Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Assemblyman Goes to Bat for COVID Shuttered Nail & Hair Salons
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
August 26, 2020

Share

With many hair and nail salons forcibly closed due to the pandemic, one Assemblyman says it’s time to do better.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to quickly develop guidelines for safe indoor operations of nail and hair salons. California is the only state in the country that doesn’t allow beauty salons to open indoors.

Kalra hasn’t received a response from Newsom, but he said he expects an answer soon.

This comes on the heels of a statewide protest Aug. 17, when some salons opened in defiance of the state order. It also comes after a high-profile local battle involving a Tower District salon that opened because the owner said her back was up against the wall financially.

“Let’s give these businesses a sense that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for them. We know that we can create a safer environment indoors.” – Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose)

Being in Limbo

Kalra says being in limbo isn’t working for salon customers, employees, and owners.

“I think there is a way to thread that needle,” Kalra told GV Wire℠ by Zoom from outside the Assembly chambers. “I’m asking the governor to really work to find that common ground.”

Kalra says he’s open to this being a county-by-county decision, but he at least wants guidelines to help formulate a path forward.

“Let’s give these businesses a sense that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for them,” said Kalra. “We know that we can create a safer environment indoors.”

Economically Devastated

Immigrants own many of the nail salons in his district, Kalra said. And, the closures hurt businesses started 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

“In my district, just like it’s been the case in many others, it’s been pretty devastating.”

He recently visited several of those salons and understands their frustrations. He knows these businesses went to the trouble of installing plexiglass separators and new sanitation equipment — only to open for one day before being shut back down.

Trained in Sanitation

“They’re already trained on how to keep a sanitary environment,” said Kalra. “We’re talking about responsible operators that know what they’re doing.

“As I’m sitting here, there’s literally ash on the ground here on the portico of the Capitol from all the wildfires, so that we know that’s not a solution, especially for some of the kinds of services offered. You can’t do a lot of them outdoors.”

Tower District’s Salon Posh Owner Reacts

GV Wire℠ reached out to Salon Posh owner Tanya Alvarado for her reaction to Kalra’s letter.

“He pretty much took the words out of my mouth,” said Alvarado.

“He pretty much took the words out of my mouth.”Tanya Alvarado, Salon Posh owner reacting to an Assemblyman’s effort 

Alvarado reopened her Tower District salon on Tuesday, Aug. 18, but shut down three days later after receiving a $1,075 fine from the city with a threat of an additional $5,000 fine if she remained open.

Alvarado says that she’s lost $30,000 during the pandemic shutdown.

A fundraiser has generated enough support to cover her fine.

 

Current State Guidance

California hair and nail salons can only provide services outdoors.

The California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency released rules allowing hairstylists, barbers, manicurists, massage therapists, and estheticians to offer some personal care services outdoors.

They can operate under tents, canopies, or other shelters so long as no more than one side is enclosed, the agency said. This allows for enough outdoor air movement to deter the buildup or spread of the virus.

The rules still bar chemical hair services including shampooing, permanent waving, bleaching, tinting, coloring, dyeing, and straightening. The ban also applies to electrolysis, tattooing, and piercing.

 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Much Will Fresno Unified Trustee’s Steak Dinner Cost After FPPC Fine?

DON'T MISS

Does US Law Allow Trump to Send Troops to Quell Protests?

DON'T MISS

Republican Congressman Green to Resign After Tax Bill Vote

DON'T MISS

UN Says Most Flour Delivered in Gaza Looted or Taken by Starving People

DON'T MISS

EU Confident It Will Avoid 500% US Tariffs Tied to Russian Energy Imports

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Iran Is Involved in Gaza Hostage Negotiations

DON'T MISS

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

DON'T MISS

Hundreds Peacefully Protest ICE Raids in Downtown Fresno

DON'T MISS

A Trump Family Project Spurs Resignations and a Criminal Charge in Serbia

DON'T MISS

Sly Stone, Maestro of a Multifaceted, Hitmaking Band, Dies at 82

UP NEXT

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

UP NEXT

Hundreds Peacefully Protest ICE Raids in Downtown Fresno

UP NEXT

‘Everybody Stood up’: Why a Union Leader’s Arrest Galvanized California Democrats on Immigration

UP NEXT

Trump Hints He Would Support Arrest of California Governor Newsom

UP NEXT

A Solidarity Protest in San Francisco Turns Violent

UP NEXT

California Will Sue Trump Over National Guard Deployment, Newsom Says

UP NEXT

Small Plane Crashes Into Ocean off San Diego With 6 People Aboard

UP NEXT

Mexican President Rebukes Violence in Los Angeles Protests

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Police Order Immigration Protesters Downtown to Go Home

UP NEXT

Sights & Sounds: The 2025 Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival

UN Says Most Flour Delivered in Gaza Looted or Taken by Starving People

7 hours ago

EU Confident It Will Avoid 500% US Tariffs Tied to Russian Energy Imports

7 hours ago

Trump Says Iran Is Involved in Gaza Hostage Negotiations

7 hours ago

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

8 hours ago

Hundreds Peacefully Protest ICE Raids in Downtown Fresno

8 hours ago

A Trump Family Project Spurs Resignations and a Criminal Charge in Serbia

9 hours ago

Sly Stone, Maestro of a Multifaceted, Hitmaking Band, Dies at 82

9 hours ago

Kennedy Overhauls US CDC Vaccine Panel, Replacing All 17 Members

9 hours ago

Health Care Is a Lifeline. The Central Valley Deserves Better.

10 hours ago

‘Everybody Stood up’: Why a Union Leader’s Arrest Galvanized California Democrats on Immigration

11 hours ago

How Much Will Fresno Unified Trustee’s Steak Dinner Cost After FPPC Fine?

A former Fresno Unified trustee will have to pay $15,000 for not reporting a lavish steak dinner at an educators’ retreat. The Fair Po...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

How Much Will Fresno Unified Trustee’s Steak Dinner Cost After FPPC Fine?

Members of the California National Guard stand guard, as a demonstartion against federal immigration sweeps takes place, outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building, after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake
7 hours ago

Does US Law Allow Trump to Send Troops to Quell Protests?

Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) speaks as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies before a House Homeland Security hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden/File Photo
7 hours ago

Republican Congressman Green to Resign After Tax Bill Vote

A view of an aid truck entering from Israel into Gaza, near the Kerem Shalom crossing near the Israeli-Gaza border, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
7 hours ago

UN Says Most Flour Delivered in Gaza Looted or Taken by Starving People

The European Union is confident it will avoid harsh economic fallout from a U.S. Senate bill proposing 500% tariffs on importers of Russian energy, citing its ongoing efforts to phase out such imports. (Shutterstock)
7 hours ago

EU Confident It Will Avoid 500% US Tariffs Tied to Russian Energy Imports

President Donald Trump speaks during an Invest America Roundtable in the State Dining room, at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
7 hours ago

Trump Says Iran Is Involved in Gaza Hostage Negotiations

8 hours ago

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

8 hours ago

Hundreds Peacefully Protest ICE Raids in Downtown Fresno

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend