Freedom for thee but not for me
But thee and me will never be free
Until there is freedom for me and for thee
- Lexington Green
Beautiful! Thanks for reminding me. I love this flag, as well:
Posted on 01/06/2003 6:58:16 AM PST by SheLion
It's been in place for five years now, but many Yuba-Sutter bar owners and patrons said they have yet to become accustomed to California's ban on smoking in bars.
At establishments such as Stassi's Fourth Ward Tavern in Marysville this weekend, business owners were still fuming over the ban, which took effect in January 1998.
The ban - a first for the nation - was intended to protect bartenders from health risks posed by second-hand smoke.
Yet Roy Newlove, the owner of Stassi's for roughly 10 years, said it does nothing more than slow business and cause headaches for his employees. Like many, Newlove called the ban a misguided attempt to protect public health.
"I think if the government helps me one more time I'll be out of business," Newlove said as most of his customers nodded in agreement.
Many bar owners throughout the area agreed the ban is a nuisance that has diminished the charm of going out for a drink.
Debbie and Doug Erhardt, the owners of Field and Stream Tavern in Marysville, said business has fallen off by as much as $2,000 on weekends since the ban took effect.
Fewer people want to go to Field and Stream now because the smoking ban forces them to go outside whenever they want to have a cigarette, Debbie Erhardt said.
"Nobody wants to go outside in 100 degree weather or in the cold," Erhardt said.
Ernie Leach, owner of the Corner Bar in Yuba City, said the ban has not been a major obstacle to building a clientele. Since he opened the bar a year ago, Leach said he never had to face the difficulty of telling loyal customers to put out their cigarettes.
However, the ban often causes him to force customers outside when they want to light up, Leach said.
"I have people complain about it all the time, but they just have to go outside," Leach said. "I think a person ought to have a choice and especially at a place called a bar."
The ban also has caused frustration among bartenders, who say it has added stress to their jobs.
Nancy Simpson, 40, a bartender at Jack's Tavern in Marysville, said the ban hurts bartenders who smoke by forcing them to leave their customers behind whenever they want to light up.
The ban also encourages smokers to sneak drinks outside the bars so they can drink while smoking, she said.
"They walk out with their drinks and then I have to ask them to leave," Simpson said.
Newlove said the ban also adds noise to streets and creates unsightly - and sometimes unruly - crowds outside bars.
"As soon as you've got everybody outside you lose control," Newlove said.
Some bar owners have managed to circumvent the ban by taking advantage of areas not covered in its language. Since the ban is intended to protect bar employees - and not bar owners - some entrepreneurs have exempted themselves from the ban by making all of their employees part owners.
Since they technically have no employees, owner-operated establishments can apply for exemptions through county agencies.
In Sutter County, there are at least three bars which have obtained such exemptions. They include Yuba City bars such as the Spur, Dowers Tavern and the 21 Club.
No information was available Saturday on whether there were any owner-operated bars in Yuba County.
Mary Benedict, a part owner of the Spur, criticized the ban and said the exemption has helped her clientele stay steady.
"You're supposed to be able to smoke and drink in a bar," Benedict said. "Governments hurt small businesses too much anyway."
Some bar owners in Marysville said exemptions in Yuba City bars have affected their businesses.
George Matsuda, the owner of Daikoku restaurant in Marysville, said fewer customers want to come to the bar in his business.
"The people that like to smoke, they've got to leave and go to a place where they can smoke," Matsuda said.
Bar patrons also criticized the ban. Some called it an infringement on their civil liberties.
Smoking outside Stassi's Fourth Ward on Saturday, Strawberry Valley resident Dennis Travis, 61, said the ban sometimes makes him think of moving to a state where smoking bans aren't in effect.
Travis said public officials are going too far in their attempts to eliminate health risks.
"We're trying too hard to protect people," Travis said.
Marysville resident Carl Supler, 59, said the ban is an affront to veterans who fought in foreign wars in an effort to preserve civil liberties.
"It's just one more of our freedoms taken away," Supler said. "We fought for this country and most of us didn't come back. Now we've got these bleeding hearts telling us what we can and can't do."
I don't smoke. If you tell me yourself that I can't allow people to smoke or not on my property, you will have even more difficulty breathing than cigarette smoking causes.
Most casinos, to my experience, have installed huge smoke eaters. The air is clear as glass. You actually have to sit next to someone or look around in order to see someone smoking. The smell is just not there anymore, with the huge smoke eaters. I love it!
I'm sure someone will say they should just fine other jobs. Think about it. Other patrons, workers and even the owners of establishments better cave to the smokers or they won't go out.
Good Lord. And they think I have a problem.
You took this from a page out of Clintoon's book, didn't you? Commmon, fess up. I read somewhere where Klintoon said that! heh!
Beautiful! Thanks for reminding me. I love this flag, as well:
Billionaire Bloomberg also wants the city council to outlaw smoking in all restaurants and bars, though in many neighborhoods, bar owners and their patrons like things as they are. Bloomberg has a problem more serious than a smoking habit. He is a blindly intolerant man who does not understand freedom, but thinks himself a great progressive. He is like the Puritans of old of whom it was said they opposed bear-bating, not because of the suffering it caused the bear, but because of the pleasure it gave the spectators.The mayor calls smokers "crazy" and "stupid." And given the cost to human health of the habit, the mayor has a point and a right to express it. But which is worse -- those who know the risks of smoking and freely choose to smoke, or those who demonize, tyrannize and rob smokers, for indulging in a habit of which they disapprove.
The Founding Fathers knew. They put their lives, fortunes and sacred honor on the line rather than be hectored and harassed by the Michael Bloombergs across the sea. And what did these men, Washington, Madison and Jefferson, do for a living? They were tobacco farmers.
Say it like it is, don't hide behind stinky clothing.
And that is fair to the owners that did not want the ban????
I am sorry - that is wrong.
It's no different than owner A demanding that owner B not book a particular band, because owner A can't afford the price of the band and will lose business to owner B who can afford the booking price.
Where does the owner of one establishment get off determining the clientele of another establishment????
And smoking patrons can't go down the street to stink up some other place to stick to the owners that were doing the right thing.
That may be true in California - but in a state as small as Delaware it is far from true.
It takes me only an additional 8 minutes to go to a great place in Maryland for my Friday afternoon date with my husband than to get to our favorite place in Delaware - and the place in Maryland is much closer to our daughter's school for pickup on Friday afternoon.
Gotta love it.
The establishment owners in Maryland sure love it. the ones in Delaware hate it.
You want to pay my tab, I will go. But I refuse to pay for that personal abuse. Get a grip!
Why should WE spend our hard earned money on recreation where we are not wanted! We can stay home, be comfortable and save our money.
You have a big problem, you are a fascist.
Gabz, I'm still curious to find out how NASCAR is going to handle Dover Downs. I hope NASCAR is so miserable there, they pull out!
Just because smokers don't want to taste or smell their food, that doesn't mean that every other patron must forgoe the pleasure.
Good idea; they can enjoy the knats, the humidity, the rain, the snow, too. Total nature experience for them.
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