In This Section:
PG&E Offers Big Winter Gas Savings
Dallas Might Join Doggie Dining Trend
Another Chicago Suburb Passes Patchwork Smoking Ban
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PG&E Offers Big Winter Gas Savings
This one's not regulatory, strictly speaking. But it's the carrot alternative to the regulatory stick: Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in northern California has enhanced its "10/20 Plus" winter gas saving program for this year.
All PG&E customers are eligible for the program and are automatically enrolled. For every percentage point of decrease in your gas usage in January and February, compared to your three-year average, customers will receive a 1% credit on their gas bill, up to a total of 9%.
And here's the SUPER kicker: Customers who reduce their gas consumption by 10% or more will receive a 20% credit. So if you save 10% yourself, PG&E matches with 20%, which means your savings are 30%.
Last year, only residential and small business customers were eligible for the credits, and they didn't earn any until they decreased gas usage at least 10% over the prior year. The new program makes it easier for everyone to save on winter fuel bills.
Make sure your employees use energy saving techniques, like not firing up gas equipment until it's needed, when you receive your December bill. Credits, if earned, will show up on March or April statements.
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Dallas Might Join Doggie Dining Trend
Looks like another major metro area is going to the dogs. Dogs may be dining al fresco in Dallas soon. Not to be outdone by Austin, which passed an ordinance allowing doggie dining back in April, Dallas is considering a similar ordinance. City attorney Tom Perkins is looking into the issue and plans to brief city council by early next year.
State health code bars all but guide animals for the disabled from restaurants, but does allow cities to grant variances. Like Austin's, an ordinance in Dallas would allow dogs to dine with owners in outdoor dining areas only. No word on when a new ordinance might be drafted, but comments from council members suggests the mood is favorable for passage when it is—likely in time for summer outdoor dining season.
Another Chicago Suburb Passes Patchwork Smoking Ban
And this just in during a slow regulatory week: You can still smoke 'em if you've got 'em in Arlington Heights, Ill., but only if you're at the horse track. The village board of trustees is set to vote this week on an ordinance that would ban smoking in all public places, including restaurants and bars, with one exception—Arlington Park racetrack and a restaurant and off-track betting facility it operates called Trackside.
Several towns in Chicago's northwest suburbs jointly agreed to pass similar no-smoking ordinances to level the playing field for businesses that might be affected if smokers went elsewhere. In that spirit, Arlington Heights village staff members recommended that smoking at the track be limited to outdoors. But trustees voted to make indoor smoking at the track "a point of trust," according to village mayor Arlene Mulder.
Indoor smoking at the track is now limited to designated areas, according to Arlington Park spokesperson Kristine Stabler, and may soon be banned altogether anyway. The track has always promoted itself as family-friendly entertainment.
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