This is crap.

http://startribune.com/stories/462/4884028.html

From the Star Tribune

The Bloomington City Council early today approved the Twin Cities area's first citywide smoking ban, a move some say could lead the way for other local ordinances.

Public comment on the ordinance went until about 11:30 p.m. Monday; the council's 6-1 vote came 75 minutes later.

The ordinance will take effect Sept. 1 in public places and workplaces. Smoking also would be prohibited within 25 feet of entrances, exits, open windows and ventilation intakes. The smoking ban will take effect March 31, 2005, at restaurants, bars and gambling venues. Outdoor patios can be split evenly between smoking and nonsmoking.

The ban includes the Mall of America.

Council Member Amy Grady said, "The bottom line for me is the health issue."

Vern Wilcox, the only council member to vote against the ordinance, said "I'm not a big fan of government. I'm a fan of less government and less government restrictions. One of the sticking points [for me] was hurting local businesses."

Pat Reichert testified for the Bloomington ban.Jeff WheelerStar TribuneA standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people packed the council chambers Monday night. About 60 more people listened to the meeting from an auditorium across the hall, and another dozen loitered in the lobby. Seventy-five people were scheduled to speak.

Pat Reichert, a former smoker who was found in 1997 to have lung disease and carried a portable oxygen tank, came to speak in favor of the ordinance.

"I needed to show people what happens to people who smoke," she said. "I'm a walking example.

"This will be the accessory of the 2000s," she said as she tapped her oxygen tank. "It's one thing that I have one. I smoked. But how about the people who don't smoke and have gotten sick?"

Some restaurant owners and charitable organizations such as the VFW, American Legion and Knights of Columbus said the ordinance would hurt their charitable gambling operations.

During a break in the meeting, Jim Algeo, a member of the Bloomington Lions Club, told a reporter, "I wouldn't disagree that smoking is bad for your health and second-hand smoke is bad as well. I think people should have a choice of where they go. This is voodoo politics."

He said he favors a countywide smoking ban rather than a city ban because it would put everyone on a level playing field.

The vote in Bloomington, the metro area's largest suburb, comes as a flurry of smoking-ban proposals are being considered by other suburbs, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Hennepin County.

The Bloomington council agreed to revisit the ordinance if other metro-area cities pass less-restrictive smoking bans that could potentially lure customers from Bloomington bars and restaurants.

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote on its proposal Friday.

A Minneapolis task force, working behind closed doors since mid-June, wrapped up its work late Monday. It recommended a full smoking ban at bars and restaurants effective March 31, 2005.

Six Minneapolis council members already are signed on to support the ban, but a seventh vote is needed for passage. Council Vice President Robert Lilligren and Council Member Scott Benson are considered the swing votes.

The St. Paul City Council is scheduled to vote July 28 on whether to overturn Mayor Randy Kelly's veto of a council-approved smoking ban.

The City Council is "concerned about being an island, and since we [the different city councils] don't all vote in one huge meeting on the same day, everyone's nervous, 'Gee, are we going to be the only city?' " said St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune. "The Bloomington vote is incredibly important."

Kerri Pearce Ruch, an aide to Hennepin County Board Member Gail Dorfman, said the county will likely take up the issue next month after waiting to see what different municipalities do.

Hennepin County Board Member Randy Johnson said the Bloomington vote will definitely encourage the county to work on a countywide ban.

A public hearing on the Bloomington measure earlier this month drew heated opinions on both sides of the issue, including bar owners who urged a delay in imposing any changes.

In the wake of that hearing, the American Cancer Society released a poll of 400 Bloomington residents that showed 68 percent of Bloomington voters supported a citywide smoking ban in public buildings and workplaces.

Public comment on the ordinance went until about 11:30 p.m. Monday; the council's 6-1 vote came 75 minutes later.

The ordinance will take effect Sept. 1 in public places and workplaces. Smoking also would be prohibited within 25 feet of entrances, exits, open windows and ventilation intakes. The smoking ban will take effect March 31, 2005, at restaurants, bars and gambling venues. Outdoor patios can be split evenly between smoking and nonsmoking.

The ban includes the Mall of America.

Council Member Amy Grady said, "The bottom line for me is the health issue."

Vern Wilcox, the only council member to vote against the ordinance, said "I'm not a big fan of government. I'm a fan of less government and less government restrictions. One of the sticking points [for me] was hurting local businesses."

Pat Reichert testified for the Bloomington ban.Jeff WheelerStar TribuneA standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people packed the council chambers Monday night. About 60 more people listened to the meeting from an auditorium across the hall, and another dozen loitered in the lobby. Seventy-five people were scheduled to speak.

Pat Reichert, a former smoker who was found in 1997 to have lung disease and carried a portable oxygen tank, came to speak in favor of the ordinance.

"I needed to show people what happens to people who smoke," she said. "I'm a walking example.

"This will be the accessory of the 2000s," she said as she tapped her oxygen tank. "It's one thing that I have one. I smoked. But how about the people who don't smoke and have gotten sick?"

Some restaurant owners and charitable organizations such as the VFW, American Legion and Knights of Columbus said the ordinance would hurt their charitable gambling operations.

During a break in the meeting, Jim Algeo, a member of the Bloomington Lions Club, told a reporter, "I wouldn't disagree that smoking is bad for your health and second-hand smoke is bad as well. I think people should have a choice of where they go. This is voodoo politics."

He said he favors a countywide smoking ban rather than a city ban because it would put everyone on a level playing field.

The vote in Bloomington, the metro area's largest suburb, comes as a flurry of smoking-ban proposals are being considered by other suburbs, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Hennepin County.

The Bloomington council agreed to revisit the ordinance if other metro-area cities pass less-restrictive smoking bans that could potentially lure customers from Bloomington bars and restaurants.

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote on its proposal Friday.

A Minneapolis task force, working behind closed doors since mid-June, wrapped up its work late Monday. It recommended a full smoking ban at bars and restaurants effective March 31, 2005.

Six Minneapolis council members already are signed on to support the ban, but a seventh vote is needed for passage. Council Vice President Robert Lilligren and Council Member Scott Benson are considered the swing votes.

The St. Paul City Council is scheduled to vote July 28 on whether to overturn Mayor Randy Kelly's veto of a council-approved smoking ban.

The City Council is "concerned about being an island, and since we [the different city councils] don't all vote in one huge meeting on the same day, everyone's nervous, 'Gee, are we going to be the only city?' " said St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune. "The Bloomington vote is incredibly important."

Kerri Pearce Ruch, an aide to Hennepin County Board Member Gail Dorfman, said the county will likely take up the issue next month after waiting to see what different municipalities do.

Hennepin County Board Member Randy Johnson said the Bloomington vote will definitely encourage the county to work on a countywide ban.

A public hearing on the Bloomington measure earlier this month drew heated opinions on both sides of the issue, including bar owners who urged a delay in imposing any changes.

In the wake of that hearing, the American Cancer Society released a poll of 400 Bloomington residents that showed 68 percent of Bloomington voters supported a citywide smoking ban in public buildings and workplaces.