R&R News - Licensing Doubts Swirl in the Business Community

[Ribsey]

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Licensing Doubts Swirl in the Business Community

Published: 14th of January, 2019.

 

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In the wake of the events of the 5^th of January, The Vanilla Unicorn prepares to continue opening its doors to its regular patrons. Managing in Holly Hatch’s absence, Peta Fitzhugh shared:

 

“As far as we know we’re fully operational because the lease includes the necessary licenses.”

Inquiring via the government’s online messaging service Fitzhugh explained:

“Mayor was said to contact me last night but I haven’t heard from him yet.”

 

The news echoes the experience of Isabella “Izzy” King, whom is currently the lease holder of The Vault; a renovated bar housed between ornate walls on Strawberry Avenue.

 

King had been instructed by Director of Finance Spencer Jameson and Bureau of Licensing Official Leon French to pay her license fees. Mere minutes later King was informed her application was denied. Frustrated, King eventually came to discover that the licensing regulations did not apply to those leasing a business.

 

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The entrance to The Vault in Legion Square.

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King considers it “a blatant example of our officials not knowing the rules they wish us in the business community to play by.” The negative reception was reinforced by a lack of reliable communication with the Bureau. King made repeated attempts at contact; having her reply from Jameson only three days prior to the opening showcasing the renovation.

 

To date the government website provides no information regarding this condition. The site also lists 2 of its 5 officials available, with only 1 updated to a time applicable. Prospective and existing entrepreneurs are encouraged to contact them directly.

 

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Bureau of Licensing availability at the time of publication.

Source: https://gov.gta.world/node/79

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Spencer Jameson is yet to reply to provide a statement. Shortly after the closure of the Vanilla Unicorn, his past affiliation DATAWARS released a scathing perspective of the closure of the Vanilla Unicorn. The outlet claims to be bolstered by ‘alternative facts’ yet the pertinent claims are based on unsupported information. DATAWARS co-founder Pete Matthews has not replied to inquiries, while second co-founder Frank Bachinco abruptly claimed “Im going to be out of the country for a while.”

 

With the doubt swirling the government and its licensing enforcement, users took to the comments section of R&R’s previous article along with DATAWARS’ coverage to vent their opinions, including a comment from a representative of the Vanilla Unicorn only identified as Guest#7465.

 

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LSPD Mission Row Station.

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A government employee willing to represent his department and uphold transparency was LSPD Captain Charles Hughes. The Assistant Chief of Staff was openly inclined to elaborate on the LSPD’s perspective of the 5^th of January.

 

“The Department's presence was requested by the Los Santos City Government's uh, licensing department. It was a unique situation, because my officers had not conducted any type of operation in conjunction with the Licensing Department before.

 

The supervisors on scene were of a more, uh, tactical expertise, while I, as assistant chief of staff, am specialized in representing all layers of the department. As such I've a more diplomatic role which was better suited to dealing with the city government's assets on the scene.”

 

Regarding the warrant, Hughes said:

“The LSPD was merely there to provide support to the government's licensing officials. I can assure you the warrant was there and requested through proper channels, but it was not within my own power to do anything with it.”

 

Of the general conduct of his officers (of which he was the scene commander for the latter half of events), Hughes assured that the unique situation highlighted a lack of experience in dealing with such matters, which is also the source of the apparent miscommunication of the night.

 

Hughes then pitched the exchange between Lieutenant Hector Dimakos and Cynthia Vasquez from the department’s perspective:

 

“The Lieutenant had been thrust into a difficult spot and needed to act quickly. Miss Vasquez, by refusing to clearly identify her role on the scene, did not give the lieutenant much choice other than to act immediately.

As I later explained to miss Vasquez, we don't choose who comes at us with a gun. It could be a person you would regard as a bad guy, you know, due to his appearance, or the lovely old lady from upstairs who wouldn't hurt a fly.”

 

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Captain Hughes consulting with a detained Cynthia Vasquez in the rear of a LSPD cruiser on the 5^th of January.

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Hughes went on to affirm that it was in the interest of safety and that once sufficient manpower was determined, he amicably discussed what had happened with Vasquez.

 

“Common courtesy goes a long way even if you feel like you’ve been wronged.” Hughes added.

 

Wrapping up, Hughes was asked a pertinent question; what of the officers who forced entry with their weapons? 

 

“I arrived on scene. I dispatched several officers to find the keys to the Unicorn, as we were ordered to ensure no patrons were left inside. The civilians on scene were however more concerned with repeating the words badge number than they were trying to help us get inside. I spent a good ten minutes explaining my badge number and trying to get keys to go inside, and uh, they just continued to threaten IA reports. At that point we had no other choice but to use reasonable force, in this case a breaching shotgun, to open the door for us instead.

 

Officers were justified because of the warrant and “followed use of force guidelines” despite Hughes’ reluctance in having to do so, personally preferring “the most peaceful resolution”. 

 

Hughes went further in explaining how such a hectic, dynamic scene complicates the gathering and processing of information, the priority of fulfilling the warrant and how a reasonable person in a high profile occupation would feel somewhat threatened by the crowd present, reasoning “it’s perfectly human.”

 

 

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    R&R is an independent news source operating from Los Santos, with coverage across the city and its associated counties. R&R operates freely under Article I, Section 2 of the San Andreas Constitution.

Inquires may be directed via email.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2019 by Ribsey

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