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Bar owner says liquor license hearing a delay tactic in smoking ban debate

October 31, 2008 By

The state Alcoholic Beverages Division held a hearing this morning before an administrative law judge on pulling the liquor license of a West Burlington bar for violating the new statewide smoking ban. West Burlington police chief Alex Oblein testified that Otis Campbell’s Bar and Grill owned by Larry Duncan repeatedly violated the smoking ban.

Oblein says the city decided not to pursue a citation against Duncan because of the cost involved. Oblein says if they cited Duncan the case would be appealed and end up in the district court and eventually could go all the way to the Supreme Court. Oblein says that could cost the city thousands of dollars, while if they won the case, the city would only get a $100 fine.

Oblein says Duncan told him that he preferred to see the issue played out in court, and that was also part of the city’s decision to let the state handle the issue. Oblein says the city council made it clear, "the state made the law, the state kind of the way they wrote it, made the problem, and the state should be the one to handles it."

Duncan and his lawyer did not deny he is openly disregarding the smoking ban, and instead argued that he should have been cited and given the opportunity to defend himself in court. Duncan says the state is using his liquor license as "the pawn" to get him to comply with the smoking ban.

"There’s no question about it, they take my liquor license, they put me out of business. I mean that’s plain and simple," Duncan says, "and they put me out of business and 42 good employees out of work." Duncan says it shouldn’t be a liquor license issue, it should be an issue of the smoking ban. Duncan says they need to be in court to prove that the law is unconstitutional to prove "the other reasons used to make the law don’t hold water.

The Attorney General representing the state did ask Duncan if he was involved in other legal action against the smoking ban and he said he has contributed and does support the group of bar owners that has filed the lawsuit. Duncan says the state and lawmakers are using the liquor license issue to delay court hearings on the issue until after the election.

Duncan says he still totally believes he is right and says he doesn’t like conflict, and doesn’t like people saying he is breaking the law. Duncan says lawmakers have delayed the issue so they can get re-elected to the legislature. Duncan says,"They’ve been denying me due process for 120 plus days." Duncan says if he had been cited for a liquor license violation like serving someone illegally under age, he would have been in court already.

Both sides agreed to give the judge their final statements in writing. That and other procedures will delay the judge’s ruling on the issue until sometime in December. The judge will issue an opinion on the punishment she feels is needed in the case to the Administrator of the Alcoholic Beverages Division. The Administrator will then take action and Duncan will then have the opportunity to appeal.

There are four more hearings pending, but the Alcoholic Beverages Division Administrator says he is considering a settlement with the Whistle Stop Bar in Manning. The settlement would require the bar to lose its liquor license for seven days and pay a $1,000 fine. 

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts Tagged With: ,

Professor talks about quality of polls

October 31, 2008 By

In the few days remaining until Election Day, we’ll be bombarded with batches of presidential polls. John Schmaltz, a political science instructor at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, says polls are looked upon with good favor if a couple of steps are taken, starting with how pollsters ask the questions.

Schmaltz says pollsters need to have a good sampling of respondents who plan on voting on Election Day, men versus women based on projected turnout. He says polling has become more difficult as fewer people are using landlines for their home phone numbers.

He says more than 50% of phone calls going to landlines are not being answered as folks have Caller I.D. and won’t answer if they see it’s some sort of political poll. Thus, even more calls need to be made. Schmaltz says he thinks the Rasmussen Poll is a good source of information but he’s questioned the Zogby Poll in recent years.

He says Zogby, who’s of Arab descent, was upset with President Bush’s Middle East policies and may have lost his independent status when issuing poll numbers in 2004. Schmaltz says it’s too early to say if the so-called "Bradley Effect" will come into play for this election.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley was running for governor of California as a Democrat in 1982 and most regular polls showed him ahead of his Republican opponent, but when it came to the election, Bradley lost. He says in Barack Obama’s case this year, some exit polls have shown Obama won a primary, but in reality he either lost or did not win by as much of a margin as first thought. Schmaltz says some people in exit polls respond with the opposite of the way they actually voted.

Schmaltz says the Obama people say he needs to win by five-to-six-percent more than the polls show to guarantee a win — due to the Bradley Effect. Most polls taken for this year’s presidential race have a plus or minus margin of error of between three-and-five percent.

 

Filed Under: Politics & Government

Thousands gather for Obama rally in Des Moines

October 31, 2008 By

Obama rally. Thousands gathered outdoors in a downtown Des Moines park to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama deliver his closing comments after a more than two-year-long campaign.

Claire Haws of Des Moines was there, wearing her "Obama for Change" t-shirt. "I’m a precinct captain. I’ve been working really, really hard," Haws said. "My kids had a field trip today that I bailed on because I feel like I’ve knocked on too many doors to have miss to this here at the very end."

Haws searched "high and low" for her t-shirt, by the way, after seeing Halle Berry pictured wearing it in US Weekly magazine. "There were actual several female movie stars who were sporting this shirt," Haws said. "I found it on line and you had to pay, like, $70 but then I found it on EBay" for much less. The t-shirt features a peace sign on the front, then in small lettering on the back of the shirt — actually hidden by Haws’ hair — is the phrase: "Think ahead — lets get it right this time."

Michelle Mahlsteadt of Ankeny was standing near Haws. "Because I’m for Obama. I’m a big, good Democrat," Malsteadt said, laughing.

Mahlsteadt plans to take next Wednesday off so she can stay up late Tuesday night, watching election returns. "I think we’re going to take it. I think he’s going to do it," Mahlsteadt said of Obama’s chances.

Mario Bennett of Des Moines voted for Obama on Caucus night and was there to see him in person on Friday afternoon. "I think we’re going to make history here in four days," Bennett said.

DeAnna Lehl of Des Moines was sporting a small, gold button she made herself. "It a ‘Grandmama for Obama’ sign," Lehl said, with a laugh. "I’m pumped. I want this man to win big and I voted early. I wish I could vote often."

Eleven-year-old Nicholas Hogan of Johnson cannot vote. He skipped his sixth grade classes to attend the rally. "I actually follow politics quite a bit," Hogan said. "I follow it more than most kids…This is the first time I’ll see (Obama) in person."

Obama told the crowd he would "always be grateful" for Iowans who helped him win the Iowa Caucuses on a very cold day early last January. "Let me first of all thank whoever arranged for 70 degree weather in October," Obama said, standing on a stage drenched in sunlight and decorated with hay bales.

Obama cited the example of record Iowa Caucus turn-out as an indicator of what may happen here and elsewhere on Election Day. "On the day of the Iowa Caucus, my faith in the American people was vindicated and what you started here in Iowa has swept the nation," Obama said. "We’re seeing the same turn-out. We’re seeing the same people going and getting in line, volunteers, people participating — a whole new way of doing democracy started right here in Iowa and it’s all across the country now."

Obama told the crowd the closing hours of the campaign may be rough, sugesting his opponent will accuse him of being "everything but a child of God."

 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Smoking ban hearing underway for West Burlington bar

October 31, 2008 By

The state Alcoholic Beverages Division is holding it’s first-ever hearing today about a West Burlington bar’s liquor license after violations of the statewide smoking ban. The West Burlington police chief and a police sergeant testified this morning they saw repeated violations of the smoking ban on several visits to Otis Campbell’s Bar and Grill.

The officers say the bar’s owner, Larry Duncan, admitted to the violations and said he intended to -not- comply with the new state law. It’s the only bar in West Burlington and the officers said there had been no other problems at the establishment.

Police have not cited the bar as the city council says it’s a state law and they want the state to prosecute, as the city doesn’t want to spend thousands of dollars to prosecute the case to get perhaps a $100 fine in return. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

October produced more rainfall than average

October 31, 2008 By

It should be a mild night for trick-or-treating, as Iowans are enjoying unseasonably warm weather today, with midday highs in the 60s and 70s across much of the state. As November starts tomorrow, October ends with a diverse rainfall picture across Iowa, according to state climatologist Harry Hillaker.

Hillaker says parts of western Iowa were much wetter than usual with more than double the normal amount of rain, while parts of eastern Iowa only had about half the usual amount of rainfall. The statewide average for rainfall during October was around three-and-a-quarter inches, about three-quarters of an inch more than usual. He says the precipitation readings were widely varied across Iowa.

The town of Sanborn in northwest Iowa’s O’Brien County reports its wettest October ever with almost six inches of rain, while areas around Cedar Rapids and Waterloo only got about an inch. Temperature readings for the month were almost exactly normal, Hillaker says, though the first frost came much later than usual, providing a longer growing season and a boon for many farmers.

The warmest days during the month were October 5th and 12th in several cities which all hit 83 degrees. The coldest reading for the month was in Spencer and Sibley with 17 degrees on October 8th. Hillaker says November should start off much warmer than normal and dry, but storms are expected to develop by the middle of next week, bringing rain and cooler weather. 

Filed Under: Weather

Sergeant Bluff company to add 500 jobs

October 31, 2008 By

A Sergeant Bluff company has announced a major hiring campaign after landing a deal with three major nationwide manufacturers. Matt Skuodos is the site manager at the Stream call center. Skuodos says over the last several months they’ve landed some fairly large clients that he says will create 500 full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs.

Skoudos can’t reveal the names of the companies, but can talks about their products. He says one is a leader personal computer and consumer electronics manufacturer, another is a sports equipment retailer, and there’s a leading tax software company.

Skuodos says they are now taking applications for the jobs.The company provides technical and customer service support for companies.

 

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Iowans try to solve haunted mysteries

October 31, 2008 By

They don’t like to be called "ghostbusters," but a diverse group of Iowans who aren’t easily spooked is roaming the countryside, searching for logical reasons why some places are considered haunted. By day, Dan Berger is a Des Moines heating and air conditioning technician, but at night, he’s one of several self-proclaimed skeptics who investigate the unexplained. "We will go to great lengths to try to debunk everything that we come up against," Berger says.

He’s one of the founders of I-PART, the Iowa Paranormal Advanced Research Team. Members use a host of modern technology to capture evidence from homes, churches, schools and other buildings. Berger says: "We can set up as many as an eight video camera array. It’s all being recorded by digital hard drives. We use laptops and software to record audio along with handheld electrical instruments to try to determine if this house has anything out of the ordinary."

He says most of the I-PART members have regular day jobs and then leap into this "hobby" at night. Berger says, "We have people from all walks of life, people that work for the state of Iowa, a medical professional, we have a minister, we have lawyers, and that diversity is what gives us our edge to help people." Berger says they don’t charge anyone a dime for their nocturnal services but he does take exception to the use of certain words.

"I don’t like the term ‘haunted.’ I don’t like the term ‘ghostbusters’ or anything along those lines," Berger says. "We just call it paranormal and paranormal means anything that cannot be explained rationally by normal scientific methods or means…and that can cover a big area."

The goal is to explain the odd noises, cold spots and apparent apparitions — though he admits there are times when things he’s seen and heard defy explanation. A few weeks ago, I-PART was probing a house in West Des Moines when light bulbs exploded simultaneously and several team members suddenly felt ill and confused — so he terminated the investigation shortly before 1 A.M.

"We never really did come to a determination on what was going on," Berger says. "If there is such a thing as a spirit or an entity or some kind of energy source, it was definitely in that house."

AUDIO: Matt Kelley interview with I-Part 4:02 MP3

Filed Under: Human Interest
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