To try and stay fair on this issue, I contacted the Michigan Restaurant Association for their opinion on yesterday’s passage of HB 4163. Vice President of Public Affairs Andy Delony gave me this statement.
The MRA continues to oppose legislation which would take away the ability for restaurant and tavern operators to decide for themselves the kinds of dining environments they may offer to their guests. We were surprised and disappointed with the activity of the state Senate on Thursday.
Just a reminder, tomorrow (May 10) is the Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Put your non-perishable food next to your mailbox and the post man will pick them up when they deliver your mail
I’ve gathered some reaction from Senators on the smoking ban vote yesterday. Most of them are in favor…having a hard time getting quotes from those who voted against. Again, if I get them, I’ll update this post…
Senate Democratic Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek):
“Creating smokefree workplaces in Michigan may be the most important public health issue we address this year. It will help protect workers and families from harmful secondhand smoke and reduce long-term health care costs to the state and to businesses. Research has also shown that in other places that have gone smoke free the economy does not suffer as some have argued. I hope this legislation moves forward swiftly and the Governor has the opportunity to sign it into law as soon as possible.”
Sen. Ray Basham (D-Taylor)
“I have been advocating for the health and well-being of Michigan families for more than ten years, and this is a major victory today in ensuring they have a safe, smokefree environment to dine, work and play,” said Sen. Basham. “This is one of the biggest health concerns of our generation and a massive burden to state and commercial healthcare resources, and I urge my colleagues in the House to continue their support and act quickly to protect the people of Michigan.”
Senator Glenn S. Anderson (D-Westland)
“This is one of the most important issues we will debate this year, in terms of protecting public health and reducing preventable smoking-related illnesses here in Michigan,” said Sen. Anderson. “Workers in service industries shouldn’t be forced to choose between their health and their job.”
Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit)
“I first decided to support this legislation after hearing about a woman in her 20’s who never smoked, but died of lung cancer because she lived with her father, who was a smoker,” said Sen. Clarke. “We need to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke, which numerous studies have linked to cancer, asthma, emphysema and other diseases.”
Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks)
“Michigan residents have been asking for this and it is time we acted to protect the health of everyone, including business patrons and employees. I am pleased to tell the residents of the 21st Senate District that very soon they will be able to enjoy a meal out with their families and not be subjected to the dangers of secondhand smoke.”
Sen. Alan Cropsey (R -Dewitt ) from Senate Floor Debate
I have the largest Indian casino or Native American casino in the state of Michigan in my district, and what’s going to happen? Just recently, I had a restaurant that had been a local landmark in Mount Pleasant. It’s been a landmark there for 50 years and has closed down, for whatever reason. Competition is tough in the restaurant business. What we are going to be doing by telling folks that, you know, all the restaurants and bars in Isabella County are going to be going smoke-free. However, the one at the Native American casino is not going to be regulated at all by the state. So guess where all the smokers are going to go when they want a nice meal or when they want a drink? They are going to go to the Native America casino. Now what is that going to do?
We are sending a currently tax-paying citizen of the state of Michigan and telling them, “You go to the casino where no taxes are being paid—no sales tax.” No property tax, no taxes are being paid-and we are going to be telling all the other restaurants in Mount Pleasant, “Sorry, you’re at a competitive disadvantage,” and more of them will go out of business. And what will happen then? Property values become depressed. Fewer sales taxes. And then you are going be coming back and asking me, as one of the members of Appropriations, we’re spending too much on the Department of Corrections because we don’t have enough money.
Sen. Valde Garcia (R-Marion Township ) from Senate Floor Debate
I opposed this bill not because I smoke because I don’t, but I believe this is a business decision best made by the business owners. People have a choice as to whether or not to frequent an establishment that allows smoking. They can choose to spend their money there. They can choose to work there. I’ve heard it said that we have a duty to protect the public health, but if it is our constitutional duty to protect the public health, then where do we stop? Let’s ban fast food. Let’s ban smoking. Let’s ban the use of alcohol. We have proof that all of these items harm the health of people. So why don’t we ban them? We don’t. We all know the answer to that. Just follow the money.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishiop (R- Rochester ) from Senate Floor Debate
Government, in this case, began with regulation of smoking. Then in its infinite wisdom began to mercilessly tax the product, and now government moves to ban its use entirely. This is a consistent pattern of government. It slowly intrudes into the private lives of individuals and businesses and ultimately attempts to govern every aspect of our lives. In effect, government is trying to protect us from ourselves.
As a non-smoker, I understand and appreciate the concern about the smoke and its hazardous impact. I sincerely do, and my heart goes out to all of you who have had relatives who have been impacted directly. But I want you to know that even though I respect the sponsor’s intent, he is a dear friend and I have been on the receiving end of a lot of his internal lobbying—as we would like to call it—over the years, having had the opportunity to sit next to him for so many years. I want you to know, I, as a father, as a husband, over the years make choices every day—personal choices. It is my responsibility to take control of my own life. In this case, I oftentimes choose smoke-free environments if my family chooses to go out. There are plenty out there—plenty. In fact, if you go to smokefreemichigan.org, you will see that there are over 5,000 smoke-free establishments—bars and restaurants—out there for you to choose from, and that list continues to grow at a rapid rate
It seems Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop will allow a vote on HB 4163. There was some movement on the bill today as it was place on Order of General Orders. A vote could come as early as today.
I’ll update this post as more information becomes available.
UPDATE – WOOD-TV is reporting via the Associated Press that the smoking ban has passed in the Senate by a vote of 25-12. The bill now goes back to the House where they will decide if they will carry out the full ban or come up with some exceptions. Governor Granholm has said in the past she will sign it.
UPDATE – Governor Granhom released the following statement HB 4136
“I congratulate the State Senate for approving legislation that bans smoking in public places. Their action sends a strong message across Michigan – and the nation – that we place a high priority on the health of our citizens. It will go a long way toward influencing the actions of our young people, too. I urge the House to act as quickly as possible.”
UPDATE – Reaction from the American Cancer Society and Campaign for Smoke Free Air.
“The Senate has been a major hurdle on this issue for many months and today we are very excited to clear that hurdle and continue moving forward,” said Judy Stewart, spokesperson for the Campaign for Smokefree Air (CSA) and government relations manager for the American Cancer Society Great Lakes Division. “We appreciate Senate Majority Leader Bishop allowing a vote on this important issue, even though he is still opposed. It shows that he has heard our concerns about the greater good for all Michigan residents.”
I agree with the comments about Sen. Bishop. I have e-mailed him and told him the same thing. In Illinois, this never would have happened. If the leaders don’t plan on voting for something, they won’t call it…unless they can use it for political reasons.
I’m working on getting a comment from the Michigan Restaurant Association. If they reply to my e-mails, I will post their reply as well.
One thing I overlooked when I originally posted this is the Senate took away all exemptions. The House version of the bill gave casinos an exception. The reasoning behind this is because the State of Michigan can’t regulate Indian casinos, so in order to level the playing field for the casino’s in Detroit and other non-Indian casinos, they made the exemption. This could be a hold up when it goes back to the house. The House has adjourned for the day, so hopefully they will tackle this soon, but it looks like the fight isn’t over and this isn’t a done deal yet.
The Lansing City Pulse has released their Best of Greater Lansing. The reader’s have voted on everything from best burger to best pawn shop. The one place that popped up a lot in the list was Bonnie’s Place in Lansing. They won for best burger, weeknight hangout, place to play pool, for 20-somethings’s, place to be seen, happy hour, wi-fi spot, bar food, family restaurant, fries, chili, appetizer’s, cocktails, chef, atmosphere, best looking bartender’s/waitstaff, waitstaff, and public bathroom.
I’ve passed by Bonnie’s a few times, but haven’t been there yet. It’s now on the short list.
Check out the rest of City Pulse’s Best of….. by clicking on this link
From the USPS….
2007 Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive collects over 70 million pounds of food!
Letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America are asked yearly to collect non-perishable food items donated by customers for the annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive—the largest annual one-day food drive in the nation. Postal employees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands collect food and deliver it to local community food banks, pantries and shelters.
An estimated 35 million people face hunger every day in America, including more than 9 million children. This drive is one way to help those right in their own city or town who need help.
Entering its 16th year, long-time supporters of the drive include the U.S. Postal Service, Campbell Soup Company, America’s Second Harvest, local United Ways, Cox Target Media and the AFL-CIO Community Services Network. Since 1993, the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive has collected over three-quarters of a billion pounds of food for community food banks and pantries. A welcome addition to this year’s food drive is a new, “official” logo, which incorporates the name of the union and also the “Stamp Out Hunger” slogan.
In 2007, more than 119 million postcards were mailed to customers in towns and cities throughout America letting them know how they could help. Each year, customers are asked to place non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers the mail on the day of the drive. The letter carrier does the rest, taking the food to the Post Office where it is sorted and delivered to an area food bank or pantry. Postal customers of some New York City and Chicago areas where there is no mailbox collection of donations are asked to take their contributions to their local participating Post Office but will have an option of virtual Internet food drives to assist with collections for local food banks.
This year’s drive will be held on its traditional second Saturday of May, May 10, 2008.
Help the U.S. Postal Service Stamp Out Hunger!
So, I’m sitting at home on a Monday afternoon surfing the Internet while watching the Porn channel for fat people….otherwise known as Food Network. My favorite show Diner’s Drive-In’s and Dives was on. I wasn’t really paying attention, but my ears perked up when I heard the word “Michigan” Guy Fieri was at a place called Joe’s Gizzard City somewhere in Michigan. I kept watching to see if I could catch the name of the town. They showed a shot of a kid wearing a Michigan State football jersey and I knew it had to be close. Turns out, Joe’s Gizzard City is in Potterville….about 15 minutes from my place in South Lansing.
My girlfriend and I got up early one morning to do some shopping. When it came time for lunch, we figured, what the heck….let’s go find Potterville. We put the address in her Garmin and headed west. We found Joe’s in the business district of Potterville. That sounds impressive, but the business district is probably two blocks long. There were a lot of cars parked in front of Joe’s, but we were able to find a spot. The inside is definately a dive….and I love dives. There are two small dining rooms. One of them is the bar area then there’s a back dining room which is a little larger and has a pool table plus an autographed picture from Guy Fieri. The room is dimly lit and covered with Potterville signs and memorabilia. The tables are kind of cramed in there. We took a table for two that kind of sits between the two dining rooms. The bar area was full and we weren’t sure if we should go to the back dining room. The table was small and butted up against a wall, but it kind of added to the charm.
The menu is fantastic. Joe’s signature dish is obviously the gizzards which are deep fried in their signature batter. Gizzards just don’t sound good to me, so we went with something else. I’m going to describe out meals seperately, but in reality, we both ordered something different then gave the other half so we could try more of the menu. I’m going to start with my girlfriend’s order this time because it’s such an interesting idea.
Joe’s already had deep fried hamburgers on the menu before Guy’s visit. Guy took it one step further and fried the whole sandwich….bread and all. Joe’s put the burger on the menu and called it The Triple D Burger. I’m going to explain this again because if you’re like me, your reading this and shaking your head thinking that can’t be right. They take their cheeseburger and prepare it like they normally would. The hamburger patty is cooked then put on the bun with pickles, onions, tomatos and ketchup. Then they take the whole thing and dip it in their signature batter and deep fry the entire burger. When the waitress delivered the plate, there was a knife sticking out the top of a golden brown shell that you knew contained the burger. The thing was huge. My girlfriend cut it in half and at that point, you can see the layers. The burger is entombed in the fried batter. We both took a bite and our eyes just rolled in to the back of our heads. This burger was “money” (as Guy would say). She described the batter as sweet and kind of like a dessert batter. I loved the crunch of the batter and the juiciness of the burger. I didn’t really want the fixins and I was still able to peel back the bun and crust to get them out and it made for a delicious and very unique offering. The batter added an incredible contrast to what you normally think of when you get a burger. The sandwich was also served with fries, but surprisngly, they were nothing spectacular. Just the regular out of the bag fries, but the sandwich was so good and so big, the fries are really an after thought on the plate…you really don’t even think about them.
I ordered the quarter chicken plate. The meal came with two pieces of chicken, fries and coleslaw. They use 
the same batter for their fried chicken instead of a bread crumb coating, so the crust of the chicken smooth and thin. Like everything else at Joe’s, the chicken has it’s own uniqueness. They actually start by boiling the chicken before frying. The boiling leaves the meat moist and prevents the batter from burning before the chicken is done. Like the Triple D Burger, the batter on the chicken added a whole range of flavors and textures you don’t normally expect.
We couldn’t pass up dessert even though both of us were stuffed. I introduced my girlfriend to deep fried desserts at the Illinois State Fair soon after we started dating. We went to see Sugarland and Joe Nichols at the grandstand, but made it there early so we could walk around the midway. There, we found deep fried Snickers, deep fried Twinkies, deep fried pickles, deep fried…etc., etc. Joe’s had some of those same goodies on their menu. We went with deep fried oreos for dessert. Again, same batter they’ve used for everything else. You get five Oreos to an order and they come sprinkled with powdered sugar. My girlfriend compared them to corn fritters she used to get at Brown’s Chicken, but chocolatey and better. The heat actually softened the cookie to take the bite out of them. I expected a crunch when I bit in, but it wasn’t there. The cookies were soft and really, really good. Even feeling like I was about to explode, I couldn’t pass up these cookies.
The waitress seemed a little frazzled. She was working the bar and the dining room by herself. It took a while to get drink refills and to take plates away. She was doing her best, but they probably could have used one more person. With all that food, our bill was $22 plus tip. It took a little over an hour to eat, but I did order fried chicken. I am sooooo glad I happened to have DDD on that day or I probably never would have found Joe’s. I have friends and family that will love this place. Joe’s isn’t a fine dining establishment….it’s better. It’s a dive bar in a small town with incredible and unique food.
I’ve been tough on the Lansing City Market recently on this blog, but WLNS ran a story over the weekend on how more people are shopping at the market due to high grocery prices.
Nancy Tucker, Lansing City Market Shopper: “Well gosh, i just bought some potatoes and a cucumber and he gave me the price and I thought he didn’t add the cucumber in because it was less than I was expecting.”
Cheaper, because she’s used to paying grocery store prices.
And with those prices on the rise, vendors here expect more people will be turning to local markets for their summer produce.
Lee Purdy, Lansing City Market Vendor: “Everytime there’s a transaction takes place somebody has to make some money. So if I sell it myself and I produce it myself I can sell it at a lower price.”
My girlfriend and I have been doing about 95% of our shopping at Horrock’s. The first time we went in that store, we were shocked by the low prices. I’ve always made fun of the “hippies” that shop at farmer’s markets, but I’m quickly becoming one of those. The food is just so much fresher and it’s hard to argue with the prices. Before moving here, we did about 95% of our shopping at Wal-Mart because it was right across the street. Now, the only reason we go to Wal-Mart is because they’re the only one that carries the flavor of Propel that I like….and we’ve only been there twice in six weeks.
It’s always good to hear news of new restaurants opening in Mid-Michigan, but really good news on the LSJ’s website today. According to an update story, Small Planet is going to re-open in Chandler Crossing.
Former owner Vaughn Schneider will act as the general manager while his daughter Natalie Schneider takes over ownership.
They already have a liquor license and they’re working to renovate the space. Inside, there’s a concrete bar, and a spot for a large-rounded stage.
The old Small Planet attracted the likes of Kid Rock, The Verve Pipe and Weezer. Natalie Schneider hopes to attract the same type of acts.
If they can get Kid Rock, I will definately be there. According to the article, they plan to offer a full menu and catering in addition to be a live music venue and bar.
I’ve already made it clear where I stand on a public smoking ban. This new data from Boston University published in this months edition of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Minds really makes a strong argument to outright banning smoking in public places.
Results Youths living in towns with a strong restaurant smoking regulation at baseline had significantly lower odds of progressing to established smoking (odds ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.85) compared with those living in towns with weak regulations. The observed association between strong restaurant smoking regulations and impeded progression to established smoking was entirely due to an effect on the transition from experimentation to established smoking (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.86).
Conclusion Local smoke-free restaurant laws may significantly lower youth smoking initiation by impeding the progression from cigarette experimentation to established smoking.
You can read the entire study HERE. More importantly, contact your local legislators and encourage them to ammend HB 4136 to ban smoking in all workplaces including bars and restaurants. Contact Senators that sit on the Government Operations and Reform Committee (Senators Bishop, Patterson, Cassis, Kuipers, Schauer , Clarke, and Olshove, which hasn’t met since Nov. 2007) where the bill is sitting now and encourage them to call the bill and pass it on to the full Senate.
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