GREAT NEWS… MANDATORY MASK ORDER PASSED UNANIMOUSLY IN BENICIA ! (UPDATE – FINAL DRAFT OF RESOLUTION)
By Pat Toth-Smith, Benicia resident, June 17, 2020
Benicia city council did the right thing last night after much discussion and overwhelming support came from many callers and letters.
Congratulations to all who worked hard on getting this passed! Benicia is now a safe place to shop and be !!!!!! ????????????????❤️❤️
Thank you council member Steve Young and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson for taking the lead, doing the right and hard thing for our citizens early. And thank you city staff and police chief Upson for your work on this. Thank you council member, Tom Campbell for coming around quickly during the meeting to vote for it, you got the ball rolling. And lastly, thank you to council members Largaespada and Strawbridge for also doing the right thing in the end for us citizens even if you maybe didn’t agree with all of it.
The following business item is on the Benicia City Council agenda for Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Below you will find instructions for sending your comment to staff and council members.
14.A – RESOLUTION REQUIRING THE WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS IN BENICIA (Assistant City Manager)
At the May 26, 2020 City Council study session, the City Council deliberated the merits of mandating the wearing of face coverings in Benicia. Council directed staff to collect data on COVID-19 infections and prepare a resolution requiring the public to wear face coverings indoors and in enclosed public spaces in Benicia. Staff has returned to Council with the requested data and resolution.
Recommendation:
Move to adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) requiring the wearing of face coverings in indoor and enclosed public spaces in Benicia.
ALL THE INFO YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING, TUESDAY, JUNE 16th @ 7pm!
**They’ll be voting on the mask mandate, so send in your comments and explain why it is so important!!
-View live broadcast Ch 27, Tuesday, 6/16 at 7:00pm
-Watch Online at http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agenda
-Re-broadcasts on Ch 27: Thurs & Tues following the meeting, 8:30am
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY EMAIL
(copy the below email group and paste into “To:” field of email)
You may choose to identify yourself, or remain anonymous. Briefly state which issue you will be speaking to. Limit submission to 750 words, or about 5 minutes reading length for clerk. ** Emails received PRIOR to 3pm on the meeting day will be distributed to council members, read privately, and recorded. Emails received AFTER 3pm & BEFORE 7pm on the meeting day will be collected by the clerk and read out loud during the council meeting broadcast.
SHARE COMMENTS VIA TELEPHONE DIAL-IN
Call in via Zoom: (669) 900-9128
Follow prompts, Meeting ID: 826 4906 6719 — Password: 440887
You will be placed in a virtual waiting room/queue. You will be prompted by the city clerk when it is your turn to share your comments. You will only have five minutes to speak (hard stop, no exceptions). Once complete, you will be muted to the council.
MAIL IN COMMENTS VIA USPS
Comments may be submitted by letter via the postal service. Standard postage will apply.
MAIL TO: City Clerk, Lisa Wolfe, 250 E L. Street, Benicia, CA 94510
Mailed comments must be received by end of business day on the day of the meeting and a copy will be distributed to each attendee.
For questions re: agenda, how to connect, submissions, contact:
City Clerk, Lisa Wolfe
250 E. L. Street, Benicia, CA 94510
LWolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us or (707) 746-4200
Business office hours 8am – 5pm.
[Other City Officials that may Attend}
Lisa Wolfe – City Clerk
Lori Tinfow – City Manager
Alan Shear – Asst City Manager
Ben Stock – City Attorney
mgiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us – Economic Dev, Mario Giuliani
police@ci.benicia.ca.us – Police Chief Erik Upson
JChadwick@ci.benicia.ca.us – Fire Chief, Josh Chadwick
mdotson@ci.benicia.ca.us – Parks & Community, Mike Dotson
Want to open your business to customers without masks? Good thing your store is here in Benicia!
By Roger Straw, May 28, 2020
As COVID-19 deaths topped 100,000 in the US, and on the same day that our sister city Vallejo ratified an emergency order requiring the mandatory wearing of face coverings in enclosed public spaces, Benicia’s City Council, after 4 ½ hours of contemplation, decided to leave it up to you.
Gee, that’s nice.
Well, hold on a minute – the City RECOMMENDS that masks be worn in enclosed spaces. And officially, we abide by the Solano County guidelines, that STRONGLY recommend face coverings.
But for now there’s no order, no mandate, no requirement – wear one or don’t! And if the store you want to shop at requires face coverings, sniff around – you can probably get by without a mask at some other store here in good ol’ business-friendly Benicia.
Business owners can decide for themselves whether to require masks.
Oh but not so fast, business owners: Prepare to be “educated” into requiring masks in your facility. As Vice Mayor Christina Strawbridge said at the Council meeting: “I believe the City’s attempt to educate rather than legislate will be the best solution.”
Um, what’s wrong with educate AND legislate?? Seems a good way to get more compliance.
As for me, for now I think I’ll shop in Vallejo.
Here’s the Benicia City Council on May 26, hearing from a bazillion residents begging for a mandatory face covering order and deciding to do, well, basically nothing. (Warning – 4 ½ hours long!)
[Editor: Well, if you didn’t know, I’m the retired pastor. And I don’t even know if any of Benicia’s anti-mask-don’t-tread-on-me folks are planning to attend religious services. But if they are… DON’T JOIN THEM, DON’T GO! The story below is living, coughing, deadly proof from nearby. Oh, and… most faith communities are streaming worship, and the Governor has just today issued new guidelines for very limited religious gatherings, including funerals. – R.S.]
More cases connected with worship services in Mendocino, Butte counties
San Francisco Chronicle, by Bob Egelko , Kate Galbraith and Lauren Hernández May 24, 2020
Bishop Marc Andrus bows before the altar while rehearsing virtual Easter Sunday service at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, April 12, 2020. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
As religious leaders await new rules from Gov. Gavin Newsom that could allow houses of worship to reopen with social-distancing adjustments, concern is mounting in Mendocino and Butte counties as more coronavirus cases tied to churches there have emerged.
Mendocino County health officer Dr. Noemi Doohan said Friday that her county’s six most recent confirmed cases were all connected to an outbreak at Redwood Valley Assembly of God. The county had previously reported that three people — including the pastor — who participated in a live-streamed Mother’s Day service at the church had contracted the virus. Most parishioners did not attend the service in person.
“When we have an outbreak of such a large magnitude, it’s very concerning because we know that these individuals have had other contacts since contracting the disease,” Doohan said.
In addition, a second case out of a Butte County Mother’s Day church service has emerged, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record. More than 180 people attended the service, which was held in violation of the state’s shelter-in-place orders. One attendee had tested positive not long after the service. On Thursday, county Public Information Officer Lisa Almaguer said a second person tested positive, the Enterprise-Record reported.
Butte County has 34 coronavirus cases. Dr. Andy Miller, the county health officer, said in a video update Friday that Butte officials have seen a “pretty dramatic increase in cases,” though he did not say whether any additional cases were connected with the church.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a schedule Monday for the resumption of in-person services, with social-distancing adjustments. But that is not soon enough for some California pastors, who want to be able to hold services at a time of rising spiritual needs.
On Friday, a divided federal appeals court refused to order Newsom to allow in-person services at this stage of the pandemic.
Over a dissent by an appointee of President Trump, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied an injunction sought by a Pentecostal church and its pastor in San Diego County, who argued that Newsom was violating freedom of religion by refusing to allow churches and other places of worship to reopen.
Upholding a federal judge’s refusal to allow immediate reopening of the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, the appeals court said Newsom’s decisions have not selectively targeted or burdened religious conduct.
“We’re dealing here with a highly contagious and often fatal disease for which there is presently no known cure,” Judges Barry Silverman and Jacqueline Nguyen said in the 2-1 ruling.
In dissent, Judge Daniel Collins said the state was probably violating the religious freedom of the church, its pastor and members.
Newsom’s defenders are making an “extraordinary claim that the current emergency gives the governor the power to restrict any and all constitutional rights, as long as he has acted in ‘good faith,’” Collins said.
By Pat Toth-Smith, Benicia resident, June 17, 2020
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