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Mayor Garcetti takes heat for L.A. County-ordered dining ban

Mayor Eric Garcetti makes his annual State of the City address at L.A. City Hall on April 19.(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Mayor Eric Garcetti has long celebrated the Los Angeles restaurant industry, appearing alongside big-name chefs at ribbon-cuttings and promoting neighborhood spots.

Now he finds himself caught up in the anger over the county order to temporarily halt outdoor dining, a directive that followed a surge in coronavirus cases.

The order came from Los Angeles County health officials, not Garcetti. But that hasn’t stopped restaurant owners across the city from taking to social media to vent their frustration and urge the public to contact the mayor to ask him to help overturn the ban.

The pandemic has become a political land mine for Garcetti and other elected officials as they struggle to navigate allowing businesses to operate at a time of sharply rising coronavirus infections.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.