The Storey Teller News and commentary on what’s really going on in Storey County.
The Impact of Covid-19: Storey County Businesses Impacted Negatively
Editors Note: This article was updated on March 19th. The update is listed at the bottom of the article.
Storey County Commissioners declared a State of Emergency on March 17th, 2020 in response to the Covid-19 Virus that is gripping the universe.
Storey County has reported no cases of Covid-19. However, the Commissioners assure us it is only a matter of time before the virus visits us here in The Richest Place On Earth.
Residents and businesses will be able to access Federal assistance thanks to the Commissioner’s emergency action.
From her report on Bardeblog.com, Nicole Barde commented (screaming in all caps as is her style for her preamble):
JOE CURTIS AND THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THE COUNTY HAS ALL OF THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS FROM STATE AND FEDERAL SOURCES…..DRIVE-BY TESTING FACILITIES WILL BE SETTING UP IN CARSON AND RENO FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO ACCESS
TWO OUT OF THREE COMMISSIONERS ARE BOTH SILENT AND INVISIBLE DURING THIS CRISIS……NOT NEW SINCE THEY WERE RARELY SEEN OR HEARD FROM BEFORE THE CRISIS
IT’S AN ELECTION YEAR…. SOON WE WILL SEE AND HEAR FROM THE INVISIBLE COMMISSIONERS WHO WANT YOUR VOTES
You can read her full report here.
Not All Businesses Comply With The Order
Today I drove C Street and took inventory of the happenings. Businesses are closed up and down C Street. Restaurants like the Canvas Cafe and the Roasting House were open and delivering food to the curbside. They also observed the social distancing rules by reducing available tables. The Red Dog Saloon is closed on the inside but open on the outside. They serve take out orders at the curbside for take-home.
I met one merchant at the post office who told me he fully expected to go out of business if the shutdown lasted any longer than a couple of weeks. “I can’t pay my bills and feed my family in an actual ghost town. With literally zero income, I will have to close up and move on. I have no other choice.”
Commissioners Businesses are Open While Most Others Close
Meanwhile, Commissioner Marshall McBride’s Bucket of Blood had people sitting at the bar when I drove by, apparently ignoring the governor’s order to shut down. I did not get out of my car to see if the Bucket was actually open, but it had all the appearances of being open with the folks milling around outside smoking and sitting at the bar drinking. In fairness, they could have been employees or even McBride himself nursing his wounds. I didn’t have time to check the doors as I was en route to Carson City to purchase what turned out to be the last loaf of bread in Northern Nevada.
In his order, Governor Sisolak specifically identified brothels as non-essential businesses target for shutdown.
Commissioner Lance Gilman’s Mustang Ranch was open for business while practicing very up close and personal social distancing at 5:15 on Wednesday, March 18th. I called the Mustang and spoke with a cheery woman. She assured me the Mustang was open for business and would warm me up as only they could.
Invisible Commissioners Are More Equal Than You
All this leads me to wonder if George Orwell was on to something. In Animal Farm, Orwell observed: “All Animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
In Storey County, this appears to include invisible Commissioners ignoring the rules they expect you to follow while asking for your vote.
It’s an election year, folks.
Stay Tuned.
Update: Facebook posters indicate the Bucket of Blood is closed. The Mustang Ranch sent out a press release (somehow The Teller is not on the list, go figure) saying they are closed for now:
“The health and safety of the women that work at the Mustang Ranch and our guests remains our foremost priority and we will work with local and state government to evaluate the need to close the Mustang Ranch for the full 30 days and make announcements regarding continue operations in the near future.”
It’s sunshine week. Nothing like a little sunshine to get elected officials to do the right thing…
SAM TOLL – HOW MUCH DID IT COST – how long will it last
Tesla’s TRIC – sponsored gigafactory is more important than… than anything. Including prostitution
Reno Gazette (no lover of TRIC/gigafactory) had this to say:
Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro said as far as he is concerned Tesla’s Nevada battery factory is “part of the supply chain” and can remain open despite Gov. Steve Sisolak’s urging of a shutdown of all “non-essential” businesses in the state in order to limit the spread of the COVID19 virus.
“Tesla makes batteries and Powerwalls and whatnot, it is still part of the supply chain,” Antinoro said in an interview with the Reno Gazette. “As far as I am concerned at the moment they are good to stay open but the county is seeking further clarification from the governor.”
The governor’s office is expected to provide more guidance today on what constitutes (essential).
Do not forget it was the TRIC cabal ($$$$) that got the governor elected.
Unfortunately, the Governor did not clearly define what was essential and non-essential in his original announcement. His ambiguity put every law enforcement agency in this state in a difficult position when it comes to any kind of enforcement. The fact that the media contacted the Sheriff to find out if this business or that business would remain open is just silly to begin with.
In addition, the Governor himself seems to be confused by his own message. I can’t imagine why he would’ve held a prime time press conference to announce that we should all be careful to not spread the virus. This is essentially what his announcement has been reduced to now that he has “clarified” that nonessential business may remain open. Originally, he said that these businesses have two choices: Find out how to serve their customers through delivery, drive-up or take out, or to close. I thought that was pretty clear, and it seemed that those choices defined which businesses were to stay open and which ones were to close.
I don’t want any business to have to close during this time. My point is that the Governor made his announcement, then it seems when he started to feel the effects of such a poor decision, he has now tried to walk it back. He is facing a recall effort right now and upsetting so many people in this state was not a shrewd political move. I suspect that had something to do with his motivation for all this nonsense. My opinion.
The Governor appears to be suffering from an “Act First, Think Second” reaction. I agree with you, I don’t want any business to close down. While I was personally prepared for the “crisis” by increasing my food storage supply from three to six months and loading up on items that are currently out of stock in January, I think the reaction may or may not be overboard.
My reaction to this is the same as the one I have for vaccines. Do personal preference and self-ownership rights supersede the notion of public safety. Anyone who deals with the actual science of vaccines objectively and does their research on how they interact with the immune system has an argument for not being vaccinated.
Similarly, given the nature of the COVID=19 virus and the actual numbers, the reaction of the Federal and State Governments might seem to be an overreaction, especially when viewed in the context of the opioid epidemic or influenza.
There have been no “reported” cases. Most likely, there are cases. This is the most-virulent virus of the modern era. Pre-modern, it was The Plague. We do not have enough test kits to test everyone who has exhibited covid-19-like symptoms for the past two months, so I would not be critical of any governmental entity that takes this virus seriously — a realization that should have occurred when China was building emergency hospitals in Wuhan in early December. Air travel is a primary transmitter. There is an international airport in Reno. Duh. And, if employees get sick at that bar and if we eventually have adequate tests, then that bar could be swabbed. If it tests positive, that bar owner could be liable if an employee and/or patron becomes sick. If the employee dies and it could be proven that the employee’s only possible exposure was at the bar, I’d say that’s manslaughter if the bar owner is not closing down as instructed.