State issues tough talk if a business flouts order. N. Y.? Fines.
SACRAMENTO — Nearly six months since Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to target businesses that are f lagrantly violating public health orders to control the spread of COVID- 19, California regulators have issued just 424 citations and suspended two business licenses as of last week, according to data from 10 state regulatory and law enforcement agencies.
Instead of strictly penal
izing businesses for violations, the Democratic governor and businessman with a portfolio of wineries, bars and restaurants under the brand name PlumpJack has relied on educating owners about infectious disease mandates. State agencies have contacted establishments primarily by email, sending them 1.3 million messages since July 1 to urge them to comply with state and local public health rules.
Enforcement at bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as among the highest- risk environments for coronavirus transmission, has been limited, data show. The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which can issue criminal misdemeanor citations, f ine businesses and revoke liquor licenses, has issued just 45 citations against bars and 119 against restaurants since July. No f ines have been issued or licenses revoked for the 94,000 businesses it regulates.
By comparison, the state of New York — with half the population of California and far fewer eating and drinking establishments — has issued 1,867 fines against bars and restaurants, and temporarily suspended 279 business liquor licenses from June 18 to Dec. 8.
“The reality is it’s not enough to send an email and say, ‘ Wear a mask,’ ” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins- Domingo, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC San Francisco. “We see workplace violations that we know are major sources of transmission. We have to be willing to enforce or there’s no point in doing these things.”
Like much of the country, both California and New York, the nation’s two most populous Democratic- led states, have put primary responsibility for enforcing public health mandates on cities and counties. Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo have bolstered local
enforcement efforts by forming statewide task forces to go after businesses that repeatedly violate or ignore public health rules, such as mask mandates and business closures.
But California has been less aggressive than New York in targeting and penalizing bad actors. Newsom and state agencies have instead relied on tough talk and persuasion, emphasizing “personal responsibility,” informing businesses about their responsibilities — and giving them plenty of time to comply.
“I’m not coming out with a f ist. We want to come out with an open heart,” Newsom said July 1. “We have, I think, a responsibility at the same time to go after people that are thumbing their nose, that are particularly being aggressive and reticent to do anything.”
The state’s lenient enforcement policy has put enormous pressure on cities and counties struggling to gain compliance with COVID- 19 measures. Local government leaders are preparing for deep budget cuts and can’t f ind resources to undertake a coherent enforcement strategy of their own.
As a result, some counties enforce the rules and some don’t. And because the state hasn’t stepped in to assist with adequate enforcement, some local officials
say, businesses are often free to ignore the rules, allowing the virus to run rampant.
“It would be nice to have some air support from the governor,” said Nevada City Councilman Doug Fleming, who backs the city’s new ordinance imposing f ines for violating the state mask mandate. “He’s kind of forcing local jurisdictions to enforce his rules without any air support.”
California is experiencing a surge of coronavirus cases as never before, setting records almost daily for infections and deaths. Hospitals across the state are running dangerously low on intensive care unit beds.
Most of California is under a mandatory stay- athome order, which prohibits indoor and outdoor dining and requires closure of a wide swath of businesses. Retail operations are limited to 20% capacity and churches must hold services outside.
Yet across the state, many people continue to f lout the rules, keeping businesses open and refusing to wear masks in public. Bars in Los Angeles County were packed with maskless football fans on a recent Sunday.
And Calla Lily Crepes in Nevada City has repeatedly refused to close or require masks despite more than 20 warnings and attempts by Nevada County to gain compliance.
Newsom in July threatened to withhold money from cities and counties that refuse to enforce public health orders. To date, the state has withheld federal funding from two cities in the Central Valley, Atwater and Coalinga, for allowing businesses to remain open in defiance of state and local health orders.
The governor has also directed 10 state agencies to keep watch for egregious violators of state and local health orders, primarily businesses, to protect workers and the public. State enforcement officials have issued few harsh penalties, they argue, because most businesses are complying.
In interviews, regulators described long hours of backbreaking work to inform business owners about the rapidly changing COVID- 19 restrictions and enforcement rules.
“We’re not trying to get into an adversarial situation here,” said Erika Monterroza, chief spokesperson for the state Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates workplace safety and employer public health mandates.
Cal/ OSHA issued 219 coronavirus- related citations to 90 employers from Aug. 25 to Dec. 14, accompanied by about $ 2.2 million in proposed fines, according to department data. The penalties ranged from $ 475 on Sept. 30 against a Taco Bell in Anaheim for failing to require employees to maintain six feet of physical distance, to $ 108,000 on Oct. 29 against Apple Bistro in Placerville for not requiring masks indoors and for not providing adequate physical distance between employees and guests.
The department is investigating about 1,700 other cases.
The state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, which regulates about 54,000 salons and barbershops, has levied just two citations and suspended two licenses, both held by Primo’s Barbershop in Vacaville, which has “very adamantly” opposed state health orders, said Matt Woodcheke, a spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the board.
No citations have been issued for COVID- 19- related public health violations by California’s 280 state parks, nor by the California Highway Patrol.
Regulators said they aim for voluntary compliance and don’t want to cause businesses to go under.
“This is extremely difficult and we don’t want to do it,” said Luke Blehm, an acting supervising agent in charge of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. “We are all compassionate and empathetic and it’s a very hard thing to tell somebody that they’ve got to close and they may lose everything because of these rules they have to comply with.”
In New York, by contrast, Cuomo has leaned on political leaders and law enforcement agencies to aggressively patrol violations of COVID- 19 public health rules and has publicly admonished sheriffs who refuse to enforce violations.
He ordered a statewide crackdown on bars and restaurants as cases surged this summer after contacttracing data indicated drinking and dining were a major source of community spread, said Cuomo spokesperson Jack Sterne.
In hard- hit counties and towns where political leadership rebuffed enforcement, the Cuomo administration deployed COVID strike teams composed of state inspectors — in some cases, retrained Department of Motor Vehicles employees — to monitor business violations of public health rules. Cuomo argues it has made a difference.
“Compliance on bars has increased dramatically from when we started,” he said in September, “because if you know someone is going to check, if you know there’s monitoring, people tend to increase compliance.”
In California, some counties are enforcing COVID- 19 restrictions. San Diego County is dedicating six sheriff ’ s deputies to the cause and fines repeat violators up to $ 1,000.
“We’re supportive of enforcement here,” said San Diego County Sheriff ’s Lt. Ricardo Lopez. “COVID- 19 is exploding and our view is, let’s get this over with as fast as possible.”
But elsewhere, county health officers pushing for stricter enforcement face intense political opposition from their bosses and law enforcement agencies. Sacramento County, for example, dropped its plan to impose f ines this month after confronting resistance from businesses. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones also has refused to enforce mask and other public health mandates.
Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn., said the state, ideally, should develop a consistent statewide enforcement system that starts with warnings and a strong public messaging campaign, then moves to graduated f ines if noncompliance continues.
Until that happens, leaders say, the patchwork of rules and enforcement strategies is causing confusion and chaos.
“People are continuing to disobey,” said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County’s health officer. “Some people are outright angry with us, asking why aren’t we doing something, but all we can do is refer problems to the state enforcement agencies.”
Rams players and coach Sean McVay talked all season, and every season, about playing their best in late December when playoff runs are often born.
They are failing miserably — at least on offense.
On Sunday, for the second week in a row, quarterback Jared Goff and the offense wasted a strong defensive effort and jeopardized their playoff chances.
The Rams did not score a touchdown in a 20- 9 defeat by the newly crowned NFC Westchampion Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The Rams, coming off a defeat by the previously winless New York Jets, dropped to 9- 6 heading into next Sunday’s finale against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium. The Rams must win — or have the Chicago Bears lose to the Green Bay Packers — to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Goff ’s availability for the finale is questionable. A franchise player who has started all but one of 74 regular- season and postseason games
since 2016 suffered what appeared to be a dislocated right thumb in the third quarter. Goff popped the thumb back into place and completed the game.
Will he be available against the Cardinals?
“I am uncertain,” Goff said. “We will see.”
If Goff cannot play against the Cardinals, backup John Wolford — an undrafted free agent who played in the defunct Alliance of American Football — would play for the f irst time. Goff has passed for 20 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. His uneven play is the Rams’ most obvious problem. But it’s not the only one for a team that has lost two games in row for the first time this season.
McVay, the play- caller, blamed himself for the Rams’ woes. It has been a “humbling, tough, up- anddown year,” he said after the Rams failed to score a touchdown for the fourth time in his four seasons and produced their fewest points in more than a year.
“My job is to put these guys in better spots, and I don’t think I’ve consistently done a good enough job of that,” McVay said, adding, “Like I tell our players all the time, ‘ I see a lot better than I hear.’ Talk is cheap, we’ve gotta see the production, and ultimately when you look at it, I can be honest with myself and I don’t feel like I’ve done a good enough job.”
Goff completed 24 of 43 passes for 234 yards, but he made a critical mistake in the second quarter. On first down at the Seahawks’ 29yard line, he took a snap and rolled to his right. Rather than holding onto the ball and rushing for yardage, he inexplicably passed the ball into a seeming no- man’s land, where it was intercepted by Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs.
Goff lamented that he was “trying to get cute with something” in attempting to get the ball to receiver Robert Woods. It resulted in what Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, described as one of the worst plays of his career.
“A dumb play,” he said. “It was just stupid.”
Goff narrowly avoided another turnover. With the Rams trailing 13- 6 in the third quarter, running back Darrell Henderson’s short run to the two- yard line gave them first and goal. Henderson suffered an ankle injury on the play.
The Seahawks stopped running back Malcolm Brown for a loss and then stopped him short of the goal line on the next play. Goff fumbled on a failed sneak attempt, but officials determined that the Seahawks had not recovered the ball beneath the pile.
The Seahawks ended the threat when they stuffed Brown on fourth down.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson secured the victory with a touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Hollister with less than three minutes left. Wilson completed 20 of 32 passes for 225 yards and touchdown, and also rushed for a score.
Defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph- Day and cornerback Jalen Ramsey did not blame the offense, saying the defense needed to create turnovers. After scoring off turnovers in three consecutive games, the Rams didn’t force a turnover for the second game in a row.
“We didn’t give the offense any opportunity to get momentum or spark,” said Joseph- Day, who had one of the Rams’ five sacks.
The Rams have to “turn it up a notch” going into their finale, Ramsey said.
“We know what we have in front of us, and we have to make it happen,” he said. “That’s hopefully what we’ll do. … [ You’re] not going to see any smiling faces. We’re about business, and we need to get it together ASAP.” Goff agreed. “We need to figure it out,” he said. “I’m sorry that this is happening, obviously, but we will figure it out. We have in the past, and we’ll keep believing and we will move forward.”