Update: Westminter BOH gives up on tobacco ban

[SueandCootie]

It's interesting here that the woman in charge STILL voted in favor of banning all tobacco and related products (ecigs also)...town rules prevented her from being 'recalled' from her position, but the other two members could be removed from the board, and townspeople were working on making that happen. Those two voted against it.

Westminster ends bid to ban tobacco sales after outcry - 7News Boston WHDH-TV

For folks who haven't been following the story, here's what the locals thought of the proposed ban:

Hearing on tobacco ban ends on sour note - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com

Westminster selectmen get an earful on proposed tobacco sales ban - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com

 

[Robino1]

Moved to Legislation News from General vaping


This is GREAT news!

 

[Sgt.Rock]

Pretty damn ironic how all the old 60's hippie/libs who used to scream about standing up for your rights now want to take away yours.

 

[bigdancehawk]

Funny how a little bit of "disrespectful" behavior at the board meeting drew so much public attention to this that the board has elected to drop it. Respect must be earned.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Today's NY Times article

Massachusetts town votes to end bid for tobacco ban
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/us/westminster-votes-to-end-bid-for-tobacco-ban.html

 

[noel18]

You mean the politicians actually listened to the people?

 

[Robino1]

You mean the politicians actually listened to the people?

that many people in a small space? I don't think they had a choice

 

[Kent C]

that many people in a small space? I don't think they had a choice

...and:

"Crete and the other board members were escorted out by police..."

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

I wonder if she will end up in the witness protection program?

 

[DC2]

You mean the politicians actually listened to the people?

It's not so much that they "listened to the people" as much as it was that the people refused to be ignored.
And they clearly didn't like that, as it upsets their modus operandi.

 

[Kent C]

It's not so much that they "listened to the people" as much as it was that the people refused to be ignored.
And they clearly didn't like that, as it upsets their modus operandi.

Or they were ignored In my experience, that is the one thing that infuriates any 'authority'. We had a local case where a car was pulled over on suspicion of being stolen. The cop (state trooper) frisked the guy, handcuffed him put him in the back of the cruiser. The guy said it was his brother's car and a simple phone call would clear it up. They stopped at a phone booth (this was a while ago) and the guy took off across the field running and the officer shot him in the back - dead. He basically 'ignored' the cops authority and p.... him off. No action was taken (both were white, btw) because the rule on shooting someone who was unarmed and not creating a 'clear and present danger' memo had not reached the local station from Columbus, Oh. ... sent a day or two before. (something one would have thought would have been policy already but it wasn't).

 

[Nate760]

They stopped at a phone booth (this was a while ago) and the guy took off across the field running and the officer shot him in the back - dead.

Call me a bleeding heart, but summary execution without due process of law seems a rather inordinately stiff penalty for suspicion of auto theft and/or evading arrest.

 

[Kent C]

Call me a bleeding heart, but summary execution without due process of law seems a rather inordinately stiff penalty for suspicion of auto theft and/or evading arrest.

One doesn't need to be a bleeding heart to see this It's been so long ago, but it welded the 'what authority hates the most' bit into the brain for me. There are other 'incidents' that occurred since then - one with which I was personally involved - made a comment about the sheriff's department at a county meeting and got a few words from the sheriff - smiling but holding my coat lapels, as a 'joke' (which I didn't think was that funny and where I removed his hands.... smiling also ... I think it was a applause I got that made him mad.... ...and a few others that only solidified the conclusions/observations. The community was outraged by the shooting, and the bit on the 'rule' not making it to the station, didn't help much

 

[DrMA]

Any update on the recall petition?