(Annie Black | April 23, 2020) – In a Facebook briefing Tuesday night, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that he has no plan or timetable for reopening the state.
When pressed to tell Nevadans when they, their jobs and their “non-essential” businesses might begin the process of being released from “house arrest,” the governor said, “I cannot give you a firm date.”
I can. April 30. A week from now.
At least that’s when some of us, under certain precautionary conditions, SHOULD be set free.
A number of states around the country never issued a stay-at-home lockdown order. Others have already begun the process of reopening. It’s time for Nevada do to the same.
At the very least, small mom-and-pop retailers, department stores, furniture stores, office supply stores, liquor stores, health food stores and sporting goods stores should be allowed to reopen immediately as long as they institute the same precautions that have been implemented at grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores.
The governor should also stop treating Nevada’s rural communities the same as Las Vegas and Reno. Counties, cities and towns that don’t have the same COVID-19 problem as Nevada’s two big urban areas should not be treated as if they do.
Indeed, in a letter last week to Gov. Sisolak, Elko Mayor Reece Keener wrote…
“We are developing a comprehensive plan, and buy-in from the business community to responsibly reopen in a deliberate and phased way that will safeguard public health.
“It is understood that we can’t go back to ‘business as usual,’ and that some services and community recreational amenities will need to be put on-hold. We will need to continue steadfast adherence with CDC guidelines for an extended time.
“However, it is time to begin reopening on May 1, and we are prepared for the challenge. …
“Please consider that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work for a largely rural and sparsely populated Nevada. A statewide extension mandate will further deepen the economic damage that we have already incurred, plus it will be a huge psychological blow to the citizens that have diligently complied with the orders.”
A thoughtful, reasonable, responsible and safe approach properly balancing both the health and economic considerations of this issue. However, when asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday about loosening his chokehold on our rural communities, Gov. Sisolak replied…
“That’s a difficult thing to do, and I have not been able to come up with a way that that would be possible yet.”
In his excuse for blowing off rural Nevada and refusing to consider staggered, regional re-openings, the governor went on to say…
“If you open up Elko County, and you don’t open up Clark County or Washoe County, and in Elko all the stores are open, the restaurants and bars, all the entertainment’s open, well, then the people from the other counties are going to go to Elko County because they’re tired of being locked up in their houses, and they want to experience that, and they’re all going to go back to their counties and then the virus is going to continue to spread. So that wouldn’t work.”
This is, frankly, absurd. And makes you wonder if our governor has ever been anywhere in Nevada other than Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City.
Elko is a four-hour drive from Reno and some seven hours from Vegas. No one from Vegas or Reno is going to drive that far just to make happy hour at Stockmen’s or dinner at the Star Hotel’s Basque restaurant.
But if they do, God bless ‘em!
And if you take that ridiculous argument to its natural conclusion, once Las Vegas DOES open up the governor would at least have to ban people from COVID-19 hot spots – such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago – from coming here because they might bring the virus with them.
This ridiculous argument again demonstrates that Gov. Sisolak is making these decisions and taking these actions without thinking them all the way through.
The answer is simple. Especially since the governor said on Tuesday that he was following White House guidelines and advisories.
All he has to do is allow Nevada’s 15 rural counties – as well as various rural cities and towns in Clark and Washoe counties, such as Mesquite and Logandale – the same ability to decide for themselves whether to reopen as President Trump has given to state governors.
Mesquite is a full 82 miles from Las Vegas. So it shouldn’t be treated with the same heavy hand as Las Vegas.
As an elected member of the Mesquite City Council, I believe we should be allowed to control our own destiny and make decisions on when and how to begin reopening our community in a responsible manner that includes a reasonable balance between health and economic concerns.
If you agree, please join me for a “Liberate Mesquite!” protest rally/caravan on Saturday.
We’ll meet at 11 o’clock in the Sun Valley Plaza parking lot at 561 W. Mesquite Blvd. Please stay in your cars – or at least observe social distancing recommendations and consider wearing a face mask.
We’ll leave the parking lot at 11:30 and caravan around town – peacefully and safely – ending up back at Sun Valley Plaza. A map of the route can be found below.
See you on Saturday. Liberate Mesquite!
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The human toll resulting from our self-imposed financial collapse is not theoretical; it can and will be every bit as tragic as that caused by a public-health threat.” – Adam Laxalt
“At first people were cool with social distancing & trying to not catch or spread the virus. But then Dems thought it was an opportune time for them to keep taking freedoms away until they pissed everyone off. Overreaching at its finest.” – Heather (@hrenee80)
“We would all do well to remember that Americans fought a revolution for liberty, not comfort. You don’t have the right to force others to exercise liberty differently, no matter how uncomfortable that makes you.” – Virginia Kruta
Annie Black is a Mesquite City Councilwoman and Republican candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 19. You can get more information by visiting www.electannieblack.com
