To the editor:

I was in Washington, D.C., recently for a professional conference. Several of us went out in the evening to Adams-Morgan, to listen to some reggae music. As we waded through cigarette smoke to our table, a New Yorker said, a little smugly, “We don’t have to put up with this anymore!” And I thought “Neither do I!” Once again, I felt so grateful for the privilege of living near Lawrence.

Instituting the smoking ordinance was an incredibly farsighted and wise decision. It must be very like the choice made by citizens and city leaders years ago, when Lawrence bucked national trends and didn’t build a shopping mall. I’m sure there were many people who thought Lawrence would lose on that choice, and that limiting growth in that way was too restrictive — maybe even un-American. There may have been some pain early on, but how that choice has paid off. Lawrence has the liveliest, most beautiful, and hippest downtown scene in the Midwest!

The choice to eliminate indoor smoking in public places will pay off in an even more important way. Twenty years from now there will be people among us who would have died had they been continually exposed to tobacco smoke in their places of work. The ordinance is a farsighted investment in the city of Lawrence, and more importantly in the people of Lawrence. I hope the City Commission can hang tough on this one. We’ll all be grateful they did.

Kimber Richter,

Lecompton