8:15 – INTERVIEW – VINCENT GRAY – Former D.C. mayor and current City Council member, and DC Council’s Health Committee Chair

TOPICS:

PETS / DC RESTAURANTS

– DC Health Department Cracks Down on Dogs on Bar and Restaurant Patios. Regulation Under Review After DC Cracks Down on Dogs at Bars. (NBC4) — Pets at bars, coffee shops and restaurants is a growing trend, but it’s not legal everywhere, and a D.C. regulation is under review after a crackdown at a beer garden that serves food. At The Midlands in northwest D.C., which is co-owned by the son of News4 reporter Tom Sherwood, Andy Pants the dog was as much a part of the business as the beer until a D.C. health inspector ordered Andy and all dogs off the patio Tuesday. “Nobody is in the kitchen with their dogs,” dog lover Andrew Zukosky said. “It’s an outdoor venue anyway. There are birds in there. It seems like they’re way dirtier than domestic animals.”

>> (Washingtonian) –-After hearing from a number of constituents, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is working on emergency legislation with health committee chair Vincent Gray to address dogs on patios. “There aren’t any details to share yet,” says Tom Fazzini, Nadeau’s deputy chief of staff. “The earliest it could be up would be the Oct 3 session.”

– New smoking cessation proposal: Earlier this week: On Tuesday, September 19, Councilmember Gray will hold a press conference with the DC Tobacco Free Coalition and the American Cancer Society to announce new smoking cessation legislation he will introduce on September 19th titled the “Department of Health Smoking Cessation Fund Amendment Act of 2017” aimed at helping residents quit smoking and to kickoff DC Calls It Quits! Week. Councilmember Gray will discuss the importance of smoking cessation in DC and his proposal for a plan to help DC residents quit smoking and support smoking cessation prevention and resources across the District.