Ban is a sham in Marion
December 29, 2007
Complying owner says he’s watching his customers go elsewhere to light up
MARION – Kevin Douglas is tired of complying with a state smoking ban that he said is costing his bar customers who can light up unhindered at other local taverns.
Sandy Bridenstine, environmental health director for the city health department, which has been charged since May 3 with enforcing the ban voters passed in November 2006, said her staff is doing the best it can, but is slowed by the “due process” built into the enforcement rules.
Douglas, owner of the Sundance Lounge, 302 W. Center St., said the health department can do better. “I’m very upset, and I really don’t know where the health department’s position is on this,” he said. “We’re eight, nine months into where they can go out and fine people for it and there haven’t been any businesses in Marion that have been fined.”
Ohio Department of Health statistics as of Dec. 20 show Douglas’ numbers are correct, but Bridenstine said the enforcement process, in part, is to blame. It requires at least two months to pass before a reported first violation can result in a warning letter being sent to the offender, and another two months to pass before a reported second violation can result in a fine of the offender.
The health department has delivered notices of violation to three bars, the Liq’r Bar, Wild Bill’s and Army & Navy U nion Garrison 137, which have 30 days to provide evidence in their defense and request a departmental review. They also can appeal the notice of violation to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, states Kristopher Weiss, state health spokesman.
Smoking is allowed at Wild Bill’s and will be for the foreseeable future, said Bill Beechum, owner of the bar at 148 S. Main St.
“I’m not complying with it,” Beechum said, of the ban. “It’s just not right letting people put it on the ballot, which they know is going to go through and let them decide how somebody’s going to run their business. I might someday. It’ll come to where you don’t have a choice. I know that. But I’m going to go down fighting.”
Beechum said he’s received some letters from the health department, and “I just throw them in the trash.” He said his understanding is the letters of notification are to be delivered by certified mail, which must be signed for, so his bar doesn’t sign for them.
Bridenstine said businesses will be deterred when they have to pay larger fines that come with further violations. Currently, businesses are subject to a warning letter for the first violation and fines of $100 on second violation, $500 on third violation, $1,500 on fourth violation and $2,500 on fifth and subsequent violations. Individuals are subject to a warning letter for a first violation and $100 fine for second and subsequent violations.
“Eventually once the fines start getting stiffer, we’ll get better compliance,” she said. “But we can’t go any faster than we are.”
And, a warning to violators, the health department can double the fines normally faced by an offending bar or other business if
they blatantly refuse to comply, Bridenstine said. The health department can double the fine, for example, if its investigator spots a “fine jar,” to which customers in some establishments donate money to cover any fine the proprietor might face for allowing his patrons to smoke.
Like her boss at the Sundance Lounge, head bartender Pauline Spicer is upset that her bar complies with the law, which prohibits indoor smoking in public places and places of employment in Ohio, and loses sales to other bars that disobey the rules.
“We posted signs stating no smoking inside the bar and removed all the ashtrays,” she said. “We even went so far as to bar two people because they wouldn’t stop smoking.”
She estimated before the ban the bar would make $1,500 in sales on a weekend “and we’ve dropped to anywhere from $1,000 to $1,200.”
Customers tell Sundance Lounge staff that they can smoke at taverns elsewhere in town, she said.
Douglas, a nonsmoker, said a check of a Cincinnati Enquirer Web site that tracks enforcement of the ban shows “a ton of complaints yet three letters go out. Whoopy doo. I have customers come in every single day and want to light a cigarette,” but he tells them they can’t. “And off they go. Business is way off. You can walk into any downtown bar, and they’re just smoking away, and the city health department doesn’t seem to do anything about it.”
Bridenstine said she understands complying business owners’ aggravation, but although it is charged with enforcing the ban the health department is limited in what it can do.
“I think some of the people think we should be out there closing them down, and we can’t do that,” she said. “We can just go in and see that they’re smoking. Then we send out our letters.”
The Sundance Lounge owner has heard Bridenstine’s explanation, but struggles to accept it. He dismisses any suggestion to complain to state lawmakers or the state health department.
“I do all my complaining to Sandy,” Douglas said. “I want to see them doing everything they can. I’m not sure they’re doing everything they can. I would like to see the job get done.”
Bridenstine shares his frustration, saying that bars and fraternal clubs are ignoring the ban. She said a grant of $2,000 recently awarded by the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation would help pay for any employee overtime needed to investigate alleged violations. Currently, the health department awards investigators flex time when they go beyond a 40-hour workweek to enforce the smoking ban.
Meanwhile, at Wild Bill’s, Beechum, a non-cigarette smoker, allows customers to light up.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m waiting for the fine,” he said. “There’s lawyers lined up waiting for this to happen. It’s going to tie the court system up. … Once the fines start happening we’ve got to wait to see what happens from that point.”
October 29, 2007
– A Newsletter Reader
Adjust as needed, per state and pass it on. … Print to hand out and email to ALL business owners it can apply to. Ask them to do the same.
An open letter to all businesses:
– Do you think you should control your own investment?
– Do you think the public can read signs and think for themselves?
– Does someone pay property taxes where your business is located at?
– Do you or the state pay for maintenance and operations concerning your business?
Many businesses have now closed due to the no-smoke law. Will your turn be soon?
How does this affect the distributors, the bands, and other related businesses who receive business from you? (Ohio has now lost the freedom for various games also.)
Will your sign say as shown at this link and/or say, ‘ Where are all you non-drinkers’?
www.thebarbiz.com and http://pjpohio.com/default.aspx
A decline in business dooms B. Hampton’s
BY JEFF MCCALLISTER / OCTOBER 18, 2007
Columbus lost one of its most popular happy-hour destinations early Saturday morning when B. Hampton’s Bar and Grill served its last drink.
Andy Mirolo, owner of the building at 335 W. Third Ave. in Victorian Village, said he would not renew his lease with B. Hampton’s owner Cathy Capuano, thus ending the bar’s 15-year run.
“We decided to terminate the lease, and that’s all I can say about it,” Mirolo said.
He was granted eviction action by the Franklin County Municipal Court. The orange final notice demanding all residents to clear the premises by Oct. 20 was posted on the door of the bar Tuesday afternoon, though it was gone by Tuesday evening.
Capuano indicated B. Hampton’s was a victim of a declining customer base.
“Business had really been bad lately. Ever since the smoking ban, it had gone downhill,” Capuano said. “All the new bars in the Arena District hurt us, too. Everybody wants to be somewhere that has a patio. And it’s really sad, because for years and years, this was the place to be.”
B. Hampton’s was known for its happy hour, serving $1 domestic bottled beer and $1 well drinks from 4 to 9 p.m. daily, weekends included. It made AOL City Guide’s list of top singles bars this year.
But it also suffered because of a lack of parking. The building has a small lot on the premises, but most on-street parking anywhere within walking distance is permit-only.
However, there was no shortage of customers who came to bid B. Hampton’s farewell.
Capuano said she decided last Thursday that the next day would be the bar’s last. She sent out a mass e-mail to her regulars and said she was thrilled with the turnout.
Patrons who were there well after midnight described a depressing scene: the bar nearly tapped out of its stock of beer and completely out of liquor, bathrooms overflowing with runoff from the toilets and a generally aggressive atmosphere.
Police were called there at least once to break up a fight.
“I don’t think it was anything overly wild and crazy,” Capuano said. “But there were a lot of people who were pretty upset we were closing.”
“There was a lot of crying, and I kept hearing from couples who told me they had met at B. Hampton’s and now they were married,” she said. “I even had one regular who took the day off work. He showed up right when we opened and stayed until the very end.”
Capuano said she would devote her newfound free time to two other bars her family owns—Outland and Coco’s, both of which are on Harrison Pike, just south of Mound Street on the West Side.
“I might open up somewhere else. I’m sure I’ll venture out and do something again,” she said. “But right now I feel like a part of me has died. It’s really depressing.”
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October 10, 2007
COLUMBUS – Bar and tavern owners yesterday launched a petition effort to poke some holes into Ohio’s new indoor public smoking ban with a sparsely attended rally outside the Statehouse.
Despite the fact that only about 100 people showed up, it appears the petition effort hopes to follow the initiated statute path blazed by backers of the ban last year by putting the issue first before lawmakers with the target truly being the November, 2008, ballot.
“There are so many people in this state who think we’ve given up on this whole thing. No way,” said Bill Delaney, owner of Delaney’s Lounge in Toledo.
Although Mr. Delaney said he believed the effort would have nearly a year to gather signatures to be certified for the 2008 general election, time could be much shorter than he expects.
“The only thing they can take directly to voters is a constitutional amendment,” said Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. “They have to give the General Assembly the opportunity to adopt the same or similar proposal.”
That means they could be in a rush to gather about 241,000 valid signatures to put the issue before lawmakers when they resume session at the start of the year. They would have to give the General Assembly four months to act.
If it fails to act or if it passes something not to the liking of the bar and tavern owners, then they could launch another round of petitions to take the issue directly to voters.
That’s the path followed last year by Smoke Free Ohio, the group led by the American Cancer Society, on the way to convincing voters to enact a law that, with few exceptions, bans smoking in indoor public buildings.
“It is very concerning that this group would try to persuade lawmakers to overturn the vote of the people,” said Tracy Sabetta, spokesman for the American Cancer Society. “Business owners should be more concerned about protecting the health and well-being of their employees.”
Yesterday, the group began gathering the first 1,000 signatures needed just to submit the language to Attorney General Marc Dann for his review of whether the language that would be shown to would-be signature gatherers is an accurate representation of the proposed law.
The Buckeye Permit Holders Association, the group behind yesterday’s rally, has challenged the constitutionality of the smoking ban. That case is still pending in Hamilton County.
In the meantime, the state has appealed a Franklin County Common Pleas Court decision that rejected the Department of Health’s attempt to write an exemption for private clubs like the Veterans of Foreign Wars into the voter-passed law.
The proposed petition would exempt “stand-alone bars,” including private clubs, in which food accounts for 10 percent or less of business gross revenue. There is no proposed exemption for restaurants, which were part of a broader coalition last year supporting an exemption-laden alternative to the ban ultimately approved by voters.
Smokers rally in Columbus to protest ban
By PAUL E. KOSTYU, GateHouse COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS Harry Dinik of Cleveland was afraid to light up his cigar at a smokers’ rally outside the Statehouse on Tuesday. He didn’t think he would be able to finish the $2 stogie before he had to go through a non-smoking building to get to his car.
Hundreds Gather To Protest Smoking Ban
Oct 09, 2007
By Denise Yost
Hundreds of citizens and business owners gathered at the statehouse on Tuesday to protest the state’s ban on smoking in public restaurants.
Those who are opposed to the Ohio Revised Code that bans smoking in bars and restaurants said that since the ban was enacted, they’ve lost jobs, businesses and millions of dollars in revenue, NBC 4’s Tacoma Newsome reported.
But some business owners said the most significant loss has been of their control.
The protestors were at the statehouse to sign a petition that would allow an exemption to the ban, similar to one in Florida. If the business gets less than 10 percent of its revenue from food, customers can smoke inside.
Fred Bushmeyer said he hasn’t smoked in 30 years, but loves to dance. He said that because of the ban, he doesn’t have a bar to patronize because they’re all closing.
The revision has some support in the statehouse, but a petition has to have enough signatures from each county to be considered — something the crowd said they won’t give up on.
27 Sep 2007
The video shows the victim was beaten nonstop with a brick for seven minutes. Warning — the surveillance video and the extent of the victim’s injuries are disturbing.
The gas station attendant is Owen Rufty. He works at Shell on Harvard. He was beaten when he went outside for a cigarette.
Lax enforcement gives law-breaking competitors advantage, tavern owner says.
By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer
Saturday, September 22, 2007
HAMILTON — Rick Sizemore told the Butler County Board of Health that lax local enforcement of Ohio’s smoking ban is giving his law-breaking competition an unfair advantage.
Sizemore, owner of Rick’s Tavern & Grille in Fairfield, said Thursday he’s complying with the smoking law. He even built a $20,000 smoking area outside.
But business in May was down $32,000 from the year before, he said.
“People that I’m competing with are continuing to (allow smoking) on a daily basis,” he said, refusing to name names. “There’s no other factor involved in this.”
Health department officials offered empathy, but said they could do little to help.
“We have received a number of calls with the exact same concerns,” said Patricia Burg, health department executive director.
She said her agency simply doesn’t have the resources to enforce the law.
Of the 243 complaints the agency has received, for example, only 38 were during hours when inspectors were working. And the money the state gave to counties for enforcement comes nowhere near enough to hire evening inspectors, Burg said.
Furthermore, it can take months and multiple violations before even a $100 fine is meted out, she said.
Board of health member Ryan Welsh made a motion that they hand enforcement of the program back to the state in protest, but Welsh withdrew the motion after Burg asked for a month to research potential fallout from that.
Sizemore suggested sting operations, new legislation — anything to bring his competition in line with the law.
“I’ll be damned if I let a state law that’s not being enforced ruin my business,” he said.
Contact this reporter at jsweigart@coxohio.com
Jim Otte
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A group of bar owners from Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo announced plans Wednesday to stage a major demonstration at the Statehouse to protest Ohio’s anti-smoking law.
Read
Smoking ban nets zero fines in region
September 17, 2007
BY JAMES NASH
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
More than four months after state health authorities began enforcing a tough new anti-smoking law, not one business in central Ohio has been fined for violating it.
Just 34 warning letters have gone out to bars, veterans halls and other businesses in Franklin, Union, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway and Madison counties.
Statewide, 480 businesses have received warning letters and 50 have been hit with $100 fines, which are assessed for two-time violators.
Although the Ohio Department of Health’s toll-free hot line has received more than 13,000 calls reporting suspected violations of the no-smoking law, many of those calls are duplicates fingering the same business, department spokesman Kristopher Weiss said.
The relatively mild impact in central Ohio stems from the fact that 16 municipalities — including Columbus and many of its suburbs — already had curbed smoking before Ohio voters enacted statewide restrictions in November, said Tracy Sabetta of the American Cancer Society, which spearheaded last year’s ballot campaign.
“The residents of central Ohio have been enjoying their smoke-free places for, in some cases, two years,” Sabetta said. “Only a handful (of businesses) are flagrantly violating the law. By far, the vast majority are complying with the smoke-free law.”
That doesn’t mean they’re all happy about it, however.
Todd Anderson, owner of the Bristol Bar in Italian Village, said the renewed enforcement has pushed more smokers outside bars and onto sidewalks and streets, where they leave cigarette butts.
“I think it’s turned from an indoor health problem to a littering problem,” he said.
Several Columbus-area bar owners said the impact of the statewide ban has been negligible, brushing aside arguments that they might benefit from a level playing field where there are no suburban smoking sanctuaries.
Dick Allen, owner of Zeno’s in Victorian Village, said there’s been a cumulative effect of recent state crackdowns on smoking, gambling and adult dancing.
“There’s a lot of legislation against us,” said Allen, board member of the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association, a trade group of bars and other alcohol vendors. “We’re just trying to make a living.”
About 58 percent of Ohio voters approved the indoor smoking ban in November, but state officials put off enforcement until May. Some of the delay stemmed from controversy over whether the ban would apply to truckers and veterans halls.
Weiss and Susan Tilgner, the Franklin County health commissioner, said there haven’t been any hitches in enforcement.
jnash@dispatch.com
Marcia.ehlers@whiotv.com
Aug 31 2007
NEW CONCORD, Ohio – Two people standing outside a broken down bus were struck by a passing car early Friday morning.
The Greyhound bus was traveling from New York to St. Louis when it began experiencing problems and stopped on a ramp from state Route 83 to Interstate 70 westbound in New Concord, east of Columbus, at about 4 a.m.
The two passengers exited the bus while it was on the side of the highway, 10TV News reported.
“Two passengers stepped off the bus to smoke a cigarette and stepped onto the on ramp and at that time they failed to see an oncoming car,” an officer at the scene told 10TV. “Another passenger advised them that a car was coming. They didn’t respond to the lady’s warnings and they were struck by the car.”
The two passengers, who were not immediately identified, were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Zanesville.
One person died at the hospital. The second victim was taken from Good Samaritan Hospital to TheOhio State University Medical Center.
Hillsboro club also penalized
The sound underground
A brazen new take on the underground concert house
AUGUST 16, 2007
BY KITTY McCONNELL
On a hot Sunday night in late July, a small crowd trickled into the dirt-floored basement of a campus house on Indianola Avenue . Outside, a half-dozen college-aged guys kept watch at the door.
During nights like this, the modest dwelling is known to all comers as the Legion of Doom house.
It is among the latest crop of underground concert venues in Columbus . These are private residences and practice spaces devoted to showcasing local and national bands on a regular basisbands such as the Halflings, the noise-rock duo from New York that played Legion of Doom that night.
Youd ordinarily expect to find a group like the Halflings at Bernies or Bourbon Street . So how are these houses landing such acts?
One reason is scarcity: All of the citys official venues may be booked during the one night a band passes through Columbus .
Another reason is the intrinsic appealfrom an artists perspectiveof a grungy, low-fi performance pit and the hard-core audience it attracts. In some sense, these venues are the essence of punk and harder garage rock.
LOD, said one member of the Halflings after the show, was an awesome space.
So-called DIY venues arent new in Columbus . As anyone who turned up for an indie show at the Neilhouse on Neil Avenuea former OSU dental fraternity turned show houseor the Bucket on Gay Street knows, these spaces have been just as important for many local musicians and fans over the past decade as Little Brothers or Staches, two of the towns most revered small concert venues.
You knew people really wanted to be there for the entertainment, said Bill Jordan, former lead singer for Black Cat Revival, the band that hosted shows in the Buckets underground
studio-art space. That shared experience was the point, rather than an accessory.
Traditionally, that experience has also been kept very mum. To get information about an underground show, fans often needed to rely on word-of-mouth instead of advertisements and online notices.
This, of course, has helped house showswhich typically draw anywhere from five to 150 peopleachieve an attractive air of exclusivity. But theres an even more compelling reason why many independent venues keep things quiet: They exist in a gray area between being a house party and a concert hall, which has raised concerns about potential Columbus city code infractions.
The Bucket never battled the city in its three years of holding shows because Jordan and his bandmates got tips from attorneys about how to run the space like a private club, thus avoiding any violations. Still, just to be safe, they also never advertised or posted the venues location online.
Conversely, the Legion of Doom has gone public with its goings-on.
Its shows are hyped on the bulletin boards of High Street record stores, on Internet forums dedicated to Columbus s music scene, and on the houses own home page. (The site describes Legion of Doom as a punk house in Columbus OH , where shows, potlucks and other fun happens pretty regularly and gives directions about how to get there from I-71.)
Moreover, The Other Paper received two separate e-mails in July requesting that the paper mention its shows.
Still, theres apparently a divide among the people who run the house over just how much exposure they want, and from whom. Many of them refused to be interviewed for this story and disavowed the e-mails and web postings, claiming they didnt come from anyone at Legion of Doom and must have been a prank.
One of the houses five tenants did speak with The Other Paper on the night in which the Halflings played. He explained that getting too much press might invite trouble from the landlord.
A couple nights before, at another show, a young man purporting to be one of the LODs many bookers said that maintaining secrecy also helps to reinforce the straight-edge ethosno drinking or drugsthat distinguishes the house as an independent venue.
You dont want it to get too big, he said, or let too many people in who dont share the same ideas.
Jordan, the singer who helped run shows at the Bucket, also emphasized the need to manage crowd size during these types of shows.
We tried to know everyone down there, he said of the fans who patronized his venue. But there were nights when it got way out of control hundreds of people.
Whatever the hassles associated with running an underground music venue and trying to keep it secret, there are clearly some payoffsespecially for the audience that comes to the shows.
To borrow from the old rock n roll adage: Only a few people might hear what goes on in those back rooms and basements (sometimes attendance is as small as a handful of hardcore devotees), but those who do often leave to start bands of their own.
Elliott Smith, the influential indie singer-songwriter, played the Neilhouse in the spring of 1996 just as he was releasing his first solo album.
Smith played some of his most celebrated songs (including Needle in the Hay) in the houses living room, and all of them were taped on a handheld audio recorder by Columbus musician Eric Metronome. (The Neilhouse show remains one of the best live recordings of the late Oscar-nominated singer.)
There were maybe 30 people there, all sitting on the floor, just listening so closely, said Metronome. I was not a huge fan of his at the time, but seeing him play that night changed me. Its cool to share that performance, but it doesnt compare to actually having been there.
August 8, 2007
Denise Grollmus
The Lime Spider announced last week that it would close its doors in September . It’s difficult to measure the degree to which this news sucks.
Senator says he’s willing to spend some political capital.
By Matt Cunningham
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or mcunningham@coxohio.com.
July 12, 2007
My fellows smoker’s… the ban is only a few months old and the negative effect IS being felt in the Cleveland area, The Cleveland Indians, who were in first place the first half of the season have problems, their attendance is down, averaging 16-18K this year, down from the 20k per game last year with a lousy team.
I understand the Cleveland Browns are having similar problems with many of their long time ticket buyers not renewing their tickets this year due to the ban.
The restaurant & bar business is down, places like Alphonso’s at Kamm’s Corner has gone out of business and places like George’s Restaurat in West Park where your had trouble finding a parking spot morning, noon or evening is basically empty, never more than 10 cars in their lot instead of the usual 25-35 and they now close early.
Main Street Bar & Grill in N. Royalton on a recent Saturday night had 2 folks in the restaurant, 1 in the bar and 6 of us smokers OUTSIDE in the patio. Before the ban on a Saturday night it was standing room only in the bar, now they had 1 guy in it and I think he was the boyfriend of the barmaid.
The Warehouse & downtown restaurant & bar district’s used to have “wall to wall” people, not now!
The City of Cleveland is going to “change the law” to suit Larry Flynn so he invests some money with his Hustler Strip Club in an attempt to bring some action into town.
None of this bad “economic news” get’s in the paper or on TV. Wonder why?……”We” know why. .Don’t we !
“They” tell us we’re only 25% of the population and don’t matter anymore, my friends, I’ll bet us smoker’s control the spending of 75% in our economy. Use your power wisely, don’t “get mad….get even!”
My grandparent’s went through a similar situation 90 years ago with alcohol & won, we will also!
As Ohio’s economy keeps shrinking, they will have less money to waste, it will be ironic if they have to cut out the funding to the anti-smoking groups due to a lack of tobacco tax income from their “successful” campaign.
– A Newsletter Reader
Sarah Jacobson
By John Seewer
