Smoking Ban

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- While members of Springfield City Council decide how to move forward after receiving a petition to repeal Springfield's smoking ban, those who helped get the issue approved last year say they would support certain exemptions, if Live Free Springfield withdraws its petition.  The following is a news release from Stephen Hall, spokesman for One Air Alliance, a man supporter of the smoking ban. The American Cancer Society, the...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield's ban on smoking in most public places survived another legal challenge.  The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, issued a ruling on Tuesday that upholds the ordinance, which voters approved twice in two years. The lawsuit against the smoking ban was filed last year by the owner of Ruthie's bar on Commercial Street after voters approved the law in April.   Greene County Associate Circuit Judge Jason Brown upheld the law, based mostly on a ruling on a similar challenge to Kansas City's smoking ban by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in Kansas City.  Ruthie's appealed Brown's ruling, and a three-judge panel of the Southern District appeals court heard oral arguments on the case this month.  The panel issued its ruling on Tuesday and agreed with Brown and the Western District Court of Appeals.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The ban on smoking in most public spaces has been a hot-button issue in Springfield since it was passed in April 2011 and went into effect two months later.   But, after residents were able to get more than 2,100 signatures on a petition to repeal the ban, the city was forced to put it on the ballot in June for a special election with no other issues. A 'yes' vote to repeal the ban would mean smoking would be allowed in private clubs, bowling alleys, and pool halls, as well as in bars or restaurants where at least 50 percent of the sales come from alcohol.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Two months from now, it will be against the law to light up at almost all Springfield businesses.  While many business that now allow smoking are worried about their future, some of their own customers are welcoming the soon to be cleaner air. For those businesses that rely on hobbies like bingo, billiards and bowling, it's an uncertain time.  Some will, no doubt, appreciate smoke-free air, but for others, it may be too...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Supporters and opponents of the proposed indoor smoking ban are spending the final days before the April 5 th vote getting a last word in.   “The main thing is we are encouraging people to read the legislation itself.  We find that 50% or so of the people that actually read it come to the conclusion this is going too far,” said Springfield Zone 1 Councilman, an opponent of the proposed ordinance.   “You see a lot of support out there and i think that is what Clean Air Springfield is all about, trying to get out and vote yes on Tuesday,” explained Mark Rushton, a volunteer with Clean Air Springfield, the group pushing for the ban.   The message may be getting louder, but the question remains the same:  Should smoking be snuffed out in all public places, including restaurants, bars, tobacco shops, and most hotel rooms?

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A judge held the first hearing on Thursday for a lawsuit that aims to stop the city's voter-approved smoking ban.  The owner of Ruthie's Bar on Commercial Street is trying to overturn it. Both sides agreed to have another hearing next week to allow the city more time to prepare for arguments. The plaintiff believes she has a good shot at winning the whole thing. "My mother and my aunt opened this bar in the late 1970s," said Ruthie's Bar owner Jeannie Doublin.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield City Council met in a special session on Monday to talk more about amending the city's voter-approved ban on smoking in most indoor public places.  Even if the council does unanimously make some exemptions to the ban, voters will still decide in June whether to keep or to repeal the ban altogether. Council members are working on - - as they have been for months -- trying to appease some of the voters into keeping the overall ordinance by removing some restrictions which many see as particularly onerous.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Ruthie's Bar was bustling with customers a year ago.  It's a different scene now at the virtually empty bar on Commercial Street. "I actually used to have a good business here.  This time of day, the bar would be full, the tables would be full, and we would be very busy day and night," said owner Jean Doublin. Doublin said most of her customers left when the smoking ban went into effect in June 2011. Doublin sued the city more than a year ago -- and lost.  She said her last hope of saving the bar is on Tuesday, which is when her case is set to be heard at the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Another Ozarks town is considering whether to pursue a smoking ban ordinance. On Thurday night the Osage Beach city council held a public forum to get residents and business owners opinions on looking into a smoking law against indoor smoking. Around 50 people showed up at city hall to speak with city leaders and give their opinion of going smoke free or not. The lake town is a vacation hot spot and has businesses that range from completely smoke free to all smoking.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Opponents of the city's ban on smoking in most public places on Thursday turned in more than 4,000 signatures on a petition to throw the ordinance off the books. The organization Live Free Springfield began circulating the petition not long after city voters passed the indoor smoking ban last April.  The group claims it has collected about twice the 2,100 signatures needed for the city to consider a repeal. The Springfield city clerk now has 20 days to make sure enough valid signatures are on the petition.

SPRINGFIELD -- Opponents trying to replace Springfield's smoking ban spoke out Tuesday afternoon to the supporters' recent attempt to strike a compromise on the issue. "Their statement of this being their final attempt to compromise is actually their first and only attempt and rather than being a compromise, it presents itself as being more of an ultimatum," said Live Free Springfield's Dave Myers. One Air Alliance recently sent a letter asking Live Free to withdraw its initiative petition and instead allow council members to amend the current smoking law.      Live Free said it cannot pull the petition because it has already been certified; only a court action could do it. The group added that the exemptions offered by opponents aren't enough.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- While members of Springfield City Council decide how to move forward after receiving a petition to repeal Springfield's smoking ban, those who helped get the issue approved last year say they would support certain exemptions, if Live Free Springfield withdraws its petition.  The following is a news release from Stephen Hall, spokesman for One Air Alliance, a man supporter of the smoking ban. The American Cancer Society, the...

SPRINGFIELD --   Although voters last year approved a measure that bans smoking in most public places in Springfield, the issue is far from over.      Live Free Springfield collected the necessary signatures to repeal and replace the smoking ban ordinance. Now Springfield City Council can either approve the measure or send it to the voters. Those who want to see the measure approved said the ban has hurt businesses and has had a negative ripple effect. "Employees lose jobs, owners lose investments, landlords lose revenue, neighboring business lose traffic and the city lose the sales tax, vendors lose their accounts, that in turn puts even more jobs in jeopardy," said Jessica Hutson, who spoke out in favor of the proposed ordinance.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A petition to overturn Springfield's ban on smoking in most public places has enough signatures to force the City Council to take action.  Voters approved that ban last April and it went into effect in June. A group called Live Free Springfield turned in the petition for a proposed ordinance that would overturn the smoking ban.  City Clerk Brenda Cirtin says her office certified that the petition has 2,171 valid signatures of registered voters in the city; the group needed at least 2,101 valid signatures.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo  -  Several restaurants in Osage Beach have gone smoke free in the last year; the latest to announce they will follow the trend is the City Grill. All talk of a smoking ban in Osage Beach died out last summer; but the owner of the City Grill says he thinks it's just a matter of time before there's one in Osage Beach, if not state-wide; and he doesn't want his restaurant to get left behind. "The trend is that states and cities are going smoke free and went to jump on board with that," says Joey Homm, co-owner of the City Grill.

SPRINGFIELD -- Less than a week after Live Free Springfield submitted a petition in the hopes of replacing the current smoking ban, we learn of a flaw in its language.      The petition contains an out-of-date code that included restrictions on tobacco advertising, which the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.      When writing the measure, Springfield's attorney referenced a law book that didn't reflect the change in 2009 that wiped away the advertising portion of the bill.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Opponents of the city's ban on smoking in most public places on Thursday turned in more than 4,000 signatures on a petition to throw the ordinance off the books. The organization Live Free Springfield began circulating the petition not long after city voters passed the indoor smoking ban last April.  The group claims it has collected about twice the 2,100 signatures needed for the city to consider a repeal. The Springfield city clerk now has 20 days to make sure enough valid signatures are on the petition.

SPRINGFIELD -- It has been seven months since Springfield voters banned smoking in public, five months since the law kicked in, and city leaders are already being urged to make changes. Opponents of the measure have been writing, calling, and emailing city council members urging them to modify the law. At Tuesday afternoon's luncheon, council members will begin discussing a handful of possible changes to the smoking ban. They will, for instance, consider exemptions for theatrical productions, veterans organizations, some tobacco shops and cigar bars.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- After nearly a year of renovations, Springfield's Park Central Square has re-opened.  It drew quite a crowd Friday night, especially with the First Friday Art Walk.   It has fancy lights, the same giant fountain, and an open welcoming feel.  "I think the improvements are going to be a big help to the square," says Ryan MacDonald, owner and operator of Trolley's on the square. It's been worth the wait, but it seemed like forever.  "Centuries!" says MacDonald.  "It was a tough year with the square being closed, and jack hammering and streets being blocked off. " Trolley's hopes to see an increase in business, after being down about 45% due to the square closure and the smoking ban.  "We're hoping it will make a large impact on us and downtown as well," says MacDonald.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield City Council plans to discuss possible amendments to the city's ban on smoking in most enclosed public places and some outdoor places.  Voters approved that ordinance in April.  Now that the ordinance is about to clear the six-month mark, the city charter allows the council to make changes, but only by a unanimous vote.  There's talk of exemptions for tobacco shops, hookah bars, and veterans organizations that...