One story that has Seattle abuzz (haha) this week is the potential liquor shortage the state may face, due to a software glitch at the State Liquor Board. This story isn't just newsworthy to those Seattleites hoping to drink a gin or tonic or two now that summer's here. The state depends heavily on liquor taxes to fund road projects and even schools, as Washington is an income-tax-free state. Last I checked, it charged nearly $1.50 in tax per liter of hard liquor.
I first heard the news of the potential shortage from MSNBC.com, which picked up the story from local NBC affiliate KING5. I wanted to email the story to a friend who couldn't quite believe the news. The MSNBC/KING story is quite short, and I hoped the local press had fleshed out the story.
I had a heck of a time finding the story on the Seattle Times web site. I searched for "liquor" and then "liquor shortage," to no avail. I tried "liquor board," and "shortage" by itself. I was further dismayed to see the radio buttons on the Times' site defaults to their network sites, not the website itself, so for a few minutes, I was searching altogether in the wrong location.
A neighbor informed me that the story did indeed run in the Sunday paper, with the headline "Liquor Shortage Possible." Yet a search on that header yields nothing on their website. The online edition inexplicably has this mouthful instead: "Statewide Distribution Problem May Limit Alcohol Sales During Fourth of July Weekend."
Come again? The whole experience was so irritating I found myself wishing for a bourbon at 3 p.m.
Only by searching by the story's author, Jack Broom, was I able to find the story.
Readers shouldn't have to work so hard!!
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