Submitted by Carolyn Rogerson
Regarding February 4, 2021 article, “A Recipe for Trouble? Reversal of Outdoor Dining Ban has Plates Spinning”; why choose to share this particular opinion piece which relies almost solely on information from Los Angeles County? The author is not a health care professional. Almendrala has no more inside information than any other correspondent whose focus is health care. I base that statement, of my opinion, upon the fact that all requests from reporters for the intel, statistics and sources Governor Newsom and his advisors used to issue shut down orders have been denied.
Despite promising transparency and sharing data driven decisions regarding the COVID-19 virus, Governor Newsom never did explain. Instead CA Health & Human Services Agency spokeswoman stated, “These fluid, on the ground conditions cannot be boiled down to a single data point, and to do so would mislead and create greater uncertainty for Californians.”
Dept. of Public Health spokeswoman, Ali Bay simply said, “At the moment the projections are not being shared publicly.” So much for Gov. Newsom’s transparency.
Back to the County of San Diego, City of Coronado COVID-19 facts and statistics. What are they? General California, San Francisco and particularly Los Angeles County statistics have little in common with Coronado. Recent articles in the coronadotimes.com seem to indicate a preference exists for keeping Coronado restaurants closed to out-door dining. What science supports this position? Please clarify and please state the supporting facts and statistics for take-out only in Coronado, not Los Angeles County. Look around; masking, spacing, barriers and sanitation procedures put in place by our restaurants, small businesses as well as larger chain restaurants are exemplary. Where is the science that health compliant Coronado restaurants are super spreaders? How about our houses of worship? Thank heavens Coronado public schools have resumed in-class teaching.
The many years of rampant fraud that revealed chaotic inefficiency at the CA Employment Development Department, apparently could only be fixed by stopping payments to all recipients of unemployment insurance. EDD payments stopped January 1, 2021. At that time a backlog of almost 1 million claims existed. Now is not the time to advocate further unemployment for restaurant workers and restaurant support businesses. It isn’t about a frivolous desire to stop for a beer and a burger. It’s about workers’ livelihoods, their rent and utility payments. It’s about a family’s business sliding into bankruptcy. Shop local, dine local, support local and report local facts that affect locals.
Respectfully,
Carolyn Rogerson
