international news _ 11th October, 2006

New Video ID Laws Approved For New York Clubs

Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

New York City authorities proposed new laws this week which will force clubs to install video and ID monitoring technology at all entrances, to collect data which can be used by law enforcement agencies.

Chelsea Council Speaker Christine Quinn introduced the laws at a Nightlife Safety Summit she held with club owners last week and promised to continue introducing more controls on clubs throughout the City.

“As we all know, right now there is a problem as it relates to nightlife in this city,” she said at a press conference outside the Summit.“

We are the safest big city in the world. We do not have the safest nightlife in the world. I believe that is a possibility. I know that we can make nightlife safer in the city of New York.”

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, cops offered a $50,000 reward this week to help capture the killers of Emmery Munoz, a 14 year old raver whose body was found last January, dumped in an abandoned warehouse frequently used for unlicensed raves.

“The person or persons responsible for this crime represent an ongoing threat to the safety of the people of Los Angeles,” the Reward notice explained, “What happened to Emmery Munoz is an especially disturbing crime and therefore, as a matter of public policy, the City hereby offers a reward as an added inducement for persons to come forward with information leading to the identification and apprehension of the person or persons responsible.”

"Someone out there knows what happened," L.A.P.D. Lt. Paul Vernon told KTLA News. "As callous as it sounds, people actually brag about things like this."

Press reports this week said the teenager had been attending unregulated ‘flier parties’ for a year before her death some of which could be dangerous, LA Weekly reported last week, with 13 deaths taking places at them in 2004. Emmery also recently started hanging out with an all girl party crew called the Vicious Ladies, one of the many social groups on LA’s underground free party circuit, the paper added.

“The Vicious Ladies are the biggest and most talked-about crew,” a former Vicious founder told the LA Weekly. “The girls are real pretty. Most of the girls in the scene wear bootie shorts and are nozz heads. The Vicious Ladies aren’t like that. It makes the crew look bad if the girls are ho’s.”

The Vicious Ladies continue to operate via Myspace and the web, with an uncompromising message for visitors to their site.

“What’s up party people, you straight came into contact with one of the best upcoming crews ever- Vicious Ladies,” they declare.

“You know not giving a fuck so drop a line, speak the mind and we will get back to you. Still Vicious Ladies, all day, every day, saying fuck the haters and we are our peace.”