Confusion, conflicts over reopening state
Narrow closure: Newsom shuts only some beaches
SACRAMENTO — State officials pushed to close all beaches and state parks in California to try to prevent overcrowding they feared could spread the coronavirus, but Gov. Gavin Newsom decided Thursday only to temporarily close beaches in Orange County, an administration official said.
Newsom said at a news conference he was ordering a “hard close” in Orange County after beaches in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach drew tens of thousands of visitors during a heat wave last weekend. He said he was par
ticularly concerned about the beach activity because Orange County has more coronavirus cases and hospitalizations than many other areas.
“Same reason we are not reopening arenas with tens of thousands of people — we don’t want to have beaches with tens of thousands of people mixing,” Newsom said.
A Los Angeles TV station reporter posted a memo online from the California Police Chiefs Association late Wednesday that suggested Newsom would close all beaches and state parks. It said the governor would announce the closures Thursday and that police were being given a “heads up” to prepare to enforce them.
Newsom’s aides did not deny the statement Wednesday evening, telling The Chronicle only that they had “nothing to share tonight.”
The report of what Newsom might do drew immediate condemnation, with a prominent Republican activist calling to “take this state back through massive civil disobedience” and the Humboldt County sheriff vowing he would not enforce any such order.
Hours later, Newsom denied that he had originally considered a wider shutdown.
“Bottom line: That was their memo, but that memo never got to me,” he said.
But following Newsom’s announcement, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and members of his staff posted on Twitter that the governor’s original plans had been broader than Orange County.
“For the record, last night Mayor Faulconer’s administration was notified by Governor Newsom’s administration that he would be announcing the closure of ALL CA beaches,” wrote Aimee Faucett, Faulconer’s chief of staff. “Minutes before today’s press announcement Mayor’s office was notified this would only apply to Orange County.”
Members of the Newsom administration who worked on the beach issue this week originally believed a statewide closure was the right approach and informed law enforcement and local officials Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who declined to be named so he could speak openly. The Chronicle agreed to the request in keeping with its anonymous sources policy.
When presented with the option Thursday morning of closing all beaches, Newsom instead chose to limit his order to Orange County, the official said, because other communities had been more willing to restrict beach access to walking, exercise and other activities that would not allow people to congregate for long periods.
In a statement, the police chiefs association said, “In an everchanging environment, we sent out information regarding decisions that were still evolving, which was regrettably shared outside of our police chief membership and we apologize for the undue concern that caused to the public, our colleagues, the governor and his staff.”
Newsom said Monday that crowded beaches in Orange and Ventura counties over the weekend were an example of “what not to do” as the state tries to stop the spread of the virus with the goal of easing stayathome orders.
“This virus doesn’t take the weekends off. This virus doesn’t go home because it’s a beautiful, sunny day around our coasts,” he said.
The governor said Thursday that his decision to close the Orange County beaches was guided by science and data, though he said it was too soon to know whether there had been an uptick in new cases tied to the crowds the previous weekend. Ventura County beaches will remain open.
“My job as governor is to keep you safe,” Newsom said. “When our health folks tell me they can’t promise that if we promote another weekend like we had, then I have to make this adjustment.”
Officials in Orange County pushed back on the notion that beaches were overcrowded or that most visitors were not observing socialdistancing guidelines. Both Newport Beach and Laguna Beach decided this week to keep beaches open at least some of the time.
County Supervisor Don Wagner tweeted that “it is now politics driving state decisions, rather than data.”
Fred Whitaker, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, called Newsom’s order “a complete slap in the face to local control” and said county and city officials “are the best to determine the status of public areas such as beaches and hiking trails.”