Decision Due Today On Point Beach Bar Closings

New Jersey's top liquor regulator is due to decide Friday whether Point Pleasant beach's midnight bar closing law should go into effect Sunday.

The director of the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is scheduled to issue a ruling on a request by boardwalk bars to block the law from taking effect this weekend. The bars say the borough has tried to extort money from them if they want to continue to stay open until 2 a.m.

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The Borough Council passed the midnight closing law to try to crack down on early morning rowdiness by bar patrons returning to their cars in residential neighborhoods. Negotiations that would have had the bars pay extra fees to fund more police patrols fell apart.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)