Vending Machines

At the urging of some Fountain Valley High School students, the City Council tonight will consider an ordinance that would prohibit cigarette sales from vending machines except in bars and other adult venues. In June, several students made a presentation to the council about the accessibility of tobacco products to minors through vending machines and requested the council consider banning them in the community.

Two men were arrested Monday morning on suspicion of prying open vending machines at a Ventura middle school and pocketing the cash. Brent Coultrup, 19, of Palmdale and Loren Allison, 18, of Ventura were booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of commercial burglary. A police officer conducting a search of Balboa Middle School about 5 a.m. Monday said he saw two men using a crowbar to pry open a vending machine.

Acting Frenso City College President Arthur Ellish is considering a proposal to install condom vending machines in men's and women's restrooms on campus. The plan was endorsed last week by the Student Senate and several student surveys also have shown support for the idea. Dave Jimenez, public information officer for the school, said he is not certain when a decision will be made.

Cigarette vending machines will be snuffed out in this St. Paul suburb in 90 days by an ordinance passed by the City Council, a move that one health expert calls the first of its kind in the country. The measure, passed 4 to 1 Tuesday, calls for the removal of the 19 cigarette vending machines in bars, gas stations, convenience stores and apartment and office buildings in this town of 24,000.

In an effort to keep tobacco products out of the reach of minors, the City Council voted this week to ban cigarette vending machines from the city. The council decision Tuesday night came after a recommendation by the city's alcohol and drug assessment committee. The vote was 4 to 1, with Councilman Mike Eggers the lone dissenter. Eggers spoke in support of Dana Point vending machine distributor Ben Koss. "This is like Big Brother to me," said Eggers, who smokes.

Assembly Republicans took advantage of a splintered Democratic Caucus Wednesday by forcing a floor vote on a bill to prohibit the sale of pornographic materials from vending machines in public places frequented by minors. By a 48-20 bipartisan vote, the lower house amended a pending measure on the lower-house floor at the request of Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), who has a similar measure bottled up in a Democratic-dominated lower-house committee.

No cash? Swipe your credit or ATM card and get a soda. Enjoy refreshing Internet headlines, no extra charge. Or bypass that candy bar or bag of chips and get some real nutrition--a steaming plate of pasta, with a choice of sauces. It's a New! Improved! world in the vending business, as displayed at this month's National Automatic Merchandising Assn. convention. With $36 billion a year dropping into vending machines, new hardware attracted plenty of attention.

Six cigarette vending machine companies filed a $100-million lawsuit against Philip Morris Cos. for alleged price discrimination in the sale of cigarettes. The suit claims that New York-based Philip Morris discriminates against the vending machine owners by giving rebates, buybacks and other promotional fees to other merchants that result in lower wholesale cigarette prices. The companies, which filed the suit in U.S.

The Assembly voted 64 to 4 to approve legislation that would all but prohibit the sale of graphic pornographic materials from street-side, coin-operated vending machines. The vote sent the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), to the Senate, where its chances are also rated as good. The bill would allow the sale of so-called harmful matter from vending machines only in areas that are under adult supervision, which would probably severely curtail sidewalk sales.