D.C. Council Member Mary Cheh has been pushing a 1 cent per ounce on non-diet sodas — 72 cents per six pack! — to fund her plan to use the schools to hector children and their parents about bad eating habits.

From Lanny Shepherd, DC Headlines Examiner, “Tax on soda proposal shot down in DC“:

Council members Jack Evans (D-Ward 1), Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 6) staunchly opposed the proposal. They argued that the tax was an unfair burden on the poor in the city, as the price of a 6-pack of soda would increase by a $1.44. They carried the day, as Chairman Vincent Gray declared the proposal dead after debate and did not hold a vote on the issue.

All in all, it was a very bad day for the fans of regressive, product-specific taxation:

• New York Daily News, “Gov. Paterson’s sugared-soda tax is going flat fast in Albany“
• Philadelphia Inquirer, “Soda tax off table; Nutter vows cuts”

Congratulations to the local business owners in the D.C. area who exercised their First Amendment rights of free speech and petitioning the government. That’s still OK, isn’t it?

• Washington Post, May 13, “DC soda tax proposal draws opposition from beverage industry“
• Washington Post blog, May 12, “Restaurants band together to defeat DC soda tax”

Our friends at the American Beverage Association have launched a new blog, Sip & Savor, providing commentary on public policy, the latest news, and the world of soda, waters, juices and other liquid refreshments.

The beverage industry has emerged as recently as another popular target for the state and local revenue raisers, so this is definitely a place to seek commentary on the parching, non-stimulative effects of taxes. You know, like New York Gov. David Paterson’s proposed 18 percent tax on non-alcoholic drinks.

We’ve added Sip & Savor to the blogroll to the left.

Meanwhile, he is who is not busy being born is being…well, that’s too Dylanesque. We’ll just say goodbye to Pharmalot, the blog of the Newark Star-Ledger that covered the pharmaceutical industry, a major presence in the New Jersey economy. The newpaper business is facing tough times lately, and even though newspaper-related blogs have much to offer in the way of resources and focus, they also demand employee time and effort. Triage.

(Judging by the Sunday Star-Ledger, the paper is continuing to cover the pharmaceutical business. See this story, “Experts: No such thing as free antibiotics.” The story is a platform for critics of recent trends in retail marketing of drugs.)

Elsewhere in the blogging world, from Instapundit, we see that Autoblog is covering the Detroit Auto Show. Many, many cool vehicles.