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Excerpts from: Open-air smoking at zoo could end

                      By Jay Tokasz, Rochester News [08/12/00]
 
                      (August 12, 2000) -- As the Seneca Park Zoo moves closer to
                      expansion and renovation, Monroe County legislators will consider a
                      proposal to keep the zoo's air a little cleaner, too.

                      Legislators Tracy L. Logel (pictured), R-Chili, and Pieter
                      W. Smeenk, R-Fairport, have introduced a bill that would
                      ban smoking even in outdoor areas of the zoo.

                      Logel cited secondhand smoke and the hazards of having
                      children near lighted cigarettes, lighters and matches.
                      Cleanliness and safety of the animals are also concerns,
                      she said.

                      "This is where there's a concentration of kids," Logel said. "I just feel it's
                      common sense."

                      A 1997 amendment to the county's sanitary code banned or limited
                      smoking in restaurants; sports facilities, including Frontier Field; and
                      public buildings such as indoor areas of the zoo.

                      But in Mesa, Ariz., smokers face fines for lighting up in any area used
                      for public gatherings. And Davis, Calif., prohibits smoking in play grounds and public gardens.