The Coos Bay City Council has snuffed out smoking on the city’s boardwalk, expanding an existing ordinance that bans smoking in one of the city’s most popular parks.

Ordinance 428 adds one line to the existing Mingus Park smoking ban that now prohibits smoking on the boardwalk as well as within 25 feet of it. Concerns about the wooden structure’s susceptibility to fire being caused by tossed cigarette butts was one of the main reasons for the ban, with Mayor Crystal Shoji adding that the litter isn’t pleasant to look at and creates a bad impression of the city.

The ordinance was passed unanimously by the seven member council at its June 18 meeting and according to KCBY.com, the proposal was met with no opposition from the community. It takes effect 30 days after the mayor’s signature, meaning a start date in mid-July.

Coos Bay and its nearly 16,000 residents are located in Coos County on the southern part of Oregon’s coast, about 167 miles southwest of Portland.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.