Smoking Ban, Upgrading Emergency Response Communications Big Ba...

On Tuesday, voters will decide whether St. Louis County is going smoke free. The campaigns "for" and "against" Propostion "N", the proposed smoking ban in St.

[generalsn1234567]

Be careful of the fine print on the ballot. The tax exempt political action committee, the American Cancer Society tricked the voters of Ohio into voting for a ban with exemptions, only to have them removed AFTER they were voter approved. If they got away with it once, you know they will do it again. Thank you American Cancer Society, we never knew all you do. The private vets clubs of Ohio who thought they were exempt according to the ballot learned what they do. I'm sure they are remembering them with with their donations and estate plans.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_ne...

[The Earl of Hump]

Maybe all the idiots should just stop smoking and then this wouldn't be an issue.

[nondrinkernonsmo ker]

What a crock. It should be a choice to smoke. And a choice for buisness owners to allow smoking in there buisness. God forbid if you blow smoke around a room. But it is ok to get drunk and drive away from a bar. What a bunch of socialist pigs. Bet they voted for Obama. i think the average is 3 people a day in missouri die from alcohol related car wrecks. And we are worried about cig smoke. And f all of you morons that think we should be taxed more to pay for an emergency system. When billions in stimulas money are going to useless projects like skate parks. f you i voted no and no. i hope my vote prevails.

[SaucyB]

no really, you're a very angry little person, get some help!

[Let them eat cake]

In respect to the emergency response equipment what exactly will be "upgraded?"

[Bushido Hacks]

The E911 system is not designed for the 21st Century Cellphone lifestyle.

For example, someone who was on vacation in South Korea was foolish enough to link their cellphone to the VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protolcol) service. As a result of not using the local telephone system in South Korea (where the emergency telephone number is 119 not 911) the police showed up at their home back in America.

A more common situation occurs when people with cellphones call 911 and the police can not identify where the cellphone is as they are not the telephone company.

If anyone has ever seen the movie "Clueless" with Alicia Siverstone playing the part of the ditzy Valley Girl Cher when she is abandoned in a parking lot and doesn't know where she is when she calls 911 and the operator asks were she is, her reply is "Here! Where do you think I am?" only to be mugged a few seconds later.

An advanced E911 would use the celluar network that is in existance to triangulate the caller's position. Thus, if you happen to have a 314 number and happen to need medical assistance in Chesterfield (where the are 636 numbers), the system will be able to recognize that you are not in Florissant (where there are 314 numbers). It should also be noted, that because celluar telephones are more radio like than telephone like. The central office (http://www.thecentraloffice.com/ ) for your cellphone may be in Ladue, but you may live in Fenton. The cellphone system is much different from the traditional landline system where there is a central office in just about ever other neighborhood in the area

E911 is not just limited to upgrading the phone system, but also the police radio system. The St. Louis County police radio system is still using analog equipment. It that weren't bad enough, lightening struck the police radio tower at the St. Louis County Police Department Headquarters in Clayton eariler this year. For about a couple of days, the North County Precient (155.55 MHz) had to borrow Florissant's broadcasting frequency (453.225 MHz).

Many of the Interoperational frequencies in the St. Louis area use a 700 MHz system.(On that note, if someone can tell me where to find a police scanner that can scan the 700 MHz frequency band, please let me know! They don't exactly sell them at Radio Shack yet.) This higher frequency (764.05625 MHz) is used by St. Charles County, St. Louis Metropolitan (City), and St. Clair County is used to allow police agencies in adjacent counties to contact each other. However, St. Louis County (which lies in between all three of these counties) does not have the equipment to participate in this Interop system that will improve communications between regional departments.

[BAB]

Business owners would gladly pack people in their establishments nut-to-butt too, but fire codes prevent it because it is in the best interest of the populus, and not the business owner. Business owners would also like to cut their costs by not taking certain steps to ensure cleanliness, yet health codes force them to do so. A smoking ban is a public health issue, and is not a matter of an individual choosing to smoke-although god only knows why somebody would do it. The effects of second hand, and even third hand smoke are now well documented and hard to dispute. Smoking was once allowed on aircraft, trains and in most public areas, even grocery stores. It no longer is, and it really doesn't matter. This will not have an adverse effect on businesses, and will be better for everybody.

[BAB]

nondrinkernonsmoker wrote:

What a crock. It should be a choice to smoke. And a choice for buisness owners to allow smoking in there buisness. God forbid if you blow smoke around a room. But it is ok to get drunk and drive away from a bar. What a bunch of socialist pigs. Bet they voted for Obama. i think the average is 3 people a day in missouri die from alcohol related car wrecks. And we are worried about cig smoke.

The flaw in your argument, is that drunk driving is illegal, while a person drinking a beer next to me, does not get me drunk. Cigarette smoking's second hand effect is what is causing the issue here. I'm sure somebody is thinking "What's next, no greasy food" Again, I don't get fatter from somebody eating next to me.