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When the newly constructed Commission on Aging facility opens this fall, it may be a smoke-free campus.
The smoking ban will be discussed by the Isabella County Board of Commissioners at anAugust meeting.
"I'm in favor of making that smoke-free," Commissioner Roger Trudell said.
He told board members Tuesday that the campus of Central Michigan Community Hospital is smoke-free as well as the Gratiot hospital.
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State lawmakers left the capitol without taking action on a long-awaited smoking ban for bars and restaurants. Public support for the measure has been growing and some businesses are pleased they'll still be able to ask-- smoking or non?
Keith Berkimer works long hours in the kitchen at Bonnie's Place in Lansing, and when he gets off work he doesn't go far, relaxing at the bar with a cold brew and a cigarette.
Keith Berkimer, kitchen manager: "I probably wouldn't be here as much if I couldn't smoke here."
But today, the chain is taking that nationwide. The change will effect some West Michigan locations -- including Battle Creek and Benton Harbor. . . .
Restaurant officials say the decision is based on customer comments, national and local restaurant industry trends, and a 2006 report by the U.S. Surgeon General.
It won't be a smoke-free summer in Michigan.
Lawmakers broke for summer recess Friday without final action on bills that would ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
Election-year politics and dissent among House Democrats stalled action on the ban, which proponents say would protect workers from secondhand smoke. The Senate has approved a total statewide smoking ban, while the House approved a ban that exempts Detroit's casinos, horse racetracks and cigar bars.
Neither chamber was willing to take final action Friday, as lawmakers wrapped up much of the 2008-09 budget.
Deloney thinks the House version of the ban was hypocritical due to its exemptions, indicating that some employees deserve protection from secondhand smoke while others do not.
He advises customers that, just as if you didn't like the food or service you would avoid a restaurant, add smoking to your criteria.
And to those arguing employees need the protection, perhaps they too can vote with their feet.
Do we really need a law to protect us from something that, for the most part, we can already avoid?
Should the market dictate rules on smoking, with smoke-free facilities marketing their cleaner air?
Should places that allow smoking pay an additional tax to cover health-care costs for employees and patrons?
Should the state simply stomp out smoking in public or just leave it alone and worry about roads and schools?
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The state House and Senate have both passed bills that would ban smoking in bars and restaurants. However, the Senate bill goes farther, banning smoking in all public establishments.
The House would like there to be some exceptions, especially for the Detroit casinos.
According to Rep. Marc Corriveau, a Northville Democrat whose district includes part of Canton, there have been ongoing discussions between House and Senate leaders, and he expects a deal to be struck by as early as next week, before lawmakers take summer recess.
He said he understands the casinos might be hurt, but if there is an exception made for them, then others will want exceptions, too.
Weeks after Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced the seizure of over 100 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes and over 2 million counterfeit cigarette-tax stamps, twenty-seven people have been indicted on charges of trafficking in millions of dollars in untaxed cigarettes taken from Virginia.
Twenty-seven people have been indicted on charges of trafficking in millions of dollars in untaxed cigarettes taken from Virginia for resale in Michigan and New York, where the nation's highest cigarette taxes are fueling a booming black market.
Officials say 21 of the suspects are from New York City or Yonkers. The charges include conspiracy, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, money laundering and felony possession of firearms and ammunition. Nineteen suspects are in custody.
In the fall of 2006, a phony storefront designated as KG Wholesale was established in King George, Va.
ALBANY--A federal indictment has been opened against 27 illegal cigarette traffickers who allegedly laundered money, sold millions of counterfeit tax stamps and purchased large quantities of cigarettes in Virginia for resale in New York and Michigan.The 17-month-long investigation concluded late Tuesday when nine indictments against the 27 people, 21 of whom are from New York City or Yonkers, were returned in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The long-term investigation was conducted by New York State Department of Taxation and Finance investigators working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, federal agents from ATF and IRS in Richmond, investigators from the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Board and the King George County Sheriff’s Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Charges against the 27 people included criminal conspiracy, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, money laundering and felony possession of firearms and ammunition. Nineteen of the suspects are in custody. . . .
Charged with criminal conspiracy, trafficking in contraband cigarettes and money laundering are:
-Suliman Al-Ghananim, 46, and Roxanne Al-Ghananim, 42, both of the Bronx.
-Rafea Alnablsi, 41, of Woodhaven, Queens.
-Omar Mannaee, 31, of Yonkers.
-Maeen Graber, 26, of Hamtramch, Michigan.
-Mousa Alhadad, 29, of Hamtramch, Michigan.
The legislature hasn't gotten the proposed smoking ban passed, but there isn't that problem at Plato's Place in Garden City.
Starting today (Sunday) patrons can no longer light up in the restaurant on Saturdays and Sundays. Bill Kanellopoulos, who owns the restaurant with Andy Rekoumis, wants to ease patrons into the idea of no smoking before making a full-time policy.
"I'll be so happy when they pass this law. I think we'll have a good response to this," said Kanellopoulos. "In the long run, more people won't go to a restaurant, if it is smoky compared to those who won't go because they want to smoke."
After nearly 40 years in business - three years at the new location in Garden City Square - Plato's is a local landmark. But times, and coney islands, have changed, said Kanellopoulos.
This investigation below appears to have been going on for some time, but some convenience store owners have warned of more illegal cigarette sales as the result of New York’s increased sales tax on cigarettes, which ballooned to $2.75 a pack this week.
Here’s the latest bust from the state’s press release:
The state Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna today announced the federal indictment of 27 illegal cigarette traffickers who laundered money, sold millions of counterfeit tax stamps and purchased large quantities of cigarettes in Virginia for resale in New York and Michigan.
Fitch expects to rate Michigan Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority, tobacco settlement asset-backed bonds as follows:
--$123,135,000 Series 2008A senior current interest turbo term bonds, due June 1, 2038, 'BBB+'
A ban on workplace smoking is another step closer to law -- with a few exemptions.
The state House on Wednesday adopted a version of the bill that exempts bingo halls, cigar bars, nonfood service areas of horse racing tracks and the gaming floors of Detroit's three casinos.
"It'll get hammered out in the short term. I think you're talking about a matter of weeks," said Rep. Andy Meisner, D-Ferndale, a lead proponent of the smoking ban. "While what we did pass is not ideal, it moves the policy forward."
The measure now goes to the Senate
Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillion tells Channel 7's Stephen Clark that he expects a smoking ban bill - with exemptions for casinos and some bars - will become law by the end of June.
"I don't want to put our Detroit casinos at a disadvantage and also a cigar-martini bar, I don't want to put them out of business so I support those exemptions," Dillon, a Democrat from Redford Township told Clark during a break in the Mackinac Policy Conference.