The fight over smoking in St. Joseph, Mo. will go on. Less than a month after the City Council refused to enact a smoking ban, Smoke-Free St Joseph’s continued fight resulted in a 6-3 vote in favor of allowing voters to decide on the matter April 8, a move that was expected by most, including those on the City Council. What voters will be presented is different than what was originally voted on by the City Council. Affinity Gaming, who operates the St. Jo Frontier Casino, and Smoke-Free St. Joseph reached an agreement on new language regarding smoking in the casino. Under the new proposal, the casino will only become smoke-free if the other five non-Native American casinos in the region also become smoke-free. The original proposal would have forced the casino to go smoke-free if just one of the others became smoke-free. Affinity Gaming was believed to be the largest opposition to the bill. St. Joseph is located in northwest Missouri with a popular just under 80,000.
↧