Free Republic

In an effort to discourage wasteful water practices such as hosing off driveways or allowing irrigation water to run down streets, California water officials have imposed new drought rules for cities and towns throughout the state. The regulations, adopted Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board, prohibit overwatering yards, washing cars without a shutoff nozzle, hosing down sidewalks or watering grass within 48 hours after rainfall.... Violators could face fines of up to $500.

Police said an estimated 44,000 people attended the demonstration on Saturday, the latest in a string of huge weekend protests since Austria last month became the first EU country to say it would make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory. “No to vaccine fascism,” read one protest sign. “I’m not a neo-Nazi or a hooligan,” said another. “I’m fighting for freedom and against the vaccine.” Vaccination is to be obligatory from February for all residents older than 14, except in the case of a dispensation for health reasons. Nobody will be vaccinated by force, the government has said, but those who refuse the...

Vice President of the Lower Austrian Medical Association Gerrit Loibl has suggested that the government should levy a monthly fine of up to €100 to anyone unvaccinated. Loibl has suggested that those who have not been vaccinated should pay between €90 and €100 (£78-£84/$90-$113) per month to the government, claiming that the amount is based on the current tax on tobacco products.

Democrats are going after our food source. Democrats snuck into the inferstructure bill these new climate change taxes on cows. The tax is $6,500 per dairy cow and $4,500 per beef cow. They are going after Agriculture in the name of Climate Change. Democrats are hoping Farmers will get rid of their cows.This will cause prices of meat and dairy to sky rocket. There will be a lot less available since most farmers cannot afford the high fines. People will starve to death in our country if this bill passes.We will have to import more meat and dairy from other...

Halloween is going to be an extra scary day for the logistics world. A total of 60,000 containers have been marked as beyond the dwell time and need to be moved out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by the carriers or the penalties will start racking up. A total of 33,000 containers need to be rolled out of the Port of Los Angeles and 27,000 loaded containers for the Port of Long Beach — a whopping $2,633,940,000 value in trade.Carriers were put on notice this week when the ports announced that, starting next Monday, a daily...

Let’s face it.Joe Biden is not a rocket scientist, and he has a long history of being wrong on virtually everything he touches.But someone is going to have to help me understand his latest move that just makes absolutely no sense to me.Biden previously said he was going to try to solve the supply chain crisis.His first move — saying that the Port of Los Angeles was going to operate 24/7 – hasn’t been achieved yet and hasn’t seemed to do much of anything to change the situation. Indeed, after he said that, there were a record number of ships...

Queenslanders who received fines for breaking Covid-19 rules risk having their homes seized and bank accounts frozen in a government crackdown to collect $5.2 million in repayments. The State Penalties Enforcement Register is expected to collect 3,046 unpaid fines from the pandemic on behalf of Queensland Health. More than 2,755 fines were from individuals and businesses accused of breaking Covid-19 restrictions and the rest either still under investigation or pending payment. About 56.4 per cent of fines have already been paid in full or are being paid off on a payment plan. SPER said enforcement for people who failed to...

Shipping companies at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will soon be fined if their containers stay in marine terminals for too long, officials announced on Monday. Officials at San Pedro Bay Ports said in a statement that the fines are being imposed in an effort to “improve cargo movement amid congestion and record volume.” Starting on Nov. 1, the ports will charge shipping companies that fall into one of two categories: containers scheduled to move by truck and containers moving by rail.

Contra Costa County and two other Bay Area health jurisdictions—San Francisco County and the city of Berkeley—have mandated that restaurants ask customers for proof of vaccination if they wish to eat indoors. The location was served with a notice of violation on Oct. 5, and subsequently fined $250 on Oct. 14 and $500 on Oct. 19, a spokesperson for Contra Costa County’s health department told SFGate, adding that the In-N-Out faced “repeated complaints from members of the public.”

The largest public library system in the country has become the latest to eliminate all late fees. Effective immediately, the New York Public Library system will not charge fines on overdue materials, and all library card holders have had their accounts cleared of any prior late fees or fines, including replacement fees for lost materials, the NYPL announced on Tuesday, in what it called a change intended to level the playing field for all library patrons and encourage use of library resources. Fines are "an antiquated, ineffective way to encourage patrons to return their books; for those who can afford...

President Joe Biden didn’t just announce a Covid-19 vaccine mandate on companies employing 100 or more people, he plans to enforce it. On Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House quietly tucked an enforcement mechanism into their $3.5 trillion “reconciliation” bill, passed it out of the Budget Committee, and sent it to the House floor. Buried on page 168 of the House Democrats’ 2,465-page mega bill is a tenfold increase in fines for employers that “willfully,” “repeatedly,” or even seriously violate a section of labor law that deals with hazards, death, or serious physical harm to their employees. The increased fines on...

President Biden didn't just announce a Covid-19 vaccine mandate on companies employing 100 or more people, he plans to enforce it. On Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House quietly tucked a likely enforcement mechanism into their $3.5 trillion "reconciliation" bill, which passed the Budget Committee, and was sent to the House floor. Our auditors at OpenTheBooks read the bill. Then, we connected the dots between the following: Biden's vax mandate announcement The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies The House bill hiking the fines Buried on page 168 of the 2,465 mega bill is a tenfold increase in fines for...

In an internal email, provided exclusively to UncoverDC, Progressive, one of the largest car insurance providers in the United States, informed its employees on Sept. 8 that beginning January 2022, workers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will pay a $25 surcharge per paycheck, or $650 for the year. The company, who boasts the popular—and always maskless—character “Flo from Progressive,” declined to reference a specific source for the data used to make its decision, declaring: “At this point in the pandemic, we know that unvaccinated individuals are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID. The average cost...

The TSA is doubling down on fliers who don’t mask up. Transportation Security Administration officials announced that first-time offenders will see fines jump from $250 to $500-$1,000, while repeat Covidiots could face fines up to $3,000. President Joe Biden, who chastised unvaccinated Americans Thursday, directed the agency to hit violators with more severe fines to “ensure that masking requirements remain in place on the other modes of transportation as we continue to battle COVID-19.” “TSA will double the fines on travelers that refuse to mask. If you break the rules be prepared to pay. And by the way, show some...

Group of Orthodox Jews hit with steep penalties after celebrating Jewish New Year in violation of local COVID ordinances and refusing police orders to leave house of worship Australian police on Tuesday issued fines to worshipers at a synagogue in Melbourne where a group of Orthodox Jews held Rosh Hashanah services in apparent violation of pandemic lockdown ordinances. According to local reports, some 100 worshipers gathered inside the synagogue at around 5 a.m. and refused to leave until nightfall. Police surrounded the synagogue after receiving calls of a suspected mass gathering held in breach of COVID-19 restrictions. A police source...

Florida businesses and governments that require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from customers or members of the public will soon face $5,000 fines, according to a new Department of Health rule. Earlier this year, the Republican-led Florida Legislature passed a bill, SB 2006, banning businesses, governments and schools from requiring “vaccine passports” - essentially proof that people seeking their services have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine. In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed that bill into law. The legislation allowed the state’s Department of Health to issue fines “not to exceed $5,000 per violation.” On Aug. 27, the department filed a rule that...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Tuesday that it had fined a passenger $10,500 for refusing to wear a face mask during a February flight. In a press release, the agency said that a passenger had taken an Allegiant Air flight on Feb. 27 going from Provo, Utah, to Mesa, Ariz., and allegedly refused to wear the mask properly over both his nose and mouth. "Flight attendants instructed him seven separate times to wear his facemask properly, and each time he moved it off of his nose after the flight attendant walked away," the release said. "When told that he...

HAZELTON — The West Virginia Department of Transportation has entered into a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Protection for violations of the water pollution control permit at the Interstate 68 Welcome Center near Hazelton. The order, signed March 10 by Division of Highways District 4 Engineer/Manager Michael Cronin, calls for the DOT to pay up to a total of $75,175 in civil administrative penalties and to hook onto the public sewer system, eliminating the treatment facility at the welcome center. Half the penalty, $37,587.50, is to be paid to the DEP within 30 days of the effective...

A veto-proof majority of Michigan representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would require the state to refund coronavirus-related fines after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was caught violating her own order. By a 74-34 vote, the state House swiftly passed HB 4501, a bill brought up for consideration after Breitbart News busted Whitmer for violating her restaurant table capacity order last weekend. “If the governor can violate her orders without any repercussions, then why should our business owners be fined,” state Rep. Steve Johnson (R) wondered. Watch his floor speech: The fines and penalties have been significantly related to Whitmer’s executive...

Shreds warning of fines she faces if she refuses to wear mask on House floor.