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• Merits of Omaha smoking ban to be argued in state Supreme Court 

A co-owner of an Omaha bar hopes the state Supreme Court will agree with her that the exceptions to the city's smoking ban unfairly benefit certain businesses.

But the lawyer for Marylebone Tavern co-owner Michelle Hug will also have to convince the high court's judges that this case is worth their time in light of the new statewide smoking ban the Legislature approved last month.

Otherwise the court may not consider the fairness of the exceptions included in the 2006 Omaha ban. Most businesses have already had to comply with the Omaha ban, but the City Council allowed a five-year grace period for bars that don't serve food, for keno parlors and for Horsemen's Park, a horse track.

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