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Lawmakers Consider Bills Allowing Pets In North Carolina Taprooms

SEAN BUETER/WFDD

North Carolina lawmakers are considering bills allowing dogs and cats in breweries that don't also serve food.

The Forsyth County Department of Public Health recently stepped up enforcement of a state food code that bars pets in craft breweries and taprooms.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that both the state House and Senate are now considering bills that open the door to exemptions for establishments “not engaged in the preparation of food on the premises.”

Because the bills have a revenue component, they're not subject to last week's “crossover” deadline for bills moving from one chamber to the other.

It's uncertain, though, if the legislation has enough support for passage. Some opponents are concerned that exemptions for craft breweries would lead to restaurants and other food outlets requesting animals be allowed within indoor-dining areas.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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