Two administration press conferences last week called for legislators to help hard-hit small businesses, while also clamping down on some of those businesses.

Governor Tom Wolf said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis, but it is also an economic crisis. In order to help Pennsylvania’s economy recover from the effects of COVID-19, it is vital that we continue to support businesses in Pennsylvania, especially as so many have taken on additional work and costs to keep their employees and customers safe since reopening. Small businesses have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 mitigation efforts and further support is needed to strengthen the economy, so I am calling on the General Assembly to approve additional funds to support our small businesses.”

Wolf is asking the general assembly to provide an additional $225 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in the form of forgivable loans and grants to small businesses in Pennsylvania through the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program. In addition, the governor is proposing $100 million in forgivable loans and grants for the hospitality, leisure and service industries, including restaurants and bars, salons and barber shops.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the new restriction is largely aimed at preventing young adults from gathering in bars and restaurants.

“We have seen a significant increase in terms of the [case] numbers in 19-to-24-year-olds,” Levine said. “Those numbers throughout the state have been going up significantly. We have seen outbreaks at many colleges in Pennsylvania. [College and university administrators are] recommending them not to congregate in parties. We didn’t want them to congregate in restaurants/bars and be all together and so we put in the mitigation effort to prevent them from serving liquor after 10 o’clock.”

Southside business owner Dion Kowalski, who sees the early closing time as a direct threat to his livelihood while doing nothing to rein in on-campus socializing, took to Facebook live with a description of the untenable challenges currently placed on bars and restaurants. Other businesses are not as closely constricted by guidelines, he said. “It’s like saying, ‘You know what, coffee shops? From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. you’re not allowed to sell coffee because you have too many people coming in.”

Except nobody is saying that, and coffee shops and grocery stores aren’t restricted, he said. “Nobody’s clicking at the front door of grocery stores any more, keeping count. We’re sticking to capacity rules. We’re doing what we have to do, but somehow we’re getting crushed.”

Kowalski said the double blows of weak winter sales and the shutdown have left many businesses scrambling to pay their taxes, while already paying many thousands of dollars for liquor liability, general and worker’s insurance, as well as licenses and certifications.

Kowalski says he feels the industry is being unfairly burdened for events beyond its control – such as outbreaks on college campuses.

He asked for public support, that state representatives would see his plea and that somebody in Harrisburg would act as a stronger voice for his crippled industry. He is organizing small protests outside his East Fourth Street bar, The Funhouse, to call attention to their plight.

“You know in March … the state called on us to say, ‘hey look, you gotta stop the curve, we gotta keep our hospitals open. You gotta shut down.’ And we did. We were the tip of the spear. We were the first ones to sacrifice everything for the benefit of Pennsylvania, for the benefit of America. And we didn’t have a problem with it. But we still don’t know where things are going to go today.”

He said, “This is the industry’s last stand. Stop taking from us – give us something back.”

View Kowalski’s video at https://www.facebook.com/dion.kowalski/videos/2696916540529214

Monday afternoon a federal judge had deemed some of Wolf’s actions as unconstitutional overreach.

As of Monday the state has 140,842 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,869 deaths. Lehigh County has 5,393 confirmed and 345 deaths; Northampton County has 4,258 confirmed and 302 deaths; the city of Bethlehem has 1,264 confirmed and 82 deaths.