A look back: November 28, 1984

While a first-ever pre-Christmas sale at Pennsylvania state stores is welcome, it certainly won’t match the benefits a privately run retail liquor system could bring, says a Republican official.

Mario Mele, the lone GOP member of the three-member Liquor Control Board, said the sale, to feature 10 percent price reductions the week of Dec. 5, “is a great opportunity for the consumers of Pennsylvania to do their Christmas shopping,” but, he argued, “It doesn’t come close to what a private system would do for consumers and the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”

LCB Chairman Daniel Pennick said the sale will give “a little break to the stockholders — the citizens of Pennsylvania.”