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Internet cafes, hookah bars on AV agenda [Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.](Daily Press (Victorville, CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 13--APPLE VALLEY -- After a five week hiatus, the Apple Valley Town Council will meet to discuss a variety of issues, including a code amendment to tighten rules for Internet cafes and hookah bars. Amendments defining rules for the cafes and bars have not been previously addressed, according to a staff report. If approved during Tuesday's meeting, Internet cafes must obtain a special use permit and will not be allowed to operate sweepstakes, gaming-related computers or machines that allow electronic or non-electronic, gaming style entertainment for prizes. Among the report, Hookah Bars must have a proper exhaust system, are not allowed to prepare and serve food and/or alcoholic beverages per state law, and must not allow sound to travel outside the building. According to a town staff email, Apple Valley has one Internet cafe and no hookah bars. Over the last few months, the town has received numerous inquiries to set up Hookah lounges. The staff report noted that the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department recently seized more than 200 illegal gaming machines from four Internet cafes in Hesperia. Soon after, one Apple Valley cafe operator withdrew his permission and three others closed shops in Apple Valley, a staff report said. "The facts that these businesses have closed after the recent raids in Hesperia, leads staff to believe the cafes were not operating the business as described in its business outline submitted to the town," the staff report said. In March, after a four-month investigation into complaints of illegal gambling and access to gaming machines, about 30 law enforcement officers raided the facilities, a sheriff's news release stated. The sheriff's High Tech Crimes Division and the California Department of Justice Gambling Control Bureau had been investigating the case. The full list of code amendments for the cafes and bars can be found online at www.applevalley.org. Rene De La Cruz may bereached at 760-951-6227 or at [email protected]. ___ (c)2013 the Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.) Visit the Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.) at www.vvdailypress.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |