Jump to full article: Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald, 2009-11-03
Author: J.B. Smith Tribune-Herald staff writer
Intro: The Waco City Council tonight will attempt to extinguish smoldering controversies over tobacco and trash.
The council will vote on whether to remove metal trash bins from alleys and require all residents to take their trash to the curb. It also will vote on tougher restrictions against indoor smoking, possibly banning smoking in restaurants and bars.
The council has debated both topics for months in work sessions and agreed to bring them to a vote after failing to reach consensus. . . .
The council is expected to adopt one of two possible smoking ordinances. One is a "smoke-free" option that would forbid almost all public indoor smoking. The other would streamline the unwieldy 2002 smoking ordinance by removing several exemptions but continue to permit smoking in restaurants with sealed-off smoking sections and in bars.
The Waco-McLennan County Health District and the McLennan County Medical Society have endorsed the smoke-free ordinance, while some restaurateurs and bar owners have opposed it. The council appears evenly split between the two alternative ordinances.
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