Sea Dunes Village

NC smoking ban at restaurants begins Jan 2nd

WHERE NOT TO SMOKE: All indoor areas of nearly every restaurant and bar in the state are covered by the ban. Smoking also is prohibited in enclosed areas of hotels and inns if the establishment prepares and serves food or drink. Places such as convenience stores and bowling alleys also are nonsmoking zones if the businesses comply with sanitation laws for eateries.

EXCEPTIONS: Outside restaurant or bar patios are exempt from the ban unless they have a roof and a wall or side coverings on all sides or all sides but one. Nonprofit private clubs that serve food or drink such as country clubs and those run by fraternal organizations like Kiwanis and Elks largely can permit smoking. Hotels and inns under the ban can still set aside 20 percent of their rooms for smokers. Cigar bars are exempt when they meet several requirements, as well as Hookah bars that neither provide food nor operate a bar

NC Senate OKs Outer Banks ban on plastic bags  — The Senate voted 47-1 on Wednesday for a pilot program banning plastic bags in Outer Banks counties. Starting in September, shoppers in Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties could take home their purchase in 100 percent recycled paper. Senate leader Marc Basnight of Dare County said the measure would apply only to the three counties, but Republican Sen. Tom Apodaca of Henderson County said he hopes the ban spreads statewide. Supporters said discarded bags are especially a problem on barrier islands that are heavily visited by tourists and where litter on the limited land space is more obvious.