Restaurants need aid from chamber of commerce

I am the good friend of a small business owner who owns a restaurant in the Lehigh Valley. He is closing due to Gov. Wolf’s orders placing restrictions on the operation of restaurants and many other small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nolaws have been passed by the state Legislature ordering the closing of certain businesses and other venues. These proclamations by the governor seem arbitrary in nature.

Many businesses in the Valley belong to the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, headed by Tony Iannelli. As many businesses belong to this organization, my question is what is the local chamber — the biggest in the state, Iannelli is always saying — doing to help its members from being closed down?

Chamber business members pay to belong to the organization and expect some benefit in return. Here is a good example of how the local chamber could help its members by lobbying state legislators and the governor to rescind the operating restrictions that are destroying many businesses. Richard Sappelli

Bethlehem