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Go to AzusaBeacon.com for Azusa Specific News M O N D AY, D E C E M B E R 21 - D E C E M B E R 27, 2020 V O L U M E 9, N O. 51
SB County Petitions Supreme Court for Local Control of COVID-19 Measures San Bernardino County has filed an action directly in the California Supreme Court asking the court to “find that the governor’s stay-at-home orders exceed the authority found in the California Emergency Services Act,” officials said in a statement. The county seeks to exercise local control in response to the COVID-19 pandemic rather than be restrained by the state’s regional approach. Officials argue that San Bernardino County is significantly different to other counties in the region such as Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego. “The governor is not permitted to act as both the executive and legislative branch for nine months under the California Emergency Services Act,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “If it is concluded that the act allows him to do so, the
act is unconstitutional as it permits the delegation of the Legislature’s powers to the executive branch in violation of the California Constitution.” Officials believe the county’s size and geographic diversity should allow for fewer restrictions in communities with lower COVID-19 metrics than the county as a whole. “The governor declared that the state’s approach would be based on science and data, but the state has not produced science or data that suggest the restrictions he has imposed would address the current trajectory of the pandemic in San Bernardino County,” said former Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who joined the county in the Supreme Court filing as a private citizen. The filing states the county seeks to reclaim its constitutional authority
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“to tailor regulations and orders which are specific to its residents based on facts which are unique to their locations rather than subject its residents to overbroad multi-county, Governor-implemented,
regionalized lockdowns.” On Thursday, ICU availability dropped to 0% in the Southern California region. “San Bernardino County hospitals are running out of beds overall and have hit capacity in
their intensive care units (ICUs),” the county said in a press release Wednesday. “Put another way, at the current time, our hospitals have no more ICU beds available. And while we previously might have
gained assistance from nearby counties, their ICU situation is as difficult as ours. The current shortage of hospital beds not only affects COVID-19 patients, but others who require serious medical attention.”
State Senators Demand Newsom Classify Restaurants as Essential So They May Reopen A group of 11 state senators from both sides of the aisle, including several Southland lawmakers, are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to move restaurants into the "essential'' category and permit them to reopen statewide, despite the current public health lockdown, according to multiple television reports Tuesday. "We ask that you immediately reclassify the restaurant industry as critical infrastructure before more damage is done,'' the letter says. "As it is becoming obvious to Californians, these essential businesses do more than simply provide a place to eat. Restaurants are
active participants in local neighborhoods, providing meals to senior citizens and working with food banks to feed families struggling to put food on their tables." The petitioners submitted their letter Friday. The signers were Sens. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, and Scott Wilk, R-Lancaster, along with Sens. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, Brian Dahle, R-Redding, Shannon Grove, R-Yucca Valley, Melissa Hurtado, D-Hanford, Brian Jones, R-El Cajon, and Jim Nielsen, R-Roseville; Sen.-elect Rosilicie Bogh, R-Rancho Cucamonga, and Assemblywoman Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara.
Photo by Terry Miller