited for this upcoming investigation.
Art Madrid (and we're not talkin' Museo del Prado)
God Bless Art Madrid. Not only does he have a cool name, the 72 year-old retired PacBell employee and long time mayor or La Mesa, California sometimes needs special treatment. According to AP, Mesa police responded to a "911 call from around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 and discovered Madrid lying on the sidewalk near the passenger side of his SUV with vomit nearby. A woman who works in the city finance department was in the driver's seat.
"The officers drove them to Madrid's home without giving them sobriety tests, prompting charges of special treatment.
The city council plans to meet Thursday to discuss the episode."
Who is this mystery woman? Was she driving, but stopped to let Art vomit and pass out? She wasn't helping him other than that? If you're having an affair with a woman at work, you'd think she'd at least stroke your hair while vomiting. Unless of course, it's just about the sex.
So many questions, so few answers. Perhaps he can help us out...
Err. Maybe not.
The town is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss the Mayor's activities. I'll post whatever follow up I can.
"The officers drove them to Madrid's home without giving them sobriety tests, prompting charges of special treatment.
The city council plans to meet Thursday to discuss the episode."
Who is this mystery woman? Was she driving, but stopped to let Art vomit and pass out? She wasn't helping him other than that? If you're having an affair with a woman at work, you'd think she'd at least stroke your hair while vomiting. Unless of course, it's just about the sex.
So many questions, so few answers. Perhaps he can help us out...
Err. Maybe not.
The town is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss the Mayor's activities. I'll post whatever follow up I can.
Substitute teacher admits being drunk in class
5:33 PM EST, February 27, 2008 - FREEHOLD, N.J.
Probation is being recommended for a substitute teacher who admitted being drunk in class.
Mary Kaminski, 54, of Middletown Township, pleaded guilty on Monday to endangering the welfare of a fourth-grade class at Manalapan's Pinebrook Elementary School in December.
Kaminski admitted bringing alcohol into the classroom in a coffee mug on Dec. 5 and drinking it during class. Students told the principal about her erratic behavior, and police were called.
In exchange for her plea, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will recommend that she be sentenced to probation on the condition that she begin treatment for alcohol abuse, undergo a psychological evaluation and give up her teaching certificate.
Kaminski remains free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing before Superior Court Judge Francis P. De Stefano on May 23.
Probation is being recommended for a substitute teacher who admitted being drunk in class.
Mary Kaminski, 54, of Middletown Township, pleaded guilty on Monday to endangering the welfare of a fourth-grade class at Manalapan's Pinebrook Elementary School in December.
Kaminski admitted bringing alcohol into the classroom in a coffee mug on Dec. 5 and drinking it during class. Students told the principal about her erratic behavior, and police were called.
In exchange for her plea, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will recommend that she be sentenced to probation on the condition that she begin treatment for alcohol abuse, undergo a psychological evaluation and give up her teaching certificate.
Kaminski remains free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing before Superior Court Judge Francis P. De Stefano on May 23.
Drunk Norwegian goes on rampage in Salzburg
A drunk Norwegian sailor 25 years of age has gone on an overnight rampage at a parking garage in Bad Gastein in Salzburg's Pongau.
The man vandalised 23 cars parked there, causing an estimate 30,000-to-40,000 Euros of damage.
He dented car hoods and roofs, smashed exterior mirrors and windshields and broke signal lights.
The man then passed out and was found asleep by a woman early the next morning.
She called police, who found the man's shoes on an upper floor of the garage and found that they fit him.
He said that he could not remember much about what had happened but blamed it on alcohol.
He offered to pay for the damage that he had caused. The man was in Bad Gastein on a skiing holiday.
The man vandalised 23 cars parked there, causing an estimate 30,000-to-40,000 Euros of damage.
He dented car hoods and roofs, smashed exterior mirrors and windshields and broke signal lights.
The man then passed out and was found asleep by a woman early the next morning.
She called police, who found the man's shoes on an upper floor of the garage and found that they fit him.
He said that he could not remember much about what had happened but blamed it on alcohol.
He offered to pay for the damage that he had caused. The man was in Bad Gastein on a skiing holiday.
Fire = Hurty
Drunk man in ill-advised firewalking mishap
Monday, February 18, 2008
A drunk man in Wigan discovered the painful way that firewalking isn't, in fact, terribly easy, as he suffered severely burned feet after trying to walk across a bonfire.
The 23-year-old man had reportedly been drinking with a group of young people, by a bonfire which they had started on playing fields by St Annes Primary School in Wigan.
As is the way of these things, it appears he was dared to walk across the flames. Naturally, he removed his shoes and socks and did so, according to Wigan Today.
He suffered serious burns, including an amount of melted plastic stuck to his skin, probably due to the fact that the bonfire had been built partially out of plastic bread trays.
A spokesperson for the fire service said that his actions 'beggared belief'.
The fire brigade put out the bonfire and called an ambulance to take the man to hospital. An hour later, they were called back out, when the same group started another fire.
Monday, February 18, 2008
A drunk man in Wigan discovered the painful way that firewalking isn't, in fact, terribly easy, as he suffered severely burned feet after trying to walk across a bonfire.
The 23-year-old man had reportedly been drinking with a group of young people, by a bonfire which they had started on playing fields by St Annes Primary School in Wigan.
As is the way of these things, it appears he was dared to walk across the flames. Naturally, he removed his shoes and socks and did so, according to Wigan Today.
He suffered serious burns, including an amount of melted plastic stuck to his skin, probably due to the fact that the bonfire had been built partially out of plastic bread trays.
A spokesperson for the fire service said that his actions 'beggared belief'.
The fire brigade put out the bonfire and called an ambulance to take the man to hospital. An hour later, they were called back out, when the same group started another fire.
And Drunk
Jesus.
Please, "Google" the word 'drunk'. Then, click on 'News. You'll be ashamed at what you see.
The point of this blog wasn't so much to proclaim anything. It was in fact to make me feel silly when I drink, considering how I am connected to the those who are drunk and in the news, especially those in the UK (Christ, they like to get drunk).
However, considering that you've now googled drunk news, you'll see that it is littered with DUI.
And that ain't funny.
Even though it makes me feel worse about drinking.
And did I mention that I'm drunk now?
Please, "Google" the word 'drunk'. Then, click on 'News. You'll be ashamed at what you see.
The point of this blog wasn't so much to proclaim anything. It was in fact to make me feel silly when I drink, considering how I am connected to the those who are drunk and in the news, especially those in the UK (Christ, they like to get drunk).
However, considering that you've now googled drunk news, you'll see that it is littered with DUI.
And that ain't funny.
Even though it makes me feel worse about drinking.
And did I mention that I'm drunk now?
And Daft
Gun prank teen told police: " I was drunk"
A regular at a Blackpool off-licence produced an imitation gun in a drunken prank.
Teenager Benjamin Hudson had been in the shop about six times earlier that day, without buying a thing.
He had his hood pulled down over his eyes in an apparent attempt at a disguise only to be told by a female assistant: "Don't be daft Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
Nineteen year old Hudson of First Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to affray and also possessing an imitation firearm.
The offences were in August last year at an off-licence on Easington Crescent, Grange Park in the resort.
Mr Charles Brown, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said the defendant had been known to a woman working at the premises for over a year.
He went into the shop around half a dozen times that day, without buying anything.
Hudson had appeared unsteady on his feet and his speech was garbled.
That evening she and another member of staff were behind the counter when the teenager walked in.
Two other customers and a young child were in the shop.
Mr Brown told the court: "The defendant was stood there.
"He pulled a handgun from his pocket, but did not completely take it out.
"He had his hood down over his eyes in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity".
He didn't say anything, but a woman working there said: "Don't be daft, Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
A customer said: "Don't do it".
Hudson replied: "How do you know it's me?".
He walked to the door and later left.
Following arrest he told police: "I was drunk. It was a joke really".
Mr Stuart Denney, defending, said it had been an utterly foolish prank.
The weapon, a pellet imitation firearm, had not been pointed.
"If there's one place in Blackpool where he would be instantly recognised, it was this shop.
"Having been told to desist, he left the premises immediately and then hung around outside, waiting should the police come.
"He is ashamed and embarassed about what he has done.
"He has offered his sincere apologies".
Hudson was given 26 week detention, suspended for two years with two years supervision and 60 hours unpaid work.
Judge Stuart Baker told the defendant: "You would have to be completely unaware of what is going on in the community at this time not to be conscious of the real concern that there is at all levels of society, about people who carry guns or imitation guns."
A regular at a Blackpool off-licence produced an imitation gun in a drunken prank.
Teenager Benjamin Hudson had been in the shop about six times earlier that day, without buying a thing.
He had his hood pulled down over his eyes in an apparent attempt at a disguise only to be told by a female assistant: "Don't be daft Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
Nineteen year old Hudson of First Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to affray and also possessing an imitation firearm.
The offences were in August last year at an off-licence on Easington Crescent, Grange Park in the resort.
Mr Charles Brown, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said the defendant had been known to a woman working at the premises for over a year.
He went into the shop around half a dozen times that day, without buying anything.
Hudson had appeared unsteady on his feet and his speech was garbled.
That evening she and another member of staff were behind the counter when the teenager walked in.
Two other customers and a young child were in the shop.
Mr Brown told the court: "The defendant was stood there.
"He pulled a handgun from his pocket, but did not completely take it out.
"He had his hood down over his eyes in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity".
He didn't say anything, but a woman working there said: "Don't be daft, Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
A customer said: "Don't do it".
Hudson replied: "How do you know it's me?".
He walked to the door and later left.
Following arrest he told police: "I was drunk. It was a joke really".
Mr Stuart Denney, defending, said it had been an utterly foolish prank.
The weapon, a pellet imitation firearm, had not been pointed.
"If there's one place in Blackpool where he would be instantly recognised, it was this shop.
"Having been told to desist, he left the premises immediately and then hung around outside, waiting should the police come.
"He is ashamed and embarassed about what he has done.
"He has offered his sincere apologies".
Hudson was given 26 week detention, suspended for two years with two years supervision and 60 hours unpaid work.
Judge Stuart Baker told the defendant: "You would have to be completely unaware of what is going on in the community at this time not to be conscious of the real concern that there is at all levels of society, about people who carry guns or imitation guns."
Lock Me Up
Keyhole surgery? Drunk student swallows doorkey
1 day ago
LONDON (AFP) — A British student swallowed his door key to prevent friends from forcing him to go home because he was drunk, reports said Wednesday.
Chris Foster, studying computer design at Bournemouth University in southern England, had drunk six beers as well as vodka and whisky when his friends decided he should go home and sleep it off. But the 18-year-old wanted to keep partying. "My friends said I'd had too much to drink and should go to my room. But I didn't want to so I swallowed my door key," he said, according to the Daily Mirror.
He slept on a friend's sofa, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing. When told what he had done, he thought they were joking. "I thought it was a wind-up when my friend said I had swallowed it.
"But my throat and stomach didn't feel quite right."
A nurse friend advised him to go to hospital just in case -- and he was finally convinced when the two-inch (five cm) house-key showed up clearly on an X-ray.
"I was stunned when I saw the key, but couldn't stop laughing -- even the doctors were sniggering. They said 'let nature to take its course' and it appeared next day," he said.
Fully recovered -- albeit still a little sore -- Foster remains philosophical about the experience.
"I just laughed at the idea of stopping drinking, I wanted to carry on and not go home. So I dry swallowed my own door key as a prank," he told the Basingstoke Gazette.
"It didn't hurt at the time but now my throat is slightly scratched and it's so painful to eat and drink."
1 day ago
LONDON (AFP) — A British student swallowed his door key to prevent friends from forcing him to go home because he was drunk, reports said Wednesday.
Chris Foster, studying computer design at Bournemouth University in southern England, had drunk six beers as well as vodka and whisky when his friends decided he should go home and sleep it off. But the 18-year-old wanted to keep partying. "My friends said I'd had too much to drink and should go to my room. But I didn't want to so I swallowed my door key," he said, according to the Daily Mirror.
He slept on a friend's sofa, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing. When told what he had done, he thought they were joking. "I thought it was a wind-up when my friend said I had swallowed it.
"But my throat and stomach didn't feel quite right."
A nurse friend advised him to go to hospital just in case -- and he was finally convinced when the two-inch (five cm) house-key showed up clearly on an X-ray.
"I was stunned when I saw the key, but couldn't stop laughing -- even the doctors were sniggering. They said 'let nature to take its course' and it appeared next day," he said.
Fully recovered -- albeit still a little sore -- Foster remains philosophical about the experience.
"I just laughed at the idea of stopping drinking, I wanted to carry on and not go home. So I dry swallowed my own door key as a prank," he told the Basingstoke Gazette.
"It didn't hurt at the time but now my throat is slightly scratched and it's so painful to eat and drink."
Let's Go Giants!!! Pt. III
120 arrested for driving drunk in Scottsdale, East Valley
Last Update: 1:59 pm
By Ryan Calhoun
ABC15.com
Over 100 drivers were arrested in the East Valley during Super Bowl week for driving under the influence. Arizona Department of Public Safety East Valley Metro officers said they made 51 DUI arrests since Jan. 24.
The collective unit of DPS, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Scottsdale Police made a total of 120 DUI arrests in the East Valley, according to DPS. The arrests were made during a week when the annual FBR Open, Super Bowl and other related events were all scheduled in the Valley.
Several arrests were also made on Super Bowl Sunday in the West Valley by DPS officers and officers from other agencies, according to DPS.
Last Update: 1:59 pm
By Ryan Calhoun
ABC15.com
Over 100 drivers were arrested in the East Valley during Super Bowl week for driving under the influence. Arizona Department of Public Safety East Valley Metro officers said they made 51 DUI arrests since Jan. 24.
The collective unit of DPS, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Scottsdale Police made a total of 120 DUI arrests in the East Valley, according to DPS. The arrests were made during a week when the annual FBR Open, Super Bowl and other related events were all scheduled in the Valley.
Several arrests were also made on Super Bowl Sunday in the West Valley by DPS officers and officers from other agencies, according to DPS.
But All My Mates Are Sober
Drunk man was ‘most violent in gang’
A MAN arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Colne police station struck again soon afterwards.
Burnley Magistrates heard how Anthony Fitzpatrick, 23, was involved in an altercation outside a pub on Keighley Road, Colne, and was said by the police to be the most violent in the gang.
He was seen throwing punches towards staff members and shouted and made threats as police approached.
He fell to the floor and was immediately arrested.
Fitzpatrick had earlier been given a conditional discharge for the incident outside the police station.
The defendant, of River Street, Colne, admitted being drunk and disorderly on January 27.
Fitzpatrick, who is awaiting an operation, told the bench: "I can't believe I have done it again. It's stupid."
He was fined £250 after admitting being drunk and disorderly in breach of the discharge and must pay £15 victim surcharge.
1:50pm Monday 4th February 2008
A MAN arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Colne police station struck again soon afterwards.
Burnley Magistrates heard how Anthony Fitzpatrick, 23, was involved in an altercation outside a pub on Keighley Road, Colne, and was said by the police to be the most violent in the gang.
He was seen throwing punches towards staff members and shouted and made threats as police approached.
He fell to the floor and was immediately arrested.
Fitzpatrick had earlier been given a conditional discharge for the incident outside the police station.
The defendant, of River Street, Colne, admitted being drunk and disorderly on January 27.
Fitzpatrick, who is awaiting an operation, told the bench: "I can't believe I have done it again. It's stupid."
He was fined £250 after admitting being drunk and disorderly in breach of the discharge and must pay £15 victim surcharge.
1:50pm Monday 4th February 2008
Let the Tests Begin
Drunk crew delays Russian freight plane in Sweden
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:23:00 02/04/2008
STOCKHOLM -- A Russian freight plane scheduled to fly from the southern Swedish town of Malmoe to Moscow was delayed Monday after two crew members were found to be drunk, police said.
"The airport received a tip that the crew might be drunk since they had been seen partying through the night. A test was conducted and two of the eight crew members were found to be intoxicated," Malmoe police spokesman Lars Foerstell told Agence France-Presse.
New tests would be conducted on the two Russian crew members, a radio operator and a flight engineer, every few hours, Foerstell said.
The plane, which had been scheduled to leave at around 0700 GMT, would not be permitted to take off until eight hours after the tests came up completely clean, he added.
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:23:00 02/04/2008
STOCKHOLM -- A Russian freight plane scheduled to fly from the southern Swedish town of Malmoe to Moscow was delayed Monday after two crew members were found to be drunk, police said.
"The airport received a tip that the crew might be drunk since they had been seen partying through the night. A test was conducted and two of the eight crew members were found to be intoxicated," Malmoe police spokesman Lars Foerstell told Agence France-Presse.
New tests would be conducted on the two Russian crew members, a radio operator and a flight engineer, every few hours, Foerstell said.
The plane, which had been scheduled to leave at around 0700 GMT, would not be permitted to take off until eight hours after the tests came up completely clean, he added.
And On Welfare
Sorry, I'm drunk - and other reasons people are missing their benefits review
by BENEDICT BROGAN
Night out: An excuse for a no-show to a mandatory benefits review? One in five welfare claimants fails to show up for a mandatory review of their benefits. Among the audacious excuses given by absentees are that they were drunk or away on holiday.
Others included drink-fuelled brawls, hangovers, sick relatives, forgetfulness and a missed flight.
One claimant said he had fallen down stairs, another claimed he suffered from memory loss and some lamented "the irrelevance of work to their lives".
Research by the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that the Government is still struggling to trim the hidden army of longterm jobless.
The study coincides with scathing criticisms of Labour's record on incapacity benefit.
David Freud, an investment banker appointed to help reform the system, described the disabilitytests used to decide who gets some of the £12billion paid out each year as "ludicrous".
Incapacity benefit is worth up to £81.35 a week and has been criticised as a disguised way of cutting dole queues.
Embarrassingly for Gordon Brown, Mr Freud said barely a third of the 2.64million incapacity claimants are genuine. T
hat would suggest 1.9million are well enough to go back to work.
The official study found that 21 per cent of claimants failed to attend a new and compulsory "work focused interview" designed to put them on the road to a job.
Recent figures show that more than 250,000 claimants have been ordered to attend mandatory interviews since July, suggesting that at least 50,000 have ignored the call-up.
A further 25 per cent attended just one meeting before giving up.
Only 14 per cent - one in seven - made it through the full series of six interviews demanded by Government.
The Prime Minister has promised to axe the state benefits of those who refuse to take a job or volunteer for training.
He is under pressure from Tory leader David Cameron who last month announced an ambitious "tough love" plan.
Modelled on a U.S. initiative, this would see benefits for persistent shirkers stopped after two years.
The Government's research into benefits interviews uncovered a persistent reluctance to take threats of benefit sanctions seriously.
Other claimants failed even to realise their handouts were at risk.
The research paper states: "Although the majority of customers knew that the meeting . . . was compulsory, less than half of respondents who attended were aware that their benefits could be reduced if they did not attend them."
Philip Hammond, Tory work and pensions spokesman, said: "We've had seven separate announcements last summer about how Mr Brown is being radical and tough in trying to get people back to work - but this report shows that his approach just isn't working.
"Clearly many benefit recipients are just not taking what the Government is doing seriously. We need a radical, 'tough love' approach to welfare and not the timid tinkering we have at the moment."
Last month figures showed that more than half a million under-35s are living on state handouts because they say they are too sick to work. They outnumbered those actually looking for a job.
Mr Brown has boasted that ten years of Labour's "new deal" welfareto-work methods have helped 1.8million benefit claimants into work.
But he is struggling to tackle the so-called "sicknote culture" of those who opt out of work with little medical reason.
Reforms introduced by Mr Brown include renaming incapacity benefit as employment support allowance and introducing a medical test to weed out less disabled claimants.
However the tests are expected to move only 20,000 a year off disability benefits and will apply to new claimants only.
by BENEDICT BROGAN
Night out: An excuse for a no-show to a mandatory benefits review? One in five welfare claimants fails to show up for a mandatory review of their benefits. Among the audacious excuses given by absentees are that they were drunk or away on holiday.
Others included drink-fuelled brawls, hangovers, sick relatives, forgetfulness and a missed flight.
One claimant said he had fallen down stairs, another claimed he suffered from memory loss and some lamented "the irrelevance of work to their lives".
Research by the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that the Government is still struggling to trim the hidden army of longterm jobless.
The study coincides with scathing criticisms of Labour's record on incapacity benefit.
David Freud, an investment banker appointed to help reform the system, described the disabilitytests used to decide who gets some of the £12billion paid out each year as "ludicrous".
Incapacity benefit is worth up to £81.35 a week and has been criticised as a disguised way of cutting dole queues.
Embarrassingly for Gordon Brown, Mr Freud said barely a third of the 2.64million incapacity claimants are genuine. T
hat would suggest 1.9million are well enough to go back to work.
The official study found that 21 per cent of claimants failed to attend a new and compulsory "work focused interview" designed to put them on the road to a job.
Recent figures show that more than 250,000 claimants have been ordered to attend mandatory interviews since July, suggesting that at least 50,000 have ignored the call-up.
A further 25 per cent attended just one meeting before giving up.
Only 14 per cent - one in seven - made it through the full series of six interviews demanded by Government.
The Prime Minister has promised to axe the state benefits of those who refuse to take a job or volunteer for training.
He is under pressure from Tory leader David Cameron who last month announced an ambitious "tough love" plan.
Modelled on a U.S. initiative, this would see benefits for persistent shirkers stopped after two years.
The Government's research into benefits interviews uncovered a persistent reluctance to take threats of benefit sanctions seriously.
Other claimants failed even to realise their handouts were at risk.
The research paper states: "Although the majority of customers knew that the meeting . . . was compulsory, less than half of respondents who attended were aware that their benefits could be reduced if they did not attend them."
Philip Hammond, Tory work and pensions spokesman, said: "We've had seven separate announcements last summer about how Mr Brown is being radical and tough in trying to get people back to work - but this report shows that his approach just isn't working.
"Clearly many benefit recipients are just not taking what the Government is doing seriously. We need a radical, 'tough love' approach to welfare and not the timid tinkering we have at the moment."
Last month figures showed that more than half a million under-35s are living on state handouts because they say they are too sick to work. They outnumbered those actually looking for a job.
Mr Brown has boasted that ten years of Labour's "new deal" welfareto-work methods have helped 1.8million benefit claimants into work.
But he is struggling to tackle the so-called "sicknote culture" of those who opt out of work with little medical reason.
Reforms introduced by Mr Brown include renaming incapacity benefit as employment support allowance and introducing a medical test to weed out less disabled claimants.
However the tests are expected to move only 20,000 a year off disability benefits and will apply to new claimants only.
So Blame British Culture
New Fears Over Boozy Britain
By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer 11:20 AM CST, February 3, 2008
Super-sized servings of sauvignon blanc, giant goblets of grenache: wine glasses in Britain's bars are larger than ever and deepening the country's problematic relationship with alcohol, lawmakers and health officials warn.
Huge measures of wine and a glut of cheap alcohol on sale at supermarkets are fueling a worrying rise in problem drinking among adults, particularly women, authorities say.
Britain has won notoriety for reckless drinking among the young. Drunken, brawling teens and twentysomethings have become a familiar sight in town centers. Relaxed laws mean pubs whose opening times used to be strictly regulated can now serve drinkers round the clock.
The minimum drinking age in pubs is 18, but lawmakers say the crisis of excessive drinking is no longer confined to youth. They warn a steady rise in alcohol intake among older adults -- both in bars and at home -- could have a calamitous impact on the nation's health.
Some parliamentarians are putting it down to the size of the glass.
"Almost by stealth, we have ended up drinking much more than we used to in the past -- everyone is susceptible to it," lawmaker Norman Lamb told The Associated Press.
Lamb, the opposition Liberal Democrat party spokesman on health, claims almost all pubs have ditched the once-standard size wine glass which held 4.2 fluid ounces. Instead, they offer one twice as big.
"It's leaving many customers drinking more than they want to," said Lamb's fellow lawmaker, Greg Mulholland, who has called for a law requiring all venues to reinstate the smaller glass.
Jo Caddy, a 35-year-old account manager who cradled a large white wine at The Goose pub in central London, said smaller glasses hold far too little.
"I'd probably drink a bit quick and then I'd have to drink another one," she said.
Danny Blackmore, 31, manager of The Printer's Devil, another central London pub, said British culture, not glass size, is the problem. "You can serve them jugs or you can serve them thimbles -- if they're going out to get drunk they'll get drunk," he said.
Government research has found up to a quarter of adults are also consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol at home. Ministers said last year that middle-aged, middle-class professionals were the worst offenders.
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, a charity, said Britons simply have no idea how much they're drinking.
"The old rules of thumb have gone out of the window and part of that is down to the size of wine glasses," she said. "The glasses are larger and the wines are a lot stronger. It's a minefield for anyone trying to keep tabs on what they've had."
She said around 7 million Britons are regularly drinking above recommended limits -- around two standard glasses for men and one-and-a-half for women.
Women are increasingly the ones breaching guidelines -- often unaware of the potential health effects, which can include an increased risk of breast cancer, Sen said.
Britain's health department said it is so concerned that it is developing a $20 million education campaign to target adults later this year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is planning curbs on the sales of cheap alcohol in stores, has hinted he could scrap predecessor Tony Blair's decision to allow pubs to open 24 hours a day.
In a swank bar in London's legal district, Nick Sperrin, a 44-year-old client services manager, said most British venues now automatically serve wine in the largest glass available.
"People don't know how much they're drinking. There's a third of a bottle of wine in there," he said, pointing to his 8.4 ounce glass
"They just say, 'Can I get a glass?' and they don't realize they're going to get a bucket."
By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer 11:20 AM CST, February 3, 2008
Super-sized servings of sauvignon blanc, giant goblets of grenache: wine glasses in Britain's bars are larger than ever and deepening the country's problematic relationship with alcohol, lawmakers and health officials warn.
Huge measures of wine and a glut of cheap alcohol on sale at supermarkets are fueling a worrying rise in problem drinking among adults, particularly women, authorities say.
Britain has won notoriety for reckless drinking among the young. Drunken, brawling teens and twentysomethings have become a familiar sight in town centers. Relaxed laws mean pubs whose opening times used to be strictly regulated can now serve drinkers round the clock.
The minimum drinking age in pubs is 18, but lawmakers say the crisis of excessive drinking is no longer confined to youth. They warn a steady rise in alcohol intake among older adults -- both in bars and at home -- could have a calamitous impact on the nation's health.
Some parliamentarians are putting it down to the size of the glass.
"Almost by stealth, we have ended up drinking much more than we used to in the past -- everyone is susceptible to it," lawmaker Norman Lamb told The Associated Press.
Lamb, the opposition Liberal Democrat party spokesman on health, claims almost all pubs have ditched the once-standard size wine glass which held 4.2 fluid ounces. Instead, they offer one twice as big.
"It's leaving many customers drinking more than they want to," said Lamb's fellow lawmaker, Greg Mulholland, who has called for a law requiring all venues to reinstate the smaller glass.
Jo Caddy, a 35-year-old account manager who cradled a large white wine at The Goose pub in central London, said smaller glasses hold far too little.
"I'd probably drink a bit quick and then I'd have to drink another one," she said.
Danny Blackmore, 31, manager of The Printer's Devil, another central London pub, said British culture, not glass size, is the problem. "You can serve them jugs or you can serve them thimbles -- if they're going out to get drunk they'll get drunk," he said.
Government research has found up to a quarter of adults are also consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol at home. Ministers said last year that middle-aged, middle-class professionals were the worst offenders.
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, a charity, said Britons simply have no idea how much they're drinking.
"The old rules of thumb have gone out of the window and part of that is down to the size of wine glasses," she said. "The glasses are larger and the wines are a lot stronger. It's a minefield for anyone trying to keep tabs on what they've had."
She said around 7 million Britons are regularly drinking above recommended limits -- around two standard glasses for men and one-and-a-half for women.
Women are increasingly the ones breaching guidelines -- often unaware of the potential health effects, which can include an increased risk of breast cancer, Sen said.
Britain's health department said it is so concerned that it is developing a $20 million education campaign to target adults later this year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is planning curbs on the sales of cheap alcohol in stores, has hinted he could scrap predecessor Tony Blair's decision to allow pubs to open 24 hours a day.
In a swank bar in London's legal district, Nick Sperrin, a 44-year-old client services manager, said most British venues now automatically serve wine in the largest glass available.
"People don't know how much they're drinking. There's a third of a bottle of wine in there," he said, pointing to his 8.4 ounce glass
"They just say, 'Can I get a glass?' and they don't realize they're going to get a bucket."
The Wild West Comedy Show Arrives in Hampstead
Couple sues after reception disrupted by drunk party crashers
February 2, 2008
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. --A Massachusetts couple has filed a lawsuit claiming their wedding reception in New Hampshire was ruined by drunk guests from another wedding party.
Sans and Marcy Milbury of Danvers, Mass., had their reception last fall at the Granite Rose banquet facility. Their lawsuit describes drunk guests from another wedding attacking their attendants and vomiting all over the restrooms the two parties shared. Police eventually were called in when the confrontation escalated into a brawl involving up to 100 people in the parking lot.
The couple is suing the Kieley Corp., which owns the Granite Rose, claiming it failed to provide a safe environment. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
February 2, 2008
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. --A Massachusetts couple has filed a lawsuit claiming their wedding reception in New Hampshire was ruined by drunk guests from another wedding party.
Sans and Marcy Milbury of Danvers, Mass., had their reception last fall at the Granite Rose banquet facility. Their lawsuit describes drunk guests from another wedding attacking their attendants and vomiting all over the restrooms the two parties shared. Police eventually were called in when the confrontation escalated into a brawl involving up to 100 people in the parking lot.
The couple is suing the Kieley Corp., which owns the Granite Rose, claiming it failed to provide a safe environment. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
And Need Some Pants
By BEVIN MILAVSKY
The Express-Times
(Saturday, February 02, 2008) - A 911 hang-up call last month from the 3900 block of Cedar Drive led police to a drunken woman barreling out of her driveway while not wearing any pants.
Township police Friday filed charges accusing Kathiann Talbott, 49, of nearly plowing her pickup truck into the patrol car about 6 p.m. Jan. 22 as the officers backed out of the driveway after no one came to the front door.
Talbott attempted to drive back into her garage and shut the door, but it hit the back of the truck and sprung open, allowing officers Michael McGonigle and Philip A. Mirabile to approach her.
Talbott allegedly yelled obscenities at the officers, telling them there was no way they received a 911 hang-up call from her home. While ordering them off her property, the officers noticed an odor of alcohol on her breath, according to court documents.
After asking her numerous times to get out of the vehicle, Mirabile tried to open the truck door, and Talbott allegedly closed the window on McGonigle's arm and then tried to bite Mirabile's hand.
The two officers managed to yank Talbott from the car, which is when they realized she was not wearing any pants. She allegedly urinated on Mirabile's boots and legs and told police she was partially undressed because she had just been having sex.
Talbott told the officers she met a man on the Internet and drove to a bus stop in Allentown to pick him up. When they reached her home, she told him he was not what she expected and that he should leave. He argued with her, asked for a ride back to the bus stop and then called 911, according to court documents.
Court documents say Talbott repeatedly asked the police officers to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
A toxicology report from St. Luke's Hospital indicated she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent, according to police.
Talbott was arraigned before District Judge William Zaun on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, drunken driving and harassment. She was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail.
The Express-Times
(Saturday, February 02, 2008) - A 911 hang-up call last month from the 3900 block of Cedar Drive led police to a drunken woman barreling out of her driveway while not wearing any pants.
Township police Friday filed charges accusing Kathiann Talbott, 49, of nearly plowing her pickup truck into the patrol car about 6 p.m. Jan. 22 as the officers backed out of the driveway after no one came to the front door.
Talbott attempted to drive back into her garage and shut the door, but it hit the back of the truck and sprung open, allowing officers Michael McGonigle and Philip A. Mirabile to approach her.
Talbott allegedly yelled obscenities at the officers, telling them there was no way they received a 911 hang-up call from her home. While ordering them off her property, the officers noticed an odor of alcohol on her breath, according to court documents.
After asking her numerous times to get out of the vehicle, Mirabile tried to open the truck door, and Talbott allegedly closed the window on McGonigle's arm and then tried to bite Mirabile's hand.
The two officers managed to yank Talbott from the car, which is when they realized she was not wearing any pants. She allegedly urinated on Mirabile's boots and legs and told police she was partially undressed because she had just been having sex.
Talbott told the officers she met a man on the Internet and drove to a bus stop in Allentown to pick him up. When they reached her home, she told him he was not what she expected and that he should leave. He argued with her, asked for a ride back to the bus stop and then called 911, according to court documents.
Court documents say Talbott repeatedly asked the police officers to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
A toxicology report from St. Luke's Hospital indicated she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent, according to police.
Talbott was arraigned before District Judge William Zaun on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, drunken driving and harassment. She was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail.
But I'm Told It's Not A Defense
Judge rejects 'too drunk' defense
Michael Zeigler
Staff writer
(February 2, 2008) — Although Cyon Badger admitted shooting an innocent bystander during a dispute on Monroe Avenue last summer, he claimed he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
But a judge Friday rejected that defense, finding Badger guilty of intentionally killing Adam Emling and attempting to kill bouncer Frank Hall.
Ruling after a nonjury trial Badger requested, Monroe County Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. convicted Badger of second-degree murder in Emling's death and attempted second-degree murder for trying to kill Hall.
Badger, 41, will be sentenced Feb. 20. He faces a prison term of 15 years to life to 25 years to life for murder and another 25 years for attempted murder.
Emling's family declined to speak after the verdict. Assistant District Attorney Joanne M. Winslow said they have been devastated by their son's slaying.
"I don't know if this brings closure (to Emling's family)," she said. "I don't know if they can ever have closure. They lost a totally innocent 24-year-old son."
Emling, a Florida native who came to Rochester nine months before he was killed and was living in Irondequoit, was slain outside Mark's Texas Hots on July 14, 2007.
Badger got into a fight with three young men after leaving Callahan's bar on Monroe Avenue. Hall, a bouncer at Mark's Texas Hots, intervened at one point and Badger left.
Badger went to his apartment across the street, got a 12-gauge shotgun and returned to shoot and wound Hall "for what he did to me," Badger said in a statement to police. Emling had no role in the previous fight but was standing outside.
Badger lowered the gun to shoot Hall and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire and Hall ran back into Mark's, Winslow said. Badger loaded a new shell into the gun, pointed the gun at a woman standing next to Emling, then pointed it at Emling and fired from as close as two feet, she said.
Emling was hit in the abdomen.
Michael Zeigler
Staff writer
(February 2, 2008) — Although Cyon Badger admitted shooting an innocent bystander during a dispute on Monroe Avenue last summer, he claimed he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
But a judge Friday rejected that defense, finding Badger guilty of intentionally killing Adam Emling and attempting to kill bouncer Frank Hall.
Ruling after a nonjury trial Badger requested, Monroe County Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. convicted Badger of second-degree murder in Emling's death and attempted second-degree murder for trying to kill Hall.
Badger, 41, will be sentenced Feb. 20. He faces a prison term of 15 years to life to 25 years to life for murder and another 25 years for attempted murder.
Emling's family declined to speak after the verdict. Assistant District Attorney Joanne M. Winslow said they have been devastated by their son's slaying.
"I don't know if this brings closure (to Emling's family)," she said. "I don't know if they can ever have closure. They lost a totally innocent 24-year-old son."
Emling, a Florida native who came to Rochester nine months before he was killed and was living in Irondequoit, was slain outside Mark's Texas Hots on July 14, 2007.
Badger got into a fight with three young men after leaving Callahan's bar on Monroe Avenue. Hall, a bouncer at Mark's Texas Hots, intervened at one point and Badger left.
Badger went to his apartment across the street, got a 12-gauge shotgun and returned to shoot and wound Hall "for what he did to me," Badger said in a statement to police. Emling had no role in the previous fight but was standing outside.
Badger lowered the gun to shoot Hall and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire and Hall ran back into Mark's, Winslow said. Badger loaded a new shell into the gun, pointed the gun at a woman standing next to Emling, then pointed it at Emling and fired from as close as two feet, she said.
Emling was hit in the abdomen.
Anti-DUI
Man so drunk he could not remember car attack
A CLITHEROE man lashed out at a car as it drove past him in the town's Church Brow, causing £100 worth of damage.
Blackburn magistrates heard the driver, Steven Jones, and his girlfriend were shocked by the unprovoked attack.
The man responsible, 32-year-old Damian James Turner, later told police he had drunk so much he could not remember what happened.
Turner, of Standen Road, Clitheroe, admitted criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £60 in compensation. A charge of being drunk and disorderly was withdrawn.
Mr Jonathan Taylor (defending) said his client accepted it had been a very unpleasant incident for the couple in the car. "He is the first to admit he has a problem with alcohol," said Mr Taylor.
A CLITHEROE man lashed out at a car as it drove past him in the town's Church Brow, causing £100 worth of damage.
Blackburn magistrates heard the driver, Steven Jones, and his girlfriend were shocked by the unprovoked attack.
The man responsible, 32-year-old Damian James Turner, later told police he had drunk so much he could not remember what happened.
Turner, of Standen Road, Clitheroe, admitted criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £60 in compensation. A charge of being drunk and disorderly was withdrawn.
Mr Jonathan Taylor (defending) said his client accepted it had been a very unpleasant incident for the couple in the car. "He is the first to admit he has a problem with alcohol," said Mr Taylor.
Let's Go Giants!!! Pt. II
Giants' Awasom arrested for drunk driving
Super Bowl Sunday has garnered a reputation for drunken behaviour, not to mention, sadly, as a day for drunken driving. But despite the constant reminders of the dangers of drinking and driving throughout the media in advance of this coming Sunday, some of the players it turns out, haven't been listening.
New York Giants defensive end Adrian Awasom was arrested for allegedly driving drunk last nigt, according to KNXV-TV in Phoenix. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the 24-year-old Awasom was taken into custody sometime within the last 24 hours.
The positive for Giants fans was that Awasom was already on injured reserve and not scheduled to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale on Sunday and therefore likely wasn't out carousing with Eli and Plaxico.
Super Bowl Sunday has garnered a reputation for drunken behaviour, not to mention, sadly, as a day for drunken driving. But despite the constant reminders of the dangers of drinking and driving throughout the media in advance of this coming Sunday, some of the players it turns out, haven't been listening.
New York Giants defensive end Adrian Awasom was arrested for allegedly driving drunk last nigt, according to KNXV-TV in Phoenix. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the 24-year-old Awasom was taken into custody sometime within the last 24 hours.
The positive for Giants fans was that Awasom was already on injured reserve and not scheduled to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale on Sunday and therefore likely wasn't out carousing with Eli and Plaxico.
Like Gayle Guyardo Pt. II
Drunk Announcer Quits Sports News
Lim Kyeong-jin, a Korean newscaster, pulled a Guyardo, and went on the air feeling a bit under the weather. Wow. Two newscasters in under a week! Perhaps Gayle proved to be more of a trailblazer than I first imagined. Whether or not Lim was drunk when the picture to the right was taken has still yet to be determined.
Story by Kim Rahn below. And I for one believe that drunk reporting is perfectly acceptable.
A famous MBC TV announcer quit hosting the sports news in the wake of making on air gaffes while under the influence of alcohol.
When hosting the program on Thursday evening, announcer Lim Kyeong-jin failed to read the script properly and kept slurring his words.
TV viewers suspected Lim may have been drunk, and he admitted that he drank before hosting the program. He had drinks during lunch on the day with the program's staff to celebrate the Korean handball teams' victory after returning to Korea Wednesday from Japan where the games were held.
``He slept for a while after drinking, but was not completely sobered up. Staff members did not realize the extent of his intoxication,'' Sung Kyung-hwan, the MBC announcer team head, said.
``Lim is a veteran in sports news commentating and he has reflected on his behavior. However, hosting news under the influence of alcohol cannot be accepted on any account,'' he said.
Lim was replaced with another announcer Friday. MBC is considering taking disciplinary action.
Television viewers posted writings criticizing Lim. An Internet user with the ID ``duduri'' said, ``I understand every human makes mistakes. However, drunk reporting is not acceptable, as broadcasting is for all people of the nation.''
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