July 10, 2020

A white restaurateur told a black customer not to wear an 'I can't breathe' shirt. Protests and a

A white restaurateur told a black customer not to wear an ‘I can’t breathe’ shirt. Protests and a boycott followed.


The closure of the local watering hole — maybe temporary, maybe not — started with a bright yellow T-shirt inscribed with three words: “I can’t breathe.”

Daryl Rollins bought the shirt in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in police custody in Minneapolis. Rollins, who is black, said he had never personally experienced discrimination until a recent Friday, when he wore the shirt while waiting in line at the Fish Market of Maryland in Clinton.

“You can’t wear that shirt in my establishment,” Rollins said owner Rick Giovannoni, who is white, told him, insisting he take the T-shirt off or turn it inside out.

The episode struck a nerve in Prince George’s County, a majority-black suburb of Washington where residents have long complained that they do not have the quality restaurants and retail establishments that thrive in neighboring jurisdictions.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/fish-market-maryland-i-cant-breathe/2020/07/09/c25b7c42-c062-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html

July 10, 2020

Business Owners Say the City is Spoiling Outdoor Dining With Exorbitant Insurance Requirements

It will be quick and easy, they said. When the Bowser administration rolled out its plan for expanded outdoor dining to help more restaurants and bars participate in Phase One of reopening, it sounded simple enough. Businesses looking to add a few tables to their existing sidewalk café area had to complete an online registration form. If they sought to add a table or two in front of an adjacent business, they had to obtain permission from the building owner.

But there’s more to it. “The Office of Risk Management is requiring exorbitantly steep insurance coverage that goes well beyond what has always previously been needed to insure a patio or a whole bar,” says Showtime Lounge owner Paul Vivari. He wants to add a single table in front of the residential building next door to his Bloomingdale bar. Doing so would increase his annual insurance premiums by $16,000.

Historically, restaurants and bars have only been required to have a $1 million general liability policy to operate a sidewalk café. The policy protects the District should an incident like a slip and fall happen in a restaurant’s outdoor seating area that extends into public space.

“That’s been on the books forever and is pretty straightforward,” says The Veritas Law Firm attorney Andrew Kline, who frequently represents hospitality industry businesses. “When temporary use of public space was allowed by executive order, somehow Risk Management got into it. They imposed more onerous requirements.”

Read more: https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21139068/business-owners-say-the-city-is-spoiling-outdoor-dining-with-exorbitant-insurance-requirements

July 10, 2020

Councilmember Calls On DC Mayor To Fire Police Chief

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Councilmember David Grosso (At-Large) sent a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser asking her to fire Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham, according to a release.

"This is a pivotal moment in our city, our society, and our country as we grapple with the effects of historical and current structural anti-Black racism," Gross said, in the letter. "Along with many other elected officials and community leaders, you and I are striving to respond to our residents as they demand change. I know that we share a mutual desire to better serve our communities and to work harder in our efforts to dismantle white supremacy in our city and country."

He went on to say that Newsham did not share those same priorities, citing comments both public and private the chief has made in the last month that have been at odds with this priorities.

"We need [Metropolitan Police Department] leadership that understands the racist and deep-seated problems of law enforcement in our city," Grosso said, in the letter. "And we need someone who is willing to change that paradigm. However, since his appointment, instead of recognizing how we all can better serve our Black communities, Chief Newsham has continued a disturbing pattern of lashing out at Councilmembers and blaming everyone but himself."

Read more: https://patch.com/district-columbia/washingtondc/council-member-calls-dc-mayor-fire-police-chief

July 10, 2020

Community Activist Can't Get Care for COVID-19 Damaged Heart Due to Positive Tests

A community activist who tested positive for COVID-19 in early May needs surgery because of how the disease impacted his heart, but cracks in the healthcare system left him without the care he needs.

Ron Weiss, 76, was symptom-free when he tested positive for the coronavirus, but soon he felt the impact. The virus attacked his heart, and Southern Maryland Hospital sent him to Washington Hospital Center in D.C.

“He had started there; they had no room for him. So they sent him to Southern Maryland, which is a step down,” said his wife, Georgette. “It's a lower tier hospital, and that didn't work, so he was back to Washington Hospital Center.”

Almost 70 days later, Weiss is in BridgePoint Nursing and Rehab on Capitol Hill for physical therapy to prepare him for open heart surgery due to the damage from COVID-19. But although he doesn’t have symptoms, he continues to test positive for the coronavirus, so he wasn’t getting therapy, which means no surgery.

Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/community-activist-cant-get-care-for-covid-19-damaged-heart-due-to-positive-tests/2357278/

July 10, 2020

Cornyn on COVID-19: 'We Still Don't Know Whether Children Can Get It and Transmit It'

When asked about the safety of Texas students and teachers returning to classrooms, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) appeared to question whether children can catch and transmit the new coronavirus, but data provided by doctors and government websites contradict his statement.

"We still don’t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others," Cornyn said in an interview Thursday with NBC 5.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, more than 1,700 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in people ages 0-19 statewide. More than 500 of those patients are under the age of 10. The state has published age information on just over 10% of total cases.

NBC 5 sent those statistics to the senator’s staff and asked for clarification on his comments, but they did not respond to our question.

Read more and view video: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/cornyn-on-covid-19-we-still-dont-know-whether-children-can-get-it-and-transmit-it/2403772/

July 10, 2020

Sid Miller blasts NFL plan to play 'Black national anthem' before games

In a fundraising email sent Wednesday, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller railed against the NFL’s plan to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song often described as the Black national anthem, before season-opening games in September.

The decision, Miller wrote, placed the National Football League in the camp “of haters that want to destroy our culture, our unity, and heritage.”

“How many National Anthems do we have? How many do we need?” Miller’s email said. “Let’s be one American people with one National Anthem and, here’s an idea — let’s all stand for it when it plays.”

Miller, one of the earliest supporters of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, asked for political donations to help him advocate on Trump’s behalf in the 2020 election.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200709/sid-miller-blasts-nfl-plan-to-play-lsquoblack-national-anthemrsquo-before-games?fbclid=IwAR13gRMG8-rXA4NvzHQPj726MG2BG2RGFOehiTyggvIZ8JlgZUv-TB9nVng

July 10, 2020

Let me make this clear...

July 10, 2020

Baltimore Police sergeant charged with extortion, kidnapping; commissioner says 3 other officers

Baltimore Police sergeant charged with extortion, kidnapping; commissioner says 3 other officers allegedly involved


A Baltimore Police Department sergeant assigned to the homicide unit was arrested Thursday night in Baltimore County and charged with extortion and kidnapping, officials said.

Baltimore County Police said James Lloyd, 45, of Gwynn Oak is in custody and awaiting a bail review hearing. Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said that he will also be suspended without pay and that an internal affairs investigation has been launched. No attorney was listed for Lloyd in online court records. If found guilty, Lloyd could face up to 40 years in prison.

Harrison said in a statement Thursday night that three other homicide detectives were allegedly involved, and their police powers were also suspended. The detectives will be assigned to administrative duties, pending an internal investigation. The commissioner did not name them, and Baltimore County police did not mention them in its news release.

County police said they were called to the 2000 block of Emmanuel Court for a dispute about a home improvement job.

Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-bpd-detective-arrested-20200710-fb2ctzpkondxhdmreklugc75n4-story.html

July 10, 2020

Sanity trial in Capital Gazette shooting postponed amid pandemic

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Court proceedings to determine criminal sanity for a man who pleaded guilty to killing five people at Maryland newspaper have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jarrod Ramos' pre-trial hearings have been moved to August and a sanity trial was moved to December in the Capital Gazette murder case, news outlets reported. Additional dates are reserved in September for pre-trial motions if needed.

This is just the latest delay after repeated postponements.

Ramos pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible by reason of insanity in October to all 23 counts against him for killing John McNamara, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen and Rebecca Smith in the 2018 newsroom rampage at the Capital Gazette.

Pre-trial hearings would determine, among other things, whether the defense can get records pertaining to a prosecution expert's jail visit.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/sanity-trial-newspaper-shooting-postponed-amid-pandemic-71667130

July 10, 2020

10 more Rehoboth Beach lifeguards test positive for COVID-19

Ten more Rehoboth Beach lifeguards have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a city spokesperson.

The city announced last week that three asymptomatic lifeguards tested positive for the virus. With additional testing for the rest of the beach patrol, that number has increased to 13.

Rehoboth Beach Communications Specialist Krys Johnson told Delmarva Now of Wednesday that one to two of the lifeguards have exhibited symptoms, while the remainder have been asymptomatic.

These lifeguards will be out of commission until they've been medically cleared, but Johnson explained that the beach patrol's current staffing level allows for lifeguards to be reconfigured so that the beach is safely covered.

Read more: https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2020/07/08/rehoboth-beach-more-lifeguards-test-positive-coronavirus/5391804002/