Nobody Likes Change
2022 is looking to be packed with notions for a lot of change in government...
Welcome back to Monday! I hope you’re starting your week on a great start! This edition is a little longer as we’re bringing you the latest on the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. We are also holding an email submission contest, so scroll down for all the info! :)
— Luso
COVID PROTOCOLS HURT LA RESTAURANTS
In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, mandates in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have altered the normal restaurant life that citizens are used to, and according to data is now affecting customer rates.
An analysis run by California Policy Center using OpenTable’s data shows that in comparison with December 2019 many restaurants in cities with tighter COVID-19 restrictions have lost almost half of their customers. While restaurants without such measures in cities like Miami or San Diego have either returned to their normal customer rate or even surpassed their pre-pandemic numbers.
According to the data, Los Angeles had less than 28% patrons in their restaurants in December 2021. While in San Francisco, restaurants had 46% less patrons as of December 2021 in comparison with December 2019. Both cities brought back mask mandates before the state required it in December, as well as requiring customers to show proof of vaccination.
San Diego, however, did bring back a mask mandate until California required it again. The city also does not currently have a proof of vaccination requirement to enter restaurants. Without harsh restrictions the city had 90% of their 2019 customers in their restaurants by May 2021. They also had 8.4% more customers than they had in November 2019.
A National Restaurant Association survey from summer 2021 showed that 32% of Americans reported that a vaccination requirement would deter them from dining in a restaurant. However, 33% reported that a vaccine requirement would make them more likely to dine in, and 35% reported that it would have no impact at all.
So You Wanna Be A Hundred-aire? $100 Giveaway Contest!
This week, we’re going to give away some cash. $100 to be exact. All you have to do is submit some emails. Gather your friends, family, and coworkers! Submit their emails below and you may be chosen to be gifted $100. BUT, you have to submit a minimum of 10 emails (If you submit more than 10 we would be delighted). Not that hard right? Once you submit the emails, send your official list to mike@scriberrmedia.com for verification.
BARRIERS DEBATED ON NY SUBWAYS
Some New York officials are now calling for the installation of subway platform barriers, following recent subway assaults of victims being shoved onto the tracks.
Earlier this month, 40-year-old Michelle Go was killed by a homeless man who allegedly pushed her in front of a moving train at the Times Square station, sparking a new discussion regarding the safety of the subways.
NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority argued that adding barriers to the subway is not a practical solution. “There’s some real ventilation issues, how will we ventilate, for fire code safety and for human comfort in that event? But we’re studying it yet again,” MTA Acting Chair Janno Lieber stated last week.
“Platform doors are an idea that works in many places, but there are some special complexities in New York because of the age of our system, because of the location of structure, because it does interfere with ADA accessibility.”
In addition to the previous vow of addressing homelessness on the subways from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD will now additionally patrol the transit system and conduct visual inspections to identify potential public safety issues. Although Adams has not addressed the option of adding platform barriers he previously stated last week the need for “mental health professionals responding in a faster manner.”
"We don't want this to be just police. We don't want that. But we need to get the mental health professionals responding in a faster manner and right now I don't think we're doing a good enough job at doing so," said Adams.
BIDEN GETS A SCOTUS PICK
Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the Supreme Court, ending his nearly three-decade career. At 83-years-old, Breyer is one of the three remaining liberal justices. His decision to retire authorizes President Biden to appoint a successor and maintain the current 6-3 conservative majority court..
Breyer’s retirement comes to no surprise by many as he seems to be following “strategic retirement,” a modern trend when justices step down from their position when the White House is controlled by the same party.
Breyer was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, joining the Supreme Court in 1994 as one of the court’s moderate-to-liberal members. Breyer strongly believed that the Constitutional interpretation should be based upon practical consideration, allowing for change with the times.
"The reason that I do that is because law in general, I think, grows out of communities of people who have some problems they want to solve," Breyer said during an interview, according to NBC News.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a statement, “with six months until Justice Breyer departs the court, the Senate Judiciary Committee will have ample time to hold hearings on President Biden’s nominee.”
“I look forward to this process and trust President Biden will name a worthy successor to fill Justice Breyer’s seat.”
During his 2020 campaign, Biden pledged to nominate the first Black female Supreme Court justice. While speculations are circulating on who the nominee might be, Biden is expected to quickly appoint a successor who can be ready to serve when the court’s new term begins Oct. 3.
"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America," said Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
What The Left/Right is Saying On: Nominating a Black Woman to the Supreme Court
So like, what’s the sitch?
President Biden said "it's long overdue, in my opinion" when it came to having a Black woman on the Supreme Court.
"Our process is going to be rigorous. I will select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy of excellence and decency. While I've been studying candidates' backgrounds and writings, I've made no decision except one: the person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court," Biden said.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“I’d remind them to take a look back at history and recall that it was [former President] Ronald Reagan who announced that he was going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. And he did, Sandra Day O’Connor,” he said on ABC's "This Week"
When it came to Former President Donald Trumps nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 "announced that he was going to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a woman nominee," he said. “So this is not the first time that a president has signaled what they’re looking for in a nominee.”
Durbin will play a strong roll in Biden's pick through the nomination process who chairs the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America," said Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs. Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified. There's no affirmative action component if you pick her," he continued.
"I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs. She has wide support in our state, she's considered to be a fair minded, highly gifted jurist."
"She's one of the most decent people I've ever met. It would be good for the court to have somebody who's not at Harvard or Yale. She's a graduate of the University of South Carolina...I cannot say anything bad about Michelle Childs. She's an awesome person."
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington
“The Court should reflect the diversity of our country, and it is unacceptable that we have never in our nation’s history had a Black woman sit on the Supreme Court of the United States — I want to change that.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates
"When President Reagan honored his campaign pledge to place the first woman on the court, he said it 'symbolized' the unique American opportunity 'that permits persons of any sex, age, or race, from every section and every walk of life to aspire and achieve in a manner never before even dreamed about in human history."
Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman, Bates said, "is in line with the best traditions of both parties and our nation."
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis
“When you’re dealing with picks for the Supreme Court, you want people who are going to be faithful to the law and the Constitution, and understand how our constitutional system was designed to have separate powers.”
“The job of the judicial branch is to apply the law and Constitution. It’s not to rewrite the law and Constitution. Judges who understand that … have a certain amount of humility to understand the proper role. Doesn’t mean you can’t be active in deciding cases properly before you, and if you have to come down on the constitutional side, you have to do it and do it forcefully.”
“But you’re not a philosopher-king. And you’re not hovering over the entire political system and basically being a super-legislator,” DeSantis added.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine
"I would welcome the appointment of a Black female to the court," she said. "I believe that diversity benefits the Supreme Court, but the way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best."
American Citizens
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted between Jan. 28-29, just released Sunday, revealed that 76 percent of Americans want the president to consider "all possible nominees" and just 23 percent wanting him to only consider Black women for the nomination.
In national sample of 510 adults, Fifty-four percent of Democrats are in agreement that Biden should consider all potential candidates, according to the poll.
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