Smoking Ordinance: picking through the ashes

After Judge Gray Miller ruled from the bench in favor of the City, we take a moment to reflect on a few interesting tidbits..

The plaintiff's attorney Al Van Huff,  seemed outmatched from the beginning.  The City's pro-bono team of Kathy Patrick and company from Gibbs & Bruns were well prepared, with a boring but useful power-point presentation.  The rub here, they left the opening page up the entire day, meaning there was a giant COH logo projected on the screen in the court house during the ENTIRE HEARING. Subtle? nah. Coincidence? Hardly.  One of Van Huff's own clients commented to me that they thought he could have done a bit better! When I asked what they thought of Patrick, the Plaintiff admitted:  "She's mean, but good."

The Mayor is ditching his last personal connection to tobacco: chewing on cigars.   Mayor Bill White, while wearing his professor-White-smoking-kills hat, admitted he once smoked.  White said he smoked cigarettes until he was 23, and had a cigar habit until he had kids.  But even until today, he would still occasionally chomp on a cigar (yuck).  However, when White boldly proclaimed that he would even ditch that habit during a news conference, his staff immediately recoiled in horror.  Apparently, they fear what a lack of nicotine would make Mayor White ornery! Hah! Let me recommend the 4-bucks-a-day Starbucks habit, just don't go to the one on West Grey.