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Vol. 14 No. 41 Thursday, June 12, 2003 NewsObserver@netscape.net
Warning: Second-Hand Smoke Is Against the Law
By Scott Cook Eateries scramble to heed new legislationAmendment question No. 6 - which was approved by 71 percent of voting Floridians last November and became part of the Florida Constitution in January - makes Florida the seventh state in the nation to pass legislation controlling where you can and cannot light up.The “Florida Clean Indoor Air Act” was rushed through the last session of the state legislature in order to meet the July 1 deadline for creating such a law. The new bill creates smoke-free zones inside restaurants and many workplaces and aims to “protect people from the health hazards of second-hand tobacco smoke.” Current Florida law mandates that restaurants must have at least 65 percent of their seating designated as non-smoking areas. Under the broad guidelines of the new law still being worked on, smoking is:
Susan Fredlund, owner and operator of New York-New York restaurant in Titusville, sighed at the 20-page “Florida Clean Indoor Air Act” she downloaded from the Internet and looked at the sliding-glass door separating the already-compliant dining section of her restaurant and the bar, where smokers can still light up. “I am hopeful I can get off with just a partition,” she said. “I need to understand if I can make the bar a ‘stand-alone’ bar and keep my food side separate” The bill, still in its ‘first-engrossed’ stage, is rife with gray areas yet to be hammered out by lawmakers. “I have to do some more homework,” she said. “If it’s as simple as saying, ‘this is a non-smoking area,’ then it has very little impact. But it looks like I’m going to have to put a barrier up.” Jason Reichman is the new owner of the Irish Pub & Fish & Chips in Titusville, and he is busy figuring out how he will accommodate his smoking clientele. “I’m doing what I can,” he said. “Nobody knows for sure how this is going to affect business.” Reichman said that, currently, the Pub’s patrons can smoke at the bar, but those sitting at tables are barred from lighting up. Right now plans are in the works to knock a hole in an exterior wall of the bar and making the bar accessible to those puffing on the outside patio. Reichman is considering erecting ‘misters’on the patio to cool off the ambient air. He is also ordering new umbrellas and has had a contractor bid on the installation of a retractable awning. Meanwhile, Fredlund wants to make all her patrons happy. “I’m hoping I can come up with a solution that satisfies all my customers.” Opponents, proponents puff at pessimistic predictionsNot everyone sees the “Clean Indoor Act” in a negative light.Lea Crusberg, spokesperson for the Florida Restaurant Association in Tallahassee, said that restaurant owners should be somewhat relieved by the wording of the new law. Originally, anti-smoking lobbyists had pushed hard to ban smoking altogether from eating establishments, she said. “I think restaurant owners should be pleased that customers can still smoke at restaurants with outdoor seating,” Crusberg said, “I think from that perspective it’s definitely a plus.” Orlando-based Smoke-Free for Health is just one of 110 groups statewide that pushed for the legislation designed to curb indoor smoking. Smoke-Free for Health spokesperson April Herrle said the new legislation will have a positive impact on restaurant sales. “There is a large percentage of people who cannot dine out in restaurants because they have family members who cannot be in a smoke-filled environment,” she said. A smoking ban went into effect in California in 1996. That state’s restaurant business has continued to grow at a rate of three percent a year. The growth, according to a spokesman for the California Restaurant Association, is due in part to more families with children dining out But Herrle is not totally pleased with the new legislation because too many loopholes exist. For instance, the ‘membership organizations’ exemption bothers her. She said that in Florida there are over 9,000 such not-for-profit organizations. And that’a a lotta smoke.
New traffic light the effort of determined studentsFrom STAFF REPORTSHave you noticed a new traffic light on U.S. 1 lately? The light directing traffic in and out of Titusville High School’s main entrance is the determined effort of the Titusville Student Advisory Council (SAC). First known as the Student Advisory Committee, the group was established by resolution in 1993. This resolution provided for the appointment, term of office and removal of committee members. In 1995, a resolution was presented to and adopted by City Council changing the name to Student Advisory Council. Through this resolution, the powers and duties were established and the meeting place and staff support were described. As with all of Titusville’s committees, the SAC is required to present an annual report to City Council. The council consists of eight students - four each from Titusville and Astronaut High Schools - and two alternates from each school. Each school establishes a procedure for the appointment and selection of one student for each academic grade and reflecting the demographics of the student body. The term of office is one year. The twelfth-grade students serve as co-chairmen, alternating the chair at each meeting. The majority of the members constitute a quorum, and a majority of students present shall constitute a quorum to pass any motion. Besides a successful lobby effort to install the traffic light, the council has been instrumental in:
Representing Titusville High were senior Justin Chambers, junior Michael Ball, freshman Priti Modi, alternate Michael Stadler and alternate Amanda Fox.
Reporter Flies with Warbird FlightsBy Scott CookErik Frazier and Paul Souder might be young, but they instruct others twice their age on how to roll, loop, spin, snap and vertical roll. They even teach how to “Immelman,” a maneuver where an airplane makes a loop and then resumes its normal, level position by making a half roll.
Frazier and Souder both had ear-to-ear grins on their faces as I strolled up to the WWII-era Navy SNJ Fighter/Trainer parked like a proud peacock at the Space Coast Regional Airport. I figured they were just friendly guys. “Get on in and watch your step,” said Souder, 24, originally from Indiana. “We figured you could do a better story if you actually got to pilot the plane.” Huh? I gaped at them with rhesus-faced awe, and then I felt my legs turn to putty as I gingerly stepped into the front cockpit. Souder gave me some quick instructions on what not to touch, what to watch for, how to change radio frequencies and “welcome aboard Warbird Flights.” I tried to take it all in and asked a few last-minute questions as Frazier climbed into the rear cockpit and engaged the starter of the 1340-cubic inch Pratt & Whitney engine, which was clean enough to polish with mom’s best linen. * * * * * * * * * * * As we taxied down the runway, I relished the thought of how my limited, everyday world was about to get larger. And it did. We took off and headed south with U.S. 1 snaking 5000 feet below us, the cars moving slowly and the aircraft cruising at 160 miles per hour. My airborne reverie was interrupted by Frazier’s voice in my headset. “Are you ready to fly the plane?” asked a seemingly bemused Frazier. I looked down at that thing between my legs (the joystick,and shame on you!) and began moving the stick tentatively to the left and right to get the feel for the aircraft. Mild turbulence tightened my grip on the stick, but I rolled left with Merritt Island on the front horizon. I felt like an ace, but I knew (and prayed!) that Frazier would correct any errors on my part. We rolled left again and headed back to the airport, and I felt myself wishing that the ride could go on forever. I tensed as we approached for the landing, expecting skipping and chirping of the landing wheels. The landing, however, was smoother than the door closing on my pick-up truck. Didn’t feel hardly a thing. * * * * * * * * * * * Souder awaited us at the hangar, and asked how the ride was. I couldn’t do the experience justice at the time. My heart was still making its rightly descent back to my chest. I did manage to mumble something resembling a “thank you” and tried to ask some intelligent questions for this story. So why did Warbird Flights, Inc. wind up being housed at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville? “The museum is a great place,” said Souder. “We get a lot of synergy with the museum. We help them, they help us.” Warbird Flights offers the public top-notch, affordable flights and training which include tailwheel instruction, insurance check-outs and type ratings, fly-bys and air shows. People I’ve talked to rave about Warbird Flights. “We make people happy,” said Souder. “Everybody goes away happy.” And this is one reporter who definitely walked away happy. For more information on Warbird Flights, call Souder or Frazier at 321-269-4518, or call 407-891-8955. You can also visit their website at www.flywarbirds.com. For more museum information, call Alice Iacuzzo, director of personnel, at 321-268-1941. Their website is www.vacwarbirds.org.
Tips for avoiding ‘Hurricane Amnesia’The Allstate Floridian Insurance Company wants you to avoid ‘Hurricane Amnesia,’ a false sense of security due to the lack of hurricanes and severe storms over the past few years.All predictions indicate the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 - November 30, will produce more storms than usual. Here are 13 Things You Can Do Now:
Header - KaleidoscopeBest explanation yet on how our taxes workAn investment guru named Mark Keller with A.G. Edwards, and the chairman of their investment strategy committee, came up with one of the most logical explanations I've yet to hear about taxes. Now, with President Bush beating the drums for reductions (he got less than half of what he wanted) and the centerpiece of his jobs and growth plan, it spurred debate about the fairness of tax cuts and who should benefit from them. Now comes Keller who says that he's never seen a better explanation of the problem than a parable he read which originally appeared in Growth Stock Outlook, as retold by Ned Davis Research, Inc. It isn't simply a platitude, but a pungent point-of-fact observation that's not taught at Harvard Business School - or anywhere else for that matter. The following is put in terms everyone can understand - including the Democrat detractors who see doom and gloom in everything Bush proposes. Suppose that every day, 10 men go out for dinner. The bill for all 10 comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our tax , it would go something like this: The first four men, the poorest, would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1; the sixth would pay $3; the seventh $7; the eighth $12; the ninth $18. The 10th man - the richest - would pay $59. That's what they decided to do. The 10 men ate dinner in a restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement - until one day, the owner, threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers," he said,"I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." So now dinner for the 10 only costs $80.” The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat free. But what about the other six - the paying customers? How would they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his " fair share"? The sixth man realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth and the sixth man would end up being "paid" to eat their meal. So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5 , the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the 10th man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59. Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only saved a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the 10th, "But he got $7!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me." " That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 dollars back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all of the breaks!” " Wait a minute" yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the 10th and beat the hell out of him. The next night he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short! Obviously ,says Mark Keller, the moral of the story is, with the top 10 percent paying the majority of the income taxes, it's impossible to devise a meaningful tax cut that does not benefit that group. Despite the machinations of the social engineers, it's ultimately impossible to do anything that benefits an economy without also benefiting the rich in that economy. With the rich paying most of the taxes and making most of the capital investment, how we handle them becomes very important to our future. Indeed, in a free economy, it's the prospect of becoming rich that economically motivates most citizens. All this is very relevant to the debate over the double taxation of dividends. The critics of this proposed tax cut find fault with the recipients because they're wealthier than most. Even though many of modest means would also benefit, it's irrelevant that the wealthier citizens would get a large share of this cut. The issue isn't, "Who gets their taxes cut, but "Will this tax cut do the economy any good?" Out tax code has long favored the use of debt over equity as a financing tool. Corporations almost always find the use of debt capital much cheaper than equity capital as a result. If it's cheap, they'll use more of it, even if having too much isn't good for them. Debt is insidious in that during good times it can lever up good sales into even greater profits, but in bad times it can be fatal. Unfortunately, like the beautiful princess who has young princes eager for her hand, corporations find lenders and investment bankers eager to buy their debt when times are prosperous. But that very debt turns into a deadly beast when the economy turns down. Companies then "turn belly up" and thousands of jobs are lost. The obvious is that he's never seen a company fail for having too much equity, yet our tax code taxes equity capital more highly than any other income flow in our economy. Considering only federal income taxes, it takes about $2.60 of pretax corporate income to produce $1 of after-tax dividend income. There is a historic opportunity to fix the tax code for the betterment and stability of our economy. It's obvious that President Bush is willing to spend the political capital necessary to make it happen. Let's see if our legislators will grasp the opportunity. * * * * * * * * * Some other, less weighty, but interesting observations........ Can someone tell me (particularly restaurant and bar owners) why they post those tacky signs in the men’s johns imploring patrons not to throw their butts (cigarettes) in the urinal? The signs are generally placed immediately to the right of the porcelain receptacle, sometimes with skull-and-bones graphics to evidently show the seriousness of the warning. I have a stupid suggestion that might solve the problem of clogged drains: Why not simply provide an ash tray and screw it to the wall in place of the sign? Is this a no-brainer, or what? * * * * * * * * * Council says it promotes growth, but actions say differently Titusville City Council - almost to a man - has been proclaiming their support for growth in both business and population, but their recent decision to reinstate impact fees on new homes, adding to existing homes, including mobile homes, condos and apartments, contradict their collective jawing about progress. With Titusville far back in the pack compared to other county municipalities in building permits, only one (as in 1) councilman stood by his convictions and voted against the reinstatement. In the four to one vote it was only Council member Ken Ward who said no. However, what do you want to wager that when the proposed 1-cent sales tax comes before them the other four will be jumping for joy to ensure its passage, counting what they will do with the $2.5 million windfall Titusville is expected to line their coffers with? * * * * * * * * * My beverage of choice is what's good for what ails ya Seeking an explanation for my recent weight loss I asked my physician what he would recommend. "Drink beer and eat Twinkies," was his reply. Seriously, that's what he said. Well, I'm not too crazy about beer, even though recent research has indicated the health benefits of the brew. Reports indicate that a couple beers a day might be one of the best things you can do for your body - and mind. The large body of evidence is that small quantities of the stuff provides protection against coronary heart attack, strokes, heart failure, osteoporsis - and dementia. Your friends may be drunks - but they ain't nuts! My relaxing beverage, as my friends know -and my Hematologist supports - is a Cap Cod. For those who do not imbibe it's vodka and cranberry, minus the lime wedge. Now comes another report. Researchers have found that drinking cranberry juice raises levels of "good cholesterol" in the blood and increases plasma antioxidants, reducing the risk of heart disease. Had I known that before my triple by-pass I would have switched from Scotch much earlier. Cranberries also prevent urinary tract infections and may reduce the risk of gum disease, stomach ulcers and cancer. The upshot of all this is that maybe Frank Sinatra wasn't whistling Dixie when he said he felt sorry for anyone who doesn't drink, because "that's as good as they're gonna feel all day." * * * * * * * * * And lastly...... Typos appear in print often, regardless of the best efforts of proofreaders. I've been the victim of many in the course of my newspaper career. But the one I'm waiting for is for some writer's copy to sneak through when they write on the Shiite Muslims and what become plural - and what become singular. I just know it's going to happen. Maybe in the New York Times yet.
By BOB SOCKS NASA NewsNASA’s Kennedy Space Center is seeking organizations interested in using debris from the orbiter columbia in researching the effects of re-entry. Interested scientific, academic and governmental organizations are asked to submit their requests by June 6 detailing their previous experience and their plans for use of the orbiter debris and the scientific benefits expected to be gained by their research.NASA has also requested input on how to best preserve and manage the debris from Columbia. Cocoa, Florida - Economic DevelopmentThe City of Cocoa had a one-third page ad in the Florida Trend monthly magazine - June edition - mentioning that they are now in the economic development business. Their catchy slogan is: Commerce, Community, Convenience, Culture, Comfort. The City of Cocoa - Open for Business. These folks are serious, they are busy turning their reputation around and have just announced a Super Wal-Mart at the corner of 524 and Clearlake.Downtown TitusvilleFinally, the old downtown is coming to life. This Friday night’s street party was a success, with hundreds milling around, exploring all the new restaurants and stores that have opened recently. The old Pritchard Hardware Store, recently purchased by the Eberhart family, is under complete rehab. Construction on the condos at the Poe property is expected to begin this summer, and there is a general feeling that activity is coming to the downtown.Stock MarketMark down March 11, 2003, on your calendar. That is the day the bull market began, and it’s been a great three months. By the end of Friday, June 6, the Dow is up 20.4 percent, the NASDAQ had risen 28 percent and the S & P had risen 23.4 percent, all since March 11. Now that’s a lot of bull!Hot TimeAAA projects more than 7.4 million motorists will experience a vehicle breakdown during June, July and August. During those three months, AAA-affiliated service personnel expect to tow approximately 3.5 million cars and trucks; boost 1.3 million batteries; unlock 1.2 million vehicle doors; change 900,000 flat tires; provide fuel to 100,000 motorists that run out of gas; and extricate 50,000 stuck vehicles. Another 340,000 motorists are anticipated to require miscellaneous roadside assistance from AAA.Titusville Business License Report - May 2003Total number of licenses issued - 29. Breakdown as follows:
Strictly My OpinionImpact Fees are back. City Council, in their esteemed wisdom, voted to re-introduce Impact Fees for residential building effective March 1, 2004. The vote was 4 to 1 in favor, with Ken Ward being the one councilman to vote against the fees. I believe they should have waited to see what effect the Columbia investigation will have on the local economy. More importantly, if layoffs occur and the shuttle doesn’t fly for an extended period of time, is it wise to tax new housing during possible difficult times? What the council should have done is table the issue for a year or so, look at impact fees in 2004, save the $45,000 the taxpayers are paying for a consultant to study the impact fees and re-evaluate in the future. Impact Fees were eliminated in February 1995 and, although it took longer than expected for the word to get out, the elimination of impact fees was good for Titusville. We began to see some population growth, housing starts broke records year after year, and the local contractors and subs were put back to work. No Impact Fees were good for Titusville. Appetizing TouristsThe Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center has introduced ‘barbecued alligator ribs’ on the menu at the VIC restaurant. the ribs now make up nearly 10 percent of entree orders, says Chef Pascal Beaute, chasing Florida crab cakes as the most popular item.
Quote of the Week:
New manager Burt Habecker of John Hubler’s Premium Pre-owned Vehicles is offering a blowout sale. They say, "where we stack ‘em deep and sell’em cheap!" See ad for all the deals and save.
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