Dooley Should Blame Health Department

County Executive Dooley is wrongly blaming the County smoking ban itself for the current confusion when he should be blaming the County Counselor, the County Heath Department and the Department of Revenue. These folks set out to enforce this year old law in complete confusion, making stuff up as they went along, without apparently having read the law first. Are bowling alleys exempt? Pool halls? Didn't they have a year to figure that out? Instead inspectors came up with freewheeling nonsense about walling off bars, air filtration in the bar, requiring certain fast-shutting doors, special signage asking for complaints concerning smoke in nonsmoking areas and under 21 requirements. Not of which is in the law!

We never said anything about this since the Health Department was being nice and letting a lot of stuff go. But now County Executive Dooley is getting ready to scrap a law the public voted for due to the chaos these County officials caused. So now I have to point this out.