1 JUL 05: BREATHING ROOMS

The rules for smoking change today in Columbus, and across all of Georgia. It's now illegal in all public buildings - so politicians who want to settle things in "smoke-filled rooms" will have to rent motel space.

The new rule banning smoking in Georgia public buildings could make life interesting for some city employees. In fact, I'm surprised no one's mentioned the potential security risk - when drive-by terrorists pass police officers on a smoking porch.

(And what about firefighters who have to go outside to smoke? Imagine the pranksters rolling past fire stations, holding out smoke detectors....)

Bars and restaurants have to make changes, because of the new smoking rules. If they allow smoking, they cannot let people younger than 18 inside. So when Hardee's says some of its burgers "aren't for babies," they could really mean it.

We mentioned when the anti-smoking bill was signed in May [10 May] that restaurants could set up outdoor smoking areas. This will put some managers in a strange situation. Do you pray for a drought, even if it means higher prices on the menu -- because rain would drive smoking customers away?

(The sidewalks outside restaurants on Broadway HAVE been busy in the evenings lately. Now I may have to move my running course over to First Avenue -- to avoid not only crowds of diners, but inhaling their smoke.)

But anti-smoking groups in Georgia are urging you to mark this day of change by dining out today. Please thank restaurants for the adjustments they have to make -- and if the wait staff mutters something angry back at you, simply reduce the tip.

Of course, this leads to a question - what does the "Georgia Tobacco-Free Coalition" do now? It has the restaurant smoking ban it wanted for years. Will members now picket outside "Tobacco Junction" sections of Spectrum stores, to get cigarette sales stopped completely?

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue openly anguished over whether or not to sign the anti-smoking bill. He finally decided the saving of lives from smoking-related diseases is most important. And besides, Georgia tobacco farmers probably were voting against him already because of the state flag.

(I can hear the 2006 chant from those farmers now: "He took away our tobacco! He took away our flag! He's not a good ol' Southern boy - he's just a Yankee hag!")

This reminds me of a morning run I took on the Riverwalk in the late 1990's. As I walked a block after ending the main run, a man on a park bench asked me if I had a cigarette. "I don't carry any with me when I run," I answered - and let's face it, finding Riverwalk trash cans to drop cigarette ashes simply would throw off your pacing.

Regular blog readers know I don't smoke, and never have. But is this new anti-smoking law in Georgia too harsh? What's a barbecue joint to do, if it can't smoke turkey or chicken?

BLOG CORRECTION: After further review, we need to revise some things we posted Thursday about what's new inside the Columbus Public Library. For one thing, there is NOT a new five-foot tall plaque in the rotunda. There actually are THREE five-foot-tall plaques - two of them along the library stairs....

Your blog dared to go inside the still-new library with a camera Thursday night, to take pictures of the three new plaques. This was dangerous, because the plaque on the main floor is directly across from the library security counter. If I was too obvious, it could have been a scene right out of North Korea's capital.

But I found angles where the security staff couldn't see me, and I took plaque pictures for you to see. That brings us to correction #2: the main-floor plaque DOES mention the "Muscogee County Library Board" below the Columbus Council and School Board. At least, that was the order before the fuss about that statue....

The other two giant plaques are only noticeable when you walk up the library stairs. Correction #3: those plaques list the names of every Columbus Councilor, School Board member and Library Board member who served during the building's construction. So were these made before "CityColumbus.com" tracked down the names, or after it?

(Which reminds me: Deborah Owens admitted on WRCG's TalkLine Thursday she shut down the "City Columbus" web site because it was "under attack." You'd think she could simply delete that message board spam about half-priced Viagra....)

So let's compare again: the Northside Branch Library has one plaque at the entrance, that's the size of a standard sheet of paper. The Columbus Public Library has three plaques so tall, you almost want to move them onto the lawn outside and hold a pole vault contest.

The sight of those plaques makes me think back to that public hearing last week on "art in the library." Is the Library Board planning other big things along the walls -- like maybe a mug shot of sculptor Albert Paley, so critics will know where to throw their tomatoes?

It's almost checkout time for us now, so here are some other discoveries from Thursday:

+ Columbus and Fort Benning officials went to Atlanta, for a hearing on the military "base realignment and closing" list. This must have felt strange - being almost the only people in the room who consider the list absolutely perfect.

Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia praised the Columbus area for having housing that's "not only available but it's affordable...." For him, "affordable" could mean a house on Lake Harding - but for soldiers moving to Fort Benning, they might afford a houseboat IN the lake.

(There's one side issue I didn't hear anyone address about this hearing in Atlanta. How many local officials stopped at the new Ikea store on the way home?)

+ The Valley Times-News reported most of West Point Stevens's assets were sold to a company controlled by savvy investor Carl Icahn. The new owners promise no changes are planned in the West Point area - somehow forgetting Icahn once ran Trans World Airlines, and it no longer exists.

(This is probably a mean request to make -- but will the last shift working for West Point Stevens please make the proper numbers of crying towels?)

+ "Nashville Star" 2004 Brad Cotter gave a free performance on Broadway, to close the Uptown Columbus spring concert series. Less than a year ago, Cotter was a headline act at the Civic Center - so is he about to become a Nashville Meteorite?

+ USA Today's final high school baseball poll named Russell County the number-one team in the country. Congratulations to them -- and as long as Probate Judge Al Howard doesn't demand a recount of the votes, this story will have a happy ending.

(USA Today also named Russell County's Tony Rasmus its national high school baseball coach of the year. Now who was that parent he feuded with over the 1999 Phenix City Little League team -- and is finally willing to high-five and make up?)

+ Instant Message to Fireworks Outlet, not far from Russell County High: After seeing your commercial with "Wanda" offering me "a little bang bang for your holiday" - well, I'll put it this way. No one can accuse you of discrimination based on appearance....

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