Willow Glen Resident

News

Liquor store on Malone Road removes x-rated lighters from the counter

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

The Lincoln Liquor Store on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Malone Road recently carried new items that fired up the nerves of neighborhood residents.

The liquor store had placed cigarette lighters that resembled penises and breasts in a clear case on top of the register counter. The lighters could be seen readily by adult and minor customers.

Willow Glen resident DeAnn Page, who frequented the store because it was convenient and the staff was friendly, objected.

"You don't start realizing that these types of things are there until you bring in your kids, and they see this smut," Page said.

She said she confronted the clerk at the liquor store about the new items.

"He said it was the owner that decided on carrying them because they were popular sellers at his other locations," Page said.

According to the San Jose Police Department Vice Unit, there is nothing in the city's ordinances that prohibits stores from selling these items as long as they are covered up and not in a location where minors can view them.

But the lighters were in plain view on numerous occasions when Page walked in.

Page's husband, Matthew, said even if the lighters were not visible, their availability was an example of why this store is a neighborhood blight.

"It's a double problem," Matthew Page said. "They are selling these images to our kids and encouraging the type of people that would buy these things to frequent the store."

The lighters have been removed.

The clerk at the store, who did not want to give his name, said the lighters were removed because they weren't popular sellers.

"I don't even know how much they are, because I have never sold one," he said.

Residents who find such items in public view can report the store by calling the vice unit at 408.277.4322.