American River Wildlife News
Bill would ban summer holiday drinking on river
Sacramento County's ban of alcohol consumption on the lower American River during summer holiday weekends would be extended from the shores to the river under legislation introduced late this week.
In response to back-to-back July 4 weekends during which heavy boozing led to fights and arrests, late last summer Sacramento County officials banned alcohol consumption along the shores and strictly enforced open-container laws.
But the county has no authority to stop folks from drinking on navigable waterways. That's the jurisdiction of state government, and state law currently allows the consumption of alcoholic beverages on vessels, including rubber rafts.
Assembly Bill 951 by Assemblyman Dave Jones -- which appears to have bipartisan support -- would prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages or possessing an open alcoholic beverage container from Hazel Avenue to Watt Avenue on the three major summer holiday weekends: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.
Jones, D-Sacramento, said the out-of-control behavior has to stop.
A July 4 melee involving more than three dozen oar-wielding, drunken rafters sent one man to the hospital. That dangerous event followed an incident the previous year resulting in 30 arrests.
More at The Sacramento Bee.