Towards a Better Nightlife?

Kinda like the idea that you take it more seriously if you wear a uniform in school; the idea here is that if you clean up the bar, the drunks won't be so damn annoying. I don't know - I wore a coat and tie all through high school, and it still took me five years to graduate.

"The Nightlife Oversight Committee, a collection of bar owners from the Old Port and Arts District, adopted 'Responsible Bar Management Guidelines' in April.

Committee members have taken their share of flak – possibly because all the city's social ills somehow get linked to the Old Port – and wanted to put themselves on proper footing (possibly before the city feels the need to step in).

There's no doubt the rules are aimed at crushing the Old Port's reputation as an oversexed, booze-soaked rodeo where no drink is too far out of bounds.

The new guidelines are admirable and include everything from prohibiting drinking games and selling liquor below cost to banning customers for at least three months from bars where they start fights."

- Portland Press Herald