Silver Strand To Be Booze-Free On Labor Day

CORONADO, Calif. -- The Silver Strand is going dry this Labor Day weekend.

The last public beach in San Diego County where alcohol is allowed has experienced a sudden spike in the number of drunken incidents, and the California State Parks officials have reacted by banning booze on the beach this Labor Day, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Six people have been arrested this year for alcohol-related offenses, more than the six people arrested in the three years prior, state officials said. And lifeguards have reported an increase in the number of alcohol-related rescues.

Residents of the adjacent Coronado Cays development and the city council in Coronado have demanded that the state permanently ban drinking on Silver Strand, and the Labor Day ban may be extended permanently, the Union-Tribune reported.

An increase in loutish behavior and public drunkenness has caused city after city in San Diego County to ban beer, wine and other drinks from public beaches. A riotous brawl at Pacific Beach last summer served as the poster child for the Oceanside temperance movement.

Voters in San Diego will decide this November if the booze ban on city beaches should continue.

Although alcohol will be banned on the state park's beach during the Labor Day weekend, it will not be prohibited in the 130 campsites at the park.