LIQUOR DRIVE-UP WINDOWS CLOSE AFTER 4-YEAR FIGHT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The irony wasn't lost Friday on most of Gary Fuller's
customers at the drive-up window of the Last Chance Saloon & Package Store.

It was the last chance for anybody in New Mexico to buy liquor at the
window. Midnight marked the start of a new state law banning the sale of
alcohol through drive-ups.

``There have been a lot of comments from the customers today,'' said
Fuller. ``Mostly they've said (the ban) is stupid. . . . But they're also
kind of surprised it finally happened.''

Many New Mexicans were surprised when Gov. Gary Johnson signed the new law
in May. It marked the end of a bitter, four-year struggle between liquor
store owners and lawmakers in the state with the highest rate of
alcohol-related traffic deaths.

Supporters argue it will reduce the state's abominable drunken-driving
record -- the worst in the nation -- and reduce the number of teenagers
buying alcohol illegally.

Retailers -- about 230 in all -- say it will put undue strain on their
businesses and have little to no effect on drunken drivers. They also say
the ban's enactment was little more than election year politics.

A July 30 letter from the state told drive-up owners that no products can
be sold through the windows, not even non-alcoholic goods including snacks
and cigarettes. Drive-through businesses such as pharmacies and fast-food
restaurants, which do not operate on liquor licenses, will not be affected.

``Now we can't even sell lottery tickets or candy or Cokes out of the
window -- but look at McDonald's,'' said Chris Southern, owner of a liquor
store in eastern New Mexico.

State regulators and police planned sweeps over the next few days to
enforce the ban. A business caught selling liquor through a window could be
fined $10,000, with second offenses possibly bringing jail time.

Retailers plan to appeal a court decision upholding the law.

New Mexico is No. 1 in per capita alcohol-related traffic deaths, with
11.79 deaths per 100,000 people in 1996, the last year for which figures
were available. That's 19 percent higher than Mississippi, the next highest
state.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)