Maple valley fitness1/17/2024 ![]() ![]() “COVID-19 remains a significant health risk that has continued to worsen in Washington State and continued operations in contravention of the orders of the Governor unnecessarily endangers employees and creates a substantial probability that death or serious harm could result,” the citation reads. One of the citations alleged the coffee shop was open for business and offering indoor dining services despite the state’s emergency orders prohibiting businesses from offering indoor dining at the time. The shop had 14 serious COVID-19 violations totaling more than $126,000 in fines. The coffee shop had three inspections in February, each resulting in multiple COVID-19 violations. In Spokane County, so far this year, the company with the largest number of fines is Cole’s Coffee Shop in Spokane Valley. Maple Valley Fitness is facing more than $412,000 in fines, Church said. Stuffy’s II Restaurant in Longview is facing nearly $1 million in citations. Gebbers Farm Operations in Brewster received a more than $2 million fine in December after workers complained about COVID-19 conditions. Much of the $7.3 million in L&I fines statewide come from a few businesses who stayed open or ignored worker safety. “The fines go up exponentially,” Church said. Both types can be considered willful or not willful, meaning the business disregards known rules or has no idea what the rules are in the first place.Ī serious violation has a fee associated with it, and if it is willful, the fine grows. Violations are broken down into two categories: general or serious. The county then moved to Phase 2, which still restricted indoor dining to 25% capacity. Spokane was in Phase 1 of reopening, which kept the county relatively closed, until mid-February. For a restaurant or a gym that remained opened when they shouldn’t have been, they received fines by the day. The violations include not having a sign on the door signaling to customers to wear a mask and keeping indoor dining open during a time when it was not allowed or at very little capacity, Church said. The Liquor and Cannabis Board deals only with businesses, such as bars or restaurants, that have some sort of liquor license. Most received some sort of warning, but five received some kind of penalty, starting at $500 or a five-day suspension. Some of the businesses may have appealed their citations, which can take a long time to resolve, Church said.įor the entire state of emergency, 15 Spokane bars were investigated for a COVID-19 related complaint, according to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. None of them returned The Spokesman-Review’s request for comment. Fairwood Retirement Services, which received $4,800 in fines.Huntwood Industries, a cabinet maker in Liberty Lake, which received $6,000 in fines.Cole’s Coffee Shop in Spokane Valley, which received more than $126,000 in fines.The businesses in Spokane with the most fines during that time period are: “Clearly, Spokane is just a small slice,” L&I spokesman Tim Church said. ![]() The county had the second-highest number of businesses cited during this period, following King County, which cited 26 businesses. The state Liquor and Cannabis Board received 11,836 complaints about bars refusing to follow guidelines.įrom January to March of this year alone, 25 Spokane businesses received citations from L&I, totaling nearly $174,000. ![]() Others failed to offer proper social distancing for employees or signs to customers about wearing masks.Īs of the first week of May, the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) had issued $7.3 million worth of fines to businesses failing to follow COVID-19 guidelines or mask mandates. Some chose to stay open despite regulations because they feared losing business. Throughout the COVID-19 state of emergency, some businesses across Spokane struggled to follow guidelines. OLYMPIA – Coffee shops, construction companies, bars, casinos, long-term care facilities, a hospital. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |