• ISSUE VI
• SATURDAY, October 7, 2006
• Last Updated Thursday 10:12 AM

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by Andrew Knapp

Critics say the impending law, which will ban smoking in bars and restaurants in Washington, will damage the city's hospitality industry. Proponents, however, claim workers' rights to a healthy job environment trumps economic concerns. Mayor Anthony Williams is set to announce how widely the law will apply and whether bars that lose revenue will be able to acquire exemptions from it. Worker activists and health experts are worried the mayor's decision will undermine the purpose of the new law.

FEATURE STORY

Smoke to clear from District bars Jan. 2

Sitting at the bar inside the Town Hall restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue N.W., Bradley Peskin, 25, of Glover Park worried that some patrons would abandon their usual watering holes when a smoking ban in all Washington bars and restaurants goes into effect on January 2. - Observer photo by Andrew Knapp