Results tagged “smokingban”

The D.C. Council is taking up a bill this session that would expand parts of the existing citywide smoking ban, including a provision that would allow property owners to legally prohibit smoking within 25 feet of any building entrance, even if that area includes public areas like sidewalks, Michael Neibauer reports today in the Examiner. The idea is to cut down on the number of times city residents are forced to walk through a gauntlet of smokers standing outside office building doors, an experience that's admittedly unpleasant for plenty of folks. But the question then becomes: if every business follows through on such a ban, where are smokers supposed to go? Not to mention: who would be responsible for enforcing this rule? Could individuals end up being ticketed by police for smoking on the sidewalk? There's going to be a lot of details to iron out on this one.

The last two smoking rooms on Capitol Hill, in the Cannon and Longworth House Office Buildings, will close for good this week, The Hill reports.

The Virginia General Assembly today voted to approve a smoking ban in most of the state's bars and restaurants. The Virginia Senate approved the measure 27-13 on Thursday morning, and a few hours later, the House passed it as well, 60 to 39, without debate.

Let's assume the deal worked out between Kaine and Howell stands up, and Virginia is about to enact a statewide smoking ban. Keep a careful eye on the stipulation that private clubs may be exempt. My hometown (Tucson, AZ) enacted a restaurant smoking ban in the late 1990s, which included a similar exemption for "private clubs." One popular downtown diner quickly adapted by creating a "Smoker's Club" for patrons. They would sell you a year-long membership card for $1, which you would place at the end of your table and a server would then bring you an ashtray. The state of Arizona later passed its own smoke-free law that trumped the arrangement, but I'll be interested to see what the "private club" language ends up looking like in the Virginia law. Seems like a lot bars, if they so chose, would be able to turn themselves into "private clubs" by enacting nominal membership fees not more expensive than cover charges. Every bar in Utah already works like that. Photo by yonas1

Really big news from Virginia. The Post is reporting that Gov. Tim Kaine and House Speaker William Howell (R) announced this morning that they have struck a deal on legislation that would ban smoking in restaurants and bars across the entire state. The agreement is one that some thought would never come, given the importance of tobacco to the state's economy.

Starting today, Montgomery College has banned tobacco anywhere on its campuses, including outdoor areas far away from any buildings.

It's official: the Virginia House of Delegates killed the latest package of smoking ban proposals in a subcommittee Thursday. The set of proposed bans would have barred smoking in restaurants, offices and other public places. The bills' defeat means a state-wide ban won't come before the Virginia legislature again this year.

Virginia's latest effort at passing a smoking ban has received a predictable blow: The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that a House of Delegates subcommittee unanimously killed legislation Thursday to ban smoking in restaurants and most other indoor public places in Virginia. Similar legislation died in the House of Delegates last year.

Which stories did DCist readers think merited the most attention this year?

Good morning, Washington. Are ya ready for some embezzlement scandal news? Of course you are! This morning's update comes not from the embattled Office of Tax and Revenue, but rather from the D.C. Public Schools front office, as the Examiner reports that Eugene Smith, the former director of internal audits for DCPS, entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges of stealing nearly $50,000 from a charter school account. Smith was fired by the school system...

How about that first snow storm of the season, Washington? CapitalWeather.com says that "yesterday's clipper system actually significantly 'over-performed,'" which is why we ended up with 2-4" of snow for the region instead of the 1" we were originally expecting. The Examiner was concerned about your commute this morning thanks to overnight lows that were forecast to drop into the low 20s, allowing for ice to refreeze on the roads in time for this...

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist...

If you're a smoker still smarting over the ban on lighting up in District bars, fear not -- a Cleveland Park watering hole is now your refuge. According to the AP via WJLA, the District has granted its first exemption to the 10-month-old smoking ban, with the prize going to Aroma in Cleveland Park. The bar, which sells cigars and claimed a loss of 20 percent in the six months after the ban was imposed,...

Via The Examiner, it looks like it's finally been long enough that we can start to measure the financial impact of the District's smoking ban, thanks to reported tax revenues on both alcohol and cigarettes for the fiscal year now being available. Overall, the news is good: alcoholic beverage tax revenues are up 1.6 percent for fiscal 2007, while cigarette tax dollars are down a whopping 7.5 percent for the year. Taken at face value,...

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a...

>> "Thought you were cute and wanted to talk to you, but didn't think it was appropriate in Council chambers..." [craigslist] >> "You – giant-headed former President riding coyly down Independence this morning in a silver Solara convertible. Me – almost crashing into a taxi while trying to take your picture." [Pygmalion in a Blanket] >> "If dad goes for a walk with his daughter and holds her hand, apparently Virginia Department of Health officials...

The Alexandria City Council passed a bill on Saturday that would effectively ban smoking in restaurants in the city. The council has to vote again on the measure, which makes changes to use permit regulations that would require restaurants to go smoke free, before it would go into effect, and that vote isn't planned until after the next Virginia General Assembly session ends. Alexandria officials are hoping the General Assembly will pass its own state-wide...

First New York, then Philadelphia, and now Montgomery County. The trans fat ban bandwagon just got a little bit longer. According to the Post, yesterday MoCo became the first county in the nation to ban trans fats, endorsing restrictions that have become all the rage in recent months with health advocates. The ban will kick off next January for restaurants and in 2009 for establishments offering baked goods, and will force food providers to use...

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with...

It's been five months since D.C. took on a smoking ban in its bars, and all the grousing over not having a place to light up seems to have died down. But news coming from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington may change that. According to FreeRide, a survey by the restaurant lobby group -- which strongly opposed the smoking ban -- claims that 35 percent of bars and restaurants reported a loss of revenue after...

Good morning, Washington. After five straight days of frost warnings, temps will claw their way back into the 50s, though you'll still need a parka as you head off to work. We guess it could be worse; the Nationals could be driven out of town by a foot of snow. The Cleveland Indians have been forced to cancel several games and play this week's home games in Milwaukee by the fluffy stuff. Yikes, if...

Those of you anxiously waiting to hear if you'll have to permanently crush out your butts in Virginia eateries can happily light up another. Yesterday, the state's General Assembly voted to reject Governor Tim Kaine's proposed smoking ban in Viriginia's restaurants. In their very last session before they break for the rest of 2007, Assembly members urged the Governor to reconsider what some claim would be too-widely sweeping a restriction -- making it illegal to...

Good Morning, Washington. Yes, we too woke up to the rude fact that it's friggin' cold again well into April, with no relief in sight through the weekend, and briefly considered giving up this urban life we'd always thought we wanted in favor of opening up a fruit stand in Acapulco. We wouldn't need much really, just a couple of bathing suits and maybe a blender to occasionally whip up a frosty tropical beverage. Mmm....

When the District floated the idea of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants, opponents warned that business would simply flee to less restrictive locales -- namely Virginia. But that may change, even if slowly.

No, when rising in the wee hours of the morning to we didn't suffer a sudden wave of nostalgia for bad perms, The Bangles and "Mr. Belvedere". We were confronted by all four networks confirming that temps are hitting eighty degrees today. Awesome. This mild weather was welcome news for the hundreds of Georgetown students who camped out in line to get their hands on one of the 1,000 tickets made available around 9:00...

It's here! As of 8:07 last night, spring has officially sprung. Today's going to be a little chilly, but by the end of the week we'll have almost cracked 70 degrees. Woohoo! Pedestrian Safety Initiative Kicks Off: The Post reports on the pedestrian safety program that regional governments launched yesterday morning from a press event at Thomas Circle. What will this mean for you? Perhaps some new traffic lights, and definitely some additional enforcement...

Yesterday's snow storm didn't add up to much as expected, but some of the melted snow on the ground froze overnight, causing a number of suburban school districts to alter their schedules today. Lucky bastards. In the end, only 1.3 inches of snow fell at Reagan National Airport, and with sunny days today and tomorrow with highs in 40s, most of that will likely disappear in short order. Better luck next year, snowpocalypse. Jail Time...

Given the District's status as something of a federal colony, members of Congress often find themselves expressing opinions about local matters or, worse yet, micro-managing the city. They hate our gun laws, propose using the District as a laboratory for a flat tax, threaten us over gay marriage and won't let us have medical marijuana. And now one is speaking out about the city's smoking ban. The Hill reports today that Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Col.),...

Well, did the last 24 hours of weather forecasts and warnings succeed in scaring you into a bunker to pray for your immortal souls? Even before a single flake of death appeared, many suburban schools scrapped the day in fear of Snowpocalypse: Episode Three. Various forecasters predict 1-3 inches for the District and even more in areas West. As for DCist, we'll fan out through the city to bring you complete coverage, which, like the...

Well D.C., if you're reading this it means you're not one of the 3000 or so people in our area currently without power. NBC4 reported the outage in Foggy Bottom last night, although they focused on the problems for four ritzy hotels, rather than the 790 other folks left in the dark. D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals are also closed today due to the lack of power. Then, there's the massive...