Friday News Hit: Duggan puts restaurants on notice, a pandemic Jobbie Nooner, and Line 5's shut down

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan had a message for restaurants and bars not enforcing safety rules on Thursday: you've been put on notice. Enough establishments failed to commit to enforcing 50% capacity and mandating face masks for employees that the mayor felt the need to leave a very explicit message during a press conference yesterday.

"We are trying the friendly way first," he said, referring to the city's plan A for getting local eateries to comply. Ahead of the weekend, any offenders who weren't using proper safety protocols last weekend would be receiving a visit from city health officials and police. Accompanying the officials is an ultimatum to follow the guidelines established by the city, or risk facing plan B - getting shut down.

The mayor wouldn't indicate which businesses were problems - labeling some only as "borderline night clubs with dancing." But he did warn it would become the entire city's problem if rules weren't adhered to. "We have done way too much work, to knock down the COVID infection rate in Detroit to have us get out of hand because of a few business establishments."

Michigan's infection rate had fallen to one of the lowest in the country - a remarkable feat considering the state once had the third-highest caseloads in the country. The state is nearing a month of no stay home order and signs are pointing to a potential increase in more cases. On Thursday, health officials reported 353 new cases of the virus, which is a June record. 

If a gradual uptick in new cases shows an increasing exposure to the virus, then an incident at an East Lansing bar underscores just how quickly it could spiral out of control. Ingham Health officials report at least 51 people contracted COVID-19 from Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub. Among the infections include two cases who were secondary infections, meaning they caught it from someone who visited the bar.

Mayor Duggan is concerned about the potential for versions of that event to occur multiple times in a single week in Detroit, a city already reeling from one of the country's earliest outbreaks.

Jobbie Nooner returns

Regulating food and drink establishments is one thing, but an unsanctioned annual boat party in Lake St. Clair? Good luck. The Midwest's biggest boat party returns to Gull Island Friday for its first-ever pandemic Jobbie Nooner. The day-drinking free-for-all won't be enforced by law enforcement due to the size of the event and the logistics of monitoring such a thing.

"We can't enforce that with the amount of people we have and the amount of people who will be out there," said Sgt. Marty Stoian, St. Clair County Sheriff's Office.

"If it was a sanctioned event it would be canceled but it's not we have no control of thousands of people meeting up on an island - but I'd like to say everyone should stay safe and try to keep social distancing as best as possible," he added.

The sheriff will have the help of several agencies in keeping the general peace. But maintaining social distancing and limiting exposure to the virus? That's on the partygoers. 

"My friends who have boats are talking about excluding people they are letting onto their boats it won't be a free for all," said Sam Day who told FOX 2 he "wouldn't miss it for the world."

The Jobbie Nooner doesn't present the same pitfalls as reopening a night club or hosting a concert. People are more spread out and they're outside - two conditions that health experts believe can reduce the rate of transmission of the coronavirus. 

But that isn't a guarantee. And events like the Jobbie Nooner offer a window into the rest of Michigan's pandemic summer, where exposure to the virus is always a possibility and could spin out of control quickly if mass gatherings aren't monitoring or regulated.

Judge orders temporary shut down of Line 5

Attorney General Dana Nessel's motion to temporarily shut down the oil and gas pipelines that run under the Straits of Mackinac was approved on Thursday after an Ingham County circuit judge determined its owner had failed to provide enough information on damage reported last week.

After a week of back-and-forth between the governor and attorney general, Enbridge was forced to cease operations in the west leg of the pipeline after the company said that damage had been sustained to one of the anchor supports that holds down the pipe. The company claims it received approval from the federal regulatory agency that oversees its pipelines that it was safe to resume operations.

However, the company didn't provide enough details regarding the nature of the damage or cause of it. In Judge James Jano's six-page filing, he cited a 2018 agreement between Enbridge and the state of Michigan that it would provide certain oversight to state officials. 

"Defendants provide a single internal report.....but with limited information as to how conclusions were drawn, and a promise to provide more information to the State of Michigan entities."

Shortly after the ruling, Enbridge released full-page reports of both the west leg and east leg of the pipeline, the latter of which is already shut down.

Daily Forecast

Severe weather is expected for later today, but a dry weekend will soon follow.

The Dixie Chicks change their name to 'The Chicks'

The Grammy-winning Dixie Chicks are now just “The Chicks.”

The country trio, which consists of Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, changed its social media handles Thursday and their official website, thechicks.com, had a message scrawled across the top that reads: "We want to meet this moment."

The band also recognized that the name was already in use by a band in New Zealand.