Hawaii Reimposes COVID-19 Restrictions Despite Seven-Day Average Of Zero Deaths From The Virus

Lockdowns coming back to the Aloha State

SD Gov. Kristi Noem has a message for Minnesota bar owners being targeted by leftist AG Keith Ellison: Move here. 'We won't shut you down.'



Minnesota's radical left-wing Democratic attorney general continues to go after his state's bar and restaurant owners who dare to violate the governor's COVID-19 edicts prohibiting indoor dining.

So now South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is encouraging these put-upon business owners to move to her state, vowing that she will not make them close their doors.

What happened?

Late last week, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced lawsuits against two bars that defied Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's order that bars and restaurants may not offer indoor dining services, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Walz's edict does allow eateries to serve customers outdoors — but with Minnesota's typically bitter winters, most establishments have found that to be an unrealistic option.

Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville knowingly disobeyed the governor's command last week. The bar flouted the ban and served people indoors, and even proclaimed its defiance on Facebook, saying: "OPEN TODAY. COME IN FOR FOOD AND DRINKS!" The attorney general filed a temporary restraining order in an attempt to force Alibi Drinkery closed, but to no avail.

Another bar in Princeton, Neighbors on the Rum, was targeted by Ellison of having 40 to 50 people indoors last week.

On Monday, Ellison announced another three bars were added to his naughty list. From WCCO-TV:

According to Ellison, the lawsuits include St. Patrick's Tavern in New Prague, Pour House in Clarks Grove and The Interchange in Albert Lea.

Ellison says St. Patrick's Tavern had 150 to 200 vehicles in its parking lot on Dec. 18 and witnesses reported the establishment was standing room only, with it “packed inside so tightly that it was difficult to move around inside."

The state also received more than a dozen complaints about Pour House, including a report that the bar was operating at max capacity and no face coverings were being worn by any employee or customer.

The Interchange announced it would be opening for in-door dining on Dec. 15 and also held an indoor concert on Dec. 17. It was served a cease-and-desist order by the Minnesota Department of Health, but the restaurant owner vowed to continue on-side dining, Ellison's office said.

Noem makes an offer

When Gov. Noem heard about the persecution of Minnesota restaurants and bars last week, she made them what was likely a pretty tempting offer: Move to a state that won't force you to close and lose your business — a state like South Dakota.

"Come to South Dakota!" she tweeted in response to the Star Tribune report. "We respect your rights. We won't shut you down."

Come to South Dakota! We respect your rights. We won’t shut you down. https://t.co/FDaRj92Qmu
— Governor Kristi Noem (@Governor Kristi Noem)1608564391.0

Now Pennsylvania alcohol sales to stop at 5 p.m. day before Thanksgiving in bars, restaurants — and many are fed up with 'stripping of rights'



On top of Pennsylvania officials already mandating strict COVID-19 restrictions applying to Thanksgiving such as required wearing of masks when multiple families gather in private homes, the powers that be in the state added more to the merriment Monday.

Such as?

For starters, Pennsylvania restaurants and bars are ordered to suspend alcohol sales at 5 p.m. Wednesday — the day before Thanksgiving — until 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, KDKA-TV reported.

The very early last call likely won't make for very festive happy hours around the Keystone State once work lets out.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the "biggest day for drinking" and acknowledged bars and restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic — but that this one-night ban is necessary, the station reported.

"The thing that we can't do is ignore reality and say, 'Yeah, you folks, for no fault of your own, have been hit hardest by this virus.' But the virus is what's doing this. It's not me. It's not the administration. It's not the government," Wolf said in regard to the 5 p.m. alcohol sales cutoff time, KDKA noted.

Today I’m announcing efforts to slow the spread of #COVID19 as cases reach critical levels.They include a recommi… https://t.co/putm13Sunp
— Governor Tom Wolf (@Governor Tom Wolf)1606159468.0

Wolf also said police will step up enforcement efforts and "issue citations and fines, and possibly undertake regulatory actions for repeat offenders."

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said other mitigation measures are "targeted protections for businesses and gatherings," an advisory for Pennsylvanians to stay at home, and enforcements on public health orders like the recently strengthened mask mandate, the station reported.

How are folks reacting?

It appeared that while some Twitter commenters were in favor of the new restrictions, quite a few others seemed fed up with it all:

  • "I don't even drink and this is wrong," one user wrote. "What's the science behind this?"
  • "Seriously what is your f***ing problem? You are a f***ing a**hole! This will destroy a huge night for business!" another user noted.
  • "Why?!?! This s**t is getting crazy," another commenter said. "What's the SCIENCE with this stripping of rights???"
  • "Maybe the liquor stores could just self-identify all their stock as Root Beer," another user quipped.
  • "Will there be a special stimulus for all the service employees who were counting on a big night like Thanksgiving Eve to make up a bit for all the losses they've already taken?" another commenter asked.
  • "The raw and arbitrary exercise of power is an intoxicant," another user declared.
  • "How people continue to vote for Democrats is beyond me," another commenter wrote.

Ford government to continue making alcoholic beverages available for takeout in Ontario

In a bid to support the struggling food and beverage industry in Ontario, the Ford government is planning to continue to allow alcoholic beverages to be served with takeout food indefinitely.

REVEALED: Nashville city officials suppressed real pandemic data to extend lockdown

Emails have been leaked between the mayor’s office and the local Department of Health in the city of Nashville revealing that they wanted to conceal the number of coronavirus cases from bars and restaurants.

Nashville Mayor, Health Department Covered Up Data Showing Bars And Restaurants Weren’t Spreading COVID-19

Emails obtained by a local news station show the mayor’s senior advisor and a health department employee did not want the public to know about low COVID case numbers.

Leaked emails indicate Nashville officials concealed bar and restaurant COVID data because there were so few cases



Leaked emails between an adviser in the Nashville mayor's office and the city health department indicate that officials were interested in concealing the number of COVID-19 cases that were traced to bars and restaurants because the number was so low, according to WZTV-TV.

As of June 30, contact tracing efforts had found only 22 cases tied to bars and restaurants. Meanwhile, more than a thousand cases each were traced to construction and nursing homes. Health department official Leslie Waller emailed Benjamin Eagles, a senior adviser in the mayor's office, to confirm that the information would not be publicly released. From WZTV:

Leslie Waller from the health department asks, "This isn't going to be publicly released, right? Just info for Mayor's Office?"

"Correct, not for public consumption," writes senior advisor Benjamin Eagles.

By July 30, only about 80 cases had been traced to bars and restaurants, continuing to affirm that restaurants and bars were not significant sources of COVID-19 transmission in the city.

A reporter named Nate Rau spoke to the health department about this, asking, "If there have been over 20,000 positive cases of COVID-19 in Davidson and only 80 or so are traced to restaurants and bars, doesn't that mean restaurants and bars aren't a very big problem?"

This question prompted Brian Todd in the health department to email five others in the department to ask how he should respond to the question. One of the responses he received, from an official whose name is cut off from the top of the email, walks through how they could answer without revealing the specific details.

"My two cents: We have certainly refused to give counts per bar (i.e. # of cases per bar cluster) because those numbers are low per site, and there are data release standards prohibiting the release of a total count that is less than 10 per small geographic area," an official responded to Todd. "We do have 2 bars now where the counts are over 10, but then that would single out those two and not the others. We could still release the total though, and then a response to the over 80 could be 'because that number is increasing all the time and we don't want to say a specific number.'"

WZTV said the health department and the mayor's office would not confirm whether the emails were authentic.

Nashville city Councilman Steve Glover had a staff attorney check into the authenticity of the emails, and the attorney told WZTV they were real. Glover accused city officials of a cover-up.

"They are fabricating information," Glover told WZTV reporter Dennis Ferrier. "They've blown their entire credibility, Dennis. It's gone; I don't trust a thing they say going forward. Nothing."

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville's restaurants and bars are still severely limited in how many people they can serve at one time. The city is in Phase 2 of reopening, which means restaurants can serve patrons indoors at 50% capacity, bars can only have 25 customers indoors and 25 outdoors at one time, and all restaurants and bars must close at 10:30 p.m.