WEEKEND EDITION
INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
LAPD REPORTS DROP IN VIOLENT CRIME PAGE 3 NOT A HAGGLER PAGE 4
JANUARY 3-4, 2009
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Volume 7 Issue 355
Santa Monica Daily Press PEYTON THE MVP SEE PAGE 14
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE REMEMBER THOSE RESOLUTIONS ISSUE
Staying close to home Proximity to alcohol a factor in youth drinking BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
MAIN STREET Adolescents who live near places that sell alcohol might be at a greater risk of binge drinking and driving under the influence than those who live farther away, according to a new study that examines underage exposure to such environments. Researchers with the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica recently studied the relationship between
adolescent consumption of alcohol and their accessibility to establishments where the beverages are available, whether it be a restaurant/bar or liquor store. The study, which will be published in next month’s issue of the American Journal of Public Health, looked at data on the number of outlets licensed by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Control and examined results from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, focusing on 14,595 households with children younger than 18 years old. The survey, which is conducted every
two years, provides a picture of the health care needs of Californians. Khoa Dang Truong, one of the authors of the RAND study, said that many longterm health problems are shaped during youth, adding that the highest prevalence of alcohol dependence in the United States is among people between the ages of 18-29. “Drinking at an earlier age also increases the risk of addiction and other alcoholrelated problems in adulthood,” Truong said. SEE DRINKING PAGE 10
BRRRRR!
Fabian Lewkowicz FabianLewkowicz.com Swimmers run into the chilly Pacific Ocean during the 49th Annual Venice Penguin Swim on New Year’s Day.
SMPD has quiet DUI checkpoint BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
MAIN STREET It was a positive way to ring in the New Year for the Santa Monica Police Department. On a night when alcohol is the common beverage of choice, police officers noted seeing more partygoers on foot than behind the wheel, reporting a little more than 600 vehicles passing through the department’s DUI checkpoint at Main Street on Wednesday evening. The figure is roughly half the volume of traffic that typically flows through any given checkpoint in the city, according to SMPD Sgt. Larry Horn. “I think it’s due to the fact that people don’t want to take the chance of having to come across a drunk driver or be one themselves,” Horn said. “All through the evening and even in the early morning hours we noticed a lot more people on foot, walking to and from where they were going to go. “Clearly by 2 a.m., you couldn’t find a cab to save your life because they were all being used.” Officers administered a field sobriety test to approximately 18 drivers, arresting two by the end of the night for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The checkpoint was made possible thanks to a $59,000 grant that the department received from the California Office of Traffic Safety last fall. The checkpoint was set up in the 2600 block of Main Street between Ocean Park Boulevard and Hill Street from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Roughly 25 officers and support personnel were staffed throughout the evening. Also out in the field was the MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] crash trailer, which carries a car that was involved in a fatal drunken driving accident early last year. “It’s a very visual dramatic reminder and most people are more than receptive to it,” Horn said. melodyh@smdp.com
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