Governor Walker Signs Smoke-free Workplace Bill at Lucky Wishbone

Press Release

Governor Walker signed Senate Bill 63 into law this morning at the Lucky Wishbone restaurant in downtown Anchorage. The bill, sponsored by Senator Peter Micciche, protects Alaskans by ensuring smoke-free workplaces and public places across the state.

For outsiders, holding the signing at Anchorage's most famous fried-chicken eatery might raise some eyebrows. But longtime patrons of the Lucky Wishbone know it became Alaska's first smoke-free restaurant in 1991, when co-founder George Brown decided to take a risk and ban smoking from the premises. The family worried about its effect on business. Nearly 30 years later, the Lucky Wishbone remains the oldest single-family owned restaurant in Alaska.

Many gathered to celebrate the new law, including supporters who worked long hours over more than six years to shepherd SB 63 through Alaska's Legislature, and those who've worked for decades to get healthy working environments for Alaskans. That included legislators, Emily Nenon and the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, ANTHC, Mat-Su Health Foundation, Dr. Jay Butler, Alaska's Chief Medical Officer, and many more: over 1000 Alaska businesses offered resolutions in support of SB 63 on its way to passage.

"The public health costs of smoking, especially second-hand, have been well known for decades," Governor Walker said. "This law means no Alaskan has to sacrifice their health for their livelihood. I'm proud to follow George's lead, and give working Alaskans a smoke-free future."

Though George Brown died in January, at 96, the Lucky Wishbone remains open, as it's been since 1955, under new owners: his daughter, Pat Heller, and two longtime employees, Carolina Stacey and Heidi Heimrich.

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