Sound Politics: Judge overturns state liquor tax

May 03, 2006

Judge overturns state liquor tax

Snohomish County Judge James Allendoerfer has tossed out last year's in increase in the state liquor tax .

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 03, 2006 11:22 AM | Email This

Comments

1. drink up!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: danno on May 3, 2006 11:51 AM

2. Have you ever noticed the $60/bottle stuff here is $17 at Costco or Trader Joe's in California. What really P.O.'s me though is that we cannot get some of the Safeway Select offerings here, I sampled a couple of their various whiskey/whisky offerings and some of them were actually quite nice....othes were about like drinking strichnine.

Posted by: JDH on May 3, 2006 12:03 PM

3. Have you ever noticed the $60/bottle stuff here is $17 at Costco or Trader Joe's in California.

In college (around '99-'00), a couple of friends of mine would hop into one of their's '76 Izuzu Pup Deisel (40/mpg... and belching smoke all the way) for spring break and drive non-stop to the first store they came to in California and more or less stocked up on booze for 6 months. I'd give them $50, and always ended up with a couple of gallons of rum and whiskey. One of the few things the People's Republik of Kalifornia has going for it.

Posted by: Mike H on May 3, 2006 01:45 PM

4. Laphroag was

http://www.mindspring.com/~mccarthys/whiskey/rye.htm

since it isn't available here at any price. It really is all they say it is for those of us who are partial to Rye.

Posted by: JDH on May 3, 2006 01:57 PM

5. That last post said "Laphroag was

I don't know what happened when I pulled the 'post' trigger on that one, must have flinched.

Posted by: JDH on May 3, 2006 02:01 PM

6. Try again "Laphroag was less than twenty dollars per gallon at TJ's the last time I was in SF. I could not brng any home because I was flying, but I did bring back a couple bottles of Old Potrero Rye"

Posted by: JDH on May 3, 2006 02:11 PM

7. " "The point of the stay is for the state to continue to collect the tax," said Greg Lane, a spokesman for Attorney General Rob McKenna. Lane said state lawyers are hoping that the high court will hear the case this fall."

What a sorry shame, and I had thought that McKenna was about the only bright star on the Rs future, (sorry Dino) guess he too has been "olympiaized" and is apparently just another Rino, guess Sam has a buddy there in Oly.

What on earth is such a person as Greg Lane doing working for the current AG, much less be his spokesman? Is he possibly a holdover from the queen's administration there or something.

Seems like the AG should be defending 601 not piling on with the Legislature's killing it. Yes I know after this years session it is dead pretty much.

The queen never did much of anything to defend stuff that was contrary to her party's agenda, Eyman always had to hire outside counsel to insure our initiatives were adequately defended so why does McKenna feel such a need to oppose the vast majority of his own party.

Posted by: Mark on May 3, 2006 02:50 PM

8. Jim Beam 1/2 gallon in California = $14.95
Jim Beam 1/5th in WA = $16.95

Ouch!!!

You don't even want to know how cheap a 1/5th of Makers Mark is....

BTW - when does WA State lose its monopoly on the liquor industry? Talk about price gouging (in reference to Maria Cantwell's new legislation). Oh that's right it's not gouging when the government does it....

Posted by: Dengle on May 3, 2006 02:54 PM

9. Makers was $15 at TJ's if I am not mistaken. What is more, they had the Black Wax Makers available although not at Trader Joes or Costco. I never have been able to get it here.

Posted by: JDH on May 3, 2006 03:07 PM

10. Mark,

Maybe you have Greg Lane confused with somebody else?

And as the state's lawyer, the AG doesn't get to pick and choose which cases his office defends. There have been times in the past - and will be in the future - where his office must represent the state ... even if it flies in the face of his personal position.

Posted by: jimg on May 3, 2006 04:58 PM

11. jimg,

That is not true. It is his duty to uphold the law and the constitution. He is an elected officer and he has no duty to litigate anything he doesn't believe warrants litigation. He can choose to not appeal. It is his decision and his alone. If another party wants to appeal, they can intervene.

The fact is, McKenna is just as corrupt as Gregoire. Did you know that he claims the state has no legal authority to prosecute judges who commit crimes? I've got it in writing.

Posted by: Don on May 3, 2006 06:08 PM

12. jimg,

The fact is, McKenna is just as corrupt as Gregoire. Did you know that he claims the state has no legal authority to prosecute judges who commit crimes? I've got it in writing.

Posted by: Don on May 3, 2006 06:08 PM

13. This should make the "Drinking Liberally" crowd....happy campers..

http://www.drinkingliberally.org/

Posted by: Deborah on May 3, 2006 08:46 PM

14. Homebrew and miss all taxes.

Posted by: Andy on May 3, 2006 08:59 PM

15. jimg is correct. The Attorney General has a duty to defend the state against lawsuits, including this one. That remains the case regardless of our opinions on the merits of any particular lawsuit. And Greg Lane is not a holdover from the queen's administration. He previously worked for the House Republicans, and before that for Republicans on the King County Council. He is an honorable guy who is doing his job, and is not deserving of so gratuitous an attack.

Posted by: stu on May 3, 2006 10:37 PM

16. It's funny how anybody who ever has had a beef with the AG's office blames it on the AG hating the constitution. There's always a nutjob who didn't like a judge's ruling even though he doesn't have a legal leg to stand on and is convinced the whole system is against them. There's one guy opposed to the state's way of licensing dentists who is sure the state is rife with corruption. Maybe we should storm the courtrooms like the North Carolina Regulators, Don?

Posted by: Ed on May 4, 2006 04:40 PM