LAL #066 — Mike & Norm's Bar and Grille: A View of What's at Stake

<p>A belated Happy New Year to our loyal LAL listeners! We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to each of you for the momentum our humble undertaking now enjoys. We look forward to a productive and content-rich 2022.</p> <p>In that spirit, we begin the year with an in-house episode. Norm and Mike's conversation is anchored by a recent legal development in Mike's neck of the woods, Greensboro, North Carolina. As the title suggests, the legal development embodies a microcosmic view of what appears to be a larger trend the country over. </p> <p>Norm opens by floating his theory of what we can expect to see from state and federal leadership as the spell of the virus continues to break across the country. In short, Norm expects that climate change will ascend the mantle of the public health crisis du jour, mimicking the same strategy and playbook that has stifled exercise of civil liberties over the past two years. </p> <p>Mike offers his observations on the matter, while inadvertently reminding Norm of just how long in the tooth he is. </p> <p>The two transition to the topic at hand and Mike lays forth Greensboro City Council's recent ratification of a new standard operating procedure, called the "Safety Review Board", as an ominous legal development. </p> <p>If you're still curious as to whether Mike and Norm are opening a bar and restaurant together, we don't really know. The title of this episode, however, references Greensboro's implementation of an auxiliary body of appointed board members who are now charged with imposing "safety" procedures on Greensboro's bars and restaurants. </p> <p>The supposed reason for this so-called Safety Review Board? Greensboro's historic levels of violent crime are obviously and directly attributable to its hospitality community because those businesses sell and serve alcohol. We say "obviously" because, as you'll hear, the City Council has not bothered to provide any findings of fact to establish any nexus between the two. </p> <p>Still, left unabated, the establishment of this Saf