Sheeeeit. I guess they don't want the wrong element (i.e. people in their twenties) hanging out on picnic blankets and watching the sun set at Mt. Tabor.

Better that those kind of people hang out on the street.

Or on the Cruise.

Yeah. The Cruise.

Can you declare a Jihad and ban the IP addresses of all cigar smoking golfers? I'm pretty much sure that would cause them to submit to the Merc's mightyness.

And RL, what is up with all of this banning? People smoke dope in the park by me all of the time with no probs, but you want to bust people for smoking a legal product or eating trans fats? Explain.

Unfortunately, I agree with the "perception" issue Scott points out.

In developing this proposal, I really tried to listen to the folks that work within city government about a total ban. The "golf" exclusion came from their input. I have not talked with any golfer -rich or poor- about this idea.

But given the discussion here, I am going to reconsider that exclusion.

And Lance, you've got me. I really can't explain why pot is illegal but tobacco is not.

doctors, dentists, lawyers, and CEOs

Are you seriously under the impression that the rich guys are on the municipal golf courses? Not that I've seen... More likely to find them at Oswego Lake, Pumpkin Ridge, etc.

The munis are populated by college kids, working class folks, etc. They might be playing golf because they like the game, others because they want to ruin a good walk, and still others just to hang out with their pals.

I know lots of blue collar types who like to golf on the public links and smoke a cigar. In the words of the esteemed cocaine addict Sigmund Freud, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

p.s. the truly rich wouldn't be caught dead on a public course.

p.p.s. not all lawyers and doctors feel very rich after they make their student loan payments.

I appreciate and agree with both Kari's and UsualKevin's comments...however, I have to admit I was not completely comfortable with the golf course exclusion in the first place.

I'm not a smoker. I hate the way cigarettes smell and I don't allow people to smoke in my house. I agree with smoking bans in public buildings because taxpayers foot the bill for cleaning out the smoke smell and staining from cigarettes. Not to mention the fact that its generally a closed up area.

But honestly, I think we've gone way over the top when we tell private businesses they can't have smokers and when we ban it in parks.

A park is an open area with lots of uses. It seems unfair to me to ban smoking when we allow people to eat or bring their whiney, bratty kids..etc. After all, there's lots of litter pollution and noise pollution from those uses. Why is smoking so much worse in a park than this?

This is an awfully heavy handed approach. It seems like the Portland City Council has other, more pressing issues to tackle.

A lit cigar or cigarette is an invaluable aid to a golfer. You lay it down pointing at your target and align your stance accordingly. Without cigars and cigarettes on the muni's scores will go up, play will slow and disgruntled, blue collar golfers will become flash mobs, just like the kids in Menlo Park.

This would never have happened if they'd appointed me the city's golf czar.

I've clearly never stepped foot on a golf course, public or private. The entirety of my golf experience is a childhood spent on the goofy golf courses at Blackbeard's Family Fun Center in Fresno, CA, and countless irredeemable hours watching Caddy Shack.

Scott,
Now you had a chance to remedy that a few months ago, but you boged out on me. Come spring I will show you the glories of Glendoveer, if you are game.

Yeah, Dave, but, thanks to Scott, you can leave those cancer sticks at home.

Randy,
I finally quit... after 33 years. I'll still get cancer most likely, but maybe not quite so soon.

Meanwhile I'm loading up on trans fats.

I'll bring a can of it to our lunch...that way you can just spoon heaps of it out to spread on your Turkey Club.

The wheels of government are greased with Crisco.

As Homer Simpson would say....
mmmmm.... faaaaat

I'll just come to do all my smoking on the sidewalk directly outside the entrance to City Hall.

I'm working on that one too, B!x.

I'm sure. Once we get the parks, we have to make the "technical adjustment" to add all sidewalks. Then we'll have to smoke at home... oh, wait, except many apartment buildings don't allow that, so homeowners will be able to smoke, well, anywhere.

Erm, "only homeowners". Heh.

awww. someone sounds jealous and stinky.

smokers are icky, but at least the wealthy ones have the courtesy to restrict themselves to some place lame like a golf course.

"smokers are icky"

And that's SO CLEARLY something that public policy should concern itself with.

b!X,
Won't be long before you'll have to grow tobacco in your closet, under lights.