Posted by admin

This is to all the citizens of Carlsbad who are wondering why Carlsbad has not passed a smoke-free ordinance like many other cities in San Diego County. I am really wondering, too.

I am the one who made a presentation more than a year ago to the Carlsbad parks and recreation commissioners to do so. They unanimously passed my proposal and promised me that they would work on an agenda bill, pass it to all the pertinent departments within the city, and then present it to the Carlsbad City Council for approval.

My sister and I have been working on encouraging the city to pass such an ordinance for almost three years.

I am tired of hearing that there are more important items on the city council agenda. What could be more important than protecting its citizens from secondhand smoke and litter?

Just to let you know, the majority of Carlsbad’s beaches are state controlled, therefore Carlsbad has no legal jurisdiction over those beaches. So we took the position of encouraging the city to restrict smoking in the areas that it does control: more than 30 parks and recreational areas.

But listen, I have just been promised by the Parks and Recreation Department that in May, this smoke-free ordinance will be placed on the agenda to be voted on by the city council.

Here is where I need the citizens of Carlsbad to help. We recently celebrated Earth Day with a wide variety of programs in Carlsbad and across the county. Call or write the Carlsbad mayor and the city council members to let them know that you want the city to step up and be really concerned about our health and environment by providing smoke-free parks and recreational areas.

With memories of Earth Day still in our minds and the positive things that event stands for, I hope that Carlsbad will soon join other cities in California who have provided smoke-free areas for their citizens, even if we are one of the last coastal cities to join that distinguished list of participants.

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