Rep. Mirra Says Business Reopening Schedule Entirely up to Gov. Baker

Phase Two of Gov. Charlie Baker’s re-opening plan is underway—part of which includes restaurants being able to offer inside seating. The speed of reopening Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a matter of debate.State Rep. Lenny Mirra, a recent guest on WHAV’s morning program, however, says the pace is all at the governors’ discretion.“The governor is in control of it. These are executive orders. These are not things the legislature is voting on. The governor is pretty much determining this by executive order. And you know, he’s in a tough spot. There’s a group of us that sign letters urging more reopenings and for them to happen sooner. And there’s another group that’s saying just the opposite,” Mirra says.Mirra says the legislature is working with the governor every day trying to come up with the best solution for reopening the economy.“It’s not a one size fits all, I think you kind of still have to pick certain industries. I think we can open up restaurants and retailers, but at the same time I don’t think we can open up Fenway Park to 30,000 fans,” he adds.Mirra represents the Second Essex District, which includes a portion of Haverhill, along with the towns of Groveland, Merrimack, West Newbury and Georgetown, along with a portion of Boxford. He sits on the joint committee for Community Development and Small Business, the joint committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy and the joint committee on Health Care Financing.The entire interview may be heard on WHAV’s “Merrimack Valley Newsmakers” podcasts, available at WHAV.net and Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and Alexa.Support the show