Pasadena City Council preview: smoke 'em if you got 'em

Because tonight could be the beginning of the end for smoking in Pasadena....after a delay of several months the city will be voting on a finalized draft ordinance that would severely restrict smoking in the city (remember the old Dennis Leary bit about how it is now only legal to smoke inside your bedroom with the lights out under a blanket?).

The ordinance would ban smoking at outdoor dining and shopping areas like the Paseo Colorado; at outdoor service lines at ATMs, movie theaters and bus stops; at large outdoor public gatherings such as the city's famed Rose Parade and within 20 feet of all building exits and entrances.

I don't know if the same smoking and anti-smoking factions will show up tonight as they did last spring, since based on the preliminary council votes it appears this is already a done deal. I did notice, as I wrote in today's city beats column, that the city put 21 pages of correspondence it has received on the issue online, and it was all against the ordinance.

The smoking ordinance looks to be the main business of the night, but I did notice an interesting little project coming before the council tonight: the city will vote on a 20-year contract to buy energy generated from landfill turbines in Arizona. The turbines run on methane gas generated by the decomposition of the garbage. Burbank and other area cities have similar projects (I think there is another city in the San Gabriel Valley that does this, but I can't remember who). As a matter of fact, city of Los Angeles officials took a worldwide tour to Canada, Israel, Japan, and Europe last May to "learn" how to set up landfill turbines, because it was apparently more convenient to go there than Burbank.

The power will cost more than non-renewable power, so it would be sold under PWP's green power program, I believe. The city has contracted to buy up to 30,000 mwh a year, which by my calculations could power about 3,000 houses for a year. Keep in mind these are amateurish calculations based on googling the average household power usage for a year (10 mwh). I will get a real answer from PWP soon.

Additionally, the city is also looking at landmark status for a local home at 200 La Vereda Road, and the police department is getting a $232,900 state grant to fight drunk driving.

One final note: I will not be attending tonight's meeting because I am working on a politics story... taking my place will be the very-competent Nathan McIntire.

CORRECTION: I will be attending tonight's meeting after all... ah, the fickle world of working at a newspaper.