People Ban: Cleveland

Would this be considered blackmail, or would it be simple extortion?
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Smoking ban considered for Cleveland’s zoo
November 04, 2010

A panel overseeing Cleveland’s zoo has been asked to make it smoke-free.

Parks commissioners met Thursday and received materials from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo officials making the case for a smoking ban.

Zoo spokeswoman Sue Allen says a memorandum was included stating that a large foundation said it could not continue to support the zoo unless smoking was banned. She did not name the foundation.

Zoo officials say smoking is not permitted at other major zoos.

The Cincinnati, Toledo and Akron zoos prohibit smoking on their grounds. The website for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium states it allows people to light up in designated areas.

Allen says Cleveland’s zoo is hopeful commissioners will approve a ban that would be enacted at the start of 2011.

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North Royalton outlaws outdoor smoking
4/16/08
NORTH ROYALTON — A Cleveland suburb is outlawing outdoor smoking on city-owned property, going beyond the state’s indoor public smoking ban.
The new ordinance in North Royalton applies to public parks, playing fields, parking lots and outdoor seating areas. It does not include sidewalks.
Mayor Robert Stefanik says the ban was proposed as a response to smoking at Little League baseball games.
He says overwhelming support from residents led the city council to approve the measure Tuesday night.
At first, offenders will be let off with a warning. Later, repeat violators could be fined $100.

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — Some people in North Royalton are fuming over a proposed ban on outdoor smoking.
The proposed law would make it illegal to smoke in parks, fields, parking lots and outdoor seating areas.
Council members said the outdoor ban is in response to complaints about people smoking around children during youth sports games.
The city’s safety committee will hold a hearing on the issue on April 15.

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Cleveland underground clubs allowing smoking, sex
February 4, 2008
CLEVELAND – Underground nightclubs where patrons can smoke freely and watch strippers after midnight have opened in some of the city’s residential neighborhoods since the state began enforcing new restrictions on strip clubs and public smoking last year, police say.
Some of the nightclubs, also called “smokehouses,” offer customers the opportunity to have sex with prostitutes, police said.
“They have succeeded in creating this underground, sleazy, cash-only business that cannot be regulated, taxed or secured by police,” attorney Skip Lazzaro, who represents legal nightclubs, said.
Informants have told police that patrons are mostly white suburban men. Customers bring their own liquor, cigarettes, and cigars. A reference is sometimes required for entry, and doormen collect as much as $25.

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Run-in changes lawmaker’s stance

May 15, 2007
Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer Columnist

It’s funny how a gun can instantly change your perspective on things, make you wish you could rewrite history.

State Rep. Michael DeBose, a southside Cleveland Democrat, discovered this lesson the night of May 1, when he thought he was going to die. That’s the night he wished he had that gun vote back.

DeBose, who had just returned from Columbus, where he had spent the day in committee hearings, decided to take a short walk up Holly Hill, the street where he has lived with his wife for the past 27 years.

It was late, but DeBose, 51, was restless. The ordained Baptist minister knew his Lee-Harvard neighborhood was changing, but he wasn’t scared. The idle, young men who sometimes hang out on his and adjacent streets didn’t threaten him.

He is a big man and, besides, he had run the same streets before he found Jesus – and a wife. That night, he just needed a walk.

The loud muffler on a car that slowly passed as he was finishing the walk caught his attention, though. When the car stopped directly in front of his house – three houses from where he stood – he knew there was going to be a problem.

“There was a tall one and a short one,” DeBose said, sipping on a McDonald’s milkshake and recounting the experience Friday.

“The tall one reached in his pocket and pulled out a silver gun. And they both started running towards me.”

“At first I just backed up, but then I turned around and started running and screaming.”

“When I started running, the short boy stopped chasing and went back to the car. But the tall boy with the gun kept following me. I ran to the corner house and started banging on Mrs. Jones’ door.”

It was at that point that the would-be robbers realized that their prey wasn’t worth the trouble. Besides, Cheryl, DeBose’s wife, and a daughter had heard his screams and had raced out to investigate. Other porch lights began to flicker on.

The loud muffler sped off, and DeBose started rethinking his gun vote.

DeBose twice voted against a measure to allow Ohioans to carry concealed weapons. It became law in 2004.

DeBose voted his conscience. He feared that CCW permits would lead to a massive influx of new guns in the streets and a jump in gun violence. He feared that Cleveland would become the O.K. Corral, patrolled by legions of freshly minted permit holders.

“I was wrong,” he said Friday.

“I’m going to get a permit and so is my wife.

“I’ve changed my mind. You need a way to protect yourself and your family.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone. But I never again want to be in the position where I’m approached by someone with a gun and I don’t have one.”

DeBose said he knows that a gun doesn’t solve Cleveland’s violence problem; it’s merely a street equalizer.

“There are too many people who are just evil and mean-spirited. They will hurt you for no reason. If more people were packing guns, it might serve as a deterrent.

“But there obviously are far deeper problems that we need to address,” he added, as he suddenly seemed to realize he sounded like a gun enthusiast.

They say the definition of a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. DeBose’s CCW application will bear some witness to that notion.

To reach Phillip Morris: pfmorris@plaind.com, 216-999-5086 

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Minorities push indoor smoking ban

May 26, 2006
Harlan Spector

Minority groups have stepped up their role in a campaign to ban smoking in workplaces, saying during a kick-off event Thursday that second-hand smoke disproportionately affects low-wage workers and people of color in the service industry.

“We are not looking at it just as a health issue, but as a social justice issue,” said Yvonne Oliver of the Greater Cleveland Health Education and Service Council, which promotes minority health issues. “We’re talking about people going into jobs and working in unsafe environments.”

The organization is behind a new campaign called the Cleveland Clean Indoor Air Partnership, which announced itself to a crowd of about 100 at the Galleria in downtown Cleveland.

Unlike a clean-air campaign that two years ago pushed unsuccessfully for a Cleveland smoking ban, this group is not pressing direct political action, organizers said. They hope to reach restaurant owners and other employers with a human rights message on the effects of second-hand smoke. The council has $387,000 in state and private grants for educational campaigns that it will use to counter tobacco use in minority communities.

Several Cleveland City Council members and other public officials attended the event. Two years ago Mayor Frank Jackson, as council president, balked at a citizen advisory board recommendation for an indoor smoking ban. Councilman Matthew Zone said support on council now is strong, although the city won’t touch the issue with statewide ballot questions on public smoking looming in November.

Daniel Porras of the Hispanic Business Association was on hand to lend support. Asked about claims by some critics that anti-smoking policies hurt bars and restaurants, Porras said he expects a mixed reaction among the 190 businesses he represents in Greater Cleveland.

“Even though initially it may be detrimental, in the long run it’s good for workers,” he said.