Man pushed shop assistant to take tobacco

A 23-year-old man who pushed past a shop attendant to steal tobacco was sentenced to home detention this week. Ngamataora Tai Mana Hira Makitae, unemployed, appeared in the Invercargill District Court before Judge Kevin Phillips yesterday for sentence for robbing a person of several pouches of tobacco on March 10. He was sentenced to seven months' home detention and ordered to pay $346.30 reparation. Judge Phillips said Makitae and a group of friends went in and out of the Tay St Night 'n Day store asking to buy tobacco just before 1am on March 10. Makitae went in and asked for three packets of tobacco but left when a member of the public came into the shop. He waited outside and came back in and moved behind the counter, where there was a confrontation between him and the 56-year-old female shop assistant, Judge Phillips said. Makitae pushed past her, took nine pouches of tobacco and fled, he said. The shop assistant contacted police and when spoken to Makitae said he was not the mastermind behind the robbery. Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly accepted the level of violence was at the lower end of the scale. Assault Shane Antony Manuel, 21, farmer, was remanded on bail to August 27 for sentence for assaulting a female and breaching a protection order on July 1. An 18-year-old man, who has interim name suppression, was remanded on bail to August 7 for sentence for assaulting a female on March 23. Assaults child A man, who has interim name suppression, was remanded on bail to August 6 for sentence for assaulting a child and behaving in a threatening manner on July 1. The court was told the man pushed a child in the ribs causing bruising. the man told police he had "just lost it." Breach Eugene Nicholas Wikitera was remanded on bail to August 28 for compliance for breaching community work on June 8. Michael George Mulligan, 27, was sentenced to 60 hours' community work for breaching community work on June 20. Driving Jessie Whatuira was sentenced to 50 hours' community work for driving while suspended. Judge Phillips found special reasons not to disqualify Whatuira from driving. Angelina Simeon Heita, 19, was remanded on bail to August 13 for sentence for driving while disqualified and with a breath alcohol level of 350mcg (under 20) on July 18. Karl James Schutt, 25, mill hand, of Riverton, was sentenced to four months' community detention, 100 hours' community work and disqualified for one year and one month for driving while disqualified at Riverton on June 5.

Perv who broke into NYC jail abused one inmate, gave cigarettes to others: cops

Alleged brazen jail-obsessed fiend Matthew Matagrano used a gold shield to get into the Manhattan Detention Center, schmooze with prisoners and attack an inmate — pinning him against a pillar, grabbing his testicles and threatening him, according to a criminal complaint. Matthew Matagarno used a fake badge to get into the Manhattan Detention Center, NYPD cops say, where he allegedly abused one inmate and told him, 'Don’t f--- with me. I will hurt you,' according to court records. The deranged perv who allegedly flashed a phony badge to glide past security at a New York City jail is facing a new rap for groping and strip-searching an inmate in the same visit, the Daily News has learned. Brazen jail-obsessed fiend Matthew Matagrano was already facing charges for using a gold shield to get into the Manhattan Detention Center on Feb. 27, spending 7 1/2 hours in the lockup schmoozing with inmates and doling out cigarettes. But now investigators say he also attacked an inmate on the same joyride — pinning him against a pillar, grabbing his testicles and threatening him, according to a new criminal complaint. “Don’t f--- with me. I will hurt you,” Matagrano, 37, told the victim, court records said. The 5-foot-8, 340-pound nut ordered his victim into a cell and forced the man to strip and be searched, the complaint says. The inmate later filed a complaint, leading to the additional charge of burglary as a sexually motivated felony against Matagrano on July 8. He was previously indicted for burglary, possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation and promoting prison contraband stemming from the same stunt at the lower Manhattan jail, also known as the Tombs. New York officials say that for at least a week, former inmate Matthew Matagrano used phony credentials to get into multiple city lockups, including Rikers Island, picturerd, and the Manhattan Detention Center, where he mingled with inmates for hours. He was essentially “pretending to be an investigator from the Intelligence Unit,” the complaint said. The Matagrano incident remains a black eye for the Department of Correction. On the date of his alleged visit to the jail, Matagrano parked in a reserved spot using a bogus placard and flashed a badge. It is unclear where he got the placard or why he was admitted with a fake badge. A gold badge from a group called Civil Advocates of New York was found on Matagrano when he was arrested. It is unclear if Civil Advocates of New York is a legitimate group. The group’s online mission statement says it “strives to be the secure and trusted safe place that our clients can turn to for personalized Advocacy/Training services when are (sic) clients are in their greatest need of a friend.” After he was caught, Matagrano admitted he sneaked into jails — and only had nice things to say about correction workers. “They give me food. They made me feel important,” he said. Matagrano is a sex offender who sodomized a teenage boy in 1996 and has done stints in state prison for that and other felonies, records show. The Department of Correction did not respond to a request for comment. Matagrano is being held without bail. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/perv-broke-nyc-jail-abused-inmate-cops-article-1.1398570

Poor Diet, Tobacco Use and Lack of Physical Activity Taking Toll on Nation's Health

While we're living longer, poor diet, tobacco use and inadequate physical activity are negatively impacting our health. These are some of the findings of research released this week by the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators, prompting much discussion and debate. To those of us on the front lines of promoting workplace health this comes as no surprise. This study should only add to the sense of urgency that we as a nation must have in solving this crisis. There is a direct link between the health of the U.S. workforce and the overall well being of the U.S. economy. Currently, greater than 50 percent of Americans live with one or more chronic disease. With this rising burden of chronic disease comes rising costs within the health care system, and increased premiums at a cost to employers. Compounding this, employees with chronic disease take more sick days and are less productive on the job. Workplace health is of significant importance to the economic productivity of the nation and critical to reducing the national debt. The U.S. is slipping behind its major Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries (OECD) competitors regarding improvements in population health. Specifically, the U.S. falls in the bottom 20 percent of the 34 OECD countries for the following chronic diseases: ischemic heart diseases (rank: 27), lung cancer (28), COPD (32), diabetes (31), cardiopulmonary (31), chronic kidney disease (31), and hypertensive heart disease (27). Poorer health today could translate into lower productivity tomorrow. This is the first major analysis of the health status of the U.S. population in more than 15 years, led by a global collaborative of scientists from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The study found that while Americans are showing progress in reducing death rates (adjusted for age, across a variety of diseases), we aren't living healthier. Additionally, death rates from illnesses associated with obesity, such as diabetes and kidney disease, as well as neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, are on the rise. Poor diet, tobacco use and physical inactivity are driving the disease burden. The negative impact on our health care system cannot be understated as people who live longer and unhealthier lives are costly -- not only in terms of health care spend, but the impact on the productivity of our workforce and the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in a global economy. A point made recently in the Bipartisan Policy Center's recent report. None of this is news to The Vitality Institute, a global health think tank focused on reducing chronic disease risk. In fact, we recently released new data indicating a dangerous gap in the chronological age of Americans and their risk adjusted Vitality Age, as calculated based on a variety of factors including those cited in this new report. So now that we so clearly understand the problem, what are we going to do about it? To that end, we've recently assembled The Vitality Institute Commission. We're bringing together prominent thinkers in health and business including: Dr. Rhonda Cornum, with deep expertise from the Department of Defense; Susan Dentzer, with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Ginny Ehrlich, with the Clinton Health Matters Initiative; Jeff Levi, with Trust for America's Health; Ellis Rubinstein, with the New York Academy of Sciences; Dr. Dennis Schmuland, with Microsoft; and Dr. Kevin Volpp, from the University of Pennsylvania. All with the urgent goal of placing the power of evidence-based prevention at the center of health care policies and actions in the U.S. Better evidence, smarter laws and higher levels of innovation we believe could make a difference. There is strength in numbers, and we are working with corporations, associations, federal, state, and local government to identify multi-stakeholder solutions that will address the issues facing our nation's health in bold and transformative ways. For the U.S. to maintain its economic competitiveness, our health policy efforts need to address the risk factors of preventable chronic diseases that disproportionately affect the U.S. population (e.g., physical inactivity, diet, and alcohol and tobacco consumption) by effectively investing resources to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to make beneficial contributions to society and therefore progress the economy. We will soon issue a call for wide participation to harness the myriad of great ideas and actions already making a difference at the community, city or state level to ultimately improve America's health.

Hungary Tobacco Market Reshuffle Roils Public

Hungary’s move to drastically restrict the number of outlets selling tobacco caused an uproar, with critics saying the government has restricted access to information about the way tobacco licenses were distributed. Hungary has made tobacco retailing a state monopoly and granted 20-year concessions to run tobacco shops for a flat fee to individuals selected mostly on the basis of the applicants’ business plan. Exact criteria for judging the business plans haven’t been made public. Critics of the Fidesz-led government’s measure claim the move has reshaped the market in a way that helps the government, which is facing parliamentary elections next year, by favoring Fidesz-friendly individuals and companies. Several of the critics, including some of the opposition parties, have challenged the measure in court.

But criticism also came from within the ruling party. Akos Hadhazy, a Fidesz-party representative in a countryside local council, said the license tender was biased and that the Fidesz representatives of the municipality of south Hungary’s town of Szekszard were told to choose Fidesz party-affiliated winners from among the bidders. Fidesz communication on policy steps has so far been firmly unified. “The Fidesz faction members were present at the meeting and the mayor, also the head of the constituency, said: ‘Here is the list of the applicants’. He asked us to check out who we knew [on this list] and who could be an appropriate applicant. I was surprised. I knew there are lobbies but that this can happen so openly I was surprised to see,” the local Fidesz representative was quoted as saying in an interview by the online version of business weekly hvg.hu.

Mr. Hadhazy wasn’t immediately available to comment. The town’s mayor, Istvan Horvath, said to the same publication that Mr. Hadhazy was lying. The tender, whose winners have been made known in recent days, will put Hungarian-owned small firms and entrepreneurs into a position of being able to make a living from tobacco sales, while tighter control of the market will reduce smoking, the government said. The measure will reduce tobacco sales points to only around 7,000 from the current 40,000. Because tobacco sales were separated as a business from the retailing of other goods and services, the government will also need to raise the price of tobacco to ensure the business remains profitable. The price of a packet of cigarettes will increase by about one third, after Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he’d like to raise the retail margin on tobacco to 12% from the current level of around 4%. Tobacco sales have so far been generating profits for supermarkets, many of which are foreign-owned, grocery stores, and filling stations, most of which are owned by Hungarian oil and gas company MOL MOL.BU +0.09% Nyrt.

The government isn’t planning to annul the tender because it was organized fully in line with the law, Janos Lazar, head of the Prime Minister’s office, said at a press conference Monday. The government is ready to fight the issue in court, he added. Those left in the losing field have formed an association and demanded from the government the publication of the list of all applicants, the names of those on the evaluation panels, and the minutes and notes on the bidding process. The government has said the data related to the tender are not public. Fidesz party’s two parliamentary representatives Monday submitted an amendment to the Information Act, which the Fidesz-dominated parliament approved Tuesday, to restrict “the abusive…demand of information…which could hinder the operation of the data provider greatly and for a prolonged period.” The amendment to the act says state audit offices ensure appropriate oversight over public service entities.

Fidesz MPs in parliament on Tuesday said the two moves–the tender and the modification to the Information Act–were unrelated. But in reaction to the parliament’s approval of the amendment, several civil groups such as K-Monitor, atlatszo.hu, the Civil Liberties Union and Transparency International have announced that they will quit the Anti-Corruption Working Group they had formed together with the government to fight corruption.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2013/05/02/hungary-tobacco-market-reshuffle-roils-public/

Ukip plans to stop benefit claimants buying tobacco and alcohol

Proposals to be announced at conference also include ban on welfare payments to EU or other foreign citizens living in UK Some long-term benefit claimants would be banned from using their benefit cash to buy cigarettes, alcohol or satellite TV subscriptions under proposals due to be presented at the UK Independence party's spring conference on Saturday. The proposed ban on paying for satellite TV comes only a fortnight after it was disclosed that Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and biggest shareholder of News Corp, had met the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, for the first time, prompting speculation that the Sun may support the party. Ukip's welfare plans also include proposals to stop paying benefits to EU or other foreign citizens living in the UK. Nick Clegg and David Cameron are delivering speeches on immigration either side of the Ukip conference. Ukip's success in the Eastleigh byelection, when it beat the Tories to take second place, prompted all three main parties to re-examine their immigration policies. In his speech on Friday, Clegg signaled he was abandoning the Liberal Democrat 2010 election promise to offer earned amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been in the UK for at least 10 years. He also proposed higher fines for employers taking on illegal immigrants and suggested a repayable immigrant bond. On Monday Cameron will focus on how to reduce EU citizens' access to key benefits, arguing that the generosity of the benefits acts as a draw for EU citizens. He is unable to impose direct border controls because of EU provisions on free movement of labor. The prime minister wants the UK to be seen as one of the toughest states in Europe for new migrants to get access to benefits as part of a drive to reduce the "pull factors" and reassure the public over fears of a surge when restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians working in Britain are lifted in December. Ministers have been told that any measures will have to apply to all newly arrived EU migrants and cannot be imposed solely on those coming from Romania and Bulgaria. The European commission has, however, advised that it is possible under the EU's free movement directive to impose quite radical restrictions on access to benefits and services once migrants have been in Britain for three months. "The right to move and reside freely comes with certain conditions attached which are laid down in the EU's free movement directive from 2004. EU citizens have a right to come and stay for up to three months with a valid passport or identity card. To stay for longer, they need to be in employment or have sufficient resources and sickness insurance not to be a burden on public funds," said a commission source. Ministers are understood to be looking at introducing a compulsory registration certificate or "residence permit" for EU citizens living in Britain for more than three months. The permit would give them access to health and education service and provide proof of their immigration status for claims for welfare benefits. The cabinet sub-committee chaired by the immigration minister, Mark Harper, has been looking at European benefit systems. In Spain, access to unemployment and other benefits is severely restricted for citizens from other EU countries. The proposed ban on buying alcohol, nicotine or satellite TV comes in a Ukip policy paper suggesting long-term claimants should be given an electronic spending card that would be unusable for these products. The electronic card would not apply to all claimants, but instead "those who have an addiction and those who choose a lifestyle on benefits". Janice Atkinson, the report's author, said: "No one would be stigmatized through an electronic spending card as it would be like using a credit card at the cash desk. There is enormous public support for a card that mirrors the principles of Beveridge. We have gone too far in this country by funding the feckless lifestyle." In a wide-ranging speech on immigration, Clegg admitted his party election policy of earned citizenship for illegal immigrants who had been in the UK for 10 years "was seen by many as a reward for breaking the law". Clegg said he had asked the former local government minister Andrew Stunell to review Liberal Democrat immigration policy, but argued the earned citizenship policy "risked undermining public confidence in the immigration system". He added that confidence in the system was an essential building block of cohesion and tolerance. Lib Dem polling has shown the so-called amnesty was one of the party's most unpopular policies and was seen as a major drag in attracting center-ground voters. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/22/ukip-benefits-claimants-tobacco-alcohol

Lawyers spar in court

It was controversial at the last day to testify for the woman who says she gave it, the prison guard pouches packed with drugs to bring the prisoners in a correctional center of Regina. Laura Reynolds, the sixth day of testimony in a jury trial Brent Taylor, Miles, 50, was littered with legal protest and the decision of Justice Eugene Scheibel on what was and was not appropriate or misleading. When the judge asked Reynolds can be dismissed when issues ended Friday, attorney James Korpan said: "I think it was enough." During cross-examination earlier this week, Reynolds testified that she never discussed with Taylor, the content-filled pouches of drugs he had taken from his home for prisoners Sanford Brass, and Kevin Lee Stonechild. She said she assumed that he knew that the bags are held. In redirecting the Crown prosecutor Doug Curliss, Reynolds told the court about a conversation with Taylor in which he claimed that he was once stopped by police for traffic after checking the house, the officers reportedly called a "drug house." "He (Taylor) said that he did not know whether drugs in packages," Reynolds has shown, adding that he came into the house to pick up the package is about 10 times or more after that. She said she heard about the traffic stop on both Taylor and brass, and the conversation with the accused has been about 2008 or 2009. "It was so long ago now," she added. "He still came and took the bag ... and he does everything right, and while August or September of '09," she said. Allowed a limited re-examination, Korpan said that when Reynolds revealed earlier this week, and asked what she knew to stop the movement came from the brass, she replied: "Yes." She then said that she and Taylor are not talking about drugs in the package - "He never came up." "It was so long ago," Reynolds told the court on Friday. "I know, I had a conversation with him. When they were, I can not tell you," she said, concluding her testimony. Taylor on the court 15 charges arising from investigations into the alleged smuggling of drugs into the prison Regina, where he worked as a guard in 1987. Most of the crimes allegedly occurred between January 1, 2007 and February 27, 2010. Two charges in an attempt to obstruct justice and violation of conditions of release by contacting the witness for the prosecution Reynolds allegedly took place January 5, 2011. Seven women and five men of the jury heard eight days of evidence. "You've worked hard," Scheibel said in a dismissal of the jury a long weekend. On Tuesday, Curliss is expected to call its final witness, a woman who claims she was the first to give a drug-filled bags Taylor tobacco. A court order prohibits identification of women. In the video, played this week, Taylor, when questioned RCMP, which has repeatedly denied drugs in jail, saying that he delivered tobacco brass and Taylor on several occasions. He also denied receiving money for it. The Court considered the tobacco smuggling is also considered a smoking prison.

The city manager, city attorney, was "a little knowledge" cigarette operation

Hampton Police Chief Charles R. Jordan Jr. said City Manager Hampton, and its top lawyer was "very little knowledge" of the secret police sting cigarette business, which has been in operation for 19 months. Jordan said on Monday that the City Manager Mary Bunting and City Attorney Cynthia Hudson did not know the details of the investigation - including the millions of dollars flowing through the account of covert operations - while it was under way. "It has been a long practice, the provision of this organization to limit the impact of these secret operations for persons with 'need to know," said the statement by Jordan, issued by the office of communications on Monday. "Therefore, and in accordance with the policy in the past, Mary Bunting and Cynthia Hudson had very little knowledge about this secretly operation." It was not until someone came to him with a complaint about police misconduct, January 27 - bringing Jordan to shut down the entire operation - that Jordan gave Hudson and oatmeal detailed investigation, he said Tuesday. "They really became involved when I saw the red flag, and I need to work with them, to see how we are going to handle it," said Jordan. "They have become much more aware of when I shut down the operation and there were problems, and I came to him with a" Hey, here's the situation. That's when they got a much more detailed briefing." The police set up a fake company, Blue Tobacco water as part of a secret operation to deal with the people involved in the illegal trafficking of cigarettes and related crimes. The investigation has not produced the arrests, however, for more than one and a half years in operation. But more than $ 3 million flowed through the company's account at Langley Federal Credit Union, according to the records of the city. Most of this money was used to constantly replenish the cigarette supply company. But some of them have been spent on nine new cars and trucks, electronics, and is in the officer training trip to New York, Las Vegas and other cities. City officials did not respond to questions about which, if any, outside the Hampton Police Department knew of the ongoing investigation into the cost of cigarettes or approved of it. At the request of Jordan on Monday, "just knowing" oatmeal and Hudson had surgery before it was discontinued in April, came about in 2011, when he discussed with them how to accept a gift that Hampton Police Department was scheduled to receive from cigarette maker. This was about nine months after the surgery. Jordan said in an interview Tuesday that Bunting and Hudson were involved only for the "limited purpose" of obtaining the necessary permits the City Council to accept the gift. Even then, he said, he did not share many details with them about the cost or anything. "They knew about the decision," said Jordan. "They do not know anything about the operation itself, as we did, as we talk about it every day. They just do not know any details about it." He said, oatmeal and Hudson were "basic knowledge" of the gift - that he had to come with safety hand cigarette manufacturer. "They will be informed of the nature of the work, when we finally shut it down," Jordan said Tuesday. "We had hoped to celebrate makes a lot of arrests and show the link between this type of exploitation and violent crime in the community." Hampton City Council, which approves the budget of the Police Department, has never subscribed to the cost Tobacco blue waters. In addition, they have never said more than $ 700,000 in the bank Blue Water, while Daily Press told them about it in September, eight months after the secret cigarette business was closed. During the sit-down interview two weeks ago, Jordan was vague about anyone outside the Hampton Police Department to control or approved expenditures from the account Tobacco blue waters. When asked whether the city will approve expenditures, he said: "Not necessarily," but did not give a definitive answer, saying that the policy of the city is expected to be met. In the same interview on September 27, Jordan said oatmeal was aware of the secret operation of cigarettes, as it was in motion, "Does she know about the work that we have done the surgery? Jordan said in the same interview that the Hudson, too, has been consulted. "We've had numerous conversations with the lawyer of the city, in particular, on the various aspects of it," he said then. "We have received their advice on how to do certain things ... For me it's a good checks and balances when you know someone as notable as Cynthia Hudson or in the office of her lawyer to comment on some things ... It is very insightful, knowledgeable lawyer, and I'm taking her advice. I respect it. " Later in the day the Daily News reporter asked other city officials to confirm this statement, Hudson told a reporter she would call Jordan to discuss the matter and get back to the daily press. But she never called back. Jordan explained Tuesday that he may think of the Commonwealth Attorney Linda Curtis, with whom he said he had discussed the operation. Or, Jordan said, he could have just thought about conversations with Hudson, associated with the gift of ruling. In turn, Curtis said Daily Press she had no involvement in the secret operation of cigarettes, as it went on, though, she said that she was informed about it in advance.

Legislation looks to lift smoking bans

Kurt Hill remembers when the state ban on smoking in all institutions to take effect.

As the owner of Tap Hill in Genoa, he knew that the bar can take a hit in business, if the regulars are no longer allowed to have a with a drink, which is why he ignored the law. But after two penalties and the threat of losing a license, Hill completed regulation.

Five years later, there is a chance, such as creating Tap Hill could pull out the ashtray again.
State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, has introduced legislation in Springfield that will give municipalities the choice of whether or not they want to offer smoking licenses for bars, casinos, a veteran of communication and adult entertainment clubs.

Similar measures failed in the past and support may be lacking, and even once reluctant Hill sees no need to bring smoking back to bars.

"I sort of clear air ... most people are accustomed to it," Hill said. "I do not know if it was good or bad for business. Nobody has the money anyway."

DeLuca said he was not trying to circumvent the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, but to give power back to local authorities. To prevent the spread of benefits, DeLuca included stringent requirements for the organization to be eligible.

The bar for a license, he must prove at least 10 percent of revenue comes from food sales. Any institution seeking a license must notify the employees and to establish air filtration systems that meet international standards of Mechanical Code.

"I support the Illinois smoking law, I just feel that it is unreasonable" DeLuca said. "This is about enabling companies and municipalities to decide whether this is good."

Even if the proposal passed DeLuca of Springfield, there can be little support from the district and local authorities.
DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen said that there is little chance the city will offer a smoking license and called the proposal "irresponsible." Povlsen has long advocated a ban on smoking in public places, even working on the introduction of restrictions on smoking in DeKalb, before he was mayor, and before the state took up the matter.
"I am very disappointed in our legislators that they would even consider it," said Povlsen. "Tell them to work on the finances."
Creating an exception can also create a slippery slope and negate one of the most stringent smoking laws in the country, said Greg Morris, director of environmental health of DeKalb County.

County Health Department is responsible for complying with the smoking ban and allow exceptions would make it more difficult to identify criminals, he said Morris. He also said that "guarantees" such as air filtration systems remove the smoke, but leave harmful chemicals in the air.
"All the evidence explained the consequences," said Maurice smoking in public places. "It would be detrimental to anyone, where the license will be smoking."

Past efforts have not succeeded in resolving smoking in these establishments. Although Bob Gosnell appreciates the thought, he sees no need to smoke.

Gosnell, a trustee at the American Legion Post 66 DeKalb, said he heard the argument that smoking in veterans' organizations, because their services, but he does not believe people should be above the law.

Gosnell said the withdrawal could lead to an unfair playing field, and even as a smoker, he grew to enjoy the atmosphere of smoke-free.

"The law is the law, and only because we're veterans does not mean that we should be able to break it," he said. "It's not a problem. We could discuss this, but I do not think that we will never vote for him."
One city official more open to this idea, though not fully supported.

Sycamore Mayor Ken Mundy said that it should be a local issue and is something Council could discuss if it did not work, but it will be a difficult decision.
"Since the smoking ban came into effect, I keep hearing people say that they are happy, even smokers," said Mundy. "I would not say no to it immediately .... We had our sweet time and look at it six ways to Sunday."