San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Treasury to release data on small business relief
The Trump administration has abruptly dropped its insistence on secrecy for a $600 billionplus coronavirus aid program for small businesses.
The administration announced Friday it will publicly disclose the names of recipients of the taxpayerfunded loans, the amounts they received in ranges, as well as demographic data on the businesses. The unexpected move came after Democratic lawmakers, government watchdogs, ethics advocates and news organizations called for the administration to make the information public.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to do so at a recent Senate hearing, saying the data on the Paycheck Protection Program was “proprietary information.”
Mnuchin said in a statement Friday that the new position resulted from a bipartisan agreement with leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee.
ARIZONA Phoenix orders face masks
The city of Phoenix has approved a measure requiring people to use face masks in public to ward off the spread of the coronavirus as Arizona hit an alltime high for new daily cases.
In an emergency meeting Friday, the City Council voted 72 in favor of making masks mandatory. The order went into effect Saturday.
Multiple cities across the state from Tucson to Flagstaff announced their own mandates for people to wear masks in public.
The state Department of Health Services reported 3,246 additional cases Friday, increasing the statewide total to 46,689 along with 1,312 deaths, including 41 reported Friday.
WASHINGTON Hospitals hit capacity
Yakima County has the highest rate of coronavirus infection in Washington state and its hospitals are beyond capacity with sick patients.
The Yakima Health District said there was no space for more patients at Virginia Mason Memorial hospital in Yakima, which has more than 200 beds.
The Seattle Times reported that at least 17 patients had already been transferred out of Yakima County.
MICHIGAN Court strikes gym closure
A federal judge in Michigan has ruled that gyms and fitness centers in the state can reopen this week, overturning a state order keeping them closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration failed to show any rational link between the coronavirus threat and the shutdown. The judge noted gyms are still closed in much of Michigan while restaurants, bars, barbershops and hair salons are back in business.
Whitmer’s office says the governor will appeal the ruling. She had planned to reopen gyms, movie theaters and bowling alleys by July 4.