Today's Feature

The Public Smoking Debate.

While some city, county and state legislators may be revisiting the possibility of new smoking bans in Missouri, smokers and non-smokers alike have been voicing their opposition to forced smoking bans, especially in places where children are not allowed or adults have an option to go elsewhere, according to the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association.

"The marketplace is deciding what businesses should allow smoking or not, and that’s the way it should be. Government shouldn’t be taking away the rights of business owners to run their enterprises as the market dictates, not big government" said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.

McCalla cited the Federal Reserve Bank and the Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding the proven negative effects on businesses from legislated smoking bans.

"The Fed has found that, based on impartial data generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, significant employment declines result from forced smoking bans, especially in bars and restaurants," he said.

Mornin'

With all the advances in communication devices that have been made in the last several years, I am amazed that it is still nearly impossible to understand the person takin’ an order at a fast food drive-up. Sometimes I think they put in some sort of voice scramblin’ device so as to make ya accept what ever they have on hand at the time.

I also have a particular pet peeve with drive-up speaker orderin’. Ya turn in your order, but when ya get to the window, after you’ve paid of course, you’re notified that they just ran out of that one thing ya stopped there for in the first place. It just ruins that high quality dinin’ experience that we’ve all come to expect from fast food restaurants.

And no, I don’t want whatever the special of the minute is, thank you. I couldn’t understand what it was anyway.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here’s A Tip

By JoAnn Derson

• To shine tarnished silver, line a sink with a sheet of aluminum foil, shiny side up. Fill the sink with very hot water (boiling is good) to which you have added a cup of baking soda. Then submerge silver pieces entirely. Each piece must touch the foil. The tarnish will "jump" to the foil and off of your silver.

• "This is a great way to clean bath toys. Get a delicates bag (a zippable mesh laundry bag) and fill it with your small bath toys. Toss it into the dishwasher on the top shelf. Gets them clean in a flash, and you can just hang the bag up in the bathroom to dry." -- A.C. in South Carolina

• Trying to avoid germs this cold season? Right this minute, get up and clean three things with alcohol on a clean paper towel or other alcohol-based cleaner: your TV remote, telephone and doorknobs. Do it every week, or more often if someone in your house is sick.

• "I picked up a bunch of old kitchen utensils, like tongs and spatulas and such, at a thrift store for a song. I use them in my workshop. The spatula makes a great scraper, and the tongs are terrific for dipping rags in stain." -- R.F. in Maryland

• Go Green Tip: Gas prices may have dropped from last summer’s highs, but it still pays to get the best fuel economy you can. The next time you fill up, reset your trip odometer. Drive normally for several days then fill your tank. Divide the number of gallons it takes to top off the tank into the number of miles you have traveled. That’s how many miles you get per gallon, no matter what your vehicle’s manufacturer says it gets.