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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 Res 2020-83 Public Comments Batch 1Sanchez, Gloria From: Athena Martinez <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2020 11:08 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Palm Desert Resident Against Palm Desert City Council Misdemeanor Covid Policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to. gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was, to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandejmic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Athena Martinez Sanchez, Gloria From: Daniel O'GRADY <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 6:52 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Palm Desert City Counsel PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an.individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Daniel O'GRADY Sanchez, Gloria From: Rebecca Garrett <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:02 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Against Misdemeanor Covid Orde PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Rebecca Garrett Sanchez, Gloria From: Kaylene Gustafson <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:12 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Opposition to misdemeanor violation PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Kaylene Gustafson Sanchez, Gloria From: Ali Gustafson <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:14 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Palm Desert Residents Against Palm Desert City Council Misdemeanor Covid Policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. All Gustafson Sanchez, Gloria From: Bob Kane <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:15 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Public comit PD City Council, If I was walmart, lowes, or big box store, it is ok for me to be open for business .. but as a small business I have been shut down since 03.06.2020 ...I still have a lease and expenses and have not had a single sale since then ... so I tried to get a garage sale permit and was denied.. do to new stay at home orders ... but retail is still open ... so I know how 2 do social distancing and so do most other people -masks are standard now ... and everywhere in sight there is hand sanitizer... so I can't stay at home and have a garage sale but it is ok for me to pack all my stuff and head to Indio Swap Meet to sell it ... all my saving have been depleated and and it may not be important to you but for some of us we are down to our last pennies... Now you want code enforcement to the job of the govenor but his business are open and he doesn't even follow his own orders .. How many small business will be put out of business ... and now it going to be like living in a police state. Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to l our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Bob Kane Sanchez, Gloria From: Thomas Gustafson <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:16 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Misdemeanor covid policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions.will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we'now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Thomas Gustafson Sanchez, Gloria From: Patricia Ryan <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:32 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: I shop in Palm Desert PD City Council, Hello, I shop in Palm Desert, work in Palm Desert and do almost everything in Palm Desert. I am a La Quinta Resident, but I know of many business owners in Palm Desert who are truly struggling to make ends meet and may close. They need our support now more than ever. Those, at risk., can stay home, but please.... everyone is essential! Thank you! What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protections restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This'type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Desert, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. .Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. . Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Patricia Ryan Sanchez, Gloria From: Chalet Roberts <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:34 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: We have to take a stand PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given, what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic: We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Chalet Roberts Sanchez, Gloria From: Michael Gayle <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:48 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Vote no on the new COVID law PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle.boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Michael Gayle Sanchez, Gloria From: Kenneth Dobson Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 9:12 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Stay at Home Enforcement Written Comment Only: Dear Council Members, PLEASE ---Don't do it. Do not succumb to the temptation of becoming the "social police." Do not succumb to the temptation of feeling you "have to do something" in order to protect people from themselves. Do not make "City workers" the enforcement "bullies" of a policy which is bankrupting your constituents and which is inflicting great emotional distress. Those who do not want to socialize, those that do do want to "eat -out," are not forced to. Those that do, can choose for themselves. Lastly: Statistically, only 1.4% (that has been reported as accurate: one -point -four percent) of Covid cases were contracted in bars/restaurants. 74% were contracted from "in -the -home" gatherings/settings. If you believe in the "science," shouldn't we be encouraging people to go out more??? Thank you for your consideration in NOT taking action, Kenneth Dobson t Sanchez, Gloria From: tracy zona Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 11:12 AM To: CourcilMeeting Comments Subject: THE CITY OF PALM DESERT NEEDS TO STOP ABUSING HUMANITY NOW. WHO Tedros Adhanom. Know WHO's Trying To Tell You What To Do. The Face of EVIL. You do know you are ABUSED when you are financially controlled, restricted in whom you can see, talk to, and hug, manipulated, lied to, gaslighted, and TOLD what you can and can't do! Before I Icti my ahtmNc marriage to Richard Zona Jr.. I was all of the ahmc. You have to ask yrnu,clf ahom the ASSHOLE telling you what to do'' You have to ask youroelf ifyou will allow a PSYCHOPATHIC PRICK to influence ONE MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE!'. In thi, case folks. IT'S BEEN NINE MONI HS. THE SCIENCE DOES NOT ADD UP. But let's LOOK 11 TEDROS NDI1 \NON AN .ABUSER OF HI NLNNITI'. NOT someone I have chosen to listen to. WORLD NULTH ORGANIZATION DIREC�M THO IS THE GUY BEHIND A,MERICA'S LOCKDOWN )CGH? NIA ENOUGH N _ .. , i ONE. Whcn you ;x a mo year old and her fanul� kicked oll a L NI fED thght hecau,e site ha; uutmcts NO TO W ks \k ,A MA.")h.' When you we a mother in it library at a lablc by hcinc[f. in Florida, (NO MASK MANDATE) and it powet hungry MONSTER altempts 10 hunuhatC her :md makes her [Cave'' When you can't fly. huv food. Nn at a restauram, 01 toe gem ... BECAUSE THIS ASSHOLE (TEDROS) IS CALLING YOUR SHOTS? A PAI, OF BILL GATES AND JOHN KERRY. Cl Have you educated yourself to know...THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OUR PRESIDENT IS BRINGING DOWN PEDOPHILES IN POWER? I DO NOT SUPPORT ABUSERS OF HUMANITY.... DO YOU? THEN PUT ON YOUR MASK AND SUPPORT TEDROS ADHANON ...... SO FREAKING; SICK! - The head of the World Health Orsaniralion (W.H.O.) Dr Tedros Adhamont Ghebreyesus faces a call for prosecution over his alleged involvement in dtrectine secw ily loroes in his Ethiopian homeland. - - In a complaint filed at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the American economist has accused WHO Director -General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of being involved in directing Ethiopia's security forces who killed, arbitrarily detained, and tortured Ethiopians. Dr 'Pedro, was one of three oflicuils in control of the Ethiopian security services h,ont 2013 to 2015. Dr. Tedros, 55, who took over at the WHO three years ago, is the organization's first leader without medical qualifications He was the country's health minister hum 2005 to 2012 and its li rerun minister until 2016. when his Tigray People's Liberation Front party was the main member of the ruling coalition. - An abuser of humanity that DOES NOT HAVE MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS ................... KNOW YOUR ABUSER! DAMN IT! I am ashamed of Palm Desert. Are you educated? Have you educated yourself? Or are you ruled by abusers of humanity? It's a military operation folks..... The IIu has disappeared. It's been nine nxmlhs... . ENOUGH! TRACY ZONA Sanchez, Gloria From: Celeste Fiehler <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 11:28 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Palm Desert Covid Policy PD City Council, Good morning, I am writing my concern about your Covid policy- not only would this be so damaging to our desert, but the backlash will be even more damaging. If this happens, you will create chaos to Palm Desert and to the entire Coachella Valley: bringing attention in a negative way and possibly bringing national attention. Wd are suffering enough with school closures and job loss.. How many more deaths from domestic violence, suicides and overdoes are you willing to be responsible for if you were to be in favor of this policy? Please look up the NY gym owner who has been fined over $1 million because of noncompliance, and the support the owner is getting from the community as well as National support. This will backfire! The residents of Palm Desert and neighboring cities will fully support the business owners over representatives who continue to dictate our lives. Celeste Fiehler Sanchez, Gloria From: Amber Jordan <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 11:45 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Misdemeanor covid policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have . used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Amber Jordan Sanchez, Gloria From: Nancy Portolesi <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:01 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: This is a virus that has a 99% survival rate. By all means, those who are not willing to take the risk should remain home. But, Healthy individuals and that was willing to take the risk should not have to. PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement policy during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protections restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Desert, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and the risk... Should remain at home. But, not healthy individuals. Nancy Portolesi Sanchez, Gloria From: Jaclyn Collins <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:20 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Land of the free? PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer r than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Jaclyn Collins Sanchez, Gloria From: Christina Stokes <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:22 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Do the right thing PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Christina Stokes Sanchez, Gloria From: Ashley Stiles <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:32 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: UNACCEPTABLE PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our i congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Ashley Stiles Sanchez, Gloria From: Bob Mazui Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:34 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Comments for Special Meeting on December 22, 2020 Dear Acting City Clerk Rocha, I am submitting the comments below to be distributed to the City Council for the December 22 City Council meeting: Mayor Kelly and Council Members Nestande, Harnik, Jonathan, and Quintanilla, As a resident of Palm Desert, I wish to express strong disagreement with the Proposed Resolution No. 2020- 83. The orders of the State Public Health Officer and Governor are ill-advised, ineffective, illegal and unconstitutional as courts in Los Angeles and San Diego County have already ruled. It is very likely that the rulings by these courts of first impression will ultimately be affirmed at the final appellate level, whichever body that may be. The Palm Desert Council should have no part in supporting these orders and if anything, should adopt and pass a resolution condemning this overreach by the Governor and the State Public Health Officer. .During these trying times, it is important to have a sane and balanced approach to dealing with the issues we all have to deal with in life, including the current COVID-19 situation. We cannot destroy people's lives and businesses by overreacting to the problem and making the cure worse than the disease. I pray that the City Council changes course to support our local businesses who bravely chose to stay open in order to survive and keep their employees earning income and not be thrown out of work. We urge the City Council to support these and all businesses by refraining from adopting Resolution 2020-83 or taking any enforcement action that would further damage the businesses, their hard-working employees and those who support them. All retail, food service and hospitality businesses and their workers have suffered greatly during these trying times. They have jumped through hoops to keep their businesses sanitized, staff and customers masked and maintaining social distance. Yet, they are being unfairly singled out and being severely punished and harmed by those in government who either do not care or are utterly clueless about people's ability to earn a living in order to pay for essentials like food and housing. Lockdowns have not worked to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The infection rates of California historically mirror those of Texas, and recently, the case rate per 100,000 in California was double that of Texas (82 versus 39 per 100,0000 per the CDC) and Florida (46 cases per 100,000 pet the CDC) and yet Texas and Florida have kept a much larger share of their economy open while California government officials have destroyed people's lives by destroying businesses and causing millions to lose their jobs. The unemployment rate in California as of the end of October, is 9.6% and only 6.5% in Florida and 6.9% in Texas (BLS statistics). Only four states have higher unemployment than California and three of those also had more drastic lockdowns similar or worse than California (New York, Nevada and Hawaii). This is clear evidence lockdowns and stay-at-home orders do not work and should not be enforced. Also, keep in mind, the problems California's EDD had processing unemployment claims with many unfortunate out of work people having to wait many months for benefits to arrive, not to mention the fraud that deprived legitimate people of their benefits. You can't trust the state to provide the benefits to those in need at the time they need them most. An important consideration is that there is a lack of scientific evidence that food service establishments are linked to widespread outbreaks but that grocery stores are, and yet these remain open, as they must. While coronavirus is serious and those with health risks or who are otherwise more vulnerable should be extra careful and perhaps limit their time outside the home, most of the population is not at risk of death from the coronavirus. Our governor and other politicians like the Mayor of San Francisco, a Los Angeles council member, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein through their actions have demonstrated that they do not fear this virus as being so deadly. They have visited restaurants, dined indoors, without mask, shoulder to shoulder with people outside their household, or have dined at restaurants after voting to close them, or have not worn masks in airports, the Capitol, or salons. Yet, the rest of us, who adhere to safe practices cannot enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and many low-income workers risk losing their jobs and homes as a result of unconstitutional and INEFFECTIVE orders and measures. I ask that the City Council exercise compassion for the businesses and employees that earn their living in Palm Desert. Keep businesses open, encourage other businesses to reopen and do not do anything to harm the economic wellbeing of people in this valley. You do not have to do the governor's bidding. Gavin Newsom himself has set the precedent for you to reject his guidance and edicts when he chose to defy State and Federal laws and has not enforced laws he does not like or agree with. Please do the right thing and follow the same common-sense example of Sheriff Bianco in response to this issue we are dealing with. Thank you for your consideration of these points and please vote against Resolution 2020-83. Best Regards, Bob Mazur Sanchez, Gloria From: Patrick Percoski <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 12:36 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Government Over Reach PD City Council, Shutting down restaurants and private business defies common sense logic, science, and civil rights. First of all my healthcare or anyones healthcare is not the responsibility of the government.... it's an individuals responsibility to asses their own risk of getting Covid and for them to take the precautions they feel they need to take. You have a less than 1 % chance of dyeing from Covid. At what time ever in our history does the government allow 1 % to rule or make laws for the other 99%. Even then the laws and the interpretation of them are so inconsistent and miss managed. We have the Riverside County Sherriff, (who millions agree with) in not enforcing Newscums orders. When one person can order the whole of our society to do something; that comes real close to authoritarian rule, socialism or dictator ship. I went into Costco and Home Depot this last week and people were not keeping six feet apart, the place was packed and indoors; while your restaurants are maintaining social distancing, eating outside, and require masks, but are required to shut down... Comeone!!! I was in Cabo San Lucas in October and everywhere you go, your temperature is taken, sanitizer is given and you are required to wash your shoes in a sanitizing solution. Why in the hell don't we require this before shutting down the economy, and take away peoples rights... The only reason I can come up with is that the liberal government is resetting the economy, by using Covid as an excuse to consolidate wealth in our country. More people are at risk of not getting proper health care, going homeless or going into poverty or depression, than will ever die from Covid. I'm in lease negotiations right now to take over a store in the Gardens and another on El Paseo. I will not sign any contract while the city of Palm Desert defies logic and common sense over this issue. These stores are due to close by the end of December. But, maybe, just maybe that's the goal of our City Council. Patrick Percoski Sanchez, Gloria From: Jonquil Flores <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 1:27 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Against Palm Desert City Council Misdemeanor Covid Policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Jonquil Flores Sanchez, Gloria From: Kari Pena <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 1:44 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Do NOT enforce Newsom's tyrannical restrictions PD City Council, ENOUGH! Stop this insanity now! Have some common sense and some common decency. Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement policy during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protections restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Desert, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Kari Pena Sanchez, Gloria From: Faustina Sevilla <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 1:47 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Covid Policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the publicplayground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Faustina Sevilla Sanchez, Gloria From: Charlie Francis Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 2:19 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: COVID-19 misdemeanors Hi, My name is Charlie Francis. I have lived in palm desert for over 30 years. I find it absolutely appalling that my city is actually considering giving misdemeanors for violating state mandates that government officials won't even abide by. Let law enforcement handle this as they have been five the power to do. Our own sheriff won't even enforce these mandates, why should our city act any different. Unless you want to turn away the people that love this city, do not vote to enforce this as a city. I will strongly consider my home over such political nonsense. I have always valued my city for being one of reason and where people love to be. This will cause more depression, loneliness, and deaths for all the unforeseen reasons that these lockdowns have caused. Please reconsider your actions and do not vote to enact this law. Sincerely, Charlie Francis Sent from my Whone Sanchez, Gloria From: Jennifer Ruberg <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 2:24 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Enough is enough - PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He. faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner: Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Jennifer Ruberg Sanchez, Gloria From: Samantha Jordan <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 2d, 2020 3:53 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Please read PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Samantha Jordan Sanchez, Gloria From: Marissa Watson <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 4:08 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Tyranny PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Considerthe ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. if they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have s used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Marissa Watson Sanchez, Gloria From: Justin Braviroff <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 5:00 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Covid Fines are Ridiculous PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Justin Braviroff Sanchez, Gloria From: Gary Lopez <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 5:19 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: NO CIVIL ACTION! PD City Council, This hysteria and the resulting liberty -threatening aspects imposed by our inept and hypocritical Governor has gone on far too long and must be stopped somewhere. The sooner, the better. The declarations by at least three county Sheriffs —Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange —and their intentions to not address or prosecute these restrictions and curfews are more than enough to be indicative of the ridiculous limits to which the Governor has overstepped his bounds What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have lifelong effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change, of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protections restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place, We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Desert, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even'prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Gary Lopez Sanchez, Gloria From: Lauren Joy <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 6:12 PM To: Councillveeting Comments Subject: Time for change PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Lauren Joy Sanchez, Gloria From: James Williams <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 6:56 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Infringing on my rights PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. James Williams Sanchez, Gloria From: Diana Williams <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 6:57 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Objection PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to.mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Diana Williams Sanchez, Gloria From: Mary Cardinal <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2020 8:07 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Unconstitutional PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely.last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Mary Cardinal Sanchez, Gloria From: Angela Cabanyog <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 5:44 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: URGENT!! PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Angela Cabanyog Sanchez, Gloria From: Brenda Eisenacher <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 7:08 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Please don't step on my rights! PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. Those things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Brenda Eisenacher Sanchez, Gloria From: Lindsay Blake <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 9:18 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Misdemeanor policy PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. Lindsay Blake Sanchez, Gloria From: Kari Sutherland <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 10:36 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: I am against taking away our American Freedom PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. We live in a free country, so represent our freedoms, by letting us make our own person choice. This has got to end! If you want to take a stand and truly believe this is the right move to make, then stop taking a paycheck yourself and feel what others are feeling because of this unnecessary control. Also, like stated before, ask yourself, have you met with family or been out to eat in the last few weeks, which I personally know you all have, just in this last month. Hypocrisy, needs to end. Karl Sutherland Sanchez, Gloria From: Evan Trubee Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 11:33 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: City issued citations Hello Honorable Mayor and City Council Members, I would like you to consider several points before you decide whether or not to impose another layer of covid enforcement upon the citizens of Palm Desert. First, I believe that people are being cautious in their behavior. I don't remember the last time that I saw anyone not wearing a mask in a public place. People are socially distancing and our movements and activities (sports, school, meetings, church) are already severely restricted. All of this leads me to believe that the virus is being transmitted by gatherings of people within their own homes and I do not believe that the city should get into the business of telling people what to do in their home. Second, the Governor's orders forbid outdoor dining at restaurants and yet the city sponsored outdoor dining area on Lupine is as busy as ever with no oversight on sanitizing tables between diners. Surely I am not the first or only person to recognize this incongruity? If the city really wants an equitable application of the rules then the Lupine area should be shut down, or outdoor dining should be allowed to resume unfettered. Third, the Governor's orders prohibit all retail locations including grocery stores to be limited to 20 percent capacity. To date I have not seen this mandate being enforced. Indeed, Target, Wal Mart, Sam's Club, Home Depot and others appear to be as busy as ever particularly during this holiday shopping season. Which begs the question, why are restaurants being closed down while retailers are allowed to operate at full capacity? Good governance requires the equal application of the law. Either allow outdoor dining or restrict all commercial activity. I urge the council to refrain from adding one more punitive enforcement tool to a population that is already doing their best to walk the tightrope between economic survival and limiting the spread of Covid. Thank you! Evan Trubee Sanchez, Gloria From: Trish Langley <trishlangleyevrwf@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 11:46 AM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Cc: Joy Miedecke Subject: PD City Council Letter - Forced Business Closure Issue Attachments: PD City Council Letter.pdf; ATT00001.htm; We sent you safe versions of your files Mimecast Attachment Protection has deemed this file to be safe, but always exercise caution when opening files Dear Council Members, Please see attached document from East Valley Republican Women Federated. Kind Regards, Trish Langley VP of Programs, EVRWF TrishLan2levevrwf@2maii.com 760.702.5898 0 December 21, 2020 To: Palm Desert City Council From: East Valley Republican Women Federated Subject: Forced Business Closure Issue We are writing on behalf of the 1,420 members of East Valley Republican Women Federated (500 members reside in Palm Desert) to express our opinion that local businesses should be allowed to open if they wish to do so. The United States of America is a free country and the recent steps our government is taking to control our citizenry should be alarming to every American. According to data from Los Angeles County, restaurants are linked to less than 4% of Covid-19 outbreaks. Our local restaurant owners have gone to great expense to create safe outdoor dining areas. It is inequitable that some businesses are allowed to open while others are not. Governor Newson's Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, stated on December 10th that, "outdoor dining is not the issue." Restaurant owners should have the freedom of choice to be open or stay closed. Customers should have the same freedom to dine out or not. We have thousands of local residents who work in our restaurant and hospitality industry who are suffering. Your council should not contribute to this economic disaster by forcing further closures. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has publicly announced stay-at-home orders are, "flat- out ridiculous." "The metrics used for the closures are unbelievably faulty" and "not representative of true numbers." He will not penalize people for opening businesses nor patronizing them. Why should your council overstep the chief law enforcement officer of our county? Our members work tirelessly to protect and promote the freedoms bestowed upon us by the United States Constitution. As elected officials of Palm Desert, you should do the same. Thank you for giving serious consideration to our position. Kindest regards, Joy Miedecke President East Valley Republican Women Federated Sanchez, Gloria From: Jason Pace Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 2:00 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: COVID19 Response & Local Business Fines Hello, My name is Jason Pace. My Phone is 760-578-0479. I'm writing you today to demand that use the full measure of your elected powers to PREVENT local businesses from getting fined (or punished in any way), as they rightfully disobey the unconstitutional edicts placed upon them by the State of CA, in this heavily exaggerated COVID19 "crisis." I am disgusted by the lack of objective reporting being done on this matter, from local & remote reporting agencies. I am disgusted by the lack of defense of Our Civil Liberties. Our Constitutional, & inalienable, God -Given Rights. It is your appointed responsibility to protect your constituents from such brazen tyranny & you will be held accountable for the actions you take, or your inaction. You have before you an opportunity to take a stand for a vibrant free-market economy. We are a Free People & We DO NOT need the State's permission to make an honest living. Sanchez, Gloria From: DEANNA MORGAN <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 2:55 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Merry Christmas PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications. The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. It is time to allow the American people to govern their own lives . Allow us to make our own decisions as is our constitutional right. Do not punish us for not obeying rules our politicians won't follow. After all what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If the governor is able to keep his winery open and dine with friends so should the residents of California. Rise above him and be the leaders the Coachella Valley needs. Merry Christmas and for God's sake hug your family and loved ones DEANNA MORGAN Sanchez, Gloria From: Michelle Skramstad <info@sg.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 3:30 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Please let your restaurants and business open up!! PD City Council, Remember the paddle boarder who was arrested in Malibu during the first lock down? He faced a $1,000 dollar fine and up to six months in jail for paddle boarding alone in the ocean. Looking back, he posed no danger to himself or others. It is actually absurd to imagine that he was arrested given what we know about how the virus spreads. In fact, the governor has walked back his previous rhetoric actually encouraging Californians to go to the beach. How about the mother who was arrested in front of her children when she defied the first stay at home order by taking them to the public playground to play? Just last week the governor deemed playgrounds safe (even with a greater spread of COVID in the state). Playgrounds, the beach, golf,, and hiking were never unsafe to begin with, but all fell under the stay-at- home ordinance the first time around. Consider the ramifications to families and individuals had the Palm Desert City Council instituted a misdemeanor enforcement polic y during the first stay at home order. How many people would have been hurt by a policy that changed a few months later. Why do that to residents now? It will change again. What the Palm Desert City Council is proposing to do to Palm Desert residents and visitors to our beautiful desert is turn them into criminals by issuing misdemeanor citations and fines that could have life long effects on individuals and their families that would surely last longer than Newsom's next change of policy. In doing so the city council is also overreaching in their power over the good people of Palm Desert who have witnessed their own governor break his own rules with simply an apology to mend it, no fines, and no criminal charges. Not only was our own governor inside unmasked for hours with people from different households, they were actually the same medical professionals telling us that their behavior was unsafe. If they truly feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they would not have attended that dinner. Our leaders were not afraid to eat out and be together as many residents in our beautiful city are also not afraid given the protectio ns restaurants have bent over backwards to put into place. We may not all be as privileged as our political leaders, but we deserve the same treatment. Can every member of the board claim that they have not gathered with members outside of their immediate household? This is where the science shows we have the most spread. Let he or she who is innocent cast the first stone then. Our governor surely can't, our congressional delegates who just traveled in a group to Hawaii for a conference cannot, our speaker of the house can't and it is plausible that no member of the city council can say that they have followed the stay-at-home orders perfectly. Should you be criminalized? Let's not forget that it is perfectly legal under the stay at home order to gather in large crowds to protest, and that during protests individuals are legally allowed to chant and sing. This type of hypocrisy matters when it is used as a cudgel against the "little guy." Other politicians have used these restrictions to bludgeon the us. It is deplorable that members of this city council are going to jump on that bandwagon. As voting citizens of Palm Dese rt, we will not soon forget what you have done. The ramifications of your actions will surely last longer than the governor's next policy change. What you are proposing punishes people who are barely trying to eke out an existence right now, normal, everyday folks and residents of this great city. Mothers, fathers, entire families, grandparents, blue collar workers, laborers, a generation of individuals marked by ever changing stay-at-home orders ---NOT CRIMINALS. Those who can afford a legal defense against the charges will fight them and maybe even prevail, again, widening the difference between how the haves and the have-nots are dealt with by our city. Depression rates are skyrocketing as well as overdoses and death by suicide. These things are alarming and underreported. You cannot help us work on our mental health by making us criminals. By doing this, you will be on the wrong side of history just as we now can see how ridiculous it was to arrest the paddle boarder in the ocean and the mother at the park. Do not do this. Although less serious than a felony, a misdemeanor is a crime that carries permanent implications.The ramifications of a misdemeanor charge on an individual and that individual's family are not limited to the following: Many employers run background checks and inquire about criminal charges before hiring someone. Having a misdemeanor could prevent a pre -pandemic law abiding citizen from supporting themselves and their family post pandemic. We don't want that as a city or as a society. Criminal records are made public and anyone can search to see if someone has been charged with a crime. This could have a variety of implications for an individual. If an immigrant faces misdemeanor charges, it could have a serious impact on their ability to stay in the United States. Should the crime be severe enough, a misdemeanor might be cause for deportation proceedings to begin. Misdemeanors could also affect an individual's ability to be accepted to college or to rent future property. Please reconsider creating another law that punishes decent law abiding citizens. Every single one of us is dealing with this pandemic the best we can. With all due respect, the members of the Palm Desert City Council do not know what people are struggling with in their homes. Please do not make it worse for families and individuals. *****And while I am a La Quinta resident, I was born and raised in Palm Desert. We frequent and patronize several of your businesses and restaurants often. What you decide in your city affects all of us in the Coachella Valley. Please make a decision that will take care of your residence not continue to Val to the tyranny of Governor Newsom. Thank you for taking time to consider. Michelle Skramstad Sanchez, Gloria From: Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 4:06 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: Regarding proposal to issue misdemeanor citations to residents. Honorable Major and City council, I oppose the proposal to issue misdemeanor citations to residents who defy Governor Newscom's stay at home order. The citizens of Palm Desert have been faithfully following safety guidelines since March. The state and county are already enforcing Governor Newsom's stay at home orders with fines and penalties for restaurateurs and other business owners. I do not believe that the City of Palm Desert should heap more restrictions and penalties on its' citizens who are only trying to maintain some semblance of a livelihood and diminished social life while also responsibly avoiding the spread of COVID. Please support your residents and keep Palm Desert free from overbearing restrictions that will do little to halt the spread of this disease. Thank you! Christel Prokay Sanchez, Gloria From: Dale Gribow <Dale@dalegribowlaw.com> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2020 4:35 PM To: CouncilMeeting Comments Subject: APPROVE OF FINE FOR BEING OUT OF COMPLIANCE WE ALL HAVE TO REALIZE THIS CLOSING IS NOT BEING DONE TO PENALIZE US BUT RATHER TO HELP SAVE/PROTECT US FROM THIS DAMN COVID. I DON'T LIKE IT EITHER. ALL OF US HAVE COME CLOSE TO CLOSING OUR OFFICE .......... BUT IT IS BETTER THAN CLOSING THE LAST CHAPTER ON OUR LIVES............ THANKS FOR DOING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL OF US ............ dale Dale Gribow Attorney at Law "TOP LAWYER" Palm Springs Life 73-061 El Paseo, Suite 220 Palm Desert, CA 92260 Office - 760-837-7500 Fax - 760 837-7502 Dale(@DaleGribowLaw.com www.DaleGribowLaw.com CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE. UNAUTHORIZED INTERCEPTION IS PROHIBITED BY FEDERAL LAW. This message is being sent by the Dale Gribow Attorney at Law, and is intended exclusively for the individuals and entities to which it is addressed. This communication, including any attachments, may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise legally exempted from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by email, delete all copies of this email, and do not read, print, retain, copy or disseminate this message or any part of it. 1