Savannah’s City Council this afternoon passed what is essentially a smoking ban in all public indoor spaces. Smoking is prohibited in Bars and in all restaurants and on all but 20% of Outdoor patios provided that the patio is at least 50% the size of the interior seating. This ordinance supercedes the State Law from 2005 that allowed smoking in a restaurant that did not allow patrons under the age of 18. The GRA obtained the patio concession and was able to get GRA member “MIRAGE”, a Hookah Lounge, a specific exemption as long as they do not allow smoking of tobacco. The ordinance defines smoking as tobacco or an e-cigarette.  This Ordinance goes into effect 1/1/11. For a copy of the latest version that does not include the correct “MIRAGE” “hookah lounge” definition, visit the City of Savannah’s web page.

Locally grown food could boost state’s economy
By Melissa Weinman
mweinman@gainesvilletimes.com
SARA GUEVARA/The Times
Clyde Woody of Suches pulls down a bag of potatoes he has for sale Tuesday at the Hall County Farmers Market in Gainesville. Woody also had corn, yellow hull peas and tomatoes at his stand. Research at the University of Georgia shows the state could benefit financially if produce grown in Georgia is sold in the state.

If local fruits and veggies stick around, it could mean a big bonus for Georgia’s economy.

According to research conducted by the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, if each Georgia household spent $10 per week on produce grown in Georgia, more than $1.9 billion would be pumped back into the state’s economy.

“When we spend dollars locally, that money then circulates in our community so we have indirect benefits,” said Alice Rolls, executive director of Georgia Organics.

Currently, only a small portion of food grown in Georgia ends up on tables around the state.

According to the 2007 Agricultural Census, Georgia’s direct sales accounted for just 0.18 percent of total sales.

“When you look at what we eat and you compare that to what we grow, the differences are staggering,” Rolls said.

A good example is lettuce.

The study found that the average Georgian eats about 30 pounds of fresh lettuce per year — about 285 million pounds statewide.

Georgia farmers produce less than 245,000 pounds per year, which is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the amount of lettuce that Georgians consume. Closing that gap would generate an additional $83.6 million in lettuce sales.

Georgia’s large scale farms grow commodities such as peanuts and soybeans that are sold around the world, Rolls said.

“Agriculture is our No. 1 industry in the state,” Rolls said. “Georgia has gone much more in the direction of large farms, especially in south Georgia.”

Steven Thomas, who works in the food processing technology division at Georgia Tech and serves as the market manager for downtown Gainesville’s farmers market, said there is a lot that can be done to promote local produce.

He said contracts between farmers and local businesses and institutions would provide farmers with guaranteed customers.

“The concept is that if farmers had contracts with say a restaurant, then a contractual agreement is money in the bank and they could expand their farm operations by building greenhouses and growing 12 months out of the year instead of just the particular growing season,” Thomas said. “What we’re trying to do is keep the Hall County farmers selling in Hall County. The money that the farmers make stays in Hall County and gets spent by them within Hall County.”

Rolls and Thomas believe the state’s next agriculture commissioner could play a big part in promoting local food.

“I’ve known (Republican candidate) Gary Black for about 12 years and we’ve talked about this a lot,” Thomas said.

“He feels excited about initiatives that will help farmers expand their operations in meeting the demand for local food around the state.”

“Our hope is that we can work with the next commissioner to develop these needs and opportunities,” Rolls said.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture welcomed the report as data that will prove the value of expanding its Georgia Grown campaign, launched in 2002.

“We continue to promote Georgia Grown for direct, wholesale, retail and commercial markets locally and internationally,” said Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin in a statement.

The Department of Agriculture is working to boost the sales of Georgia produce through launching a Georgia Grown website, improving state farmers markets, aiding farmers and fostering relationships with grocery stores to offer Georgia produce when possible.

Rolls said Georgia is far below the national average when it comes to consuming local produce, but the research points out the state’s potential for direct sales with the addition of local processing and distribution infrastructure.

Rhode Island sold 9.5 percent of its agricultural products directly to consumers and Massachusetts sold 8.5 percent through direct sales.

Because the proposed Savannah smoking ban would treat restaurants and bars in a equal manner, unlike the 2005 State law, the GRA Savannah Chapter has gone on record in support of this initiative. Here is the coverage from last night.

For and against, public speaks out on smoking
Posted: July 29, 2010 – 7:48am
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Wearing a homemade necklace dangling asthma inhalers and medications, Elizabeth Myers told city council she can’t go into restaurants or bars that allow smoking. (Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

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By Lesley Conn
BARBARA ALLISON SIMPSON wants to walk up to a business without swatting away clouds of smoke. She wants a tougher city ordinance on smoking.

SANDRA PETTIGREW AND HER HUSBAND, BOB, would prefer the government keep out of bars and stay out of their lives.

Their opposing viewpoints brought them to the same location Wednesday night: The city of Savannah’s quarterly Town Hall meeting at the Civic Center, which included a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would further restrict smoking in public places.

The line formed quickly when Mayor Pro Tem Edna Jackson explained speakers would have only 30 minutes to make their comments so that other citizens could be heard on other issues. Health care workers, asthma sufferers and schoolchildren encouraged passage and outnumbered speakers opposed; business owners and those calling it an infringement on personal freedom want it snuffed.

One person’s relaxation can be another’s undoing. When Simpson is exposed to cigarette smoke, it triggers an allergic reaction. She takes allergy shots twice a month and carries an inhaler. Smoke seems to be everywhere.

“Even when I walk down the street, folks are driving with their hands out the window to let their cigarette smoke blow away,” she said. “Having a space at a door helps me breathe, so thank you.”

Elizabeth Myers, a cancer survivor, carried evidence of her plight around her neck. She displayed inhalers on ribbons around her neck. Passing the ordinance would mean she could go into bars to listen to her husband, a blues musician, something she can’t do now.

The ordinance would close loopholes allowed in a 2005 state law, Georgia Smoke Free Air Act, including banning smoking in bars, long-term care facilities, retail tobacco stores and within 20 feet of entrances to public buildings and businesses.

The very idea upsets Richard Mika, who said he has grown tired of Savannah’s over-regulation he moved to Statesboro. He still owns 12 properties in Savannah, and that gave him ground to speak his mind, he said.

“They will not tell me what I can do on my own property unless they are going to pay my property taxes, my business taxes and my payroll taxes,” he said. “This is not a fascist society.”

The discussion has activated groups for and against. Healthy Savannah introduced the ordinance to council with the backing of the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society, saying the added restrictions are needed to reduce the risk of second hand smoke exposure, particularly for workers who have no way to escape a smoky work environment.

Amy Hughes, chairwoman of Smoke Free Savannah, a subcommittee of Healthy Savannah, counters that in cities where smoke-free ordinances have been passed, studies show that business revenues have increased.

Groups such as The International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association have begun rallying opposition, countering that the ordinance is an effort to ban a legal activity and could be another burden on businesses struggling financially.

One group that has changed its position is the Georgia Restaurant Association. Initially opposed, Mike Vaquer, who heads the association, wants the city to consider easing outdoor restrictions by allowing smoking on outdoor patios. Local restaurants, he said are confident customers would stay with them even if more restrictions were put in place.

Several downtown bar employees at a hearing last week worried that a city-only ban would drive customers to watering holes in Pooler or the islands.

The Pettigrews think it would change their social life.

“We’re tired of the government telling us how and when we can do a thing,” Bob Pettigrew said. “They’re trying to tear us apart as a couple. She’d have to go outside.”

“That’s my unwinding time with him,” Sandra Pettigrew said. “He drinks and I drink water and smoke. That’s my outlet other than alcohol.”

Healthy Savannah does plan to introduce a similar ordinance for all of Chatham County.

Opponents also have been vocal in their assertion that asking smokers to step outside would turn Savannah’s sidewalks and squares into smoke-filled, butt-littered avenues along which few pedestrians would want to tread.

Media Training & Crisis Management Seminar

When: August 3rd from 2-4pm

Where: Pricci
500 Pharr Road
Atlanta, GA 30305

Media training is aimed at helping you prepare effectively, perform professionally, and truly win in interview situations. Our mission is to enhance your ability to:

-Define clearly your positions on issues affecting you, your company and industry.
-Face interviews with increased confidence and control.
-Assure that your message is communicated through the medium to the audience.
-Develop better working relationships with members of the media.

Speakers:
-Ellen Hartman, APR, Fellow PRSA
President
Fitzgerald+CO PR
-Anne Reeves Reich

Cost:
-$50.00 GRA Members
-$100.00 Non GRA Members

Snellville leaders see Sunday alcohol sales boosting growth

By Shane Blatt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Snellville’s economy, stuck in neutral for years, is poised to move forward now that local restaurants can pour alcohol on Sundays, city officials say.

“Now that we have it, it gives us more weapons in our ability to develop,” Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said Wednesday. Sunday sales passed by a nearly 3-to-1 margin in Tuesday’s referendum.

Oberholtzer said the city’s ban on Sunday sales not only meant the loss of restaurants and revenue, but also created a domino effect. Swanky hotels and chic boutiques didn’t want to open in Snellville, leaving the Gwinnett County community of 20,000 with a surplus of pawn shops and auto parts stores, he said.

Tuesday’s vote is seen as opening the door to high-end eateries and professional-service businesses such as lawyers and doctors. It also will renew talks over annexing retail establishments such as the Avenue, and likely will lead to the re-establishment of the Snellville Development Authority, inactive for 20 years, the mayor said.

Meanwhile, seven restaurants whose beer and wine licenses were voided by a judge in January — after the city approved Sunday sales by council vote, rather than through a referendum — will be able to pour again beginning Sunday. Other restaurants hope to follow suit.

Felipe Lopez of Little Mexico Bar & Grill on Scenic Highway said Wednesday his restaurant hopes to obtain a Sunday distilled spirits license in the next few weeks. Then it can sell its signature Texas margarita on Sunday and, Lopez said, keep patrons from walking out the door.

“It will increase profit another 20 percent,” he said. “It will keep customers happy. Now they’re going to stay, [and] not going to leave.”

Snellville was one of three cities in Gwinnett prohibiting Sunday sales in restaurants, along with Dacula and Loganville. Of the state’s 585 cities and 159 counties, about 100 jurisdictions allow restaurants to pour on Sundays.

However, Snellville’s ban stood out because of the city’s size and proximity to Atlanta, said Michele Stumpe, an attorney specializing in alcohol compliance laws. Typically, she sees the Sunday prohibition among rural towns with populations under 10,000.

Former Councilman Robert Jenkins, who was involved in a recent lawsuit against the city, said he doesn’t believe booze will lure restaurants. Market and demographic factors, not the added availability of alcohol, will do that, he said.

“The mayor thinks the city’s going to realize significant revenue, along with economic growth, of restaurants coming to Snellville simply because and only because they can sell alcohol on Sunday,” he said. “That is a scab-dog lie.”

Any profit generated from Sunday sales will be offset by the added cost in police protection and problems associated with alcohol abuse, Jenkins said.

Resident Sam Rich, 76, said he drinks socially, but he sees no redeeming value in alcohol.

“This whole thing is about money,” he said. “The city wants the taxes off liquor. The question is: Is it worth it?”

Snellville is expected to garner $30,000 to $50,000 in alcohol license fees, plus occupational tax revenue. The mayor estimates restaurants have lost $1.5 million in sales since 2004, when the last alcohol referendum was approved. Critics argued it didn’t address Sunday sales specifically, so city leaders allowed alcohol to flow just six days a week.

Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender acknowledged that Sunday alcohol sales aren’t the “end all, be all” for Snellville’s future, but she said they are a vital piece of the economic puzzle.

“I think of the city as a stool with four legs,” she said. “One of those legs is Sunday sales.”

The others, she said, are the arts, the land-use plan and the Snellville Tourism and Trade Association, the newly formed community-building arm of the city.

“Snellville’s been limping along for years,” Bender said. “Now we’ve cured the limp, and we’re set to run.”

David Stedman, economic development director for the Evermore Community Improvement District, said the vote is a step in the right direction.

“Where good restaurants go is where good retail goes,” he said. “It was to the benefit to Snellville to pass this.”

Kurt Schulz, 63, believes that’s the truth. After Tuesday’s vote, the longtime resident walked out of City Hall flashing a wide, toothy grin.

“We all felt this was what the people wanted,” he said. “Let’s go, Snellville!”

How Do You Come Across On Camera?

When: August 3rd from 2-4pm

Where: Pricci
500 Pharr Road
Atlanta, GA 30305

Media training is aimed at helping you prepare effectively, perform professionally, and truly win in interview situations. Our mission is to enhance your ability to:

-Define clearly your positions on issues affecting you, your company and industry.
-Face interviews with increased confidence and control.
-Assure that your message is communicated through the medium to the audience.
-Develop better working relationships with members of the media.

Speakers:
-Ellen Hartman, APR, Fellow PRSA
President
Fitzgerald+CO PR
-Anne Reeves Reich

Cost:
-$50.00 GRA Restaurant Members
-$100.00 Non GRA Restaurant Members

Snellville votes for Sunday alcohol sales

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By Shane Blatt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Snellville can raise a glass this Sunday.

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Several signs posted about 150 feet away from the Snellville City Hall favor the Sunday liquor-by-the-drink referendum.
Enlarge photo

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com On Tuesday, Voters in Snellville approved Sunday alcohol sales after years of political infighting, legal battles and ill will.
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By a 1,386-784 referendum vote on Tuesday, residents ended the city’s long-standing ban on Sunday alcohol sales at restaurants. The vote was the culmination of years of political infighting, legal battles and ill will across this Gwinnett County community of 20,000.

The action opens the tap immediately for seven restaurants whose beer and wine licenses were voided by a judge in January. Restaurants that want to serve distilled drinks will have to wait three weeks.

“The people of Snellville have spoken,” Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said after the vote at City Hall. “We won. Now we can put this thing behind us and move Snellville forward again.”

Snellville was one of three cities in Gwinnett County that prohibited Sunday sales in restaurants, joined by Dacula and Loganville. Of the state’s 585 cities and 159 counties, about 100 jurisdictions allow restaurants to pour drinks on Sunday.

Not everyone was pleased with Tuesday’s outcome.

“That’s disappointing; that’s all I can say,” said Larry Rutledge, a deacon at First Baptist Church of Snellville.

For years, the mayor has maintained that Sunday alcohol sales are the linchpin to the city’s economic future, with opponents arguing the perils of alcohol accessibility and its affront to religion.

The debate has raged since the last alcohol referendum passed in 2004, which prompted city officials to keep the tap open every day except Sunday.

Sunday alcohol sales passes in Bryan County
Posted: July 20, 2010 – 10:11pm | Updated: July 20, 2010 – 10:14pm

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By Chelsea Hauk
Bryan voters have chosen to allow Sunday alcohol sales by the drink. The amendment passed with 2,159 voting for the ordinance and 1,301 voting against.

View all primary election results from Bryan County.

The proposed amendment on the ballot was to allow for Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages from 12:30 p.m. until midnight in any licensed establishment that makes at least 50 percent of its total sales from either rented rooms for overnight lodging or the sale of prepared meals or food.

The changes in the ordinance should take affect after a resolution is adopted by the Bryan County Board of Commissioners at its Aug. 3 meeting, according to county administrator Phillip Jones.

Jones said he was aware of about six restaurants in the county that will be affected by the vote.

City of Savannah staff will meet with Savannah businesses and concerned citizens at 3PM on Wednesday, July 21st in City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall to hear comments on the proposed NO SMOKING ordinance that is under consideration. This meeting is in addition to the Town Hall meeting at the Civic Center next week.