The Virginian-Pilot
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RICHMOND
Gov. Bob McDonnell is seeking authority to open all of Virginia’s state-owned liquor stores on Sundays.
At the governor’s request, Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax County, submitted HB896, which would allow any of the state’s 334 ABC stores to open after 1 p.m. on Sundays. The measure won the unanimous endorsement of a House of Delegates subcommittee Thursday.
Sunday hours are now restricted to the Hampton Roads, Richmond and Northern Virginia urban areas.
Curtis Coleburn, chief operating officer of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said 120 stores in the three metro areas have Sunday hours now. If Albo’s bill is approved by the General Assembly, he said, the department expects initially to open about 100 more stores on Sundays.
Coleburn said the additional Sunday hours will generate an estimated $2.5 million a year in new profits and taxes.
In South Hampton Roads, stores in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach have Sunday hours now. The Albo bill would allow stores in Suffolk and other outlying areas to open on Sundays as well.
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ABC Stores
The old saying Virginia is for lovers is totally WRONG. Virginia is now for the DRUNK or BOOZER. With the HIGH mark up for a bottle of liquor in this SORRY State. Virginia does not have any excuses for not fixing these DAMN Roads.
What A Dummy
2.5 million a year in new profits and taxes just by opening on Sundays? And the dummy wanted to sell the whole business.
pick your poison
if its between raising my taxes or making me pay more for my state retirement or opening up some more liquor stores, ummm i'll take the latter.
McDonnell to crack down on repeat drug offenders?
Doesn't Bob understand that you shouldn't come out on the same day promising to crack down on drugs and then announce you want all the State run booze stores to be open on Sundays? While Bob is at it, maybe he should open the booze stores 24 hours a day, or doesnt he understand that promoting drugs like alcohol leads to tragedies like the accident this morning in Virginia Beach at 8am when a drunk driver ran down a father and his three children in their own driveway. Can you rethink that one Bob?
Mixed Signals
We'll close the Post office on Saturday, but open up the Liquor Store on Sunday!
I'm sorry, but I just don't get this compassionate CONservatism!
PTL
Praise The Lord! Now we will be able to buy some hooch after watching the 700 Club on Sundays. Pat Robertson, who made billions being a hypocrite must be so proud.
Before The Lottery
Before the Virginia lottery, people running street numbers was a thriving business. Sure, the localities did not get tax money directly from the Runners, but they spent a lot of money in the retail sector and it went right back into the local economy.
The State has no business in
The State has no business in the booze business, or any other monopoly. And the numbers racket used to be illegal until the State conned everyone into thinking their entrance onto that stage would provide additional funding to schools, etc. We now know that that funding merely supplanted the existing funding, which went elsewhere. It's a shell game, and it quashes private enterprise.