Lcb

A former legislator now working as a lobbyist has proposed an elaborate plan to kill off the state liquor system, an effort that could include thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to state lawmakers. The lobbying campaign, detailed in a letter to prospective interested parties last month, comes at a time when the legislature could once again be required to consider the future of the state Liquor Control Board. The plan proposes to raise $278,000, the bulk of which would be used for a statewide media blitz, including television and radio commercials and meetings with newspaper editorial boards and cable TV talk shows.

Although it generates tons of cash, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board system has a dirty little secret: It does not produce much in the way of profits. Out of $1.5 billion in sales, the LCB ended with a net income of $52.5 million last year, according to a consultant's report released last week. The 285-page report, commissioned by Gov. Corbett, examines - sometimes in excruciating detail - the pros and cons of dismantling the system. Not surprisingly, the report by the PFM Group comes out in favor of privatization, which syncs exactly with Corbett's view.

Anheuser-Busch Inc., the St. Louis brewer, has challenged Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board, alleging that its regulations violate federal antitrust laws. In a suit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Anheuser- Busch said that Pennsylvania's regulations limiting price competition among brewers violates the Sherman Antitrust Act and the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. "They are also beyond the powers conferred on the board by the Pennsylvania Liquor Code," the suit contends.

The owner of Jim Cavanaugh's Beef House in Bala Cynwyd has been cited by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Enforcement for selling alcoholic beverages without a license, a bureau official said. According to Bettina Bunting, an assistant supervisor at the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the restaurant continued to sell alcoholic beverages after its license expired on Jan. 31. "An enforcement officer visited the restaurant on April 14, purchased an alcoholic beverage and then asked for the owner, James K. Cavanaugh.

HARRISBURG - Wegmans Food Markets has decided to pull out of the state's oft-criticized wine-kiosk program, dealing a major blow to the state Liquor Control Board's latest effort to operate more like a private business. In a statement today, the supermarket chain said: "We had hoped that our customers would find the kiosks to be a valuable addition to their shopping experience, but that proved not to be the case. They want the convenience of purchasing wine in a supermarket, but found the choice of items too limited in the kiosk.

Nurse that cooking sherry from the Orient; it's going to be a scarce item. In a raid yesterday, liquor enforcement agents from the state police, accompanied by city police and federal agents, cleaned 1,500 bottles of allegedly illegal products off the shelves of four Chinatown grocery stores, all suspected of unlicensed liquor sales, police said. The products, with an alcohol content ranging from 18 to 70 percent, were brought into the country without federal approval, and were being sold outside the state-store system, said State Police Sgt. John McGeehan.

HARRISBURG - The state Ethics Commission has launched an inquiry into allegations that three top officials at the Liquor Control Board accepted gifts and favors last year from vendors and other businesses with an interest in liquor regulation. Ethics Commission officials have interviewed at least five employees of the LCB, most of them in the last week, about the allegations contained in a confidential report completed in March by the Inspector General's Office and forwarded to Corbett administration officials.

HARRISBURG - The clock is quickly running down for state ethics investigators to complete an inquiry into allegations that top officials at the Liquor Control Board accepted gifts and favors from vendors and other businesses with an interest in liquor regulation. The Ethics Commission launched its probe last summer on the heels of a confidential report by the state Inspector General's Office that described LCB Chief Executive Officer Joseph Conti, former board member Patrick J. Stapleton III, and marketing director James Short as having accepted gifts and favors in 2011, including wine and tickets to sporting events.

Last month, the state Liquor Control Board sent five store clerks and managers to tour California's winegrowing regions for 10 days. The LCB paid for a similar trip in 1987, and afterward the trip was described in an internal memo as "successful in exposing the specialty-store personnel to the diversity in climate, topography, size and winemaking philosophy. " "Extensive barrel sampling of the 1986 vintage wines . . . provided a favorable impression of the quality of the vintage in general," the memo said.

Dawn M. Meling is the deputy director of public affairs of the Commonwealth Foundation In high school, I threw the javelin in track and field, badly wanting to be recruited by a college athletics program. My father would joke that he never had to worry about high school boys and unwanted attention toward me because I could out-bench press almost every guy in my school. And that was my attitude too - nothing to worry about. So it was rather eye-opening when I got to college, taking part in rape awareness programs, learning that my javelin-throwing skills were no match for a "roofie" or inconspicuous predator.