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Since the pandemic began, Long Beach has issued a total of 124 citations for violations of the city’s health orders but just 11 were for people not abiding by the city’s mask mandate, according to a City Council memo released Tuesday.
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All of the mask citations went to businesses where employees were spotted by city officials not wearing masks, according to the memo authored by Long Beach Development Services Director Oscar Orci.
In Long Beach, mask citations include fines that start at $100 but can escalate to $500 depending on how many citations have been issued to an individual business, according to Rick De La Torre, a spokesperson for the city’s Development Services department, which includes code enforcement.
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Utility workers found the hose line after neighbors reported a gas leak, according to city spokesman Kevin Lee.
“We discovered an unauthorized flex connection from an adjacent unit’s gas supply running to the restaurant,” Lee said. “The latest is we have safely removed it.”
A Long Beach police officer carries away a tube that the gas department removed after reports of a gas leak on Fourth Street on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. Photo by Crystal Niebla.
Dana Tanner, the owner of Restauration on Fourth Street, has continually refused to stop serving customers on her restaurant’s patio despite state and local health orders banning all dine-in service.