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PLEASANTON, Calif. - Specialty's Cafe & Bakery, a Pleasanton-based chain that had locations around the West Coast and as far away as Chicago, announced Sunday that it is going out of business after 33 years, an apparent victim of the novel coronavirus health emergency. It's last day of operation would be Tuesday, the company said in an announcement posted Sunday on its website. "Current market conditions attributed to COVID-19 and shelter-in-place policies have decimated company revenues," the chain said in its post. Offerings at Specialty's included soup, salad, sandwiches, baked goods and a coffee bar. In the Bay Area it...

Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health has closed Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland, Ky. Bon Secours announced plans in January to close the 214-bed hospital. The hospital was originally scheduled to shut down in September, but the timeline was moved up to April after employees began accepting new jobs or tendering resignations. "Many members of our team have already accepted new positions conditionally, meaning that start dates with their new employers can't begin until their employment at OLBH ends," Jason Asic, interim president of OLBH, said in February. "These employers have hired our staff in good faith, and we...

Of all the answers that surprised the survey gatherers for the Brooklyn Health Improvement Project, the most surprising one was also the simplest: It was easier and more convenient to sit in an ER waiting room than to try and find a doctor who would see them and help them the same day. It was easier to sit and wait in one place than to be bounced around by phone, put on hold or put off entirely. The added benefit of the ER waiting room: It was near the hospital specialists, labs, pharmacies and outpatient clinics. Rather than travel all...

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The Myrtle Beach City Council passed an ordinance at an emergency meeting Thursday that calls for hotels along the Grand Strand to stop taking new reservations for more than a month. Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said the city had hoped that Gov. Henry McMaster would enact a statewide order restricting tourism. But since the governor has not made one, city leaders called an emergency meeting and took action to protect those who call Myrtle Beach home. “Our priority is our own community. That’s what we did today, we put our community first because we...

After hours of pushback from residents, gun stores, Second Amendment organizations, and even the county attorney, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva reversed course early Wednesday morning and now says his office is suspending attempts to force firearm retailers to lock their doors. Villaneuva announced the move on social media, saying it will be up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to determine what is, and isn’t, an essential business.

The state-wide shutdowns have only been in place for a couple of weeks at most, but people are already starting to get understandably jumpy. Even if we assume that the governments, both state and federal, are handling this pandemic in the wisest way possible, when does it all end? When can we declare this emergency to be in our rearview mirror and have our lives return to some semblance of normality? This weekend, the Boston Globe put that question to some experts in epidemiology and the answers aren’t terribly comforting, at least in my opinion. “That’s one of the hardest...

A Fulton County [GA] Schools employee has tested positive for coronavirus, the district said Monday, and the entire district will close tomorrow.

Mueller's Verdict May Be In, But Closure Is Out of Reach . By Susan CrabtreeMarch 25, 2019 Mueller's Verdict May Be In, But Closure Is Out of ReachAP Photo/Carolyn Kaster After nearly two years of alternating White House angst and Democratic anticipation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and final report set off a frenzy in Washington over the weekend but provided neither closure nor solace for a divided nation. Indeed, it seemed to cement America’s dueling split-screen political realities in place for years to come. anticipation of the “big reveal,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity ran a banner headline Friday night:...

At a packed town hall meeting in Brooklyn Thursday evening to discuss options for saving a crumbling section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, city officials from the Department of Transportation came up against some not-unexpected pushback against a proposal that would involve closing the Brooklyn Heights promenade for six years. This was the first public meeting since the city unveiled two separate proposals for the project last week. The meeting opened with a presentation of both options—each projected to cost between $3 billion and $4 billion—while Polly Trottenberg, the city’s transportation commissioner, braced herself for the inevitable backlash. “I understand a...

A 100-foot fissure has opened up in the Grand Teton National Park – not far from the potentially catastrophic Yellowstone volcano. The giant crack in the Wyoming–based national park has prompted officials to shut down areas from tourists in case of landslides. The Grand Teton National Park said in a statement: “The Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point areas are currently closed due to elevated potential for rockfall. [...snip...] If it was seismic activity beneath Grand Teton which caused the fissure, it could be a sign that Yellowstone is reawakening. If the Wyoming volcano were to erupt an estimated 87,000 people...

Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton will close by the end of 2018. Premier Health announced on Wednesday that the hospital, based on the northwest side of Dayton, will shut down by the end of 2018. The health network — the largest private employer in the region — said the closure is “part of Premier Health’s new strategic plan.” Here’s what we know about the closure now: MAKING A DECISION: Mary Garman, chief operating officer at Good Sam, said there were several options that were looked at before the decision was made to close the Dayton hospital. She said company executives...

Delaware River Turnpike Bridge to Reopen Late Tonight Crossing was closed for seven weeks as fractured truss member was repaired. Officials from the PA Turnpike Commission (PTC) and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) today announced that they expect to reopen the jointly owned Delaware River Bridge sometime late tonight. The 1.25-mile-long bridge, which carries traffic between the two states, first closed Jan. 20 when a complete fracture was discovered in the superstructure beneath the westbound lanes on the Pennsylvania side in Bristol Township, Bucks County. “Many people were greatly inconvenienced by this closure over the last seven weeks, and...

MISSOULA, Mont. - Four ski areas in western Montana have unexpectedly closed due to extreme cold and wind. Snowbowl outside of Missoula, Discovery Ski Area near Philipsburg and Blacktail Mountain near Lakeside all closed Monday due to weather. All three areas were also closed Tuesday. Great Divide near Helena also was closed Monday. It is closed on Tuesdays and officials said the extreme cold could impact skiing later in the week.

Full title: Ret. Navy Commander: Gitmo Has Not Led to Terror Recruiting Anymore Than a Movie Caused Benghazi Attack Commander Kirk Lippold, retired from the U.S. Navy, testified in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday, insisting that Guantanamo Bay remain open for business. “Keeping Guantanamo open is more important now than ever,” Lippold warned. The terror detention facility, which has held almost 800 terrorist detainees since 2002 and today holds only 80, has been targeted for closure by President Obama, who argues the prison is “contrary to our values.” Other social activists have demanded the...

The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, by armed militants has prompted the closure of the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge near Cheney. A closure notice was posted on the refuge's website on Friday.

Leaders in Congress and the U.S. attorney general say President Obama simply doesn't have legal authority to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility through executive action, but that fact didn't stop a supremely confident president last week from threatening to act on his own if lawmakers won't cooperate. At a year-end press conference on Friday -- the same day Mr. Obama signed a massive spending bill that seems to prohibit him from closing Guantanamo on his own -- the president said he will explore the limits of his executive power if the House and Senate don't pass legislation to shutter...

As Tim Hortons attempts to expand in the US, it is facing the harsh reality that Americans might not be as committed to the coffee chain as cultish Canadian customers. On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 20 Tim Hortons locations abruptly closed in Maine, New York City, and upstate New York. Local news stations reported that employees didn't receive much advance notice, with a one employee telling Syracuse.com that the company showed “no respect” for employees, with the surprise layoffs on the cusp of the holiday season. Employees were further infuriated because they reported that many of the closed locations...

Approximately 27,000 Tennesseans who had coverage through the Tennessee Community Health Alliance will be receiving cancelation notices soon. Just yesterday, the CHA announced that it had entered a voluntary state-approved runoff and will no longer offer insurance plans in 2016. This decision comes just weeks away from the next Obamacare Open Enrollment period beginning on November 1, 2015. Policyholders who continue to pay their premiums will keep their coverage through December 31, 2015, but will be forced to choose a new plan from the four remaining carriers participating in the state’s Exchange. “This was not a decision that the Department...

The House rebuffed a proposal Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by the end of 2017. An amendment to the annual national defense authorization that would provide a framework for closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, failed on a vote of 174-249. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and author of the amendment, called the facility an "international eyesore." He noted that the U.S. already has prisons that can hold dangerous convicted terrorists. "We have the facilities. We have the ability to hold them safely here," Smith said. The legislation...

The United States Air Force (USAF) has confirmed it will pull out of three UK airbases. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Americans will leave RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. The move is part of a programme to save £320m ($500m) a year across Europe. The USAF lease the RAF bases. Mr Hagel said he understood it would mean job losses and thanked those who had supported the US Air Force. "I know that this will result in a reduction of our local host nations workforces at some locations; I value the...