Subject: Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

• Galaxy Club Owes A Bunch of People a Bunch of Money. Whoops.

  March 2, 2007

• Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em. Wait. Bad Idea.

  February 12, 2007

• Statute Stomp

  August 25, 2006

• Drink Up!

  April 10, 2006

• Ever Feel Like You're Being Watched

  March 24, 2006

• Drunk with Power?

  March 24, 2006

• Can't Spell "Bust" Without "Bus"

  February 15, 2008

• Bugged Club

  The Dragonfly tries to take wing again amid claims of fraud and mismanagement

  July 8, 1999

• Hash Over

  Bizu kisses off

  March 9, 2000

• Not Far from Mi Cocina on Preston, El Taco Mundo's Awaiting Its TABC Permit

  The missus reports this afternoon that the Preston Royal Shopping Center is getting a new tenant, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission private-club permit application hanging in the window of the former Gap Kids in the Border's parking lot. The name on the handwritten application: "Taco Mundo," which surely must be El Taco Mundo -- the long-rumored location of Caroline Galvan-Rodriguez's newest eatery. (One's also being planned at 4120 Highway 360 in Fort Worth, according to this

  November 26, 2008

• Honky-tonk from Hell

  August 8, 1996

• Running hooch

  January 14, 1999

• A is for avarice

  February 4, 1999

• Hash Over

  August 19, 1999

• Jeez, not this again

  July 20, 2000

• Chicken-Fried Infamy

  It's a batter battle as Texas faces Oklahoma

  October 9, 2003

• Youthful Indiscretions

  February 19, 2004

• Beer Is Good

  October 16, 2008

• Nick Badovinus Does His Own Thing

  January 17, 2008

• C'mon Get Happy

  Even Buzz finds something to smile about in 2006

  January 4, 2007

• See you in Court

  The TABC picks the wrong guy to ticket

  April 20, 2006

• Deep Easy

  N'awlins reborn in Deep Ellum

  September 29, 2005

• Guest-Mex

  Cafe San Miguel to open in June

  May 26, 2005

• Naked no more:

  April 14, 2005

• Repressed

  Arlington says Hooters threatens its moral fabric. Wait, what year is this again?

  June 3, 2004

• Test Case

  The verdict is in: City Plan Commissioner David Spence had an ethical lapse

  September 12, 2002

• Dinner in a Pinch

  It's hard to fill in the gaps at Lalibela

  May 2, 2002

• Food Foolery

  Shenanigans' sleight of hand is all thumbs

  February 21, 2002

• Label-ese

  Can't find your favorite alcohol? Blame bureaucracy.

  April 5, 2001

• Scene, Heard

  Trees closes its doors...for a while

  January 25, 2001

• Clubland

  Rubber Gloves finally brings its own alcohol, and the Gypsy Tea Room tackles That Hip Hop Genre

  June 29, 2000

• Hot and bothered

  The city's ordinance governing topless clubs is a joke. But Bachman Lake-area residents are determined to get rid of the clubs by any means necessary.

  February 24, 2000

• Hash Over

  Buck naked saint

  November 18, 1999

• Etc. Etc. Releases A Press Release Detailing Why Its Saturday Night Party Was Disrupted By Police, TABC Officers

  Although it has already been posted elsewhere, after the jump, you'll see a press release from the folks at Etc. Etc., detailing their stance and thoughts on why their Saturday night party at the 1800 Lear St. warehouse was busted up by the Dallas Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.Heading in, the event had a lot of potential. Held in a out-of-the-way, private spot, the Etc. Etc. people hoped to bring crowds from various walks of Dallas life together for a night filled

  May 27, 2009

• On 40th Anniversary of Stonewall Raid, Anger Over Arrests at Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge

  Chuck Potter, via Instant TeaOne of the few photos taken from last night's police raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort WorthForty years to the day after the raid on the Stonewall Inn, the unofficial birthplace of the gay-rights movement, the Dallas Voice's Instant Tea blog has been full of updates Sunday concerning last night's Fort Worth police raid on the Rainbow Lounge on 615 S. Jennings Ave. There are myriad first-hand accounts, including one from former Star-Telegram critic Todd Camp, who hap

  June 28, 2009

• Took Long Enough, But TABC Finally Releases Statement Concerning FW Gay Bar Raid

  At last, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has issued an official statement concerning Saturday night's raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, which left Chad Gibson hospitalized and a community outraged. Carolyn Beck, the spokesperson for the agency, just sent Unfair Park the document, in which TABC Administrator Alan Steen says he has initiated an internal affairs investigation "to answer questions about how these locations were chosen, to review the agents' actions, and specifically

  July 1, 2009

• As TABC and FWPD Investigate Rainbow Lounge Raid, The New York Times Pays a Visit

  On Friday, Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief asked the acting U.S. Attorney to review the Rainbow Lounge raid and investigations.One week later, word of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth Police Department's raid on the Rainbow Lounge has reached Page A16 of this morning New York Times. The piece recaps for a national audience what the locals already know about the incident that has prompted TABC and FWPD internal inquiries and resulted Friday in Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief's

  July 5, 2009

• Club Dada's Open For Business. Has Been, Actually. Uh, Nevermind?

  A quick look around Club Dada last night, and you wouldn't necessarily know that anything crazy had been going on at the venue in recent weeks. Indeed, there were bands on stage, patrons listening to the music and bartenders whipping up drinks as fast as they could."We're open," Club Dada co-owner Ben Tapia said last night at his venue. "We've been open."Since Tuesday, actually. And, again, Tapia stresses, the times in which the club wasn't open? Strictly voluntary--and, in this case, an excuse

  July 16, 2009

• At Last, the TABC's Alan Steen Apologizes For "Violations" During the Rainbow Lounge Raid

  Alan SteenMore than two weeks after Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Administrator Alan Steen acknowledged an internal investigation following the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth -- which left Chad Gibson hospitalized with serious head injuries -- Steen finally gave an interview concerning what might have gone wrong that night. He spoke to the Dallas Voice, and, for the first time, Steen apologized for how some TABC agents "violated" its policy:"I don't think you have to dig very dee

  July 17, 2009

• Two Ex-TABC Agents Warn: Don't Expect Much From That Apology or Internal Investigation

  A Friend of Unfair Park forwards along this Austin American-Statesman story from yesterday, in which two former Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents -- one of them a former Dallas captain -- warn that TABC Administrator Alan Steen ain't much good when it comes to following through with apologies and investigations. Add to that docs uncovered from an '04 Texas Sunset Advisory Commission report and an '07 wrongful arrest lawsuit, and what you get is a glass full of warm, flat Shiner -- mmmm,

  July 20, 2009

• What Went Wrong During Rainbow Lounge Raid? Says TABC's Report, Everything.

  State Rep. Lon Burnam​Every local media outlet's been waiting for it, but KTVT-Channel 11 managed to get its hands on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's internal investigation concerning the raid on the Rainbow Lounge, and it isn't pretty. Right, Fort Worth State Rep. Lon Burnam? "I think there's been a foul up that needs to be corrected, but sometimes when people go Rambo, they go Rambo."Myriad rules and procedures were violated, according to the story, and officers didn't report the i

  August 6, 2009

• "Three TABC Employees Violated Various Agency Policies." Read the Report Yourself.

  ​Let's start this item over -- clean and shorten this sucker up. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission finally sent over the 32-page report detailing the events of the raid on the Rainbow Lounge raid in Fort Worth; it's below, as you can see. But Tameka Harris, the agency's legal secretary, also informs us that there are 819 supplementary pages, available to us at the cost of $161.40; we're looking under the couch now for loose change, and will post those as soon as the check clears (fingers

  August 6, 2009

• The police raid on the Rainbow Lounge has rocked the world of Fort Worth gays

  August 20, 2009

• TABC Agent Named in Rainbow Lounge Report Has Boss Investigated For Public Comments

  ​The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission just sent along a press release in which it acknowledges that the agency's general counsel and Office of Professional Responsibility (otherwise known as Internal Affairs) are investigating Administrator Alan Steen. For what? For comments he made to the media during the days and weeks after the agency's raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth. Steen apologized in July, saying that "I don't think you have to dig very deep to figure out that TABC has v

  August 27, 2009

• TABC Fires Agents, Supervisor Involved in the Rainbow Lounge Raid; Disciplines Two Others

  ​Another day, another Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission news release -- this one, concerning the firing of the three agents involved in the Rainbow Lounge raid in Fort Worth and named in the TABC's 32-page report released earlier this month. One other lieutenant is receiving a three-day suspension without pay and six months probation; yet another captain is being given a written reprimand. The full release follows, but this highlight:On August 28, 2009, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (T

  August 28, 2009

• Lounge On Elm Street To Remain A BYOB Venue For Next Few Shows.

  ​Remember last month when The Lounge On Elm Street co-owner Glenn Jackson said his bar would be getting back its liquor license in a week or so? That's still the case, as the payment and paperwork for the club's late renewal are seemingly ensnared in the bureaucracy of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission."We're hoping by the end of the week," he says. "We're just waiting on the TABC. They tell us they handle everything in the order they receive it. With the Dallas office, we'd turn in some

  October 20, 2009

• TABC To Get Some Diversity Training

  ​We're still waiting on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's investigation report that's supposed to "address the issue of the agents' use of force at the Rainbow Lounge"; it was due a few weeks ago, but it's now overdue. Till then, in the aftermath of the June 28 raid on the gay bar in Fort Worth, the TABC just sent word that it's going to work with Resource Center Dallas "to provide diversity training for agency employees around the state." And, says the agency, that means all of its em

  October 29, 2009

• Hophead: Beer Across Texas Guides Brew Lovers To The Lone Star State

  ​Fort Worth's Paul Hightower may make his living as a technical writer, copywriter and indexer, but one of the great passions in his life is beer. On his Dallas Craft Beer Examiner blog, he is a relentless and well-informed cheerleader for the best beers available in North Texas, whether they're brewed locally or abroad. Writing a guide to Texas brewers would seem an obvious choice for a textbook author with such an extensive knowledge of the subject. As it turned out, though, his friend and f

  October 29, 2009

• TABC Clears Its Still-Fired Agents of Using Excessive Force During Rainbow Lounge Raid

  ​Some time this morning, we should have the full copy of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's so-called "use of force" report concerning the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in late June. Till then, TABC spokesperson Carolyn Beck offers this morning a lengthy summary, in which TABC Agent Chris Aller -- who'd been to the bar two night before, spotted two men in "dressed only in thong-like underwear or bikini bottoms sitting on some picnic tables" and thought just maybe they were involved in "dru

  November 5, 2009

• The Entire TABC Use of Force Report

  As promised earlier, here's the full 75-page report from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission concerning use of force during the Rainbow Lounge raid in Fort Worth in June. Per the agency's Open Records Coordinator, driver's license information and vehicle license plate numbers have been redacted from the documents; hence, the occasional black marks.c09-012 Report Uof Redacted

  November 5, 2009