SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — A sheriff in Southern California slammed California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom during a recorded speech late this week for his “extremely hypocritical” behavior during the pandemic and his “dictatorial attitude toward California residents,” Daily Wire reported.
“We have all recently learned of the new regional approach to combating COVID-19 and the pending closure and stay-at-home orders from our Governor,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco began. “We were also told that there was a potential he would be withholding federal and state funding from counties who did not enforce the orders. Ironically, it wasn’t that long ago our same governor loudly and publicly argued how wrong it was for the President of the United States to withhold federal funding from states not complying with federal laws.”
“The dictatorial attitude toward California residents while dining in luxury, traveling, keeping his business open, and sending his kids to in-person private schools is very telling about his attitude toward California residents, his feelings about the virus, and it is extremely hypocritical,” Bianco continued. “These closures and stay-at-home orders are flat-out ridiculous. The metrics used for closures are unbelievably faulty and are not representative of true numbers and are disastrous for Riverside County. When the medical field is so split about this virus, it might be time to employ a little common sense.”
“Keeping money and support from our hospitals who are struggling with normal seasonal increases in patients, coupled with COVID-19 patients, is irresponsible,” he continued. “It appears part of the new goal is to shift attention away from his and other’s personal behavior with a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ attitude by turning public opinion against California Sheriffs. He is expecting us to arrest anyone violating these orders, cite them and take their money, close their businesses, make them stay in their homes, and take away their civil liberties or he will punish all of us. I believe that all jobs are essential to someone. Leaders do not threaten, attempt to intimidate, or cause fear; bullies do.”
“As has been our position from the beginning of this pandemic, the Sheriff’s Department is asking and expecting Riverside County residents to act responsibly and do what they can to protect themselves and their family from contracting the virus,” he concluded. “Wear your mask and practice social distancing. While the Governor’s office and the state has threatened action against violators, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department will not be blackmailed, bullied, or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the Governor’s orders. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a safe and happy New Year.”
Sheriff Bianco wasn’t the only one with a message for the governor. A Los Angeles business owner also lashed out at Governor Newsom as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The businesswoman was fighting back tears Friday, claiming Garcetti had shut down the outdoor patio at her business — while letting a Hollywood movie crew set up an outdoor dining area just a short distance away, Fox News reported.
The shutdown at the Pineapple Hill Grill & Saloon in the city’s Sherman Oaks neighborhood came amid a county-ordered ban on outdoor dining, a mayor-issued stay-at-home order — and California state-level plans for business shutdowns if coronavirus hospitalizations hit required levels.
Angela Marsden, owner of the Pineapple Hill Grill & Saloon, appears a video in which she explains her situation – while walking over to the movie crew’s setup of tents, tables and chairs to illustrate just how close it is to her business.
“So this is my place, the Pineapple Hill Grill & Saloon. If you go to my [Facebook] page you can see all the work I did for outdoor dining, for tables being seven feet apart,” Marsden says.
Bar owner in Los Angeles CA is livid to see that mayor Garcetti has approved an outdoor dining area for a movie company directly across from her outdoor dining area (which was shut down) pic.twitter.com/jkUP2CWg35
— Jake Coco ????? (@jakecoco) December 4, 2020
“And I come in today because I’m organizing a protest and I came in to get stuff for that. And I walk into my parking lot — and obviously Mayor Garcetti has approved … this,” she continues, pointing to the tent setup. “Has approved this being set up for … this being set up for … for a movie company.
“I’m losing everything. Everything I own is being taken away from me and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio, which is right over here,” she continues, her voice trembling with emotion. “And people wonder why I’m protesting and why I have had enough.
“They have not given us money and they have shut us down. We cannot survive, my staff cannot survive,” she says, returning to her business.
“Look at this. Tell me that this is dangerous,” she says, pointing to her own patio, “but right next to me, as a slap in my face, that’s safe. This is safe? Fifteen feet away?
“This is dangerous. Mayor Garcetti and Gavin Newsom [are] responsible for every single person that doesn’t have unemployment, that does not have a job, and all the businesses that are going under.
“We need your help,” she concludes. “We need somebody to do something about this.”
Newsom announced Thursday that four out of five regions in the state will have fewer than 15% of beds available in the intensive care units of their regional hospital networks within a day or two, which will trigger new coronavirus restrictions in those areas. The San Francisco Bay Area was the only region that did not meet the criteria, Fox reported.
When the orders go into effect, the governor said, all bars, hair salons, barbershops, casinos, and indoor and outdoor playgrounds will be mandated to shut down.
The Sherman Oaks saloon’s Facebook page contains a link to a crowdsourcing page that had raised nearly $20,000 as of late Friday night.
“We are humbled and grateful for this outpouring of generosity!” the page says. “Thank you to our community!”
The Facebook page also includes an advertisement for a protest planned for Saturday outside the Santa Monica home of Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
Kuehl made headlines earlier this week when she dined at a restaurant near her home just hours after voting to ban outdoor dining in the county.
The ad stresses that the protest is not about “partisan politics, it’s about people!”
“We are all essential!” the ad says. “”Supporting our families is essential!!”
