PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A Portage car wash is under fire for remaining open and failing to comply with the governor’s executive order.
On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office and Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting sent a cease and desist letter to the Crystal Car Wash on Portage Road demanding that they stop all operations.
Under Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order, the business is not considered critical infrastructure.
On Thursday, an emergency order was put in place enacting a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for those violating the order — and possible license sanctions for non-essential businesses operating in violation of the stay at home order.
In a written statement, Prosecutor Getting said, “During this unprecedented medical crisis we are all being asked to make sacrifices for the common good. We each have to do our part to limit the number of people who are being exposed to this deadly virus. Those people who choose to willfully ignore Governor Whitmer’s executive orders are putting everyone in greater jeopardy. That can’t be allowed to continue. The threat of criminal prosecution is a serious step to take. It is not one that is done lightly. But it is a step that both the office of the Attorney General and the Kalamazoo County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney are prepared to take if necessary.”
A summary of the activities people can and cannot do under the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order can be found here. More coronavirus information is at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus
