Dale that was my understanding too you pay in the district for services in the district (seems fair to me!) and the fact that stepping outside these districts means you lose the safety brought to you by the revenues collected by these business's illustrates my point brilliantly that living in a busy and nosy area is much safer than a dark street that has no busy foot or vehicle traffic.

Thank you George for clarifying on the sound issue- amplified sound can be quantified so it is surprising to me it's such an issue when a simple distance/decibel system can be set up and business owners will have to ensure they plan and build accordingly. The garage doors may not keep sound from traveling out but there as plenty of other ways to address acoustics- if you've ever felt under a table at Mikuni's for example, they have wool like padding underneath to help absorb some of the sound that resonates off the concrete floors. Though that still doesn't quite clarify the dancing issue that actually occurred at blue cue. Needing a permit to let somebody dance... If only there was a Kevin Bacon 80's film on a town that would not allow dancing to make a reference to! ;)

The "us against alcohol" is archaic and exaggerated. I haven't had a drink in over a month and won't for a few more (I gave it up for Lent and then decided to extend it after lent until my friend can have a toast of champagne with me at the conclusion of her chemotherapy). I still have enjoyed midtown venues because we also have a wonderful foodie culture that even goes late night and events like trivia and places with pool tables, darts etc that all make it fun. Alcohol is not the root of all evil in Midtown nor is Rock N Roll. If having a problem with society's drinking culture (which America definitely has a problem) is what people really have an issue with, going after small businesses in the neighborhood is not the solution. On the contrary, places open late serving alcohol bring life and light to streets that before were dangerous and dark. I feel much safer walking down the so-called "Alcohol Alley" then the dark empty streets with vacated businesses or even just housing. Also, I have shared a fish bowl with friends at BarWest and not to call BW out but those things have maybe a few shots that are shared amongst several people and diluted by lots of fruit juice and a fish bowl packed full of ice. So the regular damning references to those fish bowls is quite humorous and reminiscent of people gawking at Elvis' gyrations back in the day ;)

Before even reading about the BarWest vs. Neighbors issue - something else struck me which was how an entertainment permit allows "the venue to host activities such as DJs, live bands, karaoke, dancing and trivia, seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m." Am I the only one that finds it bizarre you have to have an entertainment license to be able to hold trivia? At the risk of blowing my cover and unveiling my inner-nerd I will admit: I’ve been to dozens of different trivia events around town and frankly people who want to show off their smarts are not ones to cause trouble, other than the occasional angry outburst of “SON OF A GUN THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL ANSWER I PUT DOWN.” And dancing was always a funny one to me as well. Watch out for those crazy dancing devils destroying America’s society…I recall an engineering classmate dancing at Blue Cue 3-4 years ago and having an employee come up and say “sorry you cannot dance here, because we do not have an entertainment license here.” Um what? I’m sorry, I start dancing while I dust my home, or when I hear a song in the grocery store that I like –should I ensure that Safeway has an entertainment license first? Did we just travel back to the 1940-50’s? I am sure to some extent there is a valid reason for requiring entertainment licenses, as there are district fees added to my bill at Paesano’s to pay for the additional resources required in areas with businesses that attract high volumes of potentially intoxicated individuals. Sound issues are legitimate but fairly easy to resolve, you put a limit on decibels and distance and it’s pretty straight forward from there. Fire hazards with occupancy are enforced either way, so I do not see that as being the basis for requiring entertainment licenses for trivia nights. If anyone is aware as to why- please, by all means, I am genuinely curious as to what the reasoning for it is. I do realize that by attracting higher volumes of intoxicated individuals you run risks of having issues occur that have tormented our headlines including shootings at Second Saturday and Old Sacramento’s New Year’s Eve fireworks show. And I too have been shaken by the violence that has occurred in Midtown. However, the trade off is having an area that is alive after close of business makes it much more safe to walk around in, sure you’ll have to occasionally witness some bro’s in affliction shirts beating their chests and roaring “brah” to one another, but the street is lit and there are bouncers and Midtown residents lining the streets filled with bustling businesses which makes me personally feel a lot safer than walking down a deserted ghost town like dark street.

PS The Sacramento Magazine (original) article is fun and not being serious ("our bridge is actually gold" ...don't really think a great local publication would truly feel that merited superiority.) But I think the side by wide comparison still hits a nerve for those of us like Aaron Davis who have seen many people actually try to compare the two.