State shutting off parking at beaches for July 4 weekend

In a sweeping move intended to help stop the spread of coronavirus over the Fourth of July weekend, California State Parks will shut down parking at all state beaches in the Bay Area.

Parking lots will be closed and no parking on nearby roadways will be permitted at state beaches in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. The order will take effect Friday and extend through Sunday, according to Jorge Moreno at State Parks.

A similar order has gone out for state beaches in Sonoma, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. In Southern California, State Parks said it would shut down 10 state beaches in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, with no walk-in or bike-in access permitted.

The move comes in anticipation of large crowds over the coming weekend that could jam beaches, parking and coastal roads, such as occurred in late March, after Gov. Newsom’s first-stay-at-home order allowed trips to state beaches.

“California State Parks is implementing safety measures to reduce the density of visitors over the Fourth of July Weekend in the State Park system,” State Parks said in statement.

At the same time, current camping reservations at all state park units over the coming weekend will be honored, State Parks said.

“While other state park units will remain open, State Parks’ staff will monitor visitation and physical distance over the weekend,” State Parks said. “Measures will be taken to modify operations where needed to limit overcrowding.”

“We advise everyone to check our website (www.parks.ca.gov) to stay up to date on any changes,” Moreno said.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/State-shutting-off-parking-at-beaches-for-July-4-15381007.php

Coronavirus, Black Lives Matter transform California’s political campaigns

With a resurgent coronavirus raging across California and anti-racism rallies and protests a near-daily occurrence, there’s a brand-new focus as candidates gear up for the fall campaign.

Rep. Harley Rouda, an Orange County Democrat, sent out a standard fundraising email Tuesday, looking for re-election cash. But the message was anything but traditional.

“These last few months have tested our leaders — and we’ve seen far too many fail,” the email read. “From organizing a PPE (personal protective equipment) drive in Orange County, to marching for Black lives, to simply wearing a mask, Harley has stood out for his leadership in this crisis.”

Nothing about the economy. Nothing about foreign affairs. Nothing about what he has done for his district in his 18 months in Washington, D.C., or any of the other campaign standbys.

Instead, the email showed a picture of Rouda, wearing a mask, standing with a family of masked, sign-carrying supporters at a Black Lives Matter protest last month in Newport Beach.

These are issues that residents of Orange County care about right now, said Matilda Bress, a spokeswoman for Rouda’s campaign.

“This is a traditionally Republican part of California,” she said. But when George Floyd, a Black man, died at the hands of Minneapolis police in May, “there were mass protests in the district, standing up for the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s something to be proud of.”

Across the state, Democratic candidates are challenging Republicans on the pandemic and their response to racism, buoyed by President Trump’s unwillingness to support tough rules to contain the coronavirus, his attacks on Black Lives Matter and his refusal to deal with the country’s legacy of inequality.

It’s not only Republicans who are being attacked. San Francisco’s Shahid Buttar, who is challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Democrats-only contest in November, charged that Pelosi and other House Democrats “have attempted to co-opt the (Black Lives Matter) movement, resorting to pandering rather than showing solidarity.”

The new focus is a good one for Democrats, said Adam Probolsky, a pollster based in Orange County.

“Social unrest and the coronavirus are two issues that people talk about, with the coronavirus leading into worries about health care,” he said. Trump and his leadership also top voters’ concerns.

“Trump constantly puts people in uncomfortable and difficult positions,” Probolsky said, and that goes double for Republican politicians looking to win in November.

more https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Coronavirus-Black-Lives-Matter-transform-15383642.php

Newsom vows crackdown on coronavirus scofflaws. Will law enforcement cooperate?

In April, Plumas County barber Steve Betts became one of the first Californians to face a criminal penalty for violating coronavirus health orders when he refused to close his two shops.

After local sheriff’s deputies warned him twice, they cited him on their third visit. Now, due back in court in August, he faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each day he refused to shut down, he said.

“It just sucks, but at the same time I’m not sorry I did it,” said Betts, whose businesses have since been legally allowed to open.

“For them to just shut us down for no good reason other than (Gov. Gavin) Newsom … it was more or less just games being played.”

Wednesday, as hospitalizations and positive tests for the virus skyrocket in many parts of the state, Newsom announced that it was once again closing time for bars, restaurants and other high-traffic businesses in 19 counties. And this time, he wasn’t playing games, though he acknowledged the challenge was real.

“Enforcement is a difficult one, and I am not naive about that … not Pollyannish about it,” Newsom said.

Unlike past orders, when the governor largely stressed civic duty as the motivating force for compliance and left enforcement decisions in the hands of local governments, he turned up rhetoric on possible state crackdowns.

He announced “strike teams” from agencies that license barbers and bars, and the California Highway Patrol — one of the only California law enforcement agencies directly controlled by the state.

“We have I think a responsibility … to go after people who are thumbing their noses, being aggressive, being reticent,” Newsom said.

But exactly what would additional enforcement in California mean? It is not entirely clear, and it has raised questions for local law enforcement, who have grappled from the start of the pandemic on their role.

… But other agencies have taken a different tack, refusing to enforce orders. Sheriffs in counties including Sacramento, Riverside and Los Angeles have said they didn’t intend to enforce restrictions, and balked at Newsom’s past orders.

“It is time to reflect on decisions we have made under the pretext of this pandemic: Such as why we were forced to let over 1,100 inmates out of Sacramento’s COVID-free jail into a community where the law-abiding are still locked down?” wrote Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones on Facebook on May 6.

“It is time to recognize that We the People have willingly acquiesced to loss of freedoms, loss of income, and loss of social connection for the greater good, but now we are ready to responsibly get back to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

State Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) this week proposed a bill that would keep the addresses of public health directors private, because some have faced threats based on unpopular health orders.

Pan said sheriffs need to be active in backing public health orders because they represent authority in their communities, but thinks some don’t for political reasons.

Across the county, masks and business closures have become political causes, with President Trump notably refusing to wear a mask.

more https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-04/newsom-vows-crackdown-on-coronavirus-scofflaws-what-enforcement-tools-does-he-have

the fear porn is palpable… lions and tigers and cv, oh my!

Californians are losing their fear of the coronavirus, setting the stage for disaster

As California began to rapidly reopen the economy, officials in Santa Cruz County decided the safe thing to do was keep its landmark beaches largely closed in the afternoons to prevent crowds that could spread the coronavirus.

But the public increasingly ignored the rules and demanded their summer on the sand, swimming, sunbathing and just hanging out. Unable to stop the crowds, county officials simply gave up.

“People are not willing to be governed anymore in that regard,” health officer Dr. Gail Newel said as the county rescinded its beach closure order last week.

This is the problem California officials now face as they deal with a major surge in coronavirus cases tied to business reopenings, social gatherings and other factors, and hospitals are becoming increasingly crowded. As the public has become more accustomed to the pandemic, Californians have seemingly become less afraid of the highly contagious virus, even though it’s no less infectious than it was in the winter.

When California became the first state in the nation to impose a stay-at-home order on March 19, people listened.

Businesses ground to a halt and many stayed home as much as possible, watching as COVID-19 made a deadly march through places like New York and northern Italy.

We emptied the supermarkets as if preparing for the apocalypse. We sanitized our cellphones hourly. Some of us even wiped down groceries or left mailed packages alone for days, fearful that the virus might be left on surfaces.

… Getting more people to comply with a state order to wear masks in public remains a challenge. And many have become accustomed to being out in crowds after taking part in protests, seeing restaurants reopen and hosting social gatherings.

“California should be commended for doing so much well at the beginning. We really shut down, and I think we really got the right messages out,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UC San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “So why did we start going out?”

“We felt good about all that we had accomplished, not realizing that the virus never left us. The virus was just under control,” she said. And while the shutdown of society happened quickly, “it made us believe that we could open up in the same type of way.”

Many residents are torn — they understand the growing dangers of the coronavirus but also say the months in virtual lockdown took an emotional toll. Casey Parlette, a Laguna Beach resident, said he was torn about whether his city should have closed its beaches during the holiday weekend.

more https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-03/how-california-went-from-coronavirus-success-story-to-sitting-on-the-precipice-of-disaster

King County prosecutor not filing charges from arrests made during clearance of CHOP

The King County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday that it has not filed criminal charges against anyone arrested during the clearance of the CHOP earlier in the week.

“The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has not charged non-violent protesters, and we have no plans to do so,” it said in a written statement. “Our position hasn’t changed since the first protests in response to the murder of George Floyd.”

“None of the CHOP clearing arrests have led to criminal charges from our office,” the statement added.

Police made several arrests after ordering CHOP protesters to clear out of the area early Wednesday morning. Combined between those and arrests made in subsequent demonstrations over the last two days, SPD has arrested over 70 people. Charges have ranged from failure to disperse to assault.

The prosecutor’s statement clarified that those arrested during protests typically are put before a judge within 48 hours for a bail hearing, while “most see a judge in less than 24 hours.”

In total, the King County prosecutor has charged 10 protest-related cases since May between Seattle and Bellevue. Six involved a gun charge, three were burglary cases, and one was for an alleged hate crime. There were three cases charged while the CHOP was still active: Burglary, burglary and assault, and reckless burning.

https://mynorthwest.com/1997691/king-county-prosecutor-chop-clearance-arrests/