When Prohibition ended in 1933, the sale of alcoholic beverages resumed in the U.S. but was subject to a patchwork of differing regulations. Local options mean that some counties remain dry. Some states regulate the alcoholic content of beer sold at supermarkets and gas stations. In a few states, beer, wine and liquor may be sold practically anywhere. And in 18 states, liquor is sold exclusively in facilities run by the government. These are usually called ABC stores, for alcoholic beverage control. The first ABC liquor stores opened in Pennsylvania on this date in 1934. There are well over 32,000 beer, wine and liquor stores in the U.S. today, ABC stores included. The $43 billion a year business employs over 153,000 people. Profile America is in its18th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Saturday, January 3rd. Many causes are being celebrated this month, some ridiculous, some serious. In the serious category are two linked together — National Eye Care Month and National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Regular eye examinations should be part of everyone’s health care regimen, especially those age 40 and over. It’s estimated that there are 2.7 million Americans age 40 and older who suffer from glaucoma, with nearly half unaware they have the disease. Because as much as 40 percent of vision can be lost without a person noticing, glaucoma is known as the “sneak thief of sight.” Helping keep track of our eye health are optometrists in some 21,600 locations, and the 25,000 ophthalmologists among America’s 737,000 physicians and surgeons. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, January 4th. Early this month in 1790, President George Washington addressed a joint session of Congress to deliver the first State of the Union report, as called for the in the still young Constitution. The requirement didn’t demand a speech, and after delivering just one, President Thomas Jefferson began reporting in writing, feeling a speech was too magisterial. The spoken presentation was revived over a century later by Woodrow Wilson. Washington’s address has echoes to this day, as he stated “the terms on which foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens should be speedily ascertained by a uniform rule of naturalization.” The first U.S. census, taken just months later, counted a population of just over 3.9 million residents. Today’s foreign-born population in the U.S. is over 10 times that number. Profile America is in its18th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.