CLUB USED LOGOS ILLEGALLY, DRUG-FREE GROUPS CLAIM

SAN RAMON -- A night club mired in legal trouble now faces grief from a
pair of national anti-drug groups that claim their logos were used without
permission on a club flier advertising a party.

San Ramon's Club Access, now the focus of two state investigations and a
criminal complaint against its owner, circulated a flier prior to a June 9
party for 14- to 18-year-olds that included the logos for DARE America and
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.

Club owner Art Azurin said Monday that the dispute was the result of a
misunderstanding between the groups and Club Access, which is trying to get
an anti-drug program off the ground.

"Parents: Take the night off!" the flier reads. "Drop your kids off here,
and let us take care of them!"

But both DARE and the coalition have issued retraction demands.

"CADCA strenuously objects to any suggestion that it endorses ... your club
in any way," organization chair Arthur Dean wrote in a June 15 letter to
Azurin. "We are deeply troubled with the apparent attempt to use our
reputation in a deceptive manner."

The event was the first of a summer series of parties for teen-agers,
Azurin said. The club hopes to branch out to new clientele, in part because
a restraining order now prohibits it from selling alcohol.

Two weeks ago, the state attorney general's office sought and received the
order from a judge, a result of months of police scrutiny and pending civil
and administrative suits.

Both the attorney general and the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control seek to permanently strip the club of its liquor license, citing
numerous conflicts with police since the club opened in late 1999. Azurin
also faces a criminal case for allegedly offering bribes to a liquor
license inspector.

"You can imagine we were quite surprised," said Vanessa Horn, a legal
assistant with the company regulating use of the DARE logo. "We never
sponsor anything like that. We don't give authorization to clubs."

Azurin said Club Access has been doing well, despite the alcohol ban. He
added that the club applied for membership in both of the anti-drug groups
but hadn't heard back from them when the flier was produced.

"(The groups) have forgotten their main objective," Azurin said, "which is
really to get the message out to the youth. We can be a conduit."

Late last week, the club released the following statement: "DARE America
does not in any way sponsor and/or endorse Club Access and the use of the
marks of DARE America in the promotional materials of Club Access is
unauthorized."

DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is the largest program of its kind
in America, working in more than half of the country's public school districts.

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America is a networking group for
anti-drug organizations with more than 5,000 members.