STARHEALTH In 77008, ban on booze likely had no shot
It’s not really a surprise that 60 percent of voters in the Heights opted to repeal a generationsold ordinance keeping their neighborhood dry when Census figures show residents of 77008 are younger and whiter than the national average.
What’s that sound? It’s the pop of a cork in 77008, as residents of the Heights celebrate the repeal of an ancient ordinance that has kept their section of the city dry for generations.
On Election Day, more than 60 percent of voters voted to lift the ban, first established in 1912. The push was backed by grocery store heavyweight H-E-B, which now has a clear path to bring booze to the corner of the city that covers parts of the 77007 ZIP code and most of 77008.
So who are these folks who turned out to turn over teetotaling? And should we be surprised that they voted in favor of allowing alcohol back to their neighborhood?
Residents of 77008 are, on average, slightly younger than the typical American, with a median age of 35.5 years old, compared with 37.8 years old nationally, Census figures show. And this low age has a lot to do with the fact that the Heights is chock-full of twentysomethings (13.9 percent of Americans are between the ages of 20 and 29, compared with 17.6 percent of residents in 77008).
And twentysomethings are more likely to consume alcohol than any other age group, with about 69 percent of that population categorizing themselves as current drinkers, according
to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
In addition to being younger than the national average, 77008 also is whiter than most of America, with 83 percent of residents claiming to be Caucasian in Census counts. And again, that’s a demographic that has greater ties with drinking than others. Whites are more likely than any other race or ethnicity to report current alcohol use, at 57.7 percent. Among black and Hispanic Americans, the rates are 43.6 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
So is the repeal surprising? No.
It seems like the Heights is a great example of a neighborhood where the demographics demand a changing viewpoint.
Except for one fun little fact: Pregnant women are unlikely to be drinkers — 9.4 percent nationally say they are current drinkers compared with 55.4 percent of women who aren’t pregnant — and in the Heights, there are loads of pregnant
women. The fertility rate is about 30 percent above the national average.
But hey, it will likely take more than nine months for H-E-B to cash in on this new development.