CITY HOPES IT HAS ENDED POLICE CALLS TO TASTE

After more than a year of debating it, the Cape Girardeau City Council voted unanimously to yank the Taste Restaurant and Lounge's liquor license. Owner Michael Pryor could decide to apply for another license, but he doesn't know if he'll do that.

So Saturday will mark the controversial nightclub's last night of existence as we've come to know it.

What an existence it has been, at least for the past couple of years. A June 1999 riot a block from the club injured police, Taste customers and drew the attention of Time magazine. There was a September 2000 stabbing. And there were impromptu gatherings in the street in the early morning hours after the bar had closed.

And there was fight after fight after fight. Eighteen police calls in all between July 1 through June 10 put the Taste at No. 1 on the list of nightclubs most frequently visited by on-duty police.

Little wonder former police chief Rick Hetzel repeatedly beseeched councilmen to act against the Taste. The club was a lot of trouble for his officers, who handled crowd control after closing time on several occasions.

But stopping liquor sales at the Taste, a club owned by a black man in the city's most racially diverse neighborhood, doesn't mean the deeper problem is solved.

What about the 100-plus black patrons who depended on the club for weekend entertainment? Obviously, they felt more comfortable in a club that catered to their friends and acquaintances. And while Cape Girardeau has plenty of nightlife, it might not be the kind those patrons desire.

Or maybe that spot on Good Hope Street has become such an accepted hangout that people will continue to loiter there whether the bar is open or not. That means the police will be at the site just as much.

Finally, what about the runner-up on that list of nightclubs visited most often by police, Daytimer's Lounge at 829 S. Kingshighway? Police have responded to the predominantly white club 14 times during the same period.

Acting police chief Steve Strong told councilmen those calls were of a different nature -- not so many violent crimes. Of the 18 calls to the Taste, 10 were for fights, assaults and peace disturbances. Only four fell into those categories at Daytimer's.

Even so, it is absolutely crucial that our police department is considered even-handed going into a crucial period as the Taste closes and the owner decides how he wants to proceed. They have to closely follow any new developments on this front.

To act in any other manner will be inviting a racial conflict Cape Girardeau doesn't need.