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By Kathy Adams The Virginian-Pilot May 19, 2012 VIRGINIA BEACH Cassie Thurston lounged on Chic's Beach, sipping an energy drinkFriday afternoon and keeping a close watch on her 4-year-olddaughter, Cassidy, playing nearby, not far from a scattering oforange and white cigarette butts abandoned in the sand. "She's always picking them up," Thurston said of thebutts. "She's a little girl. She doesn't know." An effort under way in Chic's Beach seeks to snuff out that problemby asking the City Council to ban smoking on the beach altogether. The Chesapeake Beach Civic League on Thursday voted by a 3-1 ratioin favor of the proposal, which would apply only to city beachesalong the Chesapeake Bay, and plans to present the idea to thecouncil next week. But city leaders said Friday they aren't sure whether they have theauthority to ban smoking in an open, public space. If not, theywould have to seek permission from the General Assembly. "I'd have to look and see what our legal position wouldbe," said Vice Mayor Louis Jones, whose district includesChic's Beach, located east of Joint Expeditionary Base LittleCreek. "Whether we could do that or not, I really don'tknow." Championing the idea is Chic's Beach native Donny Damon, who saidhe knows the ban could be a hard sell. Similar efforts in recentyears have found success in California, Florida and New York butfailed in New Jersey and North Carolina. "It's going to be a tough battle," Damon said. "Iknow this." Damon said he hopes to convince the city the health andenvironmental benefits are worthwhile. He's seeking backing fromother Bay-area civic leagues and has the support of the localchapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated toprotecting the beach and ocean. Every year, volunteers remove thousands of cigarette butts from theBay and its tributaries during the Chesapeake Bay Foundation'sClean the Bay Day, said Tanner Council, who helps organize theevent in Hampton Roads. "It's by far and away one of the largest, most egregiousoffenders that we find out there," he said of cigarette-buttlitter. Damon's proposal appears to be the first of its kind here. TheSurfrider Foundation has championed similar efforts elsewhere butthought the effort would be futile in Virginia, with its culturaland economic ties to tobacco, said Ari Lawrence, the organization'sVirginia Beach chairman. "I thought it was a brick wall in the commonwealth," hesaid. State and local statutes already prohibit littering, including onthe beach. Smoking is not allowed in restaurants. Last year, Virginia Beach General District Court disposed of 228littering cases, according to a Virginian-Pilot analysis of stateSupreme Court data. Most defendants received fines. The City Council has some leeway to regulate smoking in publicplaces, and the city code includes a list of 15 no-smoking areas,including public restrooms and community centers. All of the areasare indoors. Gwyn Mull, a Chesapeake Beach Civic League member, voted in favorof the ban even though she often lights up on the beach, depositingher cigarette butts in a soda can. She said she wouldn't mindgiving up smoking while she sunbathes if it meant curbing thelitter. "I just think it's so important not to leave your cigarettebutts on the beach," she said. "If you say there's nosmoking on the beach, I think people will get the idea." Mull and other members of her civic league said they hope focusingon Chic's Beach, which caters more to locals than thetourism-dependent Oceanfront, will give the ban a better chance ofpassing. The cost should be small, consisting of a few no-smokingsigns and an effort by police to enforce the rule, Damon said. Eventually, Damon would like to see the ban expanded, although heviews Chic's Beach as a good place to start. "It's going to take baby steps to get this done, I'msure," he said. "But this is definitely a step in theright direction." Pilot researcher Jakon Hays contributed to this report. Kathy Adams, 757-222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Hydrophilic Softener Manufacturer , Textile Enzyme, and more. For more , please visit Cationic Softener Flakes today!
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