City Council: Smoking Inside Good, Smoking Outside Bad

City Council passed legislation amending the smoking ban yesterday. You see, here in Philadelphia we can’t just have a simple smoking ban, we have to have a sort of “in flux” smoking ban that changes every couple of months.

The vote, which passed 15-2, does two things:

• Allows “neighborhood taverns” to apply for permanent exemptions, rather than temporary ones, and also ups the cap as to what qualifies as a “neighborhood tavern” to less than 20 percent of revenue from food.
• Bans smoking at outdoor sidewalk cafes.

Mayor Street wanted that second one, saying that the exemption for sidewalk cafes troubled him, so it seems likely he’ll sign the bill. Of course, if he signs the bill, that means smoking outside at restaurants will be illegal, but smoking inside could be legal. Unless, I suppose, the neighborhood tavern has a sidewalk cafe!

Pretty soon the law will be amended to say that smoking inside is okay if the bar makes less than 40 percent of its revenue from food and has no less than three (3) moose heads on the walls and sells $2 Molsons during Flyers games. Smoking at sidewalk cafes will be okay if the drinks served come with little umbrellas and the restaurant’s name contains more than 3 vowels but less than 7.

City Smoking Ban Exemption Overwhelmingly Approved [NBC 10]
Archives: Smoking Ban

Smoking Ban To Be Repealed! (Until January!)

Don’t toss away those Camel Lights yet, those who only smoke when drinking. This week City Council is expected to vote on a bunch of changes to the smoking ban.

But of course. We’re just over one (1) week into the ban and already it’s being changed. Isn’t it great?

Basically, more “neighborhood taverns” will be allowed to apply for the exemption and the smoking ban’s start date will be pushed back until Jan. 8 of next year.

There may be a snag, though:

John Street: “I will make phone calls and I will urge Councilmembers to support the bill.”

Oh. Looks like it’s not getting passed, then.

More Changes to Phila.’s Smoking Ban [KYW 1060]

I Read Phillyblog So You Don’t Have To: Smoking Ban

With Mayor Street’s sudden enforcement of the smoking ban earlier this week, the Phillyblog forums predictably exploded in a cloud of nicotine, tar, tobacco and Surgeon General’s warnings. (Joe Camel, sadly, did not make it.)

For this week’s second installment of I Read Phillyblog So You Don’t Have To, it’s going to be an all smoking ban edition! (If you really enjoyed The Press Releases I Get In My Inbox — and, really, who didn’t enjoy that earth-shattering event — I just moved it to Friday, in honor of it being an info dump, and Friday not ever having anything going on.) After the jump, an attempt to parse just what PB is thinking about the smoking ban. (I didn’t even include the photos people were posting of George Burns, Einstein and FDR smoking to prove that smoking is great.) There’ll also be a non-smoking ban related Thread! Of! The! Week!

More »

The Smoking Ban Is Dead/Long Live The Smoking Ban

We’re day one into a smoke-free Philadelphia, and already our heart attacks are down!

Okay, probably not. (I’m still sure we Philadelphians stuff our faces with enough pizza and cheesesteaks to make up for any gains from not smoking.) But while Philadelphia is now “officially” smoke-free, owners of local bars and restaurants are a little confused. You see, the city rolled out the smoking ban at the flick of a Mayor Street wrist, and didn’t even notify anyone except the media about it. As The Illadelph points out, New Jersey has a website with tons of smoke ban info. And, of course, it also had a 90-day period where it notified businesses that they had to be smoke free by tax day.

Bars in Philly? Eh, the owners in Philly are a little confused, and Michael Nutter (who else) is on the offensive:

“It’s unfair to citizens and employers to have this sudden announcement out of nowhere that the ban will be immediately enforced,” Nutter said. “I think this is a warped, vindictive attempt to create more confusion, more consternation about the smoking ban.”

Could Street be trying to sabotage the smoking ban so everyone wants it repealed in a few months (i.e. so Nutter can’t take credit for it)? Oh, man. I think I’d trade a little lung cancer for that kind of hilarity.

Hastening of smoke ban spells confusion [Daily News]
Reuters
Heart attacks decline after smoking ban [Reuters/Yahoo!]
Mayor Street attempts to sabotage smoking ban with worst, most totally clusterfucked implementation scheme imaginable [The Illadelph]

Leftovers: Crying Green (And Red) Tears

• Green Party gubernatorial candidate Carl Romanelli — whose attempt to get on the ballot was bankrolled by Republicans — has been thrown off the ballot by a state judge for failing to have the correct number of signatures. He’s not going away, though. Romanelli is planning to fight for his right for a third-place finish until 2010, at least. [AP/Philly.com]

• Media fight: It’s Jay Glazer versus Les Bowen! Glazer says, “Jevon Kearse’s career is over! The sky is falling!” and Bowen retorts with, “That exclusive Fox story yesterday about the severity of Jevon Kearse’s left-knee injury contained some details that hadn’t been disclosed previously, but the overall conclusion that the injury was worse than reported was not entirely true.” Snappy comeback! [Fox Sports, Inky via NBC 10 Eagles Blog]

• Next Pennsylvania stop for the smoking ban lobby? None other than Pittsburgh, which is considering it. Sigh. Pretty soon all of Pennsylvania won’t be able to breathe noxious fumes in the steel plant or coal mine (yes, yes) all day and then breathe noxious fumes in the bar all night. [Inky Fishbowl]

• Pennsylvania’s gambling board is going to take time out from being arrested to approve the casinos planned for Pennsylvania’s racetracks later this week. The towns with tracks are pumped. Says Bensalem’s William McCauley: “We know who’s going to be on the property. We’re not going to end up with… another mall or a shopping center-slash-housing development.” Because, really, a housing development is so much more destructive than a casino! [AP/Courier Post]

• The turnpike service plazas are getting more bathrooms! Hooray! [AP/Philly.com]

Haze Slowing Clearing From City’s Dive Bars

That cigarette at the bar over the weekend may have been your last. And by “may” I mean “was most certainly not,” but it was your last in a Philadelphia bar, at least legally.

Yes, the once-legendary smoking ban goes into effect today as declared by City Arbiter of Health John Street.

The fines go from a robust $25 for a first offense up to the cost of a nice bike in the mid 1990s ($300). KYW 1060, though, has the real dangers of the now-in-effect ban on lighting up in bars:

Other bartenders in the Center city area say they are concerned about patrons who go out for a smoke and start trouble.

Yes, if this smoking ban is going to do anything, it’s going to lead to the first fights ever in the history of Philadelphia bars.

Smoking Ban Goes Into Effect Today [KYW 1060]

Leftovers: First They Came For The Marlboro Men, And I Did Not Speak Out Because I Was Not A Marlboro Man…

• The Bulletin on the Smoking Ban: “The anti-smoking Nazis have passed their first Nuremberg law, and more will follow.” Because if you can’t compare genocidal facism to a not being able to light up in a bar, what can you compare it to? [Bulletin]

• The Inquirer’s Marc Narducci asks if Eagles fans are overrated because he saw a few people leaving the game early Sunday. As a commenter pointed out, the Eagles certainly left the game before any of their fans did. And who the hell is Marc Narducci (or anyone, really) able to judge who is a “true” fan or not? That being said, Eagles fans did get way too many votes in the most recent AP poll. [Eye on the Eagles]

• Your three new City Councilpeople come November, ladies and gentlemen: Carol Campbell, William Greenlee and Daniel Savage. How many people saw that list and said, “Wait. The writer of Savage Love is running for City Council?” [AP/Philly.com]

• Terrell Owens is now “likely” to rejoin the Dallas Cowboys for their Oct. 8 game at the Linc. ARAMARK breathes sigh of relief, buys 50 billion kegs of Bud Light in advance of game. [AP/Yahoo!]

• And now for the latest edition of Northeast-Philadelphian-In-Space: The shuttle Atlantis has had its return delayed due to a piece of debris that may have floated out of the craft. They’re likely to return Thursday or Friday now, upon which Chris Ferguson will get a celebratory shopping spree at Franklin Mills. [AP/CNN.com]

Leftovers: Puff, Puff, Pass

• As you probably know, Mayor Street has signed the smoking ban, but enforcement won’t go into effect until an agreed-upon date. Street’s suggestion? Sure to be sometime after the mayoral election. [KYW 1060]

• The forum for residents to discuss issues regarding casinos was last night, and, uh, it’s official: Residents hate casinos. Huzzah! [Philly IMC]

• Segway, Inc., is recalling both of the scooters sold since the company’s inception, due to problems that could make a rider fall off. It’s okay, even with the upgraded software, President Bush still would have fallen off. [AP/PhillyBurbs.com]

• Keith Primeau has retired from the National Hockey League due to a series of concussions. You may remember him from his game-winner in the fifth overtime against the Penguins back in 2000. Or, rather, you may remember hearing about that, since you were probably asleep during it. [Inquirer]

T-Minus 0 Days Until… GUH?

Aw. We were kind of banking on this being a political issue in Philadelphia for the next 40 years or so. Alas.

Mayor Signs Smoking Ban [NBC 10]

T-Minus 1 Day ‘Til Street Doesn’t Sign Smoking Ban

Oh, yes, folks. It is only one day until John Street does not sign the smoking ban, and things are starting to heat up in City Council as well. Michael Currie Schaffer’s story in today’s Inquirer is a great, depressing look at how politics works in this country.

Michael Nutter even comes out to ask the simple question of why does his resignation from council mean the bill should be vetoed? Councilman Darrell Clarke says, well, he wouldn’t have voted for it if he knew Nutter was going to resign to run for mayor. He doesn’t say why, of course, but take a few guesses.

Street is still against smoking in outdoor cafes, probably the only sensible exemption to a smoking ban if one should be passed. And he says he still hasn’t decided if he’s going to veto the bill, but he does say there will be a ban by the end of his administration.

Councilman Brian O’Neill, who voted against the bill, essentially declares himself sick of it all and says he hopes the mayor signs the bill:

“If he vetoes it, no matter how they try to spin it, he’s sticking it to Nutter,” Councilman Brian J. O’Neill said.

Many members - including some who voted against Nutter’s bill last spring - hoped it wouldn’t come to that. “I hope he signs it,” said O’Neill, who voted against Nutter’s bill because of the exemptions, which he said unfairly helped some businesses.

“I didn’t like the deal that was being made. But I think it’ll be difficult to put nine votes together again… . You’re at the one-yard line here.”

Indeed! There’s, really, only one way to save the smoking ban now: Right before Street goes to veto the bill (and do a celebratory crotch-chop) afterward, Michael Nutter’s music plays. The mayor hopeful dashes in, hits Street in the head with a steel chair and signs the bill himself.

Yeah, that’d do.

Smoking ban rears its head again [Inquirer]
Archives: Smoking Ban