From the Modesto Bee. Modesto adults who let minors drink alcohol at private parties can be punished with up to $1,500 in new fines under an ordinance the City Council approved Tuesday night.
Police drafted the measure to help officers crack down on teenage binge drinking, which health officials say often occurs in the home.
Besides the fines, people who break the ordinance could face misdemeanor criminal charges.
"I'm glad that we finally have a tool so we can discourage this type of activity in the venues where underage drinking occurs," said Modesto police Detective Mike Hicks, who developed the law over the past few months.
The measure allows officers to punish party givers in ways that state laws do not by lowering the threshold for evidence that police must collect to build cases against adults who allow minors access to alcohol.
Under the city ordinance, officers can assume party hosts know when they let minors drink. It requires hosts to take steps to block minors from getting alcohol, such as by checking identification.
Under state law, officers would have to prove that adults knowingly provided alcohol to an underage person. Hicks said that often requires seeing the suspect hand a drink to someone younger than 21 or finding witnesses to identify those who give alcohol to minors.
Neighboring cities likely will face votes on similar measures soon. Linda Jue, coordinator for a Stanislaus County program that surveys teens about alcohol use, said she is preparing to take it to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors and the Turlock City Council.
From the Modesto Bee.
The death of a 19-year-old Modestan last weekend believed to be the result of alcohol poisoning. He had been drinking rum, celebrating a planned move to Colorado.
Charges pending against a Grayson woman accused of hosting parties for teens — and having sexual relations with two boys.
The police investigation of a Beyer High dad who allegedly bought kegs of beer for his 17-year-old son's party with friends.
Tuesday, the Modesto City Council will consider a Police Department proposal for a city ordinance that would fine people for hosting underage drinking parties. The timing is not coincidental. Authorities would like to have the law in place before the graduation season and end-of-the-school parties.
Many parents and other adults have developed a relaxed attitude about teenage drinking — that it's inevitable, that it's better than drugs, that it's something everyone does at that age.
Parents know their teens are drinking, suggests one 18-year-old, but they don't want to ask about it. Many teens don't consider their own drinking a problem because they only drink on weekends and don't drink alone.
But studies suggest binge drinking is frighteningly common. Just last week, the U.S. surgeon general spoke on the issue. "Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to adulthood," said Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu. "Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life. New research also indicates that alcohol may harm the developing adolescent brain."
Of particular concern locally and nationally is binge drinking — teens who consume four or five drinks within an hour or two. Some teens think nothing of it, not realizing they end up too impaired to drive and possibly put themselves at risk of alcohol poisoning.
Under the proposed Modesto ordinance, adults who host or permit gatherings at which minors are allowed to drink could be fined $500. The penalties would increase to $1,000 for the second and $1,500 for the third offense within 12 months. The ordinance is modeled after one used in other areas of California. The ordinance specifically excludes family gatherings.
A social host ordinance won't cure underage drinking, but it's one step to deter it. Adults who abet and condone something that is illegal and unhealthy should face some consequences.
The Modesto council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the basement of Tenth Street Place. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 7.
A Press Release from the U.S. Surgeon General's Office. In its first Call to Action against underage drinking, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office appealed today to Americans to do more to stop America's 11 million current underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting. Read more here.
From the Modesto Bee. A 19-year-old Modesto man was found dead Sunday morning after friends say he drank nearly a pint of potent rum at a going-away party for him the night before.
Modesto police are investigating Sid Skibinski-Gonzales' death to determine whether to file criminal charges against adults at the party who were old enough to purchase alcohol, Sgt. Craig Gundlach said.
The coroner has not determined the official cause of death, said Gundlach, but police said they believe the young man died of alcohol poisoning.
Adults are in danger of dying from alcohol poisoning when their blood alcohol is 0.30 percent to 0.40 percent, which is four and five times higher than the level at which a person is considered too intoxicated to drive.
Young people who are binge drinking run a higher risk of alcohol poisoning because their bodies have not built up a tolerance for alcohol, said Madelyn Schlaepfer, associate director of Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services.
Skibinski-Gonzales was getting ready to move with his family this week to Cortez, Colo. He had plans to attend college and study architecture and communications in Boulder. He wanted to pursue a career in music.
Saturday, he attended a goodbye party early in the day with cousins, his grandmother and other family members.
"He had a lot of enthusiasm and he had a really big heart," said his cousin Victoria Jackson, 22, of Modesto. "He was very helpful for his mom. He was the man of the house." Read more here.
