ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602270027
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: GENERAL ASSEMBLY NOTEBOOK
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
Minors who want to buy cigarettes will have to get sneakier, if the General Assembly has its way.
The Senate voted 28-10 Friday to require a driver's license or other photo identification from young-looking people buying cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Merchants, however, don't have to ask for identification if the person requesting cigarettes is obviously not under 18.
Retailers in violation could face up to a $100 penalty for first-time offenses and more for further offenses.
A second House bill, which also passed Friday, requires that cigarette vending machines be placed at least 10 feet from public entrances and in plain sight of the merchant. If the machines aren't under watchful eye, they must accept tokens instead of cash. That way, retailers can see potential purchasers when they buy tokens.
A Brew Thru at the beach?
The General Assembly won't stop a group of businessmen from building a proposed Brew Thru at the Virginia Beach oceanfront, at least not this year.
A Senate committee voted Friday not to consider a ban of the drive-through stores until 1997. The move means a store planned for 29th Street and Pacific Avenue can open this May.
But owners of the store, which pricked the ire of Mothers Against Drunk Driving because it would sell beer and wine, still needs ABC approval for a license. Opponents promise to fight on.
"I don't think they can get an ABC license, myself," said Del. Glenn Croshaw, D-Virginia Beach, who had hoped the legislature would ban drive-through beer and wine sales. The Virginia Beach City Council and police oppose the stores, Croshaw noted.
The store's owners will argue before the ABC Board on March 13 in Chesapeake. There is no guarantee the license will be approved, though the board already has ruled such operations legal.
"Once the Senate was educated on the merits of our operation, they realized that opposition was not valid," said George Hazzis, one of the proposed store's owners.
Unlike their counterparts on the Outer Banks, Virginia Beach Brew Thru and Breeze Thru stores would not be typical drive-through operations. State liquor laws prohibit selling alcohol to someone operating a vehicle, so customers would have to get out of their cars to make purchases.
While opponents warned that the stores promote drinking and driving, others argued that they are little different than other convenience stores - if, perhaps, a little more convenient.
Hazzis and the other Hampton Roads investors said they want to open as many as 50 stores in the next five years, many in Hampton Roads.
The Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services voted 9-6 to delay consideration of the ban until 1997.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB