Justice delayed: State slaps Natali on the wrist

JUSTICE DELAYED:
STATE SLAPS DISCRIMINATORY BAR OWNER ON THE WRIST
COMPLAINANTS WILL MEDIATE OR GET THEIR DAY IN COURT

ABC Imposes Conditions on Badlands Owner

July 15, 2005 -- Despite overwhelming evidence and a City finding that Les Natali,
owner of Badlands, discriminated against African Americans in patronage and
employment over several years, the State Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
announced yesterday -- in a one-page finding with no supporting documentation --
that it had found "insufficient evidence" to deny his license transfer for the
Pendulum. Nevertheless, they imposed a series of conditions. Although they amount
to a slap on the wrist, say organizers from And Castro for All, they also signal
that Natali is not cleared by the ABC of wrongdoing.

"The conditions imposed make clear the ABC's concern about the charges. They failed
to find the fire that the City of San Francisco exposed and the community knows is
in plain sight, but even from Sacramento they smelled the smoke," explained And
Castro for All organizer John Newsome.

"It's outrageous that they chose to do nothing but force Natali to put up
anti-discrimination signage. That's not accountability. We should trust the finding
of City's Human Rights Commission, which reviews civil rights allegations all the
time, not a State agency that mostly enforces alcohol and drug law. The ABC appears
to be incompetent to enforce City and State civil rights laws. Maybe we should limit
their purview to noise and underage drinking and leave discrimination investigation
to the professionals."

In the Badlands case, ABC staff repeatedly announced an "undercover investigation"
to the media, including several news wires and the Bay Times, rendering such an
investigation meaningless. "Our attorneys and even public officials repeatedly
expressed concern that the ABC could not rely on the results of a publicly announced
undercover investigation for their work. Incredibly, they continued to publicize
their undercover investigation, and ultimately cited it as material in their
one-page finding," remarked Newsome.

The ABC has long been accused of incompetence. As one example, over the past decade,
Oakland residents have long struggled with the agency's inability to effectively
investigate even standard liquor law violations at problem convenience stores,
sometimes drawing out community calls for license revocations for many months.
Finally, in 2004, the city began using its own land-use policies, attempting to
address problem stores the ABC failed to. Frustrated with the ABC, former Supervisor
Susan Leal commented to the SF Chronicle in 1996: "It takes an act of God to revoke
a license."

The ABC's one-page finding notwithstanding, complainants still will have their day
in court: ABC staff noted that complainants may take their charges to administrative
law judges, who would hear testimony and review the City and ABC findings. "The ABC
may not know anything about civil rights law, but administrative law judges do,"
explained complainants' attorney Julius Turman.

The complainants and And Castro For All continue to press other City and State
agencies, including the State's Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing, and especially
the City's Entertainment Commission, to enforce City and State civil rights laws to
the fullest extent. "The City's civil rights attorneys conducted a thorough
investigation and issued a comprehensive finding," said Newsome. "We fully expect
our City to act upon its own Finding and enforce our own civil rights laws." In
addition, complainants have discussed pursuing civil suits against Natali if the
City and State refuse to act.

Now that the ABC has completed its investigation, however flawed, it is time for Les
Natali to live up to his promise to mediate, say And Castro for All's organizers.
Natali recently agreed to mediate through former Mayor Willie Brown, at Mayor Gavin
Newsom's urging, as soon as the ABC had completed its work. That done, "we expect
mediation to begin immediately," noted Newsome.