For doing your part to make Washington more like California I salute the voters of the City of Seattle.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002673323_nosmokeintro09m.html----
Friday, December 9, 2005 - 12:00 AM
The smoking lane (and other tales)
By Stuart Eskenazi
Seattle Times staff reporter
Perhaps there ought to have been a surgeon general's warning for this.
As a statewide ban against smoking in public places went into effect Thursday, anger mixed with angst among smokers as well as the bar, restaurant and casino owners who loved them.
If nonsmokers were feeling smug, they mostly kept it to themselves.
There were signs that smokers were being accommodated. A smokers' shelter went up outside a tavern, and a smokers' sofa clandestinely appeared in the middle of a street replies to the provision that smokers keep a 25-foot distance from doorways.
A "For Sale" sign represented a business owner's despair.
Public Health Seattle & King County received fewer than 10 complaints about illegal smoking Thursday.
Some people, though, remained confused. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, trying to accommodate and comply, allowed smoking inside its parking garage.
Oops! Public Health says that's a no-no.
Here are a pack of stories from the first day of being smoke-free:
Rimrock Steak House, Lake City
New law has its ins and outs
By 11 a.m. Thursday, Ronald Russell already had gone outside four times to light up.
Open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., the Rimrock had been a haven for smokers. Russell, 55, a three-packs-a-dayer who has come to the Rimrock nearly every day for the past 36 years, recalled the signs hung near the front and back doors: "This is a smoking bar."
Different signs were up yesterday. They say "For Sale." Owner Connie Dunn put them up Nov. 9, the day after the ban on smoking in public places passed.
"I refuse to have someone tell me what me and my customers can do," she said. "I smoked up to two years ago and I got lung cancer and I've had one of my lungs taken out. But I'm just so mad about this law, I've cried a lot."
Judy Chia Hui Hsu
Dugout Tavern, Des Moines
Empty seats for lunch
A typical Thursday lunch crowd at the Dugout is, oh, 20 customers. Thursday, there were none. The first food order of the day came around 4 p.m. The day's take to that point: a stinkin' $30.
Kay Bonus, whose husband bought the small bar on Marine View Drive South about 30 years ago from his father, who opened it 58 years ago, is afraid the smoking ban is going to be the death of the Dugout.
"I've never had a Thursday like this," Bonus said. "I know it's just one day and I am trying to stay positive. But I talked to a bar on the other end of town and they are just as slow as we are."
Stuart Eskenazi
Central Club, Kirkland
Vigilance is called for
Bartender Shawn Field said the downtown tavern was making history with its first smoke-free day since it opened in 1936.
Sort of.
One regular lit a cigarette to go with his drink, then snuffed it out shortly after noticing Field eyeing it. Another lit up while walking in the front door.
"Hey, no smoking!" a woman yelled from the bar as others guffawed. "Don't you know what the law says?"
Longtime customer Lindsey Goetz, a smoker, said the ban wouldn't make her frequent the Central any less.
"I don't mind standing outside," she said. "It's healthier for everyone."
Karen Gaudette
J&M Cafe and Cardroom, Pioneer Square
Approval from both sides
Relaxing after work, bicycle messengers Andrew Arce, a smoker, and Steve Norman, a nonsmoker, both said they favor the change.
"It's nice to be able to breathe," said Norman, 35. "I'm more inclined to go to a bar now."
Arce, 25, got used to smoke-free bars in California, where he lived until 18 months ago. "I like it that you can go out to a bar and when you get home, you don't smell like a total ashtray."
Arce said he didn't understand the 25-foot rule, and that he had simply stepped outside in front of the J&M on the sidewalk for a cigarette.
No one bothered him.
Jack Broom
Sidewalk, Fremont
Creating a happy median
A well-worn sofa and a footstool rested on the sidewalk Thursday afternoon, surrounded by a white picket fence. A sign proclaimed it "The 25-ft. Lounge."
Earlier in the day, that same smokers' retreat had been in the median of Fremont Place North.
Therese Lefebvre, an occasional smoker who runs ETG Coffee, had the scoop. In the wee hours Thursday, dressed in all black like cat burglars, she and some friends dragged the couch into the street.
"We thought it would be funny," she said. "And it was."
The lounge was used by 20 or 30 people some of whom said they didn't even smoke, Lefebvre noted. But then Seattle police arrived in the afternoon, and moved the couch from the street to the sidewalk.
Asked if she planned to create a new smoking lounge, Lefebvre smiled: "That's my business."
Craig Welch
Siren Tavern, Sodo
Shelter from legal storm
A half-dozen patrons gathered under an aluminum carport behind the tavern on Fourth Avenue South.
Owner Connie Longrie bought it at Home Depot to keep her smoking customers happy and warm. She calls it the "Siren Smoke Shack."
Under the 12-by-20-foot shelter, she set up a propane heater, ashtrays and a wooden plank for people to set their drinks on.
The carport, however, is only 15 feet from the tavern's back door 10 feet less than required. But Longrie said health-department employees OK'd it after determining smoke wouldn't trail back into the building.
"Connie is the coolest person I've ever known," said John Sullivan, a 50-year-old contractor and Siren regular. "Look what she did for us stupid smokers."
Jack Broom
Silver Dollar Casino, Mountlake Terrace
Folding their tent
Mary Abel thought she had a reasonable alternative to smoking indoors.
In the parking lot, about 25 feet from the casino's entrance, she set up a tent complete with chairs, propane heaters and ashtrays.
But the Mountlake Terrace Fire Department ordered it taken down Thursday afternoon because of city ordinances that prohibit smoking in that sort of structure, Abel said.
"I'm trying to remain as absolutely positive as possible," Abel said, gripping a pack of Marlboro Lights.
She is now trying to market her casino's clean air, hoping to attract new customers to replace those who might take their money and their smokes elsewhere like tribal casinos, where smokers still can light up as much as they want.
Brian Alexander
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
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As a former Seattleite myself I found this segment to be my personal favorite:
Arce, 25, got used to smoke-free bars in California, where he lived until 18 months ago. "I like it that you can go out to a bar and when you get home, you don't smell like a total ashtray."
This seemingly innocent mention of the individual's former Californian status might strike the uninitiated as a simple bit of background, but around here it is filled with meaning. You see, there was a time when Seattle, much like the rest of Washington was a bit of an eclectic mix of political philosophy that resolved into a sort of old-fashioned "Southern Democrat" view of things. People didnt really care what others did so long as it didnt get in the way of their own lives. You could have a bondage themed night club right next door to a bar catering to old fishermen without too much friction. Then came the Californians. Escaping from a depressed economy fed by insane politics they came to a place that offered actual opportunity. A place that had lots of jobs because it featured a government that allowed business to prosper (the lack of a state income tax made it an attractive location for the working-wealthy as well). Along with the Californians came California politics. Now we have Seattle aspiring to become "San Francisco Lite" and they are draging the rest of the state down with them.
This notion of Californians bringing their statist brand of liberalism with them is old enough here that it has become cliche. Im just hoping that the state's economy becomes depressed enough that they pick somewhere else to go soon. I am also thinking that we should tear down the bridges accross the Columbia River, and maybe seed it with some hearty breed of cold-water Piranha while we are at it.
I dont even smoke anymore, and while I was quiting I did have to avoid bars because of the temptation. However, that doesnt give me a right to tell a business owner and their patrons what they can and cannot do. If you want to go to a bar without cigarette smoke in Seattle then go to a smoke-free bar, they used to pop up every now and then, typically lasting a month or two before they switch back (this should give a good idea of how many people really care).
The only plus side to this is that the Indian casinos are going to start doing insanely good business. They have had a hard time in Washington since gambling is legal in this state anyways and their only draw has been the presence of slot-machines (which are illegal in the rest of Washington). Now they are the only establishments which are able to allow smoking indoors. I like to see the tribal casinos doing well because it simply highlights what is wrong with the rest of the state, plus they do need the money.
