Health department issues cease and desist order to Calhan restaurants

Posted: May 8, 2020 / 05:39 AM MDT / Updated: May 8, 2020 / 05:39 AM MDT

COLORADO SPRINGS (KXRM) — The El Paso County Health Department issues cease and desist order to Calhan restaurants that opened dine-in services in defiance of Colorado’s safer-at-home guidance, the department confirmed Thursday.

The owners of Karen’s Kafe and Stephanie’s Bar and Grill and Western Omelette in Calhan each opened their dining rooms, capping off customers at 50% capacity, on Wednesday and Thursday.

They told FOX21 they have yet to receive a cease and desist order.

“We want to open no matter what, and that’s what we are doing, opening no matter what,” Cheyenne Reed with Karen’s Kafe said.

On Thursday, parking lots at both locations were nearly full. Some customers drove from all parts of the state including Denver and Yoder.

“This shutdown is killing the businesses it’s time to open up the country and move on,” customer James Richardson.

Western Omelette has two locations in Colorado Springs but owner Bill Borders says his Calhan location is different.

“We’re a small country town, so we are different,” Borders said. “People out here have desired for us to take care of them.”

Borders says he and Karen Starr, Owner of Karen’s Kafe, and Stephanie’s Bar & Grill are defending their rights by choosing to open their dining rooms.

“Her and I are willing to do what we need to do, we have constitutional rights,” Borders said.

Both owners and their employees have an issue with the current Safer-at-Home guidance because it fails to include the opening of dine-in services.

“It’s our choice whether we want to stay-in, if we have a choice to go to a salon, tattoo shop, we should have the choice to eat at a restaurant,” Reed said.

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners wouldn’t comment specifically on this matter but they are working with the health department to develop a variance waiver to open places of worship and restaurants early.

In a statement to FOX21, a spokesperson said the following:

“We have directed county staff, and asked public health, to develop a plan that hospitals can agree with and commissioners can vote on as quickly as possible. Public Health has indicated they will start writing the necessary plans and coordinate with local hospitals immediately. The Board will hold a public meeting and a vote once Public Health and our local hospitals have agreed on the plan forward.”

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Md. Gov. Blocks Ban On Private Sale Of Rifles, Shotguns

UPDATED 9:33 AM PT — Friday, May 8, 2020

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has vetoed legislation that would ban the sale, rental and private transfer of long guns in the state. On Thursday, he issued a veto on Senate Bill 208 and House Bill 4.

The bills would have required individuals to pay a fee and obtain government permission before transferring any rifle or shotgun to another person. There would be no exception made for loans or gifts.

State Sen. Susan Lee (D), who sponsored the bills, began the hearing by pointing out how firearms account for the majority of U.S. suicides. She said that rifles and shotguns are far less regulated than handguns in Maryland, which makes them a top concern.

“Firearms are by far the most lethal form of suicide, cutting and pills have a success rate in the single digits,” said Sam Levy, counsel for gun control advocate and nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety. “Nobody who uses a firearm of any kind gets a second chance.”

In a statement, Hogan said he had made it clear before the hearing that his highest priority was to “hold violent criminals accountable and stop the shootings in Baltimore City.” He went on to say that restricting law-abiding citizens would do nothing to curtail that violent crime.

“People doing these kinds of transfers are not folks living in downtown Bethesda or Baltimore, they are people who have been following the law,” said Sen. Justin Ready (R. Md.). “And now they’re going to have to spend money and go through a complicated procedure just to sell their buddy, who they’ve known for 30-years, a shotgun.”

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, delegate Luke Clippinger, told reporters he was “disappointed” with the outcome, adding that a lot of the bills sent to the governor’s desk would have “had an impact on crime in a holistic manner.”

While the assembly had originally planned to return for a special session, that plan was recently nixed in a bid to protect lawmakers and staff from COVID-19.

https://www.oann.com/md-gov-blocks-ban-on-private-sale-of-rifles-shotguns/

Breaking: Trump scores major win as SUpreme Court grants administration’s request to shield Mueller grand jury materials | Just The News

The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily shield redacted grand jury materials related to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe from the Democrat-led House.

House Democrats are fighting to gain access to the materials, arguing that it being made public will give Americans a fuller image of how the Trump administration behaved during the two-year investigation.

The Mueller probe failed to establish any criminal coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow. And though the special counsel did not declare that the president did not obstruct justice, the attorney general, and then-deputy attorney general determined he did not.

The order, which Chief Justice John Roberts signed, pushes against a lower court's order to disclose the materials, which was set to go into effect on Monday. Roberts has given House democrats until May 18 to file a response.

The Trump administration says it plans on filing a formal appeal against the lower court decision.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/scotus-grants-trump-administrations-request-shield