Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Valentina Perri, 27, right, lights up a cigarette in the Smiling Moose bar on the South Side last night, with Radu Plucinsky, left, both of the South Side. The county smoking ban started at midnight.

The lights went out at midnight inside Allegheny County bars and restaurants. It was either that or smoking patrons had to go outside to finish their cigarettes.

At a hearing yesterday afternoon, Common Pleas Judge Michael A. Della Vecchia denied a motion to extend a delay in the implementation of the county's ban on smoking in dining and drinking establishments.

But health department inspectors were not going to cruise bar districts after the first stroke of midnight looking for violators, said Health Director Dr. Bruce Dixon.

		Related coverage Smoking ban fires up bar owners, patrons On the Net See a list of taverns granted waivers to the smoking ban, on the Allegheny County Health Department Web site.

"We're certainly not going to be heavy-handed," he said. "We're going to allow people some period of time, just as we did the other facilities, to come into compliance."

An inspector will be sent to investigate if there are complaints, "but we are not doing sting operations for this," Dr. Dixon said.

While other workplaces had to comply with the new law on Jan. 2, Judge Della Vecchia gave bar and restaurant owners a 120-day grace period that expired at midnight.

The judge issued the ruling in December after the owners of two Downtown restaurants, James G. Mitchell, of Mitchell's Restaurant, and John Petrolias, of the Smithfield Cafe, challenged the county ordinance in a lawsuit funded by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. The restaurateurs argued the smoking ban would cause irreparable harm to their businesses.

The plaintiffs asked to prolong the 120-day injunction until their appeal is decided by Commonwealth Court.

At the start of the hearing, the judge asked lawyers on both sides if they had heard anything official on the matter, but none had.

"This is not a matter I treated lightly," Judge Della Vecchia said. "We wouldn't be here today" if the parties had taken the opportunity of the delay to lobby state policymakers to resolve the issues.

"This is a legislative matter," he said. "The courts should not be a shadow government."

County Council Solicitor Jack Cambest called the ruling "a victory for employes in Allegheny County who work in restaurants and bars.

"I wasn't surprised," he said. "I thought the judge would be consistent. It really takes a lot for somebody to make a judge change his decision."

Mr. Cambest said county officials have contacted local state legislators to ask them to support Senate and House bills that would establish a Pennsylvania regulation.

"The [county] Health Department is not permitted to lobby actively in Harrisburg," noted its attorney, Rebecca Morris-Chatta. "What we have done is perform many presentations on this issue, explaining the importance of a statewide ban and urging people to comment to their legislators."

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Petrolias said the fight is far from over.

"We faced the Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Great Flood and now we're facing another possible threat to the survival of the oldest restaurant in Pittsburgh," Mr. Mitchell said.

Smoking patrons told him yesterday afternoon they were disappointed, but only time will tell "if they show up or if they'll head to a bar where they can smoke," Mr. Mitchell said. "Anytime you have continued government regulation of a private business, it's tough to swallow."

He's optimistic about the appeal that's pending in Commonwealth Court.

Meanwhile, "we will post the signs up it's no smoking and we'll have to enforce it," Mr. Petrolias said. "The toughest place to enforce it will be my employees. They all smoke!"

Bars that have fewer than 10 employees and make less than 10 percent of their revenue from food could apply for waivers from the county smoking ban.

The county Health Department, which held off issuing a list of taverns that qualified for waivers until the results of the judge's hearing were known, has posted the names on its Web site.

According to spokesman Guillermo Cole, 53 establishments received waivers, 22 applications were denied and a dozen are pending. Letters went out on Friday to applicants telling them of their status and, in the case of denial, how to appeal the decision.

Owners of taverns that don't get waivers should make every attempt to curtail smoking in their establishments, including removing ashtrays and posting appropriate signs. They may also want to keep a record of when they request a patron to stop smoking so that they can show they have tried to comply, Mr. Cole said.

"Remember, there's a warning for first time violation until July 1," he added. After that, a $250 fine for each violation applies to individuals and businesses.

Proponents of the ordinance were thrilled with the judge's decision.

Greg Hartley, of SmokeFree Pennsylvania, said his organization has always viewed the ordinance primarily as a workplace safety law and then as a public health issue. As he put it, some may suggest bartenders and waitstaff get another job, but no one tells a coal miner to just go to another mine if the workplace is unsafe.

"We all want a comprehensive, statewide ban, so that everyone benefits from clean indoor air." said Cindy Thomas, executive director of TobaccoFree Allegheny. "But absent that action by Harrisburg, which seems to be sluggish at best, at least people in Allegheny County, in Philadelphia and in Scranton have an opportunity to be protected in the workplace."