1. Smoking Ban – As expected the Campbell County Court passed the smoking ban this week with Ken Rechtin the lone hold out on the vote.  There was a bit of drama during the session as it opened with a surprise amendment that would have exempted any businesses that have 18+ year age limit.  The ammendment introduced by Pendery as a compromise was eventually defeated.

Some quotes from the proceedings courtesy of Amanda VB who does a fantastic job covering these events and providing live tweets from such events.  No one else is providing anywhere near the quality coverage.

  • Mark Hayden: “I didn’t come to this (decision) easily. I am abdolutely convinced this is a critical public health issue.”
  • Ken Rechtin: “I believe we can protect the rights of all: the smoker, the nonsmoker & the business’s right to choose.”
  • Dave Otto: “For me, it’s always been about health. To me, health trumps any argument about rights.”
  • Pendery: “Without an amendment, no one would be protected…In the end, you have to accomplish the most good for the most people you can.”

The ban is scheduled to go in place April 15th 2011 but questions remain with a new group of Commissioners taking office after the first of the year that are largely anti-ban.

2. This week there was an asset auction for Bear Creek Capital assets.  The sale did not include the Pavilion but was interesting nonetheless.  I am not sure what BCC’s ownership interests are in the site but I believe it is still embroiled in some litigation.  Regardless the construction of Target continues to move along great.  The difficutl part for those that are impatient is the hiring and planning for a store opening which should be less than 3 months away. 

This opening should coincide with the start of additional construction for outlots and the space between Kroger and Target.  Still no indications on when the Kroger Fuel Center will open but it would be good to have a cheaper fuel option than the Marathon and BP.

3. Lastly, I ran across a promotional website for CDS Associates – the company that led the redesign of the Midway.  It was interesting to see their perspective of the streetscape improvements.  Let me know if you think this is an accurate portrayal in the comments section below.

It will likely be fairly quiet around the site for the next couple weeks.  Enjoy the holidays with friends and family and I am sure things will crank back up again after the first of the year.

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