Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The City of St. Charles and the Ameristar Casino could be excluded from any future country-wide smoking ban if the city were to create its own health department if a bill making the rounds in Jefferson City gets approval.
A new bill making its way through the Missouri legislature could allow St. Charles to exclude the city and Ameristar Casino from any future county-wide smoking ban if the city set up its own health department, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting. According to that report, the bill, which recently won State House of Representatives committee approval and was requested by St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith, would add St. Charles to a list of cities that state law exempts from county health regulations if they organize their own municipal health departments. Meanwhile, members of the St. Charles City Council are moving forward with an ordinance to ban smoking in the city. The city council, along with Mayor Sally Faith, will host a series of …
Friday, April 26, 2013
St. Charles officials are asking for public input regarding a city-wide smoking ban that local lawmakers are considering over in the city council. The first meeting is to be held May 6.
Members of the St. Charles City Council are moving forward with an ordinance to ban smoking in the city. But first, they're looking for input from residents. The city council, along with Mayor Sally Faith, will host a series of smoking ban public hearings beginning May 6 at 7 p.m. inside St. Charles City Hall. The meetings are designed to offer residents and business owners an opportunity to give feedback on the issue. The proposed law would ban smoking in the city, but likely hand out more than a dozen exemptions to businesses such as casinos, bars, bowling alleys and more. Council members discussed the bill—deemed the Smoke-Free Air Act—during the April 9 council meeting. The other two meetings are planned for May 13 at St. Charles …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A proposed bill that would hand out penalties to cities or counties that enforce smoking bans would take money away from those towns and pump it into the local public school district.
More smoking ban news is making headlines—this time on a statewide level. State Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles, is pushing a bill through the state legislature that would place financial penalties on local counties and cities that enforce smoking bans. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Conay is trying to protect the rights of owners of bars, restaurants and other businesses to decide for themselves whether to allow smoking. “If these municipalities and counties are going to hurt the income of small businesses, maybe their bottom line should be affected as well,” she told the Post-Dispatch. Money generated from the bill—Hosue Bill 1021—would be handed over to the local school district. The bill faces fierce opposition from …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The city will set up town hall meetings to get public input about the Smoke Free Air Act and exemptions that will be put in place.
Members of the St. Charles City Council agreed Tuesday night to move forward with an ordinance to ban smoking in the city. But the notable part of the ordinance may be in its exemptions. Board President Laurie Feldman opened the discussion by asking the council members if they even wanted to proceed with the "Smoke Free Air Act." "I don't like legislating people's choices, but I will not have someone else telling us how we're supposed to do it," she said, referencing the possibility of St. Charles County enacting its own version of a smoking ban. Mayor Sally Faith emphasized the need for exemptions, particularly with the much-needed revenues from Ameristar Casino. Among the exemptions considered are: Dave Beckering, Ward 7 Councilman, said…
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The St. Charles City Council will be discussing possible exemptions when it meets for a work session at 7 p.m. Tues., April 9.
At Tuesday's work session of the St. Charles City Council, the council will discuss a possible Smoke Free Air Act. A city memo dated Feb. 2, 2013 from Mayor Sally Faith asked council members to take a look at a review of other city and county laws and the exemptions allowed. "We anticipate that the potential exemptions will be the matters of most interest in the community," the memo states. Among the exemptions considered will be:
Sunday, March 10, 2013
After Grappa Grill announced it would go smoke free on Mar. 15, many St. Charles residents say other local establishments should follow the restaurant's lead. Do you agree? Add your voice to the conversation.
When Grappa Grill partner Jack Borgmeyer announced that the restaurant will go smoke free on March 15, the community responded—and most people seemed to feel that it was a great idea. In fact, we were not able to find anyone who was opposed to the ban. Plug-in to the St. Charles community! Like Patch on Facebook! “Way to go Grappa Grill! St. Charles needs to get with the program and go smoke free,” Greta McRaven, a Patch reader, commented on St. Charles Patch. “The casinos need to realize what a health hazard second hand smoke is to their employees. Obviously money is their main objective.” Erin Walsh echoed McRaven’s sentiments with a “Hooray!” “The tide of consumerism will eventually bend St. Charles in the right direction when it comes …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Restaurant partner Jack Borgmeyer says he's responding to requests from customers.
Grappa Grill partner Jack Borgmeyer announced on Friday that the restaurant will go smoke free on March 15. The owners made the decision following requests from customers. St. Charles is not a smoke-free city, although other cities in St. Charles County have opted to limit smoking in some public places. “Over the years we have heard the rising complaints from our patrons and felt that it was move that had to be made,” Borgmeyer said in a press release. According to the St. Charles County Department for Health and the Environment, more than 75 food establishments in St. Charles are smoke free. This list includes schools, hotels and other public facilities, in addition to restaurants. Last fall, St. Charles County Council put a county-…
Thursday, February 14, 2013
St. Charles lawmaker Bill Otto introduced a bill that would prohibit casinos from being subject to smoking laws that a casino within 75 miles are not subject to.
It's all or none when it comes to smoking in casinos. At least, that's the way Missouri State Rep. Bill Otto, D-St. Charles, wants it. Otto introduced a bill—House Bill 509—to mebers of the Missouri State House of Representatives that would prohibit casinos from being subject to smoking laws that a casino within 75 miles are not subject to. Essentially, Otto is aiming for a fair playing field. From a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report: Otto says he wants to keep one area casino from gaining a temporary advantage over another. Eventually, he said, he expects that all local communities in the St. Louis area will enact bans on smoking in casinos, bars and other public places with few exemptions, although he opposes such restrictions on …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Circuit Judge Ted House threw out the ballot measure.
St. Charles County voters won't have the chance to vote on a smoking ban in November after Circuit Judge Ted House decided Tuesday to pull the measure off the ballot. Anti-smoking advocate Don Young filed suit against St. Charles Couty Elections Director Rich Chrismer after Chrismer decided to pull the measure from the ballot. House sided with Chrismer, who argued that the wording in the ballot language was inconsistent, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "House said the council did not follow proper procedure to get it on the ballot." Read the full Post-Dispatch story here.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Councilman Joe Cronin called a second version with exceptions "weak and watered down."
(The following press release was issued by the St. Charles County Council.) The St. Charles County Council, at a special meeting Saturday morning, decided to stand by its original bill calling for a charter amendment in the form of a ballot proposition concerning a countywide ban on smoking in enclosed public places. The Council considered a new bill that would have changed the ballot language to merge the smoking ban with three exceptions: places requiring patrons and employees to be age at least 21 years of age, private clubs, and 20 percent of hotel rooms. Councilman Joe Cronin, the sponsor of both the original and second bill, said the Council did a lot of “soul-searching” and came to the conclusion that passing “something that was …
Dino McDonnell
6:56 am on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
All I want from the city is my right as a citizen is to vote on some proposal. We have been denied our right to vote on this issue too long. I want my say at the polls. more ›