I stand with “local democratic activist,” Eric Landau. His recent letter contained some hyperbole but I, for one, took it for just that. A member of our state government took him to task with a lot of hyperbole of his own.

When you finished with the overstatement on both sides, the crux of the matter came down to whether or not a local restauranteur was worthy of the Retailer of the Year award she received. Mr. Landau’s point, and one I agree with, was that the restauranteur received the award even though she blatantly ignored the COVID-19 restrictions legally in place early during the pandemic. I doubt other local restaurants felt “helped” by her, as she continued to sell buckets of beer and food to be consumed just outside. While every other restaurant in town complied, this restauranteur put us all at greater risk.

These incidents were mentioned in the law enforcement report of The Times numerous weeks in a row as a “business in the 12000 block of N. Saguaro being warned by MCSO deputies for violating the carryout only order.” Deputies visited the premises numerous times to warn her to cease and desist. At least once, a MCSO supervisor reportedly delivered the same warning. MCSO bent over backwards to avoid citing her. She left them no choice. The fact that the county prosecutor dropped the charges had nothing to do with the law and everything to do with the political football that is COVID-19. This decision was very disrespectful to MCSO.

Mr. Kavanagh, your hat trick, poison pen and Pinocchio awards were beneath you. Could you have made your argument in a more respectful manner?