In 1956, Oak Bay residents banned the sale of raw milk. In 1958, Victorians voted 2-1 in favour of amalgamation with Saanich (though Saanich rejected the idea by a similar margin). In 1961, Saanich residents OK’d the sale of beer by the glass. In 1981, Victoria voters gave their blessing to Sunday shopping. Direct democracy isn’t as exciting these days, though an Esquimalt case is currently causing a bit of a kerfuffle. It involves a proposed replacement for the municipality’s cramped, crumbling public safety building. There’s some grumbling over the $42-million cost — $7.1 million from the Capital Regional District money Esquimalt got for hosting the McLoughlin Point sewage plant, the balance to be borrowed — and some over the approval process.