Email
Password
(Forgot Password?)
After making a few tweaks, Richardson City Council members are expected to vote next week on an ordinance that would force all but a few businesses to go smoke-free.
For the second week in a row, council discussion went late into the night on Monday over the smoking issue. And while the council remains deeply divided on whether to enact some of the toughest smoking rules in North Texas, a slim majority appears to have come to a resolution on what will be included in a ban.
Late Monday, council members decided to:
• Ban smoking in public parks and at outdoor public events.
• Ban smoking in all businesses, including restaurants and bars. Tobacco retailers would be exempt.
Jump to full article »
But in the next few months, this taste of Middle Eastern tradition could disappear as Richardson leaders consider a tough new smoking ordinance.
So, too, would people's ability to legally smoke a cigarette while sipping a beer at Main Street Liquid Co., shooting pool at Fox & Hound or knocking down pins at AMF Richardson Lanes.
City Council members will discuss the proposal again Monday night. The earliest a vote on the smoking ordinance could be held is May 12. If passed, it would go into effect 90 days later.
Last week, four of the seven council members said they wanted to cut the list of exempted businesses to just one: tobacco retailers.
In exactly one month from Thursday, Tyler's smoking ban will go into effect.
This means, rules will change and if you don't want to pay a hefty fine--- you must comply.
Tyler's new smoking ordinance will prohibit smoking in public places and places of employment.
This includes--- restaurants, bars, pool halls, clubs, retailers, even bingo halls.
So, too, would people's ability to legally smoke a cigarette while sipping a beer at Main Street Liquid Co., shooting pool at Fox & Hound or knocking down pins at AMF Richardson Lanes. . . .
City Council members will discuss the proposal again tonight. The earliest a vote on the smoking ordinance could be held is May 12. If passed, it would go into effect 90 days later.
Editor's note: On Saturday, Beilue focuses on the views of those who oppose the smoking ban ordinance. The ordinance prohibits smoking in public places and places of employment within the city. The vote, the second in three years, is scheduled for May 10. . . .
JMB: What's next, the Thought Police from the novel "1984"? Isn't this smoking ban just as much about taking away individual freedoms as it is breathing secondhand smoke?
Dr. Rush Pierce, Public Health Authority for Potter and Randall Counties: "It's definitely one of those issues where you balance individual freedom vs. the health of the public. But we face those issues all the time. We pass laws that we can only drive 55 mph in certain zones, or a child must be in a car seat. This is to protect the children of parents who wouldn't buy a car seat or people who will always speed. . . .
Pierce: "Does 30 minutes' exposure at a restaurant once a week put you at risk? The answer is most certainly no. But people are at risk who are exposed eight hours every day, 50 weeks a year. This is about smoking at the workplace and putting co-workers at risk.
"People can say that if you don't want to work where there's smoke, then work somewhere else. It's not that simple. We have some choices, but this is Amarillo, not Houston, and there are a limited number of jobs."
JMB: Well, all of this seems pretty rational, but the other side, which is just as passionate, does not agree. It may take a day, but I think I can find them.
An Ordinance of the City Commission of the City of Amarillo, Texas, repealing and replacing Title 8, Chapter 8-5, Article V of the Amarillo Municipal Code pertaining to smoking regulations by protecting the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment, protecting the right of the public to breathe smoke-free air, providing for fines as penalties, providing a severability clause and provding an effective date.
Share your thoughts, and see what others are thinking!
WHEREAS, the City of Amarillo, Texas is a Home Rule municipality, duly organized under the laws of the State of Texas;
WHEREAS, the City of Amarillo, Texas possesses all of the rights, powers, and authorities possessed by a home rule municipality, including the authority to protect the health and welfare of the public;
On Friday, Jon Mark Beilue's column focused on the views of those who back the smoking ban ordinance. Today, he focuses on those who oppose it. The ordinance prohibits smoking in public places and places of employment within the city. The vote, the second in three years, is scheduled for May 10. It was defeated in May 2005 by 556 votes - 15,274 against, 14,718 in favor.
Devil's Advocate introduced himself to another group, pulled up a chair and sat down. He thought he'd take his little fan and blow the smoke their way, but thought better of it. Besides, the air was fresh and clean. There were some non-smokers and reformed smokers in the crowd.
JMB: Now, come on, you've got to admit the dangers of second-hand smoke are real. Don't you agree?
Ken Cochran: "Smoking ban proponents have put a lot of faith in the 2006 Surgeon General's report on second-hand smoke. The 'report' is just that - same old junk science with slanted data along with the same death toll numbers pulled from thin air and nothing scientific to back up anything. I'm not saying secondhand smoke is completely harmless, but it's not the death gas it's made out to be." . . .
't this be following a healthy trend?
Cochran: "They mention other states, but this is Amarillo, Texas where we still value personal freedom. We're different from other people."
Camarata: "Other parts of the country offer same-sex marriage, too.
As set forth above, Murrell has presented evidence that creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendants violated his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The defendants, therefore, are not entitled to qualified immunity. See Rochon, 122 F.3d at 320.
The judgment for defendant Watts is AFFIRMED; judgment for the remainder of the defendant-appellees is REVERSED and REMANDED.
May 10 is voting day! The question is: should smoking be banned in public places or not?
Sott Camarata, owns the smoke-free restaurant 'Café Marizon' and he represents the group 'Speak out Amarillo.' He said everyone knows the dangers of smoking and that is not what the debate is about. Camarata said it is about our rights as Americans and several people feel the same way. He said some have called and others have stopped him on the street to tell him about their opinions.
"We are going to do a letter-campaign in the next couple weeks. We've already made commercials and since day one, we've had a poster campaign," Camarata said. "We will also be posting nine-foot banners in the next couple weeks throughout town."
On the flip-side, 'Breathe Easy Amarillo' has an awareness campaign of their own to focus on. Dr. Arredondo is a member and he is a big advocate of education.
"I ask people every day, in my clinical practice, about smoking," Arredondo said. "It's an awareness issue. If the referendem doesn't pass, I think at least people are aware of the issue that maybe smokers, on their own accord, will be a little more curteous and not smoke in front of others. If it passes, it will be a declaration of the voting population majority."
Washington County has received its share of the Tobacco Settlement Permanent Trust Account distribution this year.
The county's payment was $23,102, on par with last year's check of $23,128, according to the Texas Comptroller's office.
Comptroller Susan Combs has distributed $92.3 million to Texas communities from the account.
The money will help two cities, 159 counties and 135 hospital districts recover their costs for indigent health care provided during 2007.
In a change of direction from previous discussions, the Richardson City Council is considering a strict citywide smoking ban that would no longer exempt businesses, including bars and bowling alleys.
Council members discussed the issue late into the night Monday and will review a revised draft ordinance May 5. They could vote on it as early as May 12.
Three council members, Mayor Steve Mitchell, Dennis Stewart and Rhea Allison, joined Pris Hayes in supporting a comprehensive ban modeled after a Plano ordinance in effect for nearly a year.
As with the Plano law, the one in Richardson would apply to all kinds of businesses but one: tobacco retailers.
Brownfield's mayor wants residents in his city to vote this November on whether to ban smoking in public places throughout the city.
"I want it to go to a vote of the people," Mayor Glenn Waters said Tuesday.
Details of the ordinance are still unclear.
Waters plans to hold a public hearing to gauge the public's opinion on the matter before moving much further in the process.
Dallas County commissioners will discuss banning smoking in the county's new landscaped outdoor plaza Tuesday morning to make it more friendly to visitors and eliminate the eyesore of discarded cigarette butts.
County officials have proposed adding Founders Plaza to its current list of designated non-smoking areas. Commissioners will vote on it next week.
Outdoor smoking bans have created controversy in other American cities because there is no scientific evidence that walking by someone who's smoking outside creates a health hazard. The motive in some other cities was to discourage loitering. In Dallas County, it's for different aesthetic reasons -- employees are littering the plaza with cigarette butts.
The smoking ban may be getting another chance in Amarillo. The ban did not pass back in 2005 and now people have signed a petition to get it back on the ballot. The ban would not allow smoking in any public places like restaurants and bars. Many say its a right that's being taken away, others feel they shouldn't have to sacrifice their health. Restaurant and bar Beef O' Brady's has chosen to be non-smoking, they say its for their employees. But many still say smoking in a bar is part of the experience and that small businesses will lose money. Some even feel it shouldn't be up to a vote, but to the owner.
Early voting starts tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dallas firefighters said a cigarette started a fire inside a retirement home early Saturday morning.
The fire at the Dickinson Place Retirement Community in the 900 block of St. Joseph's Street started at about 1 a.m., firefighters said. Fire crews called in extra help to battle the blaze because it was on the 10th floor of the building.
Firefighters said a woman who lives at in the building either fell asleep with the cigarette in her hand or didn't extinguish it properly.