The Region - News from May 24, 1987

Fuming at the new smoking ordinance in Rancho Mirage, restaurant owners in that Riverside County desert community have vowed to fight the compromise law that reserves two-thirds of dining areas for non-smokers. “We need more latitude . . . more flexibility to compete with surrounding communities,” said Dominick Zangari, president of the Restaurant Merchants Assn. “It’s simply not a fair ratio.” The ordinance, which goes into effect June 20, also applies to stores and offices and requires restaurants to install a smoke-filtering system by the end of this year.