Many residents in Spokane County are anxiously awaiting the go-ahead for more businesses to reopen and activities to resume. But health officer Dr. Bob Lutz says we are still not prepared to move ahead in the state's "Safe Start Plan." When Spokane County eventually moves to Phase 3 of reopening, gatherings of 50 people or less will be allowed, restaurants and taverns can operate at 75% capacity, bars can reopen at 25% capacity, theaters and recreation facilities can reopen at 50% capacity, and libraries and museums will reopen.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2 News Spokane

Faced with continued financial shortfalls, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District has announced that it will take “new urgent measures” to maintain its limited operations and keep firefighters safe. ECCFPD Chief Brian Helmick said during a news conference Thursday that the department will only send firefighters into burning structures if lives are at stake, starting on July 1.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

As the United States begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, ample praise has been focused upon the nation’s emergency first responders – and rightfully so. Millions of nurses, doctors, firefighters and police have set their personal interests aside, routinely placing themselves and potentially their families at risk so that critical frontline medical services remain operational at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have been sickened and died from a disease with no known cure.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Great Falls Tribune - Metered Site

VIDEO: D.C. firefighters saved the day Thursday when they threw their bodies on two dogs who were attacking people while other members were fighting a fire in Southeast. D.C. Fire and EMS officials say they were in the 4000 block of South Capitol St. SE when two dogs began attacking residents in the area.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTG-TV FOX 5 Washington, D.C.

A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, four EMS workers allege the city is violating their right to speak on issues of public concern under the First Amendment, as well as their due process rights.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Public Radio