Why Punish Local Florists? [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Mothers are known for their wisdom and good judgment. What I'm about to share with you defies both.

Mother's Day is fast approaching on Sunday, May 10, and florist shops in the state are considered among the non-essential businesses during this COVID-19 ban. But I can call a toll-free number and order a dozen roses that will be delivered to your wife or mother, some with a teddy bear included. How unfair and senseless is that?

Gov. Charlie Baker appointed a 17-person panel charged with creating a business plan for a phased re-opening of the Commonwealth, but that proposal won't be ready before May 18, a week past one of the biggest holidays for florists.

As it stands, the governor's closure order needs to be relaxed for certain businesses, including loosening up on employees being allowed to work in closed and locked retail stores and fulfillment centers. Even in New York, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, emergency regulations allow for one employee to work from a locked retail store. Massachusetts needs to rethink its draconian rules because it's the only state that hasn't made some kind of exclusions for an employee to work from a closed storefront.

So I can walk into a supermarket with a florist shop and make a purchase, but not at a little mom-and-pop florist, because under the governor's executive order they are listed as a non-essential business? What's wrong with this picture?

I can also think of other small businesses that should be permitted to operate in a limited capacity.

I hope the slow wheels of government get greased before Mother's Day.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.