On Tuesday night, the Salinas City Council voted to make it just a bit more difficult for tobacco retailers to do business in the central California city while also bringing in a chunk of money to the city’s coffers.
Tobacco retailers must now pay $286 for an annual license in order to stay in business, a requirement that affects 135 retailers according to TheCalifornian.com. If all retailers comply, that means the city will bring n $38,610 as a result of the council’s 6-1 vote.
If a retailer doesn’t comply with the new licensing requirement, they will face a fine of $1,000 for the first offense and $2,000 for a second violation.
Salinas is located in Monterey County, just over 100 miles south of San Francisco. It had a 2013 population estimate of 155,662 residents.
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, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, 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.