Earlier this year, we told you about one of the most unhinged state legislators in the nation, Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore. This is a woman who thinks women would be safer on college campuses if they could carry concealed weapons, and believes that cancer is just a fungus that can be treated with baking soda. Well, Fiore is back in the news again. She announced that she was forced to close her home health business because those cansarn state regulations make it impossible for her to operate. In truth, she was shut down because she couldn’t be bothered to let the state inspect her business as required by law.
Late Thursday, Fiore announced she was shuttering Always There 4 You, a home health company located on Topaz Drive in northwestern Las Vegas. She claimed that she was being forced out of business by “the army of regulators, bureaucrats, and inspectors.” As Fiore saw it, it was nearly impossible for her to stay in business because of an “ever-increasing array of taxes and fees”–some of which have been imposed by politicians who campaigned against more regulations on businesses.
In a rambling article that appeared in La Voce, a magazine geared toward Las Vegas’ Italian-American community, Fiore whined about the “horrible phenomenon” of occupational licensing. While she acknowledges that some jobs need to be licensed, she thinks it “just isn’t American” to force people like hair dressers, upholsterers, and interior designers to get licensed for jobs they’ve been doing for all of their lives. As she sees it, it’s only an excuse “to grow government.” It led her to begin the eight-week process of closing operations and finding new jobs for her employees.
According to veteran Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston, however, there’s a much simpler reason why Fiore’s home health business is no more. Ralston is the host of “Ralston Live,” a daily current affairs program that airs on Nevada’s two PBS members, KLVX in Las Vegas and KNPB in Reno. Ralston learned that on September 17, an inspector from the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health tried to pay a visit to Always There 4 You–only to find that it appeared to be closed. On October 20, division officials sent Fiore a letter asking her a basic question–was she still in business?
When Fiore didn’t respond within 10 days, the division sent out another inspector on November 3, who found that another business seemed to have set up shop at the Topaz Drive location. When calls to Fiore went unanswered, state officials finally had enough. They notified Fiore that as of that day, her license to operate a home health business had been revoked. Less than 24 hours later, Fiore announced that she had closed her doors.
Earlier this summer, Ralston revealed that Fiore had a bad habit of not letting state inspectors ensure that her records were in order. On one occasion, Fiore’s mother threw the inspectors out. On another, Fiore herself threw them out. Fiore met with state inspectors in late July, and got one more chance to comply. Apparently, she blew that chance eight ways to Sunday.
Process this for a moment, folks. This woman believes that cancer is just a fungus, and refused to let state inspectors conduct the most basic oversight of her home health business. Would you entrust your loved one to this woman? I certainly wouldn’t. Both of my parents are in their 70s, and I wouldn’t allow anyone with Fiore’s mentality within an area code of them.
Fiore is currently mulling a run for Congress in 2016 in Nevada’s 3rd district to succeed fellow Republican Joe Heck, who is running for Senate. Would you trust someone with her appalling business record and total ignorance of medical facts to represent you in Washington? Hopefully, Las Vegas residents have a higher standard.
