By Wayne Bridges Santa Monica
Beverly Hills City Council is debating the issue of banning smoking in outdoor seating restaurants. First it was Calabassas, then Santa Monica to pass similar ordinances. How about some logical thinking here.
You are sitting, having a bite to eat in a cozy setting out near the sidewalk of your favorite cafe. Cars, buses, pets and people are walking by emitting all sorts of fumes. At some coffee shops, “pets” are lying at the feet of their owners. The last time your table was wiped down, or your chair, or the deck beneath your feet where you and your pet have tracked in whatever, was when?
My point is what’s next when it comes to living life. Tobacco in legal. Until that changes, and it won’t because of the money going to the government, why not leave the decision to the establishment you are frequenting.
What kind of double, non-sensical thinking is going on? OK, if I’m going to eat outside, I expect and demand that all traffic, including aircraft, which dumps fuel and waste, be stopped until I leave the eatery. Remember the “smoke free” seating on airplanes? Was that a joke or what? It is really getting ridiculous out there. Like the woman who wrote in wanting everyone to ride bicycles and create a “high class bike facility” in Santa Monica.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.