Press Release – CSA’s Take on Smoking Ban Hearings

18 03 2009

From a Campaign for Smoke Free Air press release….

Advocates make their case about need for smokefree
legislation before House committee
Multiple hearings planned throughout March

Lansing, Mich. – Advocates for smokefree workplaces made their case today before the House
Regulatory Reform Committee when they testified on smokefree legislation and urged its
immediate passage. Multiple bills have been introduced and referred to the house committee,
which began a series of hearings this week.

The Campaign for Smokefree Air (CSA) is continuing to work with lawmakers in the House and
Senate to make Michigan the 36th state to embrace smokefree air and protect all workers from
exposure to the dangerous toxins in secondhand smoke. Thirty-five other states have statewide
smokefree workplace policies and more than half of Americans now live in a city or state with
smokefree workplace protection laws.

“This hearing is a step in the right direction in the fight for smokefree air in Michigan,” said Judy
Stewart, campaign manger for CSA. “Lawmakers need to listen to their constituents’ persistent
demands for smokefree air and pass comprehensive, statewide legislation.”
The House Regulatory Reform Committee today listened as lawmakers, doctors, business
owners and victims of secondhand smoke gave their testimonies on why Michigan should go
smokefree. Read the rest of this entry »

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Soup to Nutz Bistro & Custom Catering

18 03 2009
  • 123 Kalamazoo Street
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 485-0955
  • Website
  • Menu
Soup to Nutz Bistro & Catering on Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

Soup to Nutz Bistro & Custom Catering on Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

I guess you could say the third time really is the charm.  J and I have tried to eat at Soup to Nutz a couple times in the past only to run into problems.  The first time was on a Saturday after waiting in line for tickets to see Obama speak.  We didn’t realize they weren’t open on Saturday.  The second was during the week.  We wanted to go for breakfast, but we got there at 9:30 and they don’t open until 10:30.  When we got back, we found they don’t do brunch during the week.  At that point, we gave up.  The only day they do brunch is Sunday and we spend most Sunday’s on the couch watching NASCAR. 

After we went to Golden Harvest this past Sunday, a commentor suggested we try Soup to Nutz.  That got me looking at their website again.  I looked at brunch first, but then I got curious about lunch.  J and I are really lunch people and their menu looked perfect.  J got up early to get her taxes done and when she got home, she suggested heading downtown for lunch.

Soup to Nutz Bistro is located on Kalamazoo Street near Washington Square.  There are actually two entrances which can be a little confusing.  The sign is actually above the catering side of the business.  If you go in there, you’re basically walking in to the kitchen.  The other door is the one that enters the dining room.  There’s no sign marking it as an entrance, but you can see tables and others dining as well as a special board in the window.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Cafe, Downtown, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Press Release – Small Business Testifies Against Smoking Ban

18 03 2009

I got the following press release from the Michigan Licensed Beverage assocation in regards to this morning’s committee hearing regarding the smoking ban.  I don’t agree with it and there’s no proof that this has happened anywhere else, but it’s the case they’re trying to make.  Again, I can give you names of owners that were against a smoking ban in other states only to find out business was BETTER after it was enacted.

Small Business Advocates Testify

to Save Michigan Jobs

 

Bar owners fight to survive Michigan economy

 

LANSING, Mich. — Legislators are putting hundreds of small businesses and thousands of jobs at risk with the threat of a statewide smoking ban, members of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) told the House Regulatory Reform Committee today.  The MLBA urged lawmakers to protect small businesses across the state by voting against a statewide smoking ban.

            “A statewide smoking ban is a ban on thousands of Michigan jobs,” said Lance Binoniemi, executive director of the Michigan Licensed and Beverage Association. “Given Michigan’s dire economy, any unnecessary regulations on small businesses are downright economically irresponsible.”

Binoniemi and MLBA members – Rick Roberson, owner of Angelo’s & Riccardo’s in Hesperia; Rick Swindlehurst, owner of  the Blue Gator Sports Pub and Grill and Cheers Neighborhood Grill & Bar in Mount Pleasant; Dave Munson, owner or the Summer Trail Inn in Standish; and Kassandra Renneberg, owner of the Riverdale Tavern in Riverdale Michigan – made the case that forcing Michigan businesses to compete with American Indian-owned casinos that would be exempt from any state-sanctioned smoking ban, would directly put hundreds of Michigan businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Michigan currently has more than 750 businesses surrounding its American Indian-owned casinos.

 “Enacting a statewide smoking ban will gamble away thousands of Michigan jobs,” said Michael Batterbee, director of government relations for the Small Business Association of Michigan.  

“With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, now is not the time to put a single Michigan job at risk.”

More than 5,500 businesses in Michigan’s hospitality industry have already made the decision to go smoke-free and the number keeps growing. The hospitality industry is Michigan’s second largest employer, providing thousands of food-service careers and millions of dollars in payroll and business taxes to the state.

 “All businesses are not the same. If a business owner has built a clientele that chooses to smoke, they should be able to serve that customer base they have worked so hard to obtain.” said Binoniemi. “Lawmakers have a serious responsibility to struggling business owners all over the state to ensure they are able to keep their business – and Michigan – competitive.”


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