I need to be crystal clear: The Redding Chamber of Commerce wants our businesses OPEN. RIGHT. NOW. The unilateral move by Governor Newsom to shutdown restaurants, bars, and other business types across the state, including rural counties like Shasta, which has continued to report COVID-19 cases below the allowable level, is claiming more victims each day.

Those victims are hard-working, honest, local business owners. There are a growing number of others on life support like the 78-year old restaurant owner who came by the Chamber to drop off the final documents for our grant program. He looked me in the eye underneath his Vietnam Veteran cap and emotionally described how he has dipped deep into his retirement funds to pay his bills. “I had planned to retire in 2 years”, he said with frustration, “I guess that will have to wait.”