Bill That Would Extend WeHo’s Last Call to 4 A.M. Rejected by State Legislators

On Wednesday, the California state assembly rejected Senate Bill 930, a pilot program that would have altered nightlife throughout the Southland by allowing West Hollywood, San Francisco, and Palm Springs to extend the final call for alcohol at bars, clubs, and restaurants until 4 a.m on weekends., and 3 a.m. on weekdays.

SB 930 — also known as the late-night bar bill — is one of many attempts by California state senator Scott Wiener to push last call to 4 a.m. A similar bill was rejected by former California governor Jerry Brown in 2019, but SB 930 was geared towards supporting businesses directly impacted by COVID-19. Citing safety concerns surrounding drunk driving, the bill was met with ample opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles City Council publicly opposed SB 930 in early August.

Senator Wiener shared the following statement after his co-authored bill failed: “Senate Bill 930 is a limited pilot program to allow three cities — each of which asked to be included — to work with local stakeholders, including law enforcement, to decide locally whether to extend nightlife hours. SB 930 is a local control bill that lets cities decide what nightlife works best for their communities and small businesses. We are disappointed that SB 930 came up short on votes today on the Assembly floor after a series of misleading speeches by members representing areas that would not have been impacted by the bill. We are assessing whether there is a path to pass the bill off the Assembly floor.”

Spiked drink testing kits handed out in West Hollywood

West Hollywood has launched a program called Test My Drink, designed to increase safety surrounding drinking in the nightlife hot spot. The city will enlist its civilian safety teams — not law enforcement — to hand out testing strips that can detect whether a cocktail is spiked with drugs like rohypnol, ketamine, and GHB, reports NBC-4.

Pijja Palace’s ascension continues

LA Times reviewer Bill Addison is into Pijja Palace, welcoming the individualism of the popular Silver Lake restaurant. He writes, “Its crisscrossing influences and owner Avish Naran’s we-do-what-we-want irreverence feel innate to the city, but there is also nothing else quite like it in Los Angeles.”

A Westside option for the soon-to-be discontinued Choco Tacos

Now that the beloved ice cream treat Choco Tacos are discontinued forever, Playa Provisions owner/chef Brooke Williamson temporarily brought back her own version, and it’s available to grab from the counter at King Beach Cafe.

Playa Provisions

Armenian wine tasting in San Marino

San Marino Cafe & Marketplace will host an Armenian wine tasting this Saturday. Owner Linda Grace wants to showcase her Armenian heritage with glasses or bottles from Z’Art Wines, an Armenian winery that uses indigenous grapes. There’s food too, so get over to the Shops at Mission Village from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Soft serve at Yang’s Kitchen

In more ice cream news, the timing is right to visit Yang’s Kitchen in Alhambra: to celebrate its three-year anniversary, the restaurant is offering soft serve from Strauss Family Creamery.