Governor’s Office Asked to Join Talks With Alcohol Control Unit

Hermosa Beach city officials have postponed a Monday meeting with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and county Supervisor Don Knabe because they want a representative from the governor’s office to attend the meeting.

Knabe offered to arrange the meeting after city officials complained in writing to the governor that the ABC was unfairly cracking down on Hermosa Beach restaurants and bars. No one from the governor’s office had been invited.

Councilman Sam Edgerton said he wants to be sure that a governor’s aide and business owners can attend the meeting. Last month the governor’s office asked the state agency that oversees the ABC to investigate the city’s allegations.

“There is no advantage for us to meet with the people we’ve already met with,” said Edgerton, referring to a recent meeting with local ABC officials. “We need to have the state at the table so they can hear, firsthand, the concerns of the business owners and what they are going through.”

The meeting has been tentatively rescheduled for Sept. 15.