Prohibition

The new PBS documentary by Ken Burns goes on the air today, but not on PBS. You'll be able to see it first on iPhones and iPads. Just go get the PBS app , and dive in...

WASHINGTON - North Carolina voters decided overwhelmingly Tuesday to strengthen their state's gay marriage ban, a conservative show of enthusiasm six months before the nation chooses between Democratic President Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Romney swept three Republican primaries, moving ever closer to sealing his nomination. North Carolinians voted to amend their state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman, effectively outlawing gay unions.

PROHIBITION On: WGBH, Channel 2 Time: Oct. 2-4, 8 p.m. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns tackles another chunk of American history with "Prohibition," a three-part series, codirected with Lynn Novick, about the 18th Amendment. It airs Oct. 2-4 on WGBH, Channel 2. During a recent visit to the Globe, Burns discussed the series. Q. So: The Civil War. World War II. Women's suffrage. Race. Exploration. Jazz. Baseball. Over the past couple of decades, you've steadily been assembling a historical portrait of this country.

The Massachusetts Republican Party today called on a Democratic state representative to return thousands of dollars in campaign contributions because he appeared to have violated election finance laws by using a government employee as treasurer of his political committee. The lawmaker, first-term Representative Mark Cusack of Braintree, refused that demand but said he immediately replaced his treasurer after learning of the prohibition. "When he started as my treasurer, he was not a public employee.

What's this? A beer based on pre-Prohibition brewing? The literature that accompanied the bottle of Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Style Lager that was shipped to me indicates that the beer is "derived from a recipe found in an old logbook discovered in brewery archives dating back before 1919, when Prohibition banned beer. " It goes on to say that the beer has been introduced in Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, D.C., and that it has made its way to the Boston area.

Davis Square's Saloon aims to take you for a ride in the wayback machine. Inspired by the pre-Prohibition era, this subterranean sister restaurant to Foundry on Elm features chef Derek Clough's renditions of old-school fare such as steak and kidney pie, bubble and squeak, hamburg steak au poivre, and Boston baked beans with maple-glazed pork belly and brown bread. There's plenty of brown liquor to go with it. The bar stocks more than 100 variants of whiskey, and two kinds each of vodka and gin. Bartenders mix "bespoke cocktails" such as the...

PROHIBITION On: PBS, Channel 2 Time: Sunday-Tuesday, 8-10 p.m. Has any piece of legislation had a more intoxicating effect on the American imagination than the 18th Amendment? That was the law that banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol from 1920 until its repeal, in 1933. Prohibition helped put the roar into the Roaring '20s: speakeasies, hip flasks, bootleggers, bathtub gin, Al Capone. It proved to be a gold mine for popular culture, too: the original "Scarface," "Some Like It Hot," "The Untouchables," and on and on. Yet this is a tricky subject for a documentary - let...

It was a time of unprecedented prosperity, cut down by a stock market collapse and then eclipsed by a long period of rampant joblessness. The national debate featured bitter divides over immigration, religion, and the proper role of government in the private lives of American citizens. It sounds a lot like our own time, but we're talking about the era of Prohibition. More precisely, it's Ken Burns, the AV man for the nation's ongoing civics lessons, who is talking about it. "Prohibition," the New Hampshire filmmaker's latest work - his...

OVER 130 women have died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and yet they were not in combat. This paradox - women fight in wars but are not assigned to fighting in wars due to the Pentagon's exclusionary policy - is at the center of a long-simmering debate that has avoided much of the Lady Gaga-ness surrounding repeal of the military's ban on homosexuals. But if 2011 was the year of ending the "don't ask, don't tell" prohibition, 2012 begins with hints about a significant policy transformation regarding women in combat.

By Matthew Gilbert Prohibition 8 p.m., Channel 2 The three-part documentary from Ken Burns premieres tonight. It's a look at the history of the Prohibition era, from 1920-33. It will explore the politics, feminism, race issues, and organized crime of the time. The Hunt for the I-5 Killer 8 p.m., Lifetime John Corbett and Sara Canning from "The Vampire Diaries" star in this movie about the 1981 manhunt for the murderer shooting people along California's I-5. Pan Am 10 p.m., Channel 5 Kate and Laura's mother shows up. The Good Wife 9 p.m.,...

The Senate is considering barring New Hampshire officials from planning, creating or participating in a state health care exchange. Supporters argue even a state health care exchange would be federally controlled, and the bill would help force Congress to repeal the federal health care law. It isn't the first time Republicans have put up roadblocks to implementing the Affordable Care Act. Last year, lawmakers passed laws that said...

A European lawmakers' advisory group says UEFA should stop clubs like Manchester City from being sponsored by their owners. A Council of Europe sports governance report says "improper transactions" help avoid UEFA's financial fair play rules, which seek to regulate clubs' spending. The report points to the Abu Dhabi royal family's ownership of Man City and the Etihad airline, which have "a contract estimated at over $590 million). " It says "UEFA should prohibit clubs from sponsoring themselves or using associated bodies to do so. " The report also cites Real Madrid...

OVER 130 women have died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and yet they were not in combat. This paradox - women fight in wars but are not assigned to fighting in wars due to the Pentagon's exclusionary policy - is at the center of a long-simmering debate that has avoided much of the Lady Gaga-ness surrounding repeal of the military's ban on homosexuals. But if 2011 was the year of ending the "don't ask, don't tell" prohibition, 2012 begins with hints about a significant policy transformation regarding women in combat.

Davis Square's Saloon aims to take you for a ride in the wayback machine. Inspired by the pre-Prohibition era, this subterranean sister restaurant to Foundry on Elm features chef Derek Clough's renditions of old-school fare such as steak and kidney pie, bubble and squeak, hamburg steak au poivre, and Boston baked beans with maple-glazed pork belly and brown bread. There's plenty of brown liquor to go with it. The bar stocks more than 100 variants of whiskey, and two kinds each of vodka and gin. Bartenders mix "bespoke cocktails" such as the Ward 44...

Prohibition (1920-1933) was a period of American history during which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was illegal. The 18th Amendment (which created Prohibition) was ratified on Jan. 16, 1919, and was the first amendment to address a social issue. It later became the first and only amendment to be repealed, when the 21st Amendment ended "The Noble Experiment" on Dec. 6, 1933. Library Company: Ardent Spirits www.librarycompany.org/ArdentSpirits The Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library specializing in early American history and...

Bella Luna Restaurant and Milky Way Lounge in Jamaica Plain celebrated 18 years of being in business with a prohibition-themed party on Nov. 11. See scenes below or all Spotted photos here . Tell us: Where should Spotted visit next?

Public's perception of untrustworthiness is well fed RE "SENATE kills five-year ban on taking casino jobs: One-year prohibition OK'd for legislators" (Page A1, Sept. 28): Our lawmakers' rationale for killing this bill is totally backward. Your reporter wrote that they felt that "a strong prohibition would only feed the public's perception that lawmakers cannot be trusted. " My reaction is to the contrary. That is, it appears that the lawmakers are more interested in getting on casinos' payroll as fast as possible, before their contacts dry up, and it just confirms my view...

By Matthew Gilbert Prohibition 8 p.m., Channel 2 The three-part documentary from Ken Burns premieres tonight. It's a look at the history of the Prohibition era, from 1920-33. It will explore the politics, feminism, race issues, and organized crime of the time. The Hunt for the I-5 Killer 8 p.m., Lifetime John Corbett and Sara Canning from "The Vampire Diaries" star in this movie about the 1981 manhunt for the murderer shooting people along California's I-5. Pan Am 10 p.m., Channel 5 Kate and Laura's mother shows up. The Good Wife 9 p.m., Channel 4 A case...

Public's perception of untrustworthiness is well fed RE "SENATE kills five-year ban on taking casino jobs: One-year prohibition OK'd for legislators" (Page A1, Sept. 28): Our lawmakers' rationale for killing this bill is totally backward. Your reporter wrote that they felt that "a strong prohibition would only feed the public's perception that lawmakers cannot be trusted. " My reaction is to the contrary. That is, it appears that the lawmakers are more interested in getting on casinos' payroll as fast as possible, before their contacts dry up, and it just confirms my view...