Tuesday: Celebrating a Smoke-Free Virginia

With Virginia's bar & restaurant smoking ban taking effect on December 1st, I thought I'd organize a happy hour to welcome Virginia's newly clean indoor air. You're invited to join us Tuesday from 6-8pm:

To celebrate, we're hosting a happy hour at one of Arlington's smoke-free pioneers -- Liberty Tavern in Clarendon. While many restaurants in Arlington have long been smoke-free, Liberty was among the pioneering bars who took a chance on clean air. Judging by how packed they are on weeknights and by how absolutely mobbed they are on weekends, it paid off.

Even if you can't make this event, be sure to stop by a local bar that went smoke-free long before it was the law (Eleventh in Clarendon, Union Jack's in Ballston, Cap City in Shirlington, etc.) and say thanks for their leadership. Hope to see you at Liberty on December 1st!

Read more details on Virginia's smoking ban from the Department of Health.

Photo via Flickr's Maryland Route 5

House of Delegates Guts Already-Weakened Smoking Bill

The smoking ban compromise struck by Gov. Tim Kaine and House Speaker William Howell wasn't ideal, but it was a good start.

Unfortunately, the House of Delegates weakened the bill so severely last night, you can't even call it a smoking ban anymore:

Amendments would permit smoking in rooms separated by doors, even if there is no separate ventilation system. They carved out exceptions for smoking in outdoor patio areas; at restaurants during private functions when the function takes up the entire restaurant; and at clubs or bars at times when under-age patrons are not admitted.

As Del. Adam Ebbin twittered, "It seems more like a non-smoking SECTION bill than a non-smoking restaurant bill."

The Senate and Gov. Kaine need to work to strengthen the bill. If House Republicans won't support a stronger bill, then smoking ban supporters should let them go to the voters this fall and explain why they wouldn't protect our children from the effects of secondhand smoke. Even the Bush administration's own Surgeon General pointed out there's no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed the comments of Virginia's Republican Party chair, Del. Jeff Frederick, who said, "As much as I personally would love a smoking ban, it's not my job to tell small-business owners what they can and cannot allow in their small businesses."

Really? I look forward to Del. Frederick introducing legislation to roll back fire codes, food safety regulations, and the drinking age. Clearly we can't tell small businesses what to do, can we, Del. Frederick?

Have You Called Your Delegate on Smoking Ban Compromise?

The House of Delegates is scheduled to vote on the smoking ban compromise today. Call your delegate right now to urge them to support the bill!

Will VA House Pass Smoking Ban Compromise?

There's an old saying that when it comes to passing legislation, a good compromise is one that both sides dislike equally. That seems to be true of the smoking ban compromise unveiled by Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) yesterday. The ban would take effect this July 1st and would see Virginia would join 23 states and the District of Columbia in banning smoking in bars and restaurants.

Both the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and apparent hardcore libertarian Del. C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) are opposing the deal. While I agree it's far from perfect deal, to use another legislative catch-phrase, the perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good. I've been fighting for a statewide smoking ban for years now, and after talking to a range of people on this, I'm comfortable supporting this bill.

Anti-tobacco activists certainly have a point that the ban doesn't go as far as it should. All Virginia workers deserve protection from the health effects of secondhand smoke, not just ones who work in bars and restaurants. And the enforcement provisions seem weak, with just a $25 fine for each violation. Some smoke-free advocates worry businesses will allow people to continue smoking and just pay the token fine, especially in parts of Virginia that might not be eager to enforce the ban. Those legitimate concerns should be addressed in future legislation.

Here's the most interesting part of the Washington Post article to me:

Howell restarted the negotiations after he grew worried about the looming November elections, GOP delegates say. Since Howell took over as speaker in 2003, Democrats have picked up 11 House seats. If Democrats pick up six more seats in the November election, they will gain the majority.

Howell denies that politics influenced his decision. But Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who has tried to broker past compromises on the issue, said the speaker is trying to reverse the perception that House Republicans are inflexible.

Fighting the good fight works. It may not work the first time, or the second time, or ... well, how many years have we been at this now? But if you have the will of the people on your side, eventually even Richmond's roadblock Republicans have to step aside and let you pass.

Let's hope Republicans in the General Assembly do just that on Monday and vote to pass this reasonable compromise.

Kaine Looking to Cut a Deal on Smoking?

Over at RK, Lowell looks ahead to the 2009 General Assembly session, examining the prospects for a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants, and doesn't like what he sees:

Now, as 2008 winds down and we move closer to the last General Assembly session of Tim Kaine's governorship, this issue is back. Unfortunately, this time around, I'm hearing that Kaine is going to push for a half-measure that's worse than doing nothing at all: no smoking in restaurants, but only before 10 pm. After that, you can light 'em up! What I'm hearing is that Health and Human Services Secretary Marilyn Tavenner is currently pushing for this utterly ridiculous approach, despite vehement opposition from public health advocates.

Why is Gov. Kaine, who's been excellent this issue, going this route? Sadly, what I'm hearing is that Kaine has decided that getting something is better than nothing on this issue. One source puts it this way: "This is as weak and mealy mouthed as you can get, but Tim Kaine wants to be able to say he accomplished something on this, because he certainly hasn't yet." The problem is that if this completely inadequate legislation goes through, it will most likely mean no REAL action on a comprehensive smoking ban in Virginia for many, many years. Essentially, the politicians will be able to pat themselves on the back and say, "hey, we accomplished something!" Except that they really won't have; I mean, what's the point if everyone can start smoking again after 10 pm? Stupid.

I'd rather put up a full ban and lose than have some half-measure like this. With even places like Clarendon Grill voluntarily going smoke-free, the pressure is on smoking ban opponents to defend their continued blind allegiance to Big Tobacco.

Sheraton Hotels Go Smokefree

Great news in the fight for clean air:

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Four Points by Sheraton Hotel brands will ban smoking at more than 300 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Canada.

The new policy follows one implemented at Westin Hotels & Resorts, which became smoke-free in 2006. Westin and Sheraton are both owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Some 8,000 rooms at the hotels will be cleaned, including treatments for air conditioning, walls, rugs, upholstery and hard surfaces.

Smoking will also be banned in public areas in the hotels but there will be a designated outdoor area at each property for guests who smoke.

Will Virginia legislators clear our state's air this year? They'll get another opportunity today.

Today: Maryland Dining Industry to Collapse Into Quivering Pile of Goo

Maryland bars and restaurants might as well not bother opening their doors this weekend. No one's coming out anyway.

A statewide smoking ban is taking effect today.

We've all seen how the smoking ban has turned DC into a ghost town on nights and weekends. Young professionals head straight to Metro after work, ride home in listless silence, and sit at home reading the collected works of Henry David Thoreau.

OK, so that's all a big lie. Like every other community in the country, DC's smoking ban has had absolutely no noticeable impact on the city's economy. The same can be said of Maryland's counties that had already banned smoking:

In Howard County - smoke-free for eight months - officials have not received any complaints of lost revenue, said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the county's health officer. Since the Howard ban took effect, the county's smoking hot line has received about three dozen calls, but no fines have been issued, Beilenson said.

"The biggest news is that there is no news," Beilenson said. "It came in with a bang and went out with a whimper."

While Gov. Tim Kaine is pushing a Virginia smoking ban hard this year and the Virginia Senate is likely to approve it, the House vote will once again be close. Considering a full 70% of Northern Virginians support a ban, the eleven Northern Virginian delegates who voted against the ban last year are especially in focus. The nine Republicans and two Democrats are:

• Dave Albo (R-Springfield)
• Chuck Caputo (D-Chantilly)
• Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg)
• Jeff Frederick (R-Woodbridge)
• William J. Howell (R-Fredericksburg)
• Tim Hugo (R-Centreville)
• Bob Hull (D-Falls Church)
• Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge)
• Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas)
• Joe T. May (R-Leesburg)
• Jackson Miller (R-Manassas)

You can contact your delegate directly, or if you don't know who your delegate is, use the General Assembly's search feature.

In the meantime, one clean air activist isn't counting on the General Assembly to do the right thing. He's going to court:

[James] Bogden is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against four local restaurants in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The suit seeks to require the restaurants to become smoke-free, arguing that they must accommodate Bogden's disability, coronary artery disease, and eliminate secondhand smoke so he can eat at them. Each of the restaurants allows smoking in designated areas.

While all the legal and legislative shenanigans are sorted out, Arlington residents have a great resource in the Arlington Civic Federation's list of smoke-free bars and restaurants (recently updated).

Two New Smoke-Free Blogs

As we hope the Virginia House of Delegates makes a New Year's resolution to follow the will of the 65% of Virginians who want a statewide smoking ban, I wanted to give a shout out to two new smoke-free blogs. Check out the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation blog, as well as the Smoke Free Virginia Now blog from Virginians for a Healthy Future!

Bursting at the Seams: Virginia's One-Size-Fits-All Smoking Solution

The Sun Gazette newspaper provides some of the best local news coverage in Northern Virginia, covering stories the Washington Post ignores. However, sometimes its editorials have me doing the Scooby Doo-style "Wha-huh?". Like, say, this one:

THUMBS UP: To Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, for issuing a ruling last week that correctly notes that Virginia's Dillion Rule status prohibits localities like Alexandria (which has done it) and Arlington (which would like to) from using zoning rules to ban smoking in restaurants. [...]

(A)ny move to ban smoking in restaurants based on zoning will result in a quick trip to court and an equally quick defeat for the locality. Take that prediction to the bank.

Alexandria's action in attempting to ban smoking was little more than a publicity stunt. If they were serious, city officials (and others who support smoke-free restaurants) would work to get legislation passed in Richmond.

Problem A: Legislation? Oh, you think so, doctor? We'll look into that. (For details of the two-years-and-counting ongoing battle to get smoke-free air legislation passed, click here.)

Problem B: A publicity stunt? During this year's legislative battle, a Survey USA poll showed a full 65% of Virginians supported a statewide bar and restaurant smoking ban. The number was even higher in Northern Virginia, where 70% of us back smoke-free legislation. Even 20% of smokers support a bar/restaurant ban.

Problem C: The same Bob McDonnell who accepted contributions totalling $325,300 from the liquor and tobacco industry during his last campaign? That's who we should trust to issue objective rulings on the regulation of the tobacco industry? Just checking.

How seriously are communities taking McDonnell's ruling? Ummm ... they're kind of ignoring it altogether:

Norfolk officials are ignoring a state attorney general's opinion and moving ahead in their effort to ban smoking in restaurants and bars.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell says in an advisory opinion that a locality cannot impose smoking restrictions that are more stringent than those imposed by the state.

But Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko says the city is not relying on the Virginia Clean Indoor Air Act. Instead, it's relying on the city charter, which Pishko says permits smoking restrictions in two sections. One is through police powers ensuring the health and safety of citizens. The other is a provision giving the city power to order reductions in smoke and dust.

Pishko says that latter provision may have been originally directed at smoke related to coal ... but it doesn't expressly state a specific kind of smoke.

Shouldn't Norfolk live in constant fear of a lawsuit, as the Sun Gazette suggests? Not according to the Virginian-Pilot:

If it enacts a ban, Norfolk might face a lawsuit challenging its authority. But that's no reason for timidity. Given the haze enveloping the issue, a fight in court would bring welcome clarity, and perhaps even a popular and precedent-setting victory.

Either way - lawsuit or not - Norfolk benefits from trying to clear the air.

The bottom line? Legislators had their chance to respond to the will of the people (remember that 65% figure), but refused to ban smoking in bars and restaurants statewide or even to give communities the option to make their own decision. To see 2007's roll call vote on the smoking ban, click here.

Now you have Alexandria and Norfolk in open rebellion. It's all especially bizarre because the local governments are being thwarted by the General Assembly's conservatives, who usually argue for local control. In the Republican party's battle of values versus Big Tobacco money, it's obvious what's winning out.

Will the General Assembly correct its mistake? We'll find out in 2008.

Alexandria Bans Smoking, Will Arlington Follow Suit?

From the Washington Post:

After a heated and raucous public meeting, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to use its zoning powers to ban smoking in restaurants, an unusual tactic opponents said would lead to costly lawsuits.

Many states and cities, including Maryland and the District, have banned smoking in public places, but the Virginia legislature severely limits local authority in such issues. Alexandria has opted to use the power it does have -- in this case, control over land-use regulation -- to force restaurant owners to go smoke-free or lose their operating permits. It is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to take such action.

Should the Arlington County Board take a similar approach to ban smoking here in Arlington? After all, President Bush's own surgeon general has declared, "The debate is over. [Secondhand smoke] causes disease and kills people."

While many Arlington restaurants have gone smoke-free -- the Arlington Civic Federation maintains a great list -- few popular bars are smoke-free. Arlington's most popular happy hour spots -- Rock Bottom, Carpool, Whitlow's, Front Page, Dr. Dremo's, Mister Days -- all allow smoking.

Should Arlington use its zoning powers to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, even at the risk of a lawsuit?

VA GOP's Purge of Moderates Claims Key Indoor Clean Air Advocate

After moderates Tim Kaine and Jim Webb defeated hardcore conservatives Jerry Kilgore and George Allen in November, the Republican Party of Virginia learned its lesson. And apparently that lesson was, "We're still not as extremist as we could be."

So the Virginia Conservative Action PAC set about purging the party of moderates, and in Tuesday's primary, they succeeded:

Two key moderate Republicans lost their seats in the Virginia Senate yesterday: Martin E. Williams (Newport News), chairman of the influential Senate Transportation Committee, and J. Brandon Bell II (Roanoke). Challengers Patricia B. "Tricia" Stall and Ralph K. Smith accused the incumbents of betraying the Republican Party by siding with Democrats to raise taxes.

The purge claimed Sen. Brandon Bell, a key sponsor of the Indoor Clean Air Act, which would ban smoking in Virginia bars and restaurants. Honestly, I'd be fine with communities being able to make their own call on smoking bans, but under the Dillon Rule, localities only have the powers granted to them by the state. So right now, communities can't make their own choices about whether to ban smoking, although Alexandria has tried to get around that.

With turnout estimated at just five percent for Tuesday's primary, other Republicans are already worried that the choices of a small cadre of party faithful may not be as palatable to voters in the general election:

But Democrats and even some Republicans say the conservatives might regret their decisions come Nov. 6. Democrats need to pick up four seats to regain control of the Senate.

"In a small turnout election, these voters can make a difference. But in a general election, they may get swallowed up," said retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax).

Williams lost to Tricia B. Stall, who has signed a petition expressing support for "ending government involvement in education."

Even though Stall will be running in a reliably Republican district, party leaders fear that she is so conservative it could be nearly impossible for them to keep a Democratic candidate from picking up the seat. Top Republican senators plan to meet with Stall in a few days.

If his own party doesn't want him, would Sen. Bell consider an independent run? After all, Republicans thought it was swell when Sen. Joe Lieberman did it.

Virginia House Turns Back on Voters, Rejects Smoking Ban

UPDATE: Here's the link to the roll call vote.

Virginia's House of Delegates today rejected a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants by a vote of 40-59. I'll post a link to the full roll call vote as soon as it's up.

As the Not Larry Sabato blog reported this week, a Survey USA poll had shown a full 65% of Virginians supported the ban -- and that number includes smokers. The demographic breakdown of who supports the ban:

- 20% of smokers
- 70% of Northern Virginians
- 83% of nonsmokers

While this is a defeat for the health of Virginians, even the vote itself is progress. Until recently, delegates were able to hide behind a subcommittee. But now those 59 delegates will have to go home and explain why they sided with the cigarette lobby over their constituents.

Oops, I Meant Smoking Ban to Bring Project Mayhem-esque Anarchy

I apologize for my earlier posts in support of the smoking ban. I hadn't realized the smoking ban will bring down the entire capitalist system, basically realizing the vision of Tyler Durden from "Fight Club". From today's Washington Post:

William D. Lecos, president of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, said if the amendment prohibits cigar smoking in the bar area of power lunch places such as the Capital Grille in Tysons Corner, the impact might be to "destroy commerce as we know it."

Just like Tyler said ... we'll be stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Tysons Corner. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Washington Monument. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of I395. All in the bizarre alternate reality of William D. Lecos.

Gov. Kaine Takes the Lead on Making Virginia Smoke-Free

Congratulations to Governor Tim Kaine for showing great leadership pushing to make Virginia's bars and restaurants smoke-free! He amended a bill yesterday to include a bar and restaurant smoking ban.

Similar legislation has passed the Senate repeatedly in the last two years, but the House has refused to even allow the bill to come up for a vote before the full body. The rest of the House has been able to hide behind a tiny committee that's blocked the bill, but as I've written before, now they'll have to step out of the shadows to vote.

And really, that's all we've been asking for -- the full House and the full Senate take votes, and if they pass it, the Governor decides whether to sign it. A little bit of democracy in Richmond. Was that so hard?

Dominion Re-Regulation & Smoke-Free VA: Contact Gov. Kaine Now!

Two important action alerts to pass along:

* The American Cancer Society urges you to write Gov. Tim Kaine to tell him to modify HB2422 to include a smoking ban. I've written before on my support for this strategy. You can email the governor through their action alert.

* The Virginia Conservation Network has issued an action alert asking you to write Gov. Kaine to ask him to overhaul the Dominion re-regulation bill. Here's the letter the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment board sent to Gov. Kaine based heavily on the VCN's earlier alerts, feel free to use the language for your letter:

February 20, 2007

Gov. Tim Kaine
Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219

Dear Gov. Kaine:

On behalf of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, a community nonprofit with hundreds of volunteers working to create a more sustainable Arlington, I am writing today concerning electric utility re-regulation. We ask you to oppose SB1416 and HB3068. Any utility restructuring plan should safeguard consumers and advance Virginia toward a sustainable energy future.

We oppose higher rates to pay for new power plants that will only make the air dirtier, increase the effects of global warming, and cost consumers billions over the next decade. Instead, utilities should be required to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation programs. Programs such as a systems benefit fund, net metering, and peak-demand management, will lower electric bills while protecting public health, the environment and our economy.

We should invest in renewable energy sources that will lower our long-term energy price tag by reducing the impact of global warming. Already, our federal leaders have recognized that something must be done to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and Fortune 500 companies like GE, DuPont, Alcoa and Duke Energy have endorsed national carbon caps.

There are also major questions to be answered about whether the General Assembly has drafted this legislation in the best interests of Virginians or in the best interests of one of the Commonwealth’s top political donors. The Virginia Public Access Project reports Dominion has made nearly $3.8 million in campaign donations the past 10 years. Eleven legislators own at least $10,000 in Dominion stock, and Sen. Benjamin Lambert is a member of Dominion's board of directors and owns more than $250,000 in Dominion stock.

We have the opportunity to restructure the electric utility industry in a way that benefits consumers, power companies, and the environment. But we have to do it
right.

Sincerely,
Miles Grant
Board Chair
Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment

Note: Action alerts are not to be confused with Action Cats. Thank you.

Why the Smoking Ban Makes Liberals Sound Like Conservatives (and Vice Versa)

Just as states have acted while the federal government has idled on climate change, Virginia communities aren't waiting for the state to catch up to shifting public sentiment on smoking bans. As the Washington Post reports today, Alexandria has come up with a radical solution:

Frustrated that the state legislature failed to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, Alexandria officials have come up with a maverick plan of their own that would prohibit smoking in all new eateries and make it more difficult for existing establishments to allow people to light up.

The unusual proposal would use the city's zoning authority to mandate smoke-free restaurants.

If successful, Alexandria would become the first jurisdiction to bar restaurant smoking in Virginia, where the state legislature severely limits local authority. That means individual governments do not have the power to institute outright smoking bans in restaurants and bars, such as those adopted in the District and several Maryland jurisdictions.

So Alexandria has decided to use its limited powers to achieve the same result.

A recent poll showed 71% of Virginians support a statewide smoking ban, with a full 60% strongly supporting a ban. That's probably a region-wide sentiment, as similar numbers have been found in Maryland, where seven in ten voters want a statewide smoking ban. And for the first time in the nation's history, more than half of Americans live in a city or state with laws mandating workplaces, restaurants or bars be smoke-free, according to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.

It's usually liberals calling for broad mandates and conservatives urging local control. But in this case, it's Democratic Mayor Bill Euille asking for his community to be able to make its own decision, while Republicans in the General Assembly bitterly refuse to give up power and hang on to the statewide ban on smoking bans. If communities had local control over decisions over smoking bans, I wouldn't be fighting so hard for a statewide ban.

Do Republicans only support local control when it's in their best interests? A comment from an Alexandria pub owner is instructive:

"I don't like it. I'd be against it," said Pat Troy, who owns an Old Town pub where smoking is allowed in the bar and on patios. "I want to stand up for people who want a cigarette or a smoke. The rights are being taken from people right and left. After a while, we'll have no rights left."

Is it really rights that Mr. Troy is so concerned about? If that's the case, why doesn't he fight for the rights of the 80% of Virginians who are nonsmokers? I guess our right to breathe clean air is less important than smokers' right to smoke whereever and whenever they please. If you think Pat Troy's is taking the wrong stand, please email them!

The Washington Times had an article this week with several DC bars claiming a loss of business due to DC's smoking ban. It makes a watertight case that lacks just one thing: Any numbers showing a single DC bar has lost business from January/February 2006 to January/February 2007. Do bars not keep track of sales, or did the reporter just not ask? Usually best to avoid details that could hurt the central thesis of the article. Oh, and it would also help if they had a shred of even anecdotal evidence Virginia has seen any increase in business due to DC's smoking ban. Other than that, great reporting as always from that paragon of journalism, the Washington Times.

General Assembly Updates: Dominion "Re-regulation" & Smoking Ban

The General Assembly has passed legislation to give Dominion wide latitude to build new coal-fired power plants with only voluntary measures for renewable energy, conservation, and energy efficiency. Please contact Gov. Kaine and tell him to veto this bad bill!

As for smoking legislation, Sen. Brandon Bell is trying one last way to get a smoking ban through. With Bell's support, the Senate passed a bill that would actually eliminate the requirement that restaurants have nonsmoking sections. That could allow Gov. Kaine to amend the bill to include a workplace smoking ban:

Killing a governor-amended version of the bill would require a floor vote in the full House, [Virginians for a Healthy Future Chair Cathleen Smith] Grzesiek said.

"We'll get an up or down vote from the House," Grzesiek said.

That's been something her coalition has been pushing for since last year, and it would allow advocates to target individuals who vote against a smoking ban.

At long last, every member of the House would finally have to step out of the shadows and publically state their position on a smoking ban. Who are they beholden to, Virginia's citizens or the tobacco companies? Even if the ban failed, at least the people blocking it would have to wear that badge of shame on the campaign trail this fall, when every member of the General Assembly is up for re-election.

Del. David Albo: Keeping Virginia's Indoor Air Polluted

From the Roanoke Times (bolding added by me) ...

RICHMOND -- An attempt to ban smoking in Virginia's public places, including restaurants and bars, appears to be dead for the year.
A House subcommittee declined to take action Thursday on the Virginia Smoke Free Air Act (Senate Bill 1161), leaving the measure technically alive but with its future in doubt.

The subcommittee's intent was to give SB 1161's sponsor, Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, time to work out a compromise with Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who sponsored a different smoking bill approved by the subcommittee last month.

Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax County, said he wants to see Bell and Griffith work together to produce "something that everyone hates a little."

But Bell said afterward that with just a little more than two weeks left in the General Assembly session and the two bills "at opposite ends of the spectrum," an agreement is unlikely.

"The timing of things will be difficult as far as what we come up with and what kind of approach we want to take," Bell said. "We may not be able to get there this year."

Griffith, the House majority leader, has generally opposed a broad ban on indoor smoking, and told the General Laws Committee he'd strike his bill if the Senate attempts to make it more restrictive.

He said Thursday he was willing to talk with Bell, but added the committee will have the last word.

"I don't have a problem with working out a compromise," Griffith said. "That being said, the committee's not going to let a whole lot more than my bill go out. ... Just because Brandon and I agree doesn't mean the committee will let it out."

Griffith's "different smoking bill" as the reporter so opaquely put it would eliminate the requirement that restaurants have nonsmoking sections. It is as close to the opposite of a smoking ban as you can get without putting packs of cigarettes on the table next to the salt & pepper shakers.

Let's review:

* Del. Albo tells the smoking ban supporter he'll have to compromise
* Del. Griffith simultaneously tells reporters if he has to compromise, he'll take his ball and go home
* Even if a compromise is struck, the House subcommittee has no intention of letting any compromise move forward.

Was Del. Albo ignorant of Griffith's intentions? Or disingenuously trying to take credit for being a united not a divider while privately knowing no possibility of compromise existed? Either way, not a proud day for Fairfax.

I can understand opposition to a smoking ban from a delegate representing a place that shares a name with a brand of cigarettes. But Del. Albo? From Fairfax? Come on. Fairfax residents should be ashamed. I thought you guys were more moderate than that.

By the way, this is the same Del. Griffith who also said this yesterday regarding similarly stalled transportation legislation:

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, also a conferee, said that he and his colleagues would insist on a "true compromise - and not the kind of compromise you make with your wife."

Virgina's General Assembly has already done racism and antisemitism, so now we're bringing sexism back! Justin Timberlake would be proud. Just one more way they're moving Virginia backward.

Step Forward for Clean Air in Virginia

The Virginia State Senate passed a bill yesterday that would ban smoking in bars, restaurants, theaters, and other indoor public places. Unfortunately the bill's prospects look bleak in the House, which recently passed a bill that would actually allow more smoking in bars and restaurants by eliminating the requirement for a nonsmoking section. You can read more in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Ordinarily I would point you to the Washington Post, but the Post felt the smoking ban's passage only warranted two sentences on page B08. The shocking story that Marion Barry apparently enjoys drugs and is frequently in trouble with the law got 20 paragraphs on the front page of the Metro section. Should they just end the charade and call themselves the DC Post?

Washington Post's Gift to Tobacco Lobbyist: Free Space, Shielded Identity

The Washington Post publishes a guest editorial today from a man named Gio Batta Gori titled "The Bogus 'Science' of Secondhand Smoke" (bolding added by me):

It has been fashionable to ignore the weakness of "the science" on secondhand smoke, perhaps in the belief that claiming "the science is settled" will lead to policies and public attitudes that will reduce the prevalence of smoking. But such a Faustian bargain is an ominous precedent in public health and political ethics. Consider how minimally such policies as smoking bans in bars and restaurants really reduce the prevalence of smoking, and yet how odious and socially unfair such prohibitions are.

By any sensible account, the anachronism of tobacco use should eventually vanish in an advancing civilization. Why must we promote this process under the tyranny of deception?

Here's how the Post identified him:

Gio Batta Gori, an epidemiologist and toxicologists, is a fellow of the Health Policy Center in Bethesda. He is a former deputy director of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Cause and Prevention, and he received the U.S. Public Health Service Superior Service Award in 1976 for his efforts to define less hazardous cigarettes.

Here's what they left out, courtesy SourceWatch:

In 1980 Gori became Vice President of the Franklin Institute Policy Analysis Center (FIPAC), a consulting firm funded initially by a $400,000 grant from the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (B&W). [2] Following its initial formation, FIPAC continued to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding annually from B&W. [3][4]. [5] Gori worked on R&D projects for B&W, such as analysis of the sensory perception of smoke and how to reduce the amount of tobacco in cigarettes. By 1989, Gori was a full time consultant on environmental tobacco smoke issue for the Tobacco Institute in the Institute's ETS/IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Consultants Project. [6] In May 1993, Gori entered an exclusive consulting arrangement with B&W, reaping pay at the rate of $200/hour an day to $1,000/day for attending conferences. [7]

Activities in which Gori engaged on behalf of the tobacco industry included attending conferences, writing and publishing books and papers, and lobbying.

Are Gori's links to the tobacco industry new or obscure? Nope. They were detailed as far back as this 1978 TIME magazine article.

Deception, huh? Exactly who is doing the deceiving? Seems like it's the Post and Gori.

As for his arguments, they match exactly the strategy Jonathan Chait recently laid out in The New Republic when conservatives try to attack long-agreed-upon science -- "treat the question as a matter of dispute rather than a settled fact":

[W]hether the missing data would make inequality look worse or better is really beside the point. Reynolds's role is merely to point out that the data is imperfect. The skeptic challenging the expert consensus must be fluent enough in the language of the experts to nibble away at their data. (The evolution skeptic can find holes in the fossil record; the global-warming skeptic can find periods of global cooling.) But he need not--indeed, he must not--be fluent enough to assimilate all the data himself into a coherent alternative explanation. His point is that the truth is unknowable.