Staff Infection

PABST BEER PRICE FALLS IN CELLAR

Daniel de BoomSat. March 22
 

Beer Hall Hero ready to accept your praise

The price of a Pabst Beer at the Cellar has been lowered from a painful $4.50 per glass to a more reasonable $3.50. And that means it’s time to celebrate—with a glass of Pabst, barkeep—the fact that an individual can still make a difference.

My March 11 report about the high price of Pabst at the Cellar may not seem as lofty as stories The District usually reports—the collapse of the Press-Telegram, pollution on our beaches, homeless vets sleeping in our parks and really bad movies filmed in 2006 and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. All were very noble endeavors, but none producing this kind of satisfactory conclusion.

The word “hero” has been thrown around too often since I was made aware of the price drop. And while it is I doing most of the throwing, it certainly doesn’t make the term any less apt. In I mind. Also, I figure once the story—of the power of a reporter’s pen in the right hand—some others of you might be inclined to join in with the flinging and if that label happens to stick…well.

For only with lower beer prices can we have higher intoxication for the poor. Only with cheaper drink specials can the unwashed masses crowd in next to the clean-pressed, and paw through the trail mix with their grubby fingers, liberating M&Ms from pretzels and . . . what is that…Chex?

This fight is over and the victory intoxicating. But I will not rest. I will continue to roam the bars every night seeking out injustice from the seediest dives to the highest-falutin’ clubs where they insist on collared shirts, trying to make me dress like some kinda bank teller.

And I further swear to be an inspiration to my fellow muckrakers at The District. Calling them on the phone at any hour, day or night, drunk or sober, rallying the troops with shouts of encouragement just when their morale is at its lowest, their spirit broken to the point of falling asleep:

“WAKE UP, JENNY STOCKDALE! LET’S TEAR DOWN THAT BREAKWATER ALREADY!”

RELATED

COMMENTS

  1. 1

    Speaking on the collapse of the Press-Telegram, checkout Dennis McDougal’s opinion in today’s Los Angeles Times under the headline: “Read it and weep: the perilous fall of the Press-Telegram.” With the sub-headline: “The story of the Long Beach newspaper carries with it a warning about the future of community journalism.”

    “…As readers, we watch suburban dailies like the P-T wither and vanish at our collective peril. Blogs and weeklies simply can’t fill the void because there’s no substitute for local reporters covering local news every day in a local newspaper. When the call goes out to “stop the presses” these days, there’s an increasing chance they won’t ever start up again –and we’re all the lesser for it.”

    (Source: Dennis McDougal, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2008, Sunday Edition)

    [report]

    Posted By Dwight K Snider on March 23rd, 2008 at 8:50 am

     

  2. 2

    While the McDougal piece in the Times was certainly on target and insightful, I think even Dennis would agree that praise of that work should never get in the way of honnoring Pilsner Heroics of the type Mr. de Boom is engaged in.

    Shall we lose the local newspaper and not have affordable beer with which to mourn its passing? Nay!

    [report]

    Posted By Middlebrow on March 24th, 2008 at 8:56 am

     

  3. 3

    Here’s how I bring these stories together:

    A similar story in the P-T would have resulted in blaming Gerrie Schipske for raising the cost of beer and celebrating the efforts of the LB Redevelopment Agency for causing it to go back down again.

    [report]

    Posted By Andy on March 24th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

     

  4. 4

    “Hero” may be thrown around too often but “super genius”…not nearly enough. Thank you Mr. De Boom, thank you.

    [report]

    Posted By freakmagnet on March 24th, 2008 at 10:10 pm

     

  5. 5

    “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”

    [report]

    Posted By Lefty on March 26th, 2008 at 6:33 am

     

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