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Lawmakers Resistant To Liquor Law Changes, Despite Polls

Bottles of liquor line the shelves at a local ABC store in Winston-Salem. SEAN BUETER/WFDD

Recent polls by Elon University and Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy suggest that a majority of registered voters support changes to state controlled liquor sales, with many advocating privatization.

The NC Retail Merchants Association released a statement this week saying residents would like the freedom to purchase liquor at grocery stores.

But at a legislative committee meeting Monday night, some lawmakers balked at making changes anytime soon.

State Senator Joyce Waddell, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, expressed concern about potential job losses. The News and Observer reports The Alcohol Beverage Control commission employs almost 3,000 people across the state.

And while the state could make more money by opening stores on Sunday, that proposal has received mixed reaction. Rep. Pat Hurley, a Republican from Randolph County, said Sunday should remain “the Lord's day.” A majority of respondents to the Elon poll agreed with that sentiment.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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