For the last 15 months, the city of Long Beach has been using an artificial intelligence software platform that analyzes residents’ social media use to help officials gauge public opinion on policies like mask mandates, the vaccine rollout and even the decision to shut down a local restaurant that flouted COVID-19 rules.
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Although the data has been used to inform decision-makers on some of the most consequential topics locally, its use has flown mostly under the radar because city officials used emergency powers to procure the service a move that bypassed any public decision by the City Council.
UpdatedThu, Apr 15, 2021 at 8:13 am PT
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Fabian Rodriguez cleans a table in an outdoor tented dining area of Tequila Museo Mayahuel restaurant in Sacramento in this November file photo. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to drop the hammer on closing California when the first coronavirus cases hit West Coast shores last year, and restaurants and bars were among the first businesses forced to close.
But not all were eager to comply, and many simply struggled to follow the zigzagging rules over the last year. As a result, some 234 eateries, breweries, wineries and bars were either given a citation or notified for violating coronavirus restrictions in the state, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
Restaurant owner who defied COVID-19 rules closes permanently, but says she has no regrets • Long Beach Post News lbpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lbpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The decision means the misdemeanor case against Restauration owner Dana Tanner can move forward now that Judge Amy Yerkey decided the double-jeopardy plea proposed by Tanner attorney didn’t apply.
“While I admire the creativity of the argument, I’m making a finding here that it is insufficient,” Yerkey said in a brief hearing Thursday morning.
Tanner is facing 20 misdemeanor charges including accusations that she kept illegally serving diners at her Fourth Street restaurant during the height of the pandemic and that she ran an illegal gas line to her kitchen after city officials cut her off in an attempt to shut her down.
A Long Beach restaurant owner facing nearly two dozen misdemeanors for refusing to close her restaurant during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak is continuing to fight the charges, even as she keeps her restaurant open despite the city insisting she’s still operating illegally.
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An attorney for Dana Tanner, the owner of Restauration on Fourth street, was back in court today for a second arraignment hearing, but for the second time in a month, no plea was entered on behalf of Tanner.
Bryan Schroeder, Tanner’s attorney, had tried to enter a plea last month of “once in jeopardy,” essentially claiming that Tanner was improperly being tried for the same crimes twice given that she was already punished through city administrative process where her license to operate was taken away.