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First reading of amendment July 20 in Elkhart.
Jump to full article: South Bend (IN) Tribune, 2009-07-08
Author: TOM MOOR Tribune Staff Writer
Intro: Just two months after 22 bars in Elkhart went smoke-free, discussions about amending the section of the clean air ordinance to allow bar-goers to light up again is back on the table.
Elkhart went smoke-free May 15, 2008, at all public places and workplaces, including restaurants. A one-year exemption let the nearly two dozen bars allow smoking until May 15 of this year.
But in the past two months, several bar owners have said they have suffered a 30 percent decrease in business since they went smokeless, said Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore.
"Did the smoking ordinance do this, or does the decline have something to do with our economy?" Moore said. "That's what I have to look at."
Moore is strongly in favor of the current smoking ordinance and decided against approving a request by council member Mary Olson, R-at-large, to amend the ordinance. Instead, the mayor drafted an amendment that will be presented to the council July 20 for a first reading.
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