As well!!!! No Smoking Bans!
Posted on 05/03/2006 5:26:21 AM PDT by SheLion
Milwaukee's proposed smoking ban is smoldering in a Common Council committee and not likely to go anywhere.
Last month Alderman Terry Witkowski, who represents the 13th Aldermanic District, suggested any action on the proposed ban be held at the Common Council's Public Safety March 2 committee hearing. No action will be taken until the committee's chair, Alderman Bob Donovan of the Eighth Aldermanic District, schedules it for a meeting.
Donovan said he does not plan on bringing the issue up again because he is opposed to the ordinance.
"I think it's an individual choice issue, a business choice issue and I don't know if government needs to come in and dictate," Donovan said.
Donovan's opposition stems from the fact that he represents a lot of "Ma and Pop places where a lot of the patrons smoke."
Donovan could ask the committee to take action on the ordinance. However, Donovan would be overruled if three members of the committee could request that the issue be taken up or the Common Council as a whole could pull the issue and address it as a whole. Donovan said neither of those actions are likely to occur.
Witkowski said if action had been taken on the proposed ordinance during the committee hearing, it would have been defeated or passed with bars, restaurants and hotels being exempt from the ban.
"If they would have exempted those places, a lot of people would feel like it guts the whole purpose of the bill," Witkowski said. "However, there would have been something passed at least. That would have been some fine points that reduces secondhand smoke, like waiting in line at Summerfest."
The current version of the ordinance would not pass because of the negative impact it would have on hotels, bars and restaurants, Witkowski said.
The ordinance proposes that only 20 percent of hotel rooms be smoking rooms. The number was not checked with hotel management experts, according to Witkowski.
"That didn't make a lot of sense to me," Witkowski said.
Witkowski said his constituents supported a smoking ban in restaurants, but felt people should be allowed to smoke in bars.
"The minority of people in the city and country smoke," he said. "But my public tends to be acceptant of those people who smoke in bars."
The opposition's voice has been stronger than those who support the ban, according to Witkowski.
Leah Paullin, general manager at Jim Hegarty's Pub, 1120 W. Wells St., said the bar is opposed to the proposed ordinance.
Paullin said business would be negatively impacted because most of the clientele at Hegarty's smokes.
"Generally bars are full of a lot of people who smoke. People smoke more when they drink and some people only smoke when they drink," she said. "Not having beer gardens or patios for people to smoke it makes it difficult for smokers."
Smart man. Funny how some lawmakers get it, and the rest of the idiots do not.
As well!!!! No Smoking Bans!
No, not really. The smoking bans are being passed everywhere. A lot of states recognize the bans for what they are worth, and are voting them down.
"I think it's an individual choice issue, a business choice issue and I don't know if government needs to come in and dictate," Donovan said."
I am also amazed.
"Generally bars are full of a lot of people who smoke. People smoke more when they drink and some people only smoke when they drink," she said. "Not having beer gardens or patios for people to smoke it makes it difficult for smokers."
This amazes me even more. But, these things shouldn't amaze us. It shoudn't even be a governmental issue, dictating what a property owner does with his property.
Without a doubt. This is what burns me up the most, how the government is going into a private business telling them how to run it.
Wow, it's Joe Camel. Haven't seen him for a while. I always thought it was stupid banning that for advertising. Just another example of government screwing with a legal business, I suppose. I guess they'll be after the guy playing guitar and saxophone on the Kool ads, next.
The government has screwed up so many businesses over the past years, I can't even remember them all. No wonder they're going broke. And to top it off, they want smokers to foot all their socialist bills. It's almost funny.
Oh sure. Everyone loves it when smokers are taxed. That leaves everyone else alone, while 25-30% of the population is left to carry the weight for everyone else.
"TAKE A LOAD OFFANNY, TAKE A LOAD FOR FREE..."
The Band
Sounds like us, don't it? Oh, their all going to be hit with something, soon enough. Then they'll see how the shoe fits.
I'm a big L&O fan and the show was awful. God they get preachy,don't they?
I haven't watched any program that is an offshoot of LAO for years. Used to enjoy the original show-until they became PC. Will never watch any of them again. Only things I watch on TV any more are Discovery Channel, Sci-Fi Channel, movies (the older, the better), Animal Planet. That's about it. Speed Channel on occasion. Oh, and Lou Dobbs, the only reason to watch CNN.
Ditto.
Ooops-forgot-History Channel is fairly good, too.
I am a faithful Lou Dobbs fan too.
Yes, they sure do get preachy. And the excuses they use to get people off are unbelievable.
Only benefit to watching, is like the West Wing, gives you an idea what they are really up to. They being the opposition party!
Did you see it tonight?
They actually made the Dems the bad guys.
It was about outing an undercover police officer for political reasons ,via the press. It was the Valrie Plame story with a few changes.
No, I don't watch it on Wednesday, South Park was on LOL
Ya gotta do what you gotta do !
Good night,I'm fading fast here on the East Coast.
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