Reopen California Now!
Feb 17, 2021 12:00AM ● By By Patrick Larenas
Jack Frost of Pro Small Biz attended the event with his wife Sue. He said he was glad the Governor had responded to the last efforts to open the State economy and cheered the gathering to continue towards a full opening. Photo by Paul Scholl
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – Believing the COVID shutdowns are an opportunity to turn the State’s current direction, the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce hosted a Reopen CAL NOW gathering on Monday, February 15, to represent the economic segments still affected.
The event featured local community and business leaders speaking at the commercial block at 7010 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights–right next to the R Vida Cantina Mexican Restaurant. Kevin Miles, co-owner of the dining establishment joined the 30 people attending:
“We’ve been dealing with this all year, but after you put people in a corner,” Miles said, “I could not look at the employees in the face and tell them they are all being laid off… so I took the decision to stay open.”
Miles expressed his gratitude to the City of Citrus Heights for its efforts in being included in the Great Plates Program: “without [that] our business could not have survived.”
Event organizer, Arcade realtor Lilian Fulton, told the crowd that the trickle-down effect had been devastating to many: “Parents are not capable of teaching new math to their children, some have not received unemployment checks since June and July, and all that some have for socializing is Zoom!”
Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce president Amanda Camacho commented, “None of us could have been prepared for how the COVID shutdown has affected businesses from the local mom-and-pop shops to national franchises… but I am glad we came out today to discuss… the next steps for our community.”
Also attending the meeting was elected Sacramento County Fourth District Supervisor Sue Frost. She said that, as before, good data has been very hard to obtain from the State. Most of the information she sought was not available, too hard to understand or did not answer her questions.
“There is a very loose requirement for COVID deaths, and hospitals are receiving money for every COVID death,” she said, “this really makes us question the data.”
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) supported the group and gave his view that Governor Newsom’s handling of COVID-19 highlighted and “amplified all that was already wrong with California” from political partisanship to the teachers unions and Big Business.
