Coeur d’Alene council approves alcohol at farmers market [Video]

Under the pilot project, beer and wine would be allowed from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays on Fifth Street between Front and Lakeside avenues.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho —

Coeur d’Alene has a drinking problem, said Police Chief Lee White.

Not just a small one.

“We already have an enormous problem with alcohol in our area,” he told the City Council. “And I just wanted to make sure the council was aware of the gravity and the scope of the issue we’re dealing with.”

White said since Jan. 1, police have issued 321 warnings for alcohol offenses and written 241 citations for a variety of alcohol offenses, with 26 of those resulting in arrests.

He said the “overwhelming majority” of those were in the downtown area.

He said the highest blood-alcohol content of someone Coeur d’Alene police arrested was .38, far and away above Idaho’s legal limit of .08.

“We do have quite a problem with alcohol in our …