skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Oregon Senate Committee Works to Clear the Smoke in Oregon

play audio
Play

Friday, February 16, 2007   


Washington did it, California did it, even Montana and Idaho have done it. And now, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would close the loopholes in Oregon's smokefree workplace law.

The current state law exempts bars, restaurants with bars, and bowling alleys -- many of which cater to families with children. Although some Oregon establishments have opted to go smokefree, only Eugene and Corvallis have passed city-wide laws that cover all places of business.

Critics of a more stringent law say the bill would hurt business, but Courtni Dresser of the Oregon chapter of the American Cancer Society says that common argument is not necessarily true.

"Some places are seeing more business, because the people who've been wanting to go to these places for a long time and have not gone because they're smoky, are now coming in, staying longer and enjoying themselves."

Dresser says it's a health issue, and that the current loopholes leave more than 3,500 workers and countless patrons exposed to secondhand smoke.

"People die from this. The science is clear on that issue and there's no reason why people need to be working in this environment."

Senate Bill 571 would close the loopholes, clearing the air for all Oregon workplaces, if it makes it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021