The County Makes a Move

This should have been done in March. Or April. Or May. Or June. Or last week but it’s mid-July and the county has finally issued a strong ordinance for dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. You can read the details here at the Napa Valley Register.

My friend Charlie Toledo, who leads the Suscol Intertribal Council, sums it up like this,

“Basically, individuals in Napa county not complying by wearing masks in public can be fined up too $500. Businesses up to $5,000, Effective immediately!! A lot of folks have been asking Napa County supervisors to take leadership and insist that businesses, residents, and visitors follow these basic health guidelines!!”

My opinion is that it was clear very early on that the Federal government, led by Trump, was not going to take care of things. This is shocking. For all of our problems, I used to think we had our problems but if there were a crisis, you want the Americans. I felt this is really what we do best. Yet here was an administration just rolling over and trying to PR their way out of the crisis. Governors came in to pick up the slack and expected the counties to execute the mandates. I expected the same thing but our local Board of Supervisors wanted no part of this. The response has been lackluster, either from lack of talent or resources. I suspect the latter but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never been granted an interview. I didn’t expect the spin to come so strong from the county. County spokesperson Elizabeth Scott’s role seems not just to share information but control it.

When the feds gave up, it was up to the state. The state counted on the county and it’s been eye opening and disappointing that instead of making bold decisions that would have helped our citizens, they kicked the can and prayed for miracles. And avoided calls.