Newsom attended French Laundry party with more households than California advises during pandemic

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a birthday party for one of his political advisers last week that included people from several households, the type of gathering his administration has discouraged during the coronavirus pandemic.

The dinner the night of Nov. 6 at the famed French Laundry in Yountville in Napa County brought together at least 12 people to celebrate the 50th birthday of Jason Kinney, a longtime friend and political adviser to Newsom who is also a partner at the lobbying firm Axiom Advisors. In addition to the governor, his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was in attendance.

State guidelines limit gatherings, defined as “social situations that bring together people from different households at the same time in a single space or place,” to no more than three households. Representatives for Kinney and Newsom declined to specify how many households the diners represented, but did not dispute that it was more than three.

Nathan Click, communications director for Newsom, initially defended the birthday celebration because it took place outdoors at a restaurant, which must follow separate coronavirus safety regulations developed by the state for the dining industry. That guidance is silent on whether people from more than three households can dine together.

Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Newsom-attended-French-Laundry-party-with-more-15725393.php

[mr_lebowski]

1. Oh man ... would I ever love to be at the French Laundry in Yountville for dinner right now ...

Yountville period ... freaking love that town.

[FarPoint]

2. Yes..

Top if the line!!!!

[Mike 03]

3. The desserts look incredible

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x8084554400000000%3A0x1b03f3b6bdcbe461!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOedIZ2ZJCv7bYRXWqIRWiAwJ62_ZxYJ5IeK63P%3Dw132-h176-k-no!5sFrench%20Laundry%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipOedIZ2ZJCv7bYRXWqIRWiAwJ62_ZxYJ5IeK63P&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU9MeK1oDtAhVwAp0JHVPICyIQoiowQHoECBkQAw

[mr_lebowski]

5. Place is insane ... I won't lie and say I've eaten there cause I ain't that special

But read many reviews and seen many pics of their food ... it's like Top 10 in the USA kinda deal.

I've been WANTING to eat there forever

[KatyMan]

21. Their "menu" seems to have "issues"

With "quotation" "marks."

[Miguelito Loveless]

4. Why, oh why do politicians

simply assume they won’t get caught doing this?

Arrogance.

[moonscape]

12. I miss Jerry Brown. That's all. n/t

[jalan48]

16. Me too.

[Raine]

35. Me too, I so preferred him. nt

[SunSeeker]

46. He didn't expect that many people would be there.

California’s COVID-19 safety guidelines limit the number of households at a private gathering, but do not explicitly impose those same rules on restaurant patrons. State guidelines updated in November allow private gatherings of no more than three households at a park or outdoor space. Rules for dining say restaurants should “limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together,” without stating any limits on the number of households that can sit at a table.

Newsom said Monday that he’s visited restaurants three times since February, twice with his wife and once alone.

“As soon as I sat down at the larger table I realized it was a little larger group than I had anticipated and I made a bad mistake,” Newsom said of the dinner at the French Laundry. “Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up and walked back, got in my car and drove back to my house.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-16/gavin-newsom-apology-french-laundry-dinner-covid-19

[Miguelito Loveless]

51. As he said,

“Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up and walked back, got in my car and drove back to my house.”

And yet, he didn't.

[SunSeeker]

52. He is human.

Other than this one instance, he has shown great leadership throughout this pandemic.

Have you been to a restaurant with your friends since February?

[Miguelito Loveless]

53. No, I haven't

I am not going to eat in a restaurant until this is over. I do have lunch with a co-worker and his wife, at a picnic shelter, sitting at two separate tables.

And yes, Newson has done much that is good, excluding this, and approving more oil leases.

He, and other Dem politicians, need to remember that hypocrisy hurts us. The GOP is immune under the IOKIYAAR statute.

[SunSeeker]

54. So yes, you have. Apparently often.

You "have lunch with a co-worker and his wife."

This was the first time Newsom dined with anyone other than his wife since February.

And people are losing their shit.

It's not hypocrisy if he acknowledges his mistake. He is not holding himself to a different standard. He admits this ONE mistake and promises to do better.

You know what really "hurts us"? Circular firing squads, even after the Democrat apologizes.

Meanwhile, Trump and Republican are not only not following Covid-19 rules, they're inciting people to "rise up" against them.

But some reserve their greatest anger for that one mistake a Democrat makes.

Democrats are human. No human is perfect. All humans make mistakes. It is ridiculous to expect Democrats to be perfect.

[Miguelito Loveless]

62. You skip the part

Where I said outside, at a picnic shelter, at two different tables, 10+ feet apart. Not, inside a restaurant, in close proximity.

[SunSeeker]

65. Per the OP, Newsom and his friends were seated outdoors.

There is not specifics as to how far apart they were. Nobody said it was "close proximity." The LA Times said they were seated at a "larger table."

[Miguelito Loveless]

69. I stand corrected...

My apologies.

[ripcord]

64. I would have been happier if the dinner hadn't been with a lobbyist

[SunSeeker]

66. Jason Kinney is a longtime friend and political adviser of Gavin Newsom's.

Kinney is also a partner at Axiom Advisors, which does political consulting/lobbying. Should Newsom break up his long time friendship because his friend is a partner at Axiom?

[mnhtnbb]

6. I know a couple who booked a reservation (from North Carolina) at the French Laundry

(pre-pandemic) and then planned their trip to CA around the dinner reservation!

[BusyBeingBest]

7. Outdoors? I don't care as long as they were seated apart.

[msongs]

8. I've heard enough. let's put him in prison for life nt

[Raine]

9. "Do as I say not as I do" 🙄

politicians are all hypocrites.

[SunSeeker]

47. How many times have you been to a restaurant since the pandemic started?

This was Newsom's 4th trip to a restaurant since February, and the first time with anyone besides his wife. He did not break any of the rules he issued, nor did he expect that many people would show up.

California’s COVID-19 safety guidelines limit the number of households at a private gathering, but do not explicitly impose those same rules on restaurant patrons. State guidelines updated in November allow private gatherings of no more than three households at a park or outdoor space. Rules for dining say restaurants should “limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together,” without stating any limits on the number of households that can sit at a table.

Newsom said Monday that he’s visited restaurants three times since February, twice with his wife and once alone.

“As soon as I sat down at the larger table I realized it was a little larger group than I had anticipated and I made a bad mistake,” Newsom said of the dinner at the French Laundry. “Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up and walked back, got in my car and drove back to my house.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-16/gavin-newsom-apology-french-laundry-dinner-covid-19

[Raine]

55. I have been zero times nt

[SunSeeker]

59. Well this was his first time since February.

And it was outdoors. And he didn't organize the dinner, he was an invitee. By the time he realized how many people showed up, they were seated. He is human, he made a mistake, he stayed instead of walking out on his friends.

He apologized, acknowledged what he did was wrong and basically promised it wouldn't happen again.

What good does bashing this decent Democrat do at this point?

[marlakay]

10. Super hard to get res there if your a regular

Person. You have to call 6 months in advance to. I wanted to go for my first anniversary that was Oct 2001, we were only able to get last seating at 9pm, dinner lasts 3 hrs and I was almost falling asleep during dessert, not having slept much the night before. Many courses of the best food and service.

Our most expensive meal ever, I don't remember the cost just that it was a lot!

When Keller took over in early 90's my dad would offer to take me to lunch there and I said no thinking the name sounded funny and I had no appreciation of finer food back then. Boy was I dumb!

I am from Napa was raised there and my mom is in senior home there so I go back a lot, only once this past year.

[BigmanPigman]

11. Tony Bourdain went there in 2002/01

I can see why anyone would want to go there (Hell, anyone who is alive and breathing). I know I have for almost 20 years. But Newsom...not a smart move. I can hardly afford to spend more than $15 on a meal without a gift card from a family member but even I would not have done that! In fact, I do have a gift card to one of the best French Restaurants in my city and decided NOT to go there until it had take out, which it finally did after 6 months into the pandemic..

[Sgent]

17. Great find

That must have been from his first year or two on TV. I've never eaten at the French Laundry but it is usually awarded Michelin three stars, which is only a few restaurants in the world.

[marble falls]

19. I'm saving this for later. I'm still mourning Bourdain.

[IcyPeas]

24. Me too

I still can't watch his shows.

[marble falls]

25. Me, either. I did reread "Kitchen Confidential" right after he died and it made it harder ...

... to watch his programs.

[oldsoftie]

13. One rule for me, another for thee....

[SunSeeker]

49. What rule did he violate?

California’s COVID-19 safety guidelines limit the number of households at a private gathering, but do not explicitly impose those same rules on restaurant patrons. State guidelines updated in November allow private gatherings of no more than three households at a park or outdoor space. Rules for dining say restaurants should “limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together,” without stating any limits on the number of households that can sit at a table.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-16/gavin-newsom-apology-french-laundry-dinner-covid-19

[oldsoftie]

56. Semantics. He's already said he made a mistake & apologized.

His speeches have constantly told us to NOT do what he did.

[SunSeeker]

57. That's very different from him believing it's "One rule for me, another for thee...."

He obviously thinks the rules/guidelines apply to him, which is why apologized and promised to abide by the guidelines, including the spirit of the guidelines, which is what was broken here. No explicit rule was broken:

California’s COVID-19 safety guidelines limit the number of households at a private gathering, but do not explicitly impose those same rules on restaurant patrons. State guidelines updated in November allow private gatherings of no more than three households at a park or outdoor space. Rules for dining say restaurants should “limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together,” without stating any limits on the number of households that can sit at a table.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-16/gavin-newsom-apology-french-laundry-dinner-covid-19

Note that this was the first time he had dinner with anyone other than his wife in a restaurant since February. He was obviously complying with the rules except for this one mistake.

It's really unfair to bash him after he apologized, and inaccurately suggest he thinks the rules don't apply to him.

[oldsoftie]

63. I bashed him well before he apologized.

He went against exactly what he told us. I'm sure he also put his mask on between bites too
But he's a politician so its to be expected.

At least he didnt tweet that he was perfectly within his rights & the rest of us should be more like him.

[PoliticAverse]

14. Cut him some slack, when you gotta do laundry you gotta do it! n/t

[jalan48]

15. Flouting the rules at one of the most exclusive restaurants in California. This behavior is

an example of why we get labeled as elites.

[SunSeeker]

48. He didn't flout the rules. It was an outdoor restaurant. The guideline didn't apply.

California’s COVID-19 safety guidelines limit the number of households at a private gathering, but do not explicitly impose those same rules on restaurant patrons. State guidelines updated in November allow private gatherings of no more than three households at a park or outdoor space. Rules for dining say restaurants should “limit the number of patrons at a single table to a household unit or patrons who have asked to be seated together,” without stating any limits on the number of households that can sit at a table.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-16/gavin-newsom-apology-french-laundry-dinner-covid-19

[marble falls]

18. I think Gov Gavin made a small mistake with bad consequences. He should 'mea culpa' ...

... and never do it again. It looks bad and sets a bad example for wingers and deniers who don't need much permission/justification to break the rules.

[diva77]

32. He opened up the state months ago with the knowledge he wasn't following the guidelines & with

disastrous results. He should've known better then and he certainly should know better now.

His behavior sets a precedent for people to follow and decreases his credibility.

And guess who's back in town -- Mr. Recall Instigator himself, Darrel Issa.

[TomCADem]

41. Newsome Has Done One of the Best Jobs of Any Governor In the United States

This is why it is important to understand math. California is the largest state in the Union by far, so all things being equal it should have the most cases and most deaths. Yet, when you break it down proportionately, California is not even in the top half of States even though it was one of the earliest hit states.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS736US736&ei=grexX9zqB8PP0PEPgoSC2As&q=covid+deaths+us&oq=covid+deaths+us&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzILCAAQsQMQgwEQyQMyBQgAELEDMggIABCxAxCDATIICAAQsQMQgwEyAggAMgIIADIICAAQsQMQgwEyBQgAELEDMgIIADIICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgAEEc6CggAELEDEMkDEEM6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEEM6CggAELEDEIMBEENQ6VJYu1pg0GRoAHACeACAAV2IAfgBkgEBM5gBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrIAQjAAQE&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjcs_Xy14XtAhXDJzQIHQKCALsQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

Location Deaths
New Jersey 1,878
New York 1,717
Massachusetts 1,562
Louisiana 1,340
Connecticut 1,323
Rhode Island 1,193
Mississippi 1,190
North Dakota 1,085
Washington, D.C.1,042
Arizona 972
Florida 918
Georgia 889
South Carolina 879
Illinois 868
Michigan 848
Delaware 811
South Dakota 781
Indiana 753
Maryland 738
Pennsylvania 736
Arkansas 735
Texas 723
Nevada 701
Alabama 676
Iowa 648

[diva77]

44. I hold him to a higher standard - actually to the established guidelines -- and he caved to

political pressure and opened too soon -- with terrible consequences regardless of where CA is/was compared to other states.

[diva77]

45. I guess people pressured Newsom and he made a public apology. Kudos to him for that and to the

people who held him accountable.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214567294

[Calista241]

61. Those numbers are not accurate.

New York has had 33k deaths, and California has had 18k. Vermont has had the lowest number of deaths in the state with 59.

[Evolve Dammit]

22. Stoooopid arrogant mistake. Keep apologizing, a lot.

[Orrex]

23. Watch for defeated president Fuckhead to howl about this on twitter

Yes, Trump himself can go out of his way to make sure that his super-spreader events put thousands upon thousands of people at risk, but he and his fuckhead allies will crucify Newsom for this (undeniably foolish) move.

[jb5150]

26. I mean, would it kill you, to at least "pretend" to follow the rules?

they could have divided it up into 2 groups of 6, in a way that would have conformed to the rules. ... just saying. It wouldn't have taken much.

[ripcord]

36. That wouldn't work

California is under very strict rules right now, no gatherings, indoor or outdoor with more than three family groups. These are rules put into place under the governor's personal emergency declaration powers and he has been repeating them in every interview he gives, it was a really stupid move that is going to set the state back. I heard in line at the grocery store today that if Covid-19 was real Newsom wouldn't be putting himself at risk by breaking his own rules, I agree with others up thread, I miss Jerry Brown.

[orleans]

27. i didn't know about this guy until the pandemic hit

i thought he was okay
then i heard who his ex wife is.
(scary!)
obviously he's made some terrible choices

[tirebiter]

28. What's important is the big picture. This is why Newsom has survived at least 3 recall attempts

Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.

https://www.propublica.org/article/two-coasts-one-virus-how-new-york-suffered-nearly-10-times-the-number-of-deaths-as-california

In San Francisco, Breed cleaned up her language in a text to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. But she was no less emphatic: The city needed to be closed. Newsom had once been San Francisco’s mayor, and he had appointed Breed to lead the city’s Fire Commission in 2010.

Newsom responded immediately, saying she should coordinate with the counties surrounding San Francisco as they too were moving toward a shutdown. Breed said she spoke to representatives of those counties on March 15 and their public health officials were prepared to make the announcement on their own. On March 16, with just under 40 cases of COVID-19 in San Francisco and no deaths, Breed issued the order banning all but essential movement and interaction.

In an interview, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said it was critical to allow Northern California counties to rely on their own experts, act with a degree of autonomy and thus perhaps pave the way for the state to expand on what they had done. And three days after San Francisco and its neighboring counties were closed, Newsom, on March 19, imposed the same restrictions on the rest of California.

Breed, it turns out, had sent de Blasio a copy of her detailed shelter-in-place order. She thought New York might benefit from it.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, reacted to de Blasio’s idea for closing down New York City with derision. It was dangerous, he said, and served only to scare people. Language mattered, Cuomo said, and “shelter-in-place” sounded like it was a response to a nuclear apocalypse.

Moreover, Cuomo said, he alone had the power to order such a measure.

For years, Cuomo and de Blasio, each of whom has harbored national political ambitions, had engaged in a kind of intrastate cold war, a rivalry that to many often felt childish and counterproductive. When de Blasio finally decided to close the city’s schools, it was Cuomo who rushed to make the public announcement, claiming it as his decision.

“No city in the state can quarantine itself without state approval,” Cuomo said of de Blasio’s call for a shelter-in-place order. “I have no plan whatsoever to quarantine any city.”

Cuomo’s conviction didn’t last. On March 22, he, too, shuttered his state. The action came six days after San Francisco had shut down, five days after de Blasio suggested doing similarly and three days after all of California had been closed by Newsom. By then, New York faced a raging epidemic, with the number of confirmed cases at 15,000 doubling every three or four days.

Health officials well understood the grim mathematics. One New York City official said of those critical days in March: “We had been pretty clear with the state about the implications of every day, every hour, every minute.”

As of May 15, there were nearly 350,000 COVID-19 cases in New York and more than 27,500 deaths, nearly a third of the nation’s total. The corresponding numbers in California: just under 75,000 cases and slightly more than 3,000 deaths. In New York City, the country’s most populous and densest, there had been just under 20,000 deaths; in San Francisco, the country’s second densest and 13th most populous, there had been 35.

The differing outcomes will be studied for years, as more is learned about the virus, its unique qualities, its varying strains, its specific impact on certain populations, and the role of factors like poverty, pre-existing health problems and public transportation in its spread and lethality.

[ancianita]

29. He's human. Using his best judgment. Which on his worst day, is STILL

better than any Republican's on their best day.

More humans live because of Democratic leadership on their worst day than because of Republican leadership on their best day.

Like a christian I forgive Newsom, and I'm an atheist. Fuck this shit.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

30. Go to hell, Newsom

Are you blind? Are you deaf? Are you fucking daft?!

Wave 1C has begun. That's right. 1C. We never left the first wave. It's just escalated, and now it's spiraling out of control. You fucking caved in late spring and started reopening shit too soon because they called you "Gruesome Newsome" (sic) and California got blasted in May and June. But the numbers are trending in the right direction, right? It's time to get back to normal, yes? What normal? 160,000 in a day? CA becoming the second state to hit a million?

What's the goal? Passing Texas? 2,000,000?

This isn't a game. This isn't a joke. Leaders lead by example. Try being a fucking leader!

[IngridsLittleAngel]

31. Yeah. I'll own up to it. Over the top. Forgive me.

I found out this evening that I lost a friend to COVID-45. Over the last several months, I've had friends contract the Drumpf Plague. That was bad enough, along with the constant barrage of numbers. But tonight it went from horrifying to deeply personal. Thanks to this reckless bullshit, there's now someone I'll never again hear from.

Step up and stop the damned spread already. That means you, Newsom, and everyone else burying their heads in the sand.

[TomCADem]

42. You Should Be Thanking Newsome. What other governor is doing a better job?

This is why it is important to understand math. California is the largest state in the Union by far, so all things being equal it should have the most cases and most deaths. Yet, when you break it down proportionately, California is not even in the top half of States even though it was one of the earliest hit states.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS736US736&ei=grexX9zqB8PP0PEPgoSC2As&q=covid+deaths+us&oq=covid+deaths+us&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzILCAAQsQMQgwEQyQMyBQgAELEDMggIABCxAxCDATIICAAQsQMQgwEyAggAMgIIADIICAAQsQMQgwEyBQgAELEDMgIIADIICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgAEEc6CggAELEDEMkDEEM6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEEM6CggAELEDEIMBEENQ6VJYu1pg0GRoAHACeACAAV2IAfgBkgEBM5gBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrIAQjAAQE&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjcs_Xy14XtAhXDJzQIHQKCALsQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

Location Deaths
New Jersey 1,878
New York 1,717
Massachusetts 1,562
Louisiana 1,340
Connecticut 1,323
Rhode Island 1,193
Mississippi 1,190
North Dakota 1,085
Washington, D.C.1,042
Arizona 972
Florida 918
Georgia 889
South Carolina 879
Illinois 868
Michigan 848
Delaware 811
South Dakota 781
Indiana 753
Maryland 738
Pennsylvania 736
Arkansas 735
Texas 723
Nevada 701
Alabama 676
Iowa 648

[IngridsLittleAngel]

43. Both facts are not mutually exclusive.

It is possible to say he has mostly handled this well, mostly done the right thing, and kept the numbers from being far worse than they could've been - not only between the population of California, but the population density. Has he done good mostly? Sure. I'm not gonna give Newsom an A. Maybe a B. He too went down the "reopen too early rabbit hole" in the spring, but outside of that and this story, I've mostly - not fully - agreed with his handling of COVID-45.

It is possible to call him out and be pissed over November 6th, as he pulled a total "Do as I say, not as I do" moment as this plague is spiraling out of control all over the country - thanks to the weather, and really thanks to selfish stupid people and a petulant man-baby asshole of a president who only cares about himself and his fee-fees over getting fired thanks to the power of the ballot box. The only "leadership" we can count is from governors, or even ourselves... We sure won't see any from Drumpf now that he's lost - not that we saw any before the election either!

Newsom dropped the ball on the 6th. It's as simple as that. Yeah, it upsets me. It upsets me living in a part of the state that is a little too red, and far too people are wearing masks or social distancing. Yeah, it upset me, after finding out I'd lost a friend to COVID-45.

It's possible to both acknowledge doing a mostly good overall job, and doing something absolutely boneheaded at one of the worst possible times.

Overall, I've been pretty pleased with the job Newsom has gone - on everything. But on this, he needs his feet held to the fire.

[still_one]

33. Great example........

[EllieBC]

34. He also gets to send his kids to school because they attend

Private school.

He’s a do as I say person.

[SunSeeker]

50. I live in CA and all of the public schools in my school district are open.

My son is attending his public high school in person here in Southern California.

[EllieBC]

60. It was in late October when all the nearby Sac schools

Last edited Tue Nov 17, 2020, 11:36 PM - Edit history (1)

were still closed.

He’s being a really terrible example.

[SunSeeker]

67. High profile politicians tend to put their kids in private school for obvious reasons. Obama did.

Newsom's kids were already in that school.

[forthemiddle]

37. This is becoming a pattern.

Political figures “doing as I say, not as I do”
Covid fatigue is real, but don’t our leaders know they are going to get caught, and it’s not a good look!

[Wolf Frankula]

38. Remember He's King Gavin

His decrees apply to 'other people'. I'm waiting for him to declare an emergency in 2022 and cancel the election.

Wolf

[SunSeeker]

58. Do you really believe that? nt

[tirebiter]

39. Editorial: Gavin Newsom has been the leader California needs during coronavirus. But He Can Still Do

Better
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-10/gov-newsom-pretty-good-pandemic-leader-but-can-do-better

This is the Newsom the outside world sees: a calm, confident and intelligent (and verbose) governor handily guiding his massive state through an unprecedented crisis, informed by science and a sincere desire to protect the public’s health. Newsom’s tone of tough-but-necessary action has been consistent from the start, in stark contrast to the bumbling, confusing messages from the White House...

...It’s not an exaggeration to say that there are people alive today because of Newsom’s expeditious action. His aides say he began monitoring the outbreak unfolding in China in January, aware of its potential impact on California from having governed through the SARS coronavirus outbreak in 2003 as a San Francisco county supervisor and the 2009 swine flu pandemic as mayor. In March, while President Trump was still dismissing the new coronavirus as no real threat to Americans, Newsom ordered non-essential businesses to close and Californians to stay at home to slow the spread of the disease it causes, COVID-19. At the time the closures may have seemed extreme, but they turned out to be prescient. In April, medical examiners in Santa Clara County revealed that the new coronavirus had been circulating, and killing people, in California weeks before initially thought...

As a result, California is faring much better than states where governors were slow to take pandemic precautions. Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp comes to mind. Kemp was one of the last governors to issue a stay-at-home order for his state and one of the first to allow businesses to reopen. Now, Georgia has become a COVID-19 hot spot, with 1,395 deaths as of Friday afternoon. That’s more than half of the deaths California has logged in a state with one-tenth the population.

We were also grateful that Newsom has suspended his role as Twitter foil to President Trump. He seems to have recognized that there’s little political gain in calling out the president’s gaffes when the state desperately needs federal assistance in obtaining pandemic supplies and filling a predicted $54-billion budget deficit.

Indeed, Newsom has made a point to praise Trump where appropriate, such as when the president sent a Navy medical ship to Los Angeles to treat patients if the state’s hospitals became overwhelmed. (They didn’t.) When the federal government sent California 170 broken ventilators, Newsom didn’t slam the feds, but figured out how to get them fixed...

The biggest problem I’ve seen is in SoCal. The closer to Orange County the less the pandemic is taken seriously. Here in NorCal it’s older hippies who claim to have some hidden medical reason to find masks problematic. Too hard to breathe is the most common complaint. In SoCal it’s something to do with freedom. In San Bernardino they can’t smoke. I figure California is just California. Cuomo dropped the ball in New York. That’s why they had the big numbers while California was doing much better. That led to Californians not taking it seriously enough. Newsom’s major mistake wa in the prisons. He misread the initial numbers there and his attention was focused on the non prisoner world. Doing things like getting the faulty ventilators fixed. I had a lousy 2019 but it forced me into a self built quarantine early on. Best of luck, amigos.

[TomCADem]

40. US COVID-19 Death Rate Reported to the CDC in the Last 7 Days, by State/Territory (deaths per 100K)

At this point, Californians should chip in for a French Laundry dinner for the Governor when you look at California's current record.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_deathsper100klast7days

[Steelrolled]

68. My expectations for the personal behavior of politicians

has sunk over the year. Stuff like this doesn't really bother me anymore, it's well below the bar.