In other words, you can smoke here.
Players light up cigarette before game as tribute to Kalas
Apr. 14, 2009
WASHINGTON – It was, in many ways, the perfect homage to someone who had been celebrated for his singular style, for his cool, for a Philadelphia lifetime known as Harry the K.
Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Scott Eyre and several other Phillies players couldn’t possibly find a truckload of pastel sportcoats to highjack on such short notice so they did the next best thing, sharing a cigarette in the dugout before yesterday’s game at Nationals Park.
“I asked for it and a couple of other guys thought it would be cool to do,” Victorino said. “It was like, why not? So we called who we could – I forget who had ’em, but we got ’em.”
Kalas, who collapsed in the TV booth before the game against the Nationals, was a longtime smoker, the habit a well-known element of his persona. Captured by television cameras, the images of the players’ tribute was all over the Internet by the end of the game, a 9-8 win.
The online reaction was positive and could pretty much be summed up in two words: very cool.
“I just thought, what did you always see him doing, other than broadcasting or being with his family?” Victorino said. “It’s an HK thing, you know? It’s so sad. Just sad.” *
Smoking-ban bills flame out
December 05, 2007
Raela Stabile works the day shift at Molly Brannigans in Harrisburg for one reason: she despises cigarette smoke.
“It’s not half as much smoke [as the night], so I can handle it,” the nonsmoker said in the pub’s smoking section. “I hate cigarette smoke.”
She looks forward to the day when a proposed indoor smoking ban becomes the law of the land, and hopes it will include bars and restaurants.
But top legislative leaders have all but conceded this week that if Pennsylvania is to join the ranks of states with comprehensive indoor smoking bans, it won’t be in 2007, as lawmakers had predicted.
“It’s probably something that’s going to be worked on as we continue into next year,” Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, said Tuesday.
Opponents of a comprehensive ban — led by the tobacco, casino and tavern lobbies — appear to have successfully run out the clock on getting any bill to Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk this year. Rendell left little doubt Tuesday that he considers that a failure.
“I have ceased to quantify my frustration level, because if I did so on a daily basis, it’d be the only thing I do,” Rendell said about inaction on the smoking ban, one of his top health care priorities. “I have decided to just say I am continually frustrated.”
An independent poll by Quinnipiac University last month showed that 62 percent of respondents favored a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and public buildings. The poll of 1,019 respondents had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
The House and Senate passed competing versions of a smoking ban last summer.
The House bill would ban all smoking in Pennsylvania’s casinos, restaurants and taverns but allow exceptions for private clubs such as American Legion halls or Moose lodges and tobacco-related businesses.
The Senate bill would allow slot-machine parlors to maintain smoking areas, which operators of casinos near the state’s borders say is essential for competitive reasons. It would exempt some smaller bars and restaurants as well as the private clubs.
Another unresolved issue is whether municipalities will be permitted to adopt even more stringent local smoking ordinances. The House bill allows that; the Senate plan does not.
The two chambers must hammer out a compromise version of a bill to present to the governor’s desk.
Until this week, House and Senate leaders hadn’t even named appointees to a conference committee to resolve those differences.
That will change today, when Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, names three senators to the smoking ban panel. State House Speaker Dennis O’Brien, R-Philadelphia, will follow suit in the “near future,” his spokesman said Tuesday.
This fall’s inaction has incensed anti-smoking advocates such as Bill Godshall, executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania.
“It’s very frustrating, because I think the legislative leadership is just totally out of touch with the public. … The caucus have been dragging their feet and the only beneficiaries have been the cigarette companies.”
Other lobbyists on the issue, commenting only on condition that they not be identified, speculated that some of the leaders are worried about the effect a newly enacted ban could have at the polls in 2008. Some speculate that angry smokers would take it out on incumbents.
In addition, the House Democrat and Republican leaders, Reps. H. William DeWeese, D-Greene, and Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, voted against the House bill in July.
Scarnati conceded Tuesday that the bill has languished this fall. But he contended that it has more to do with the press of other business and shifting Rendell administration priorities than anything else.
“We’ve been consumed with things that obviously have been on the governor’s hit list, like energy and health care,” said Scarnati, who voted for the Senate ban bill this summer.
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery County, who sponsored his first indoor smoking ban bill in 1996, finds room for optimism. With conferees named, he suspects the bill will gain momentum.
“It’s going to happen,” Greenleaf said. “You have to be patient with this. … If it’s a few weeks or a couple of months, this is a short time as far as I’m concerned.”
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SMOKING POLL
62% support a ban on smoking in restaurants and public places 32% oppose it 5% don’t know Source: Quinnipiac University
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Dear Editor, Time, Smoke, and Fear….
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Charles Thompson’s Dec. 5th story, “Smoking ban bills flame out”, cites the “tobacco, casino, and tavern lobbies” as being the main source of opposition to a government-imposed universal smoking ban while totally ignoring those who are most intimately opposed: smokers and their friends.
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Yes, we all know that bans are horribly destructive for the bar/casino/restaurant business (Which is why antismoking lobbyists always scream loud and long for a “level playing field” even while trying to deny such a destructive effect exists!) but it’s the smokers themselves who get thrown out into the cold and it’s their friends whose gatherings are interrupted when the smokers wander in and out.
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The Quinnepiac poll citing 62% of Pennsylvanians in favor of a ban is seen to be fatally biased if one actually looks at the question asked: there is no option given for allowing exceptions for bars, private clubs, or casinos.? Respondents were only given a choice of allowing smoking everywhere or banning it everywhere.? The Feb. 2007 poll was also heavily impacted by Philadelphians desperately afraid of being the only banned city in the state (68% of them wanting the ban forced on the rest of the state.) Obviously the overall poll results were exactly what the antismoking lobby desired.
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Delaying a ban decision until after the winter will allow people to see the true economic effect of being a free state surrounded by ban states. That’s something the smoking prohibitionists are desperately afraid of.? The rest of us have nothing to fear from giving the state a little more time so the truth can be seen: Remember, job losses resulting in the loss of health care, the disruption of families, and the impoverishment of people have far more severe effects on life and health than the rare wisps of secondary tobacco smoke not gobbled by filter machines or expelled by fans.?
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But it’s also true that avoiding such a ban is actually in the interest of virtually all Pennsylvanians with the only real exception being those who, despite being strongly affected by smoke, have chosen to work in one of those few businesses that still allow smoking.? For them a ban might be a good thing… but it also might not: most research not funded by antismoking sources indicates job losses in the hospitality industry after smoking bans come in.? It’s quite possible that more Pennsylvanians would have their lives and their health threatened by job losses than by unwillingly working in a smoking allowed business.?
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And finally of course, avoiding a smoking ban is most definitely in the interest of the millions of smokers and their friends who like to gather together in smoking-allowed bars and restaurants without the heavy hand of a universal government-mandated ban interfering with their choice.? Mr. Godshall and his allies are so stuck on the image of the evil cigarette companies that they fail to see that bans negatively affect many other people as well.
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Pennsylvanians deserve the freedom to make our own choices in life.? For the great, enormous, vast, and overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians, that freedom is what they currently have, and that freedom is what would be lost under a universal government-imposed smoking ban.? Delaying this ban long enough for people to see the true economic effect of being a free state surrounded by ban states is something the antismoking lobby is desperately afraid of.?
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Let’s keep them afraid.
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Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”
Mid-Atlantic Director, Citizens Freedom Alliance, Inc.
Director, Pennsylvania Smokers’ Action Network (PASAN)
web page: http://pasan.thetruthisalie.com/
mailto: Cantiloper@aol.com
Smoking Bars in Philadelphia
October? 2007
The Daily Examiner’s guide to Philadelphia bars and clubs that have been granted smoking-ban exemptions by the city’s Department of Public Health. In other words, you can smoke here.
1734 Snyder Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-462-0310
5100 Woodland Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4900 N. 5th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-456-9324
2514-18 S. 24th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-609-4281
2006 E. Orthodox St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4404 Salmon St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-744-6764
6332 Elmwood Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-726-8070
4131 Rhawn St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-624-3007
7701 Walker St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1216 S. 17th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1017 W. Cumberland St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4027 Lancaster Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-662-1090
4661 N. 5th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-324-0321
5007 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-743-3536
5207-11 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3648 N. Broad St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1428 Ritner St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-468-9869
46 S. 2nd St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-238-1222
2537 E. Ontario St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2268 Kennedy St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-288-8685
1503 S. 13th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-462-7282
9859 Bustleton Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2740 S. Front St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-467-1980
2601 E. Westmoreland Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-426-9604
118 E. Hartwell Ln
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-247-9776
6453 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-333-6600
3521-29 Almond St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-634-0406
2654 S. Alder St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-271-9487
3066 Richmond St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6558 Vandike St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-331-9010
100 Spring Garden St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-625-2800
www.delilahs.com
7100 Dicks Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2732 E. Allegheny Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-426-7618
2401 E. Huntingdon St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-423-3410
4135 Comly St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2221 Bridge St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-289-4504
415-427 N. 5th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2701 S. Marshall St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-271-7650
2300 S. Woodstock St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1301 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4091 Ford Rd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-879-6899
1039 S. 8th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-627-9798
1000 Wolf St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-271-8350
3847 Terrace St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3601 S. Broad St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
853 E. Allegheny Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-634-6616
2601 E. Venango St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-634-9215
129 Laurel St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
900 N. 66th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
235 S. 10th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-627-8550
400 W. Cayuga St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2434 Cedar St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-634-2106
1226 S. 3rd St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1221 St. James St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-735-8485
1001 Pattison Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-952-0300
259 S. 15th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-735-1259
5559 N. 5th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
601 W. Bristol St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-455-4088
3800 Morrell Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-824-4758
2560 N. Front St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1625 S. 2nd St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2980 Southampton Rd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-676-3596
228 Race St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-627-3532
601 Spring Garden St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-925-5000
1322 W. Olney Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1920 S. Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-336-7033
2174 E. Huntingdon St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1301 Walnut St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4431 Belgrade St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-744-2767
706-708 Porter St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4149 Roosevelt Blvd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-744-0940
1417 Shunk St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-336-1335
2632 Lehigh Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2723 E. Allegheny Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-203-8026
13639 Philmont Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-677-3177
7968 Verree Rd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-725-2050
947 E. Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-465-5505
4421 Main St
Manayunk, Pennsylvania
215-509-6005
2116 E. Tioga St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-743-2899
140 S. Broad St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-563-6500?
410 N. 8th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5701 Elmwood Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-729-7525
5550 Wayne Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-843-0360
7225 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-331-1740
3100 North 6th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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