"Beaches and outdoor recreation are essential aspects of our daily lives here and critical to our mental/physical well being."
There has to come a point in this whole thing when that part of the population that hasn’t been terrified into a state of hysteria starts to think, if everyone that’s dying is over seventy, fat, diabetic, why am I cowering indoors.
When Californian Governor “commie bastard” Gav Newsom announced last night that he was going to re-shutter all of the state’s beaches after bad bad HB and Newport sun-lovers were photographed frolicking on its shores, not all the state’s counties stepped into line.
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal responded by telling his constituents that “I am the protector of constitutional rights in Humboldt County,” he said, “and if an order is issued that I believe violates our constitutional rights, I will not enforce it…It is not okay to punish Northern California for Southern California’s mistake, and I hope he hears that loud and clear.”
Del Norte County’s sheriff Erik Apperson, meanwhile, posted a thrilling screed on Facebook.
Residents of Del Norte County,
After the well-publicized media coverage of over crowded southern California beaches this past weekend, in violation of Governor Newsom’s Shelter in Place Order, the Governor has made clear his intention to shut down all California beaches and state parks, effective May 1st.
This one size fits all response does not serve the people of Del Norte County. My job as Sheriff is to do just that. With a population of less than 30,000 people in the entire county, Del Norte accounts for about 1,200 square miles of land and nearly 40 miles of coastline.
Now, I understand what state we are in and often we must be aligned in our response to large scale challenges. That said, I will not participate in limiting the movement and freedoms of Del Norte County residents as a reaction to behavior by those well outside of Del Norte County. We are already sacrificing more than our share and frankly we are exemplary in our efforts as a community.
Beaches and outdoor recreation are essential aspects of our daily lives here and critical to our mental/physical well being.
Let me also be clear that this is not an invitation for people that have such limitations being imposed on them to come visit Del Norte County. We are committed to the safety and well being of our families and I am not interested in people visiting here that do not share that priority. If your decision to take a tour of Del Norte County results in our local residents being less safe then you are not welcome here, COVID-19 or not.
As for us, we are for the most part practicing social distancing. Many of our businesses are taking a tremendous hit financially for the greater good. We are listening to our outstanding Public Health Officer and we deeply value his guidance. The vast majority of us are wearing masks and large numbers of us are working from home. Some of us aren’t able to work at all. We are leveraging our local economy for the sake of a healthy community. So far, health-wise, we have not been greatly impacted by COVID-19. We hope that continues but we are also constantly preparing for a worst case scenario. Our local leaders are talking and we may not always agree with one another but we are all putting Del Norte first. We are taking steps to move forward while preserving what we cherish.
We know what it’s like to be forgotten, overlooked and marginalized when it comes to decisions made by our state government. The byproduct has resulted in conditioning to be resilient and somewhat independent over our nearly two centuries of existence as a county. We are located on the extreme northwest tip of California. Make no mistake, we are in California, but we are also in Del Norte County.
I will remain vigilant and focused on the Constitutional freedoms, behavior and well being of people within Del Norte County, while continuing to support California the best I can. As Sheriff, I will not punish the good people of Del Norte for the actions of those outside of my county.
To my fellow residents; please continue to be an example to the rest of the state. Let’s work together while sharing a common goal of what’s best for our residents.
I am Del Norte proud and honored to be your Sheriff.
Admirably,
Sheriff Apperson
And so the people rise.
Yeah and Humboldt too. Lived up there 13 years.
We must all make the best of our circumstances.
Well it’s pretty, err “bitchen” down here too, except the water temp is 70 in mid winter, there’s ok surf almost every day, Indo is a six hour flight away, and there’s no incoherent marjuana farmers in rusty trucks driving around throwing rocks at strangers. So I’ll probably just stay here.
Oh and you’re welcome here any time!
another good decision!
I did not see a BeachGrit contingent at the protests at the capital in Sacramento today. (I wasn’t looking either, but whatever.)
The state’s beaches aren’t closed. Everyone is freaking out on some fake reporting, OC is the only county that’s closed at the moment and their cases have been on the rise.
It sucks they should do what Hawaii did and say you can surf, jog, walk on the beach but not congregate.
Here in Monterey County, they’ve modified the order to allow use if the beach for running, walking, surfing and exercise. But no lounging or group activities. And that applies only to city and county beaches, not State beaches, of which we have a few. They’re still shut.
Oh man, I can’t wait to hear your impression of that.
As shitty as the waves have been, I’ve been more excited than ever to grovel. Even broke out my thick 6’8″ to play. Just planing is fun, a gift even.
Go get some today and pull in.
I have a thick 6′ 6″ Timmy Patterson I got for my son a few years ago after a trip to Maui where he decided he liked the glide of a longer board (He was 11 I think). This alarmed me but, better than video games I figured so I bought him this beautiful board off the rack at Timmy’s shop. He weighed like 75 lbs. so I figured it was basically a longboard for him…close enough. He road it for a couple years then started riding proper shortboards again. Whew…dodged a bullet (kidding, I’m accepting of all craft except SUP and wavestorms oh and logs). Anyway, I was at SAno with the family a couple years later and tried it for the first time and was shocked how good the thing turned. Much more like a proper shortboard than longboard. Super fun board. I think the magic is in the tail (winged swallow) but who knows. Timmy makes ’em go good.
The magic in boards is usually the rocker.
Fat waves of soft transition require foam. They’ll turn if you know how and surprising amount of spring too. Only difference is turning radius and that doesn’t matter often in So Cal anyway. Plus, every once in a while you want to practice drawing cleaner lines instead of stomping pivots…. longer rail line requires cleaner technique to reach the same places.
enjoy joe… quietly
Glad I live in one of the parts of California that still knows how to be free.
Sheriff Parkinson basically said pound sand. The state is emptying out its jails of child molesters and thieves, like hell he is going to waste time enforcing beach bans.
The virus dies almost instantly in sunlight, there is no “data” that supports keeping people from sun drenched public spaces.
Newsom vaccilates between being a petty tyrant and a finger-in-the-wind coward. He floated that memo to see if it would have political upside- nope- now denies he knew anything about it. His goal is to ape leadership, while escaping any possible blame in the end. A perfectly beige response for his 2024 Presidential run.
In bureaucracy (I happen to work in one) the decision matrix only flows in the direction of reactionary overreaction, and almost as a rule the post hoc solution never would have prevented the problem in the first place. The masses yearn for that false sense of security from their overseers “doing something”, because they can’t accept the fact that “nature, red in tooth and claw” is endlessly and creatively dangerous, life is inherently harsh and difficult, death is always crouching around the corner, human nature is corrupt and unchangeable, and resources are always inadequate. And, as Thomas Sowell said, “There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that’s all you can hope for.”
Newsome has either done a historically great job being proactive and prevented mass infection or the virus hasn’t hit yet.
You get to choose which scenario to believe. The rest of your diatribe is projection.
I don’t choose between false choices.
I am a RN with a MSN in Clinical Science for Acute Care, trained and experienced in Intensive Care. I currently work in a public health institution. I am quite literally in the middle of this.
All the data is showing that:
a) The virus has been here since it least the end of December. How do we know this? The first recorded death was Feb. 6th and the subject was infected due to community transmission, meaning he picked it up in public sometime in early to mid January. They are currently investigating earlier deaths. Up until January 31st, thousands of Chinese nationals were flying into SFO and LAX, mostly from Wuhan.
b) The Stanford and USC serology studies (methodologically supported by studies globally) indicate that the state wide infection rate is likely 3-6%, meaning the lethality rate is vanishingly small in this state.
c) The statewide shelter in place went into effect March 19th- New York’s March 20th. Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. are packed with people all day long- especially in those immediate weeks. We have not seen a mass increase in infection anywhere in the state, though millions continue to co-mingle indoors.
d) We are doing incomprehensible damage to our hospitals and medical infrastructure. Most of my friends from my last employer (large, community hospital) have been furloughed- including ER doctors. The unintended consequences are going to be devastating for long term health outcomes.
These are the facts. The purpose of stay at home orders was to give the medical system a chance to ramp up capacity for a surge that never happened. We have the supplies, beds and capacity for potentialities. The data demonstrates those potentialities are unlikely. There is no reason for stay at home to continue, except for the elderly and frail and the immuno-compromised. The actions taken in late March made perfect sense at the time- I give Newsome credit for that; they no longer make sense now.
For a “hippy” your willingness to suck up to autocrats because they share your… party affiliation(?)… is ironic and depressing.
Good points and I appreciate your inside knowledge. I trip with two doctors that have differing, but similar stories as yours. Thanks for sharing.
As for autocrats, I’m fucking the last to buy into that crap.
I lost my business in March on the eve of an annual month long trip and a swing through the east coast for work that I could have taken the rest of the year off. Challenging jobs I was itching to get into after a month of empty point break. The financial toll and emotional toll allows me an opinion you may not share. But at this point, the sacrifice is made. Why risk exposure now after the hard yards???
Next, while isolating allowed hospitals to get up to speed (excellent points), the Orange Clown fucked the pandemic response from his day one. Newsome had to be proactive to avoid what he feared was a NY scenario. You can lament the decision, but not the result that leaves people thinking it’s all clear now. It’s not, my doctor friends think a second wave will be more fucked than the first.
Good on you magnus gungir for working the front lines. Must be tough even though we haven’t been hit hard…. yet. Keep on and thanks for the debate.
* You trip with two doctors speaks volumes.
The Pelosi nephew clown has showed his stupidity by continuing lock down when we know it does nothing. Hey! Look at NY! Locked down the longest with more deaths than any city in the world (allegedly at least…who knows what’s being counted as a Covid death….books will be written).
Now, lets check Texas: double the population of NY, with a total of 782 deaths. Almost 50x less deaths than NY and they locked down very late and are effectively open for business now. Hmmmm. Looks like lockdowns aren’t all that.
get professional help.
Post script- If Beach Grit doesn’t exist for diatribe, for what does it exist?
exactly
3. Virus already ran through the state starting in Nov. close to half the population has already had it. Herd immunity is close to being a reality. Quarantine totally superfluous. Newsom’s an idiot and has nuked his presidential chances. Jr. it will be in 2024.
I thought so too… I had a bad cold most of January, persisting cough.
Surfed with 2 doctors wednesday and asked…. both shot down the theory.
Jr will never win anything. So sad to think your way. Jr may be one of the three most punchable humans on earth.
Jr
Jared
Mitch
Lindsay
Ted Cruz
Orange Clown
Hannity
Paul Ryan
Geotz
Ok, there are a lot of punchables.
No Dems on your list. So partisan
Yes sir. Some local business in San Clemente are opening up today in defiance of Newsom. If it’s not too crowded I’ll be imbibing later today….for the cause.
A modest rebellion is on: https://www.instagram.com/p…
Derek I believe that one can be concerned about vulnerable members of society without being ‘terrified’. Or is being anti-lockdown channeling more traffic? I quite like lockdown. Not socialising is most relaxing.
On the Netflix\grub hub train yeah? On tax payer dime or parents
Self unemployed. Scraping by, living cheap.
Saw JOBs footage of last week. Wow. You out in that pack getting some?
Yeah, the Mexican American War was a real bitch.
what happens in humboldt county effects no one.
pretty much simple as that and actually the Sheriffs point.
OC can not/will not regulate itself. The culture of “me”.
C’mon Hippy. The photos you saw last weekend were either from last Summer or you saw the photo from distance that made it appear like people were crowded together. Closer photos should this wasn’t the case and HB police showed drone picts that prove it as well. Newsom’s a fool like Dems.
I know how bad it is here and I lived in Newport for 20 years…. the 909 are a plague. You know that too well amigo.
And your defense is the same as the Gov of Florida’s…. except he used file footage to combat the live footage. See how that’s done… project what you would do on others while the others wonder who would think like that. A window into “conservatives”‘ soul.
I have close friends all over HB and Newps, they all said the scene last weekend was ridiculous. We have spent how much effort isolating to mitigate the virus and the masses care only for their comfort or pleasure (beach visiting in packs). One beach day sets all the sacrifice back because HB’s govie wants tourism $. It all boils down to that.
There is a big south headed next week… I know a place we can argue while we surf insane waves. And there won’t be anyone around…. you can never do that in Clam.
If you’re a Republican, quit surfing. In your heart, you left the ocean a long time ago. Dems aren’t that great, but the right wing is fucking ridiculous. What would Gerry Lopez do? Trump is just another pos rich boy who didn’t get his ass kicked often enough cause he didn’t grow up where we did. They fucking learned to shut their fat mouths or get beat up. But cool Del Norte and Humboldt are doing what’s right for their county.
you’re still fighting that? wow
You mean in the 1860s when The South got their asses kicked? Don’t think the pot smoking hippies of Cali North can repeat that feat. Now the Eastern European ganja czars–different story. http://www.northcoastjournal.com/h...
You can’t blame the sheriffs…I mean youth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdi...
Wait, there’s beaches in Del Norte county? Oh hell yeah! Now where’s my 5 mill and booties. And my Bank Wright guide to Cal.
Dear Derek,
You’re so being paid under the table by the WSL.
You know this you cunt and I hope you share some of that W$L bling with Chad since he’s been vouching for you on every podcast ever created.
I hope they are ! Really.
It’s all wank anyway no matter what website.
At least here we can swear n cuss directly at them. Criticise the fuck out of them.
So there’s that at least.
But I’m more concerned at the moment of the jack booted thuggery of Drek and his continued bullying of the Kommentariat through the unbridled misuse of miniplayers and publication of boring af George bros.
Its a real thing. I have concerns that Negs is compromised. His recent upvoting of his own comments and threat of featuring his own comments exclusively should give us all reason for concern.
Stabs No Contest is pretty good.
All the big names talk to Stab
It’s like BG has some kinda germy virus
BG has me paying far more attention to the WSL than I would if there wasn’t BG…