BAR OWNER DETECTS WAY TO IGNORE NO-SMOKE LAW.Byline: Anne Burke and Rick Orlov / Daily News Staff Writers Tavern tavern: see inn. owner Mamdouh Saliman thinks he's found a way around the new state law that bans smoking in bars, but he says his solution is bad for the soles, if not the soul. The owner of McRed's Place in Van Nuys fired his three employees and hired himself on as bartender and chief bottle washer washer Orthopedics A flattened disk of metal with a central hole used to distribute stress under a screw head to prevent thin cortical bone from splitting; serrated washers are used to affix avulsed ligaments, small avulsion fractures or comminuted fractures to the . ``My feet hurt really bad,'' said Saliman, 51, who's been running himself ragged working 14-hour days. Saliman let his employees go so that his business would be an owner-operated establishment, and therefore exempt from the smoking ban in bars and casinos. Since the law took effect Thursday, some bar owners have chosen to ignore the smoking ban, while some are complying, with no backlash from customers. Saliman took a more inventive approach, however. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the law, smoking is legal at owner-operated establishments, but only if no cleaning crews, musicians or other entertainers are hired. So in Saliman's case, the exemption might not work, said Ingrid Lamirault, director of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County tobacco control program. Even if he isn't exempt, Saliman said his employees won't be out of work long. He can't keep up the demanding schedule much longer, so he plans to hire everybody back next week. Enforcing the law As bar owners grapple with the law, public health officials are scrambling to enforce it. On Friday, county officials received 14 complaints of smoking in bars and gaming clubs, Lamirault said. Most complaints were made by patrons, she said, but one was from a bar owner who complained that a competitor across the street was not enforcing the ban. The ban generated dozens more telephone calls to county officials, many from bar owners and employees inquiring about the law's ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl and whether they could find a way around it. The law calls for fines starting at $100 for the first offense, up to $7,000 for chronic violators. It makes California the first state in the nation to ban smoking at bars and gaming clubs. But with little enforcement muscle behind the law, the ban will require voluntary compliance if it is to succeed. Still, authorities aren't ignoring reported violations. Next week, county health officials plan to mail letters to proprietors of bars identified by complainants as those where the ban has been violated. No backlash Elsewhere around Los Angeles, even bar owners and restaurateurs who feared that smokers would stay away in droves had turned sanguine sanguine /san·guine/ (sang´gwin) 1. plethoric. 2. ardent or hopeful. san·guine adj. 1. Of a healthy, reddish color; ruddy. 2. about the ban Friday. Several proprietors happily reported that their joints were jumping and cash registers were ringing, as smokers simply ducked outside to get their nicotine nicotine, C10H14N2, poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid alkaloid with a pungent odor and an acrid taste. It turns brown on exposure to air. fixes, then returned inside for drinks and conversation. ``These last two days have been fine, and it smells great in here,'' said Greg Sadofsky of Stanley's bar and restaurant in Sherman Oaks. Sadofsky had been a vocal critic of the ban, but he changed his mind Friday after watching a bigger-than-normal crowd fill his bar at lunch time. ``But it's only been two days,'' he cautioned. ``We'll have to see what happens next week.'' At Pickwick's Pub in Woodland Hills, owner Craig Holman had grumbled loudly that the ban would hurt his business. But Friday, he was all smiles. Business was hopping. Smokers ducked out back for a puff, seated comfortably at a picnic table A picnic table (or sometimes a picnic bench) is a modified table with benches expressly for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors (picnicking). In the past, picnic tables were typically made of wood, but modern tables can be made out of anything from recycled plastic to that Holman put there for their benefit. Holman is a new convert to the ban. ``We've got cleaner walls, I'll save money on smoke filters, and my clothes won't smell,'' he said. At Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, business was brisk. Smokers slipped outside for a nicotine fix and a communal gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. about the new law. ``We've got about 17 people outside,'' said bartender Perry Atkin. ``They're all talking about it and making jokes about it, but nobody's giving me a hard time.'' Even small, neighborhood bars where patrons had smoked away cavalierly cav·a·lier n. 1. A gallant or chivalrous man, especially one serving as escort to a woman of high social position; a gentleman. 2. A mounted soldier; a knight. 3. Thursday were enforcing the ban Friday. For some, the adjustment was not easy. ``I'm dying for a smoke,'' said Christine Candlish, a bartender at the Retake re·take tr.v. re·took , re·tak·en , re·tak·ing, re·takes 1. To take back or again. 2. To recapture. 3. To photograph, film, or record again. n. 1. Room in Woodland Hills. Business loss predicted Tom Humber, spokesman for the Virginia-based National Smokers Alliance, predicts that in future months, smoking could return to many bars that are now enforcing the ban. ``You're going to see bar owners . . . just quietly allow the smoking to go on,'' Humber said. Others are trying to find loopholes, as Saliman did. But while the bar owner is burning the candle at both ends trying to do the work of three people, it's no cakewalk for his ex-employees. ``This really ticks me off,'' said Meredith Karley, who said she enjoyed her bartending job at McRed's. WHERE TO CALL Information on the state's new smoking ban is available through the Los Angeles Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Noun a telephone line set aside for callers to contact an organization for help with a problem helpline n → teléfono de asistencia al público : (800) 427-8700. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO One-man operation Mamdouh Saliman gives Gary Hendricks a light Friday at McRed's Place in Van Nuys. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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