Excerpts from Letter to Licensing Board: We are aware that the Licensing Board is considering an application for a liquor license at the 24 hour Hess Station. Residents and business owners in the neighboring area, have observed that many people frequent this location late at night excessively drunk and often under the influence of drugs; screaming and constantly engaging in fights. We have observed drunk and screaming teenagers and adults at the station at 3-5AM, then moving around the immediate neighborhood. I’m sure you are aware there have been numerous incidents where innocent bystanders were threatened and/or injured at the location. We never expected an "all-night-party-central” or the local government to even think of encouraging that behavior. If you cannot police your own citizens, encouraging more rowdiness, drinking and violence is not the way to encourage people to bring their resources, families and businesses to Salem. It is our position should the application be granted, be advised that should any damages, injuries or worse occur to any members of our family, friends and visitors as a result, we will not only hold the perpetrators, Hira Corporation and Hess management responsible, but the Members of the Licensing Board for recklessly endangering the citizens of Salem; and will not hesitate to pursue the legal ramifications of such actions at any level.

last time I was at the Hess I was harassed by an obviously drunk homeless person...
at least he capped it off by complimenting my choice of car.

Brings up lots of good points. I think Jared has it right though, it's not like someone will be able to come out of the Tavern or Beer Works at last call and walk over to Hess to buy more beer right? They have to stop selling at some point, or would that not be the case?

I'm not sure of the time restrictions, perhaps Bill could fill us in, but I know that Hess would not be selling beer & wine at all hours of the day and night. Only during the times that all package stores can legally sell.

That said, I'm still not convinced it is a good idea - that area really does seem to be the epicenter of bad behavior in downtown Salem.

I wish the folks at Hess well, but I think they would just be buying a headache along with that liquor license.

Everyone knows that the downtown area is a hub of trouble late at night...then why not push to have the police do something about it? I have driven through this town at different hours of the night and have never seen a cop anywhere.
I don't see an issue with the gas station selling beer and wine. They would not be able to sell at different times from anyone else even if they are a 24 hour store. I think get the cops out on the road and doing some policing and maybe a lot of these issues will go away...take an active roll in policing. Also as citizens lets inform them more of issues going on and use your cameras....pictures are worth a thousand words.

NO... Leave the liquor in the liquor stores.

Does anyone think it will actually matter if the Hess station sells during legal hours or not? It is still accessible in many places, and has been pointed out the cops don't crack down it. Banning a small businessman from selling a legal product may make you all feel good, but in the end it won't make a difference in either directions. A new class of drunks are not going to be created because the Hess Station sells beer.

Well, as long as it is a legal product (and one the state makes much money on) you should not restrain trade b/c of a misguided notion of what constitutes impulse buying. Someone who drinks and causes trouble is going to get it and do it anyway. On the other hand, why not let the 99% of people who buy beer and don't cause problems have another venue. How about if the cops patrol and throw some drunks in jail or are they too busy soaking up details at construction sites. I don't know of any other city or town where so many bums, drunks and beggars operate without any fear of the law. Well, maybe except San Francisco.

If the area is a problem area where people are being acosted by panhandlers and drunks then the Police should already be doing extra patrols to clean it up and have a zero tolerance for that behavior. Regardless of whether the Hess station sells beer and wine. The public saftey should always be first and formost.

How come this concept works in almost every other state, but won't in Massachusetts? As for the late night rowdyism, I thought the earlier curfew (from 2am) was supposed to fix that? Maybe the Licensing Board should start suspending licenses where the inconsiderate get "tanked up."

One thing is for sure, with Robert St. Pierre as chairman, Salem is in capable hands on this issue. My gut tells me it will not pass based on the pre-existing problems in the downtown area. It will not inconvienence anyone to not sell beer and wine at that location. The question is what will they do with the very valuable license if they are denied ? Restaraunts are the big thing in Salem and they all want to sell alcohol.

Bill, if Americans cannot or will not acknowlege the differences between fact and perception, then we have a bigger problem than who is going to win the presidential election in November. I, for one, would like to be able to drop into the Hess convenience store and purchase beer or wine to take home. I frequently purchase gas, newspapers and other items there, then have to find a space at a liquor store to buy alchohol. I am a responsible person and drinker and do not need to be babysat. Anyone who plans on drinking irresponsibly is going to find a way to do just that. I hope Hess and individuals who do business there will not be held accountable for the few drunks who cause downtown problems.

I enjoyed reading some good, on-topic debate here today.

Steve's has the best prices in Salem and parking is always available. I am amazed,with this economy,that people are willing to spend much more for beer and wine at one location compared to others. Some stores in Salem charge more than $1 per six pack than others.

Bill you bring up some good points, many which I agree with, but it seems to me that not allowing the permit due to the fact that a rough crowd congregates in the area seems to truly send the wrong message. Under this model a business following the appropriate channels is trumped by bad behavior of those not following the appropriate channels. Doesn't it make more sense to pool resources to end the problem everyone seems to agree on? I realize there's more to your argument than just this point, but I do get hung up on it.

My other reason for not wanting to block liquor sales there is that I think the majority of the hectic, late-night bar related issues occur after 11 when stores can sell.

Being a realist, I think a lot of the homeless folks would be more likely to buy beer at Hess for sure, but the reality is that there are three spots within a few blocks of the river walk where those who want to drink in public can easily buy booze (Bunghole / Los Amigos / Lafayette Market).

All this said, although I don't think the city should block Hess, I'd rather see the license go to another restaurant than a Hess. A lot of folks think that Salem is too saturated with restaurants and they might be right, but as a Salem resident I absolutely love having more choices. My preference is for the license to go to a restaurant, but I don't think it's fair to block Hess when they appear to be going about things the right way.

p.s. - I was responding to Bill (Legault) the author........I love your columns!

I would rather see the pharmacies (CVS and Walgreens) be /automatically allowed/ to be open 24/7, instead of a gas station being allowed to sell beer and wine.

If Planet Fitness can be open 24/7, so should the pharmacies. Hospital emergency rooms do not close at 9:00 PM.

I don't get the argument that the homeless would be buying at Hess when there is a package store right next to the shelter.Can redemption machines are a big draw for the homeless.

John I believe the thinking behind that is often the package store workers know the drunks and know which ones are trouble makers. I have witnessed bunghole employees shut off bums that I cross the street to avoid.
Steves may have great prices but I'm willing to shell out an extra buck or two if it means I don't have to run the gauntlet out front of both stores. Most days I have my 6 year old in tow so I just don't shop there anymore. I have all ready had to explain things to him that could have waited a few years... Thanks Lifebridge

Many of you seem to be missing the point. It would be nice to be able to have the Salem Police much more active and aggressive in dealing with the problems of the excessive drinking problem here in Salem. BUT, as long as our esteemed politicians continue to placate the one's whose $$$ get them elected -- and aspire to higher offices -- our Police Department doesn't get the resources $$$ to hire the manpower to address the problems. Our "representatives" keep throwing the $$$ where they think it will come back to them. Get real, folks!

Jesus, Jared, get in touch with reality. You don't use your full name for "commenting purposes" but isn't that what you're questioning ONE REPUBLIC on? Fine, there is a link to your profile page blah blah blah, but if ur gonna go after others on their real names and uphold that argument you need to use your's when you comment too. Plain and simple. Shouldn't be having to dig for it. You constantly get yourself into back and forth conversations here and then you can't handle what you start so you cry your hypocritical argument. PLEASE. -- Riley (hyphenated name and all). Thanks for another really well thought out piece, William.

Hi everyone, in the interest of maintaining a constructive conversation, please stay on topic. Thanks.

I live across the street and next to Murphys, we have enough noise down here, and its not the homeless. Please consider the downtown residents who love living here but need our sleep like everyone else.

Another topic hacked to death like the best sub topic.

Dan, liquor sales are shut off at stores that are on the up and up by 11 pm. Did you really think you would have many silent nights when you moved into a condo in a urban area,with an active night life, sandwiched in between a firehouse and a bar?

There is one common theme in this thread,homeless drunks. The number and location of liquor stores is secondary to that problem. The city needs to attack the problem. It starts with the shelter,weather or not you are allowed in,it still atracts undesierables to Salem. The police will not respond to calls about drunks unless they have nothing more imoportant to do and in Salem they usually do have more pressing issues. Crack down on the shelter and force the bad actors out. The bank on the corner of Wash and New Derby has as a security guard outside. This is not about package stores, it's about the quality of life being diminised by unwanted,homeless people that the shelter reaches out to. Once they are here and confirmed as drunks they are not allowed in.

It's really not the homeless. They tend to be very quiet. It's people who view Salem as a watering hole, to use and abuse as they want, who are the culprits. Excessive alcohol intake fuels the bad behavior, especially noise and vandalism.

I see it as two different problems,the party people are the late night problem and the homeless are the all day problem.Salem during the day is full of homeless,drunks,mentaly challenged,child molesters and junkies.

The bar noise and drinkig and driving problems can easily fixed with a proposal I introduced over 20 yrs ago: Any alcohol serving establishment that has enternainment should not be forced to close at 1 or 2 AM right after last call and push their patrons onto the streets, instead there is no requirement to close at all, the only requirement is to stop serving alcohol at least 3 hours before they close. For those 3 hours they are required to serve, no alcohol drinks, especially coffee and some form of breakfast and the enternaiment continues. This gives an alternative for their customers and keep them out of the streets when they just consumed a rushed last call.
Who cares if they close at 1, 2 or 6 AM? I think the worst time is closing 1-4 AM when most people are sleeping and can be awakened. The important thing is to keep the party going without alcohol and keep them in the club having breakfast, talking, dancing, etc. until they've sobered up and it also keeps the noise down until most people are awake. The other thing is it prevents that Last Call and Everybody Go Home RUSH of people and Traffic.
Most all countries in Europe the clubs are open til morning and there is less of the problems we have.
What do you think?
REPUBLIC RISING MassFreeState@gmail.com

What country do you live in?

Once again, everyone forgets what this is all about. Allowing a package store (the Hess station) to sell liquor after all the bars closed does nothing but provide an excuse to the "drinkers" to continue the behavior and the possible consequences; and it makes no difference who the "drinkers" are. If any one of you in this dialogue care about the city that you live in -- Salem -- think about how a new influx of tourism will benefit us all. New businesses, new attractions, added revenue for the existing restaurants AND bars, and an increased tax base. But if the new influx of these elements see Salem as a town of drunks and "anything goes," it's all in vain.

Some don't seem to understand that busineses selling alcohol have established times that they have to close by. Not knowing that very important point is causing some to misread the article and think they can sell liquor past 11pm. I think stores close at 11 and bars have last call at 12 and close at 1am

A big thanks to the licensing board for shooting down the Hess Station's request to sell liquor.