Despite assertions made in a leaked "Notification" from the California Police Chiefs Association, California Governor Gavin Newsom did not order all state beaches and parks closed at today's news conference.
"Today we want to make some clarifications so we're going to do a hard close in that part of the state -- just the Orange County area," said Newsom at today's press conference. When asked about the leaked memo, he responded, "Bottom line: That was their memo. And that memo never got to me. Those doing good work, we want to reward that good work and behavior ... that's where I've been the entire time."
A memo circulated last night stated that California's governor would today announce the closure of all beaches and parks effective May 1 due to the well-publicized overcrowding of beaches this past weekend in Orange and Ventura Counties. Although Newsom acted like closing all state beaches was never a plan, following his press conference San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's Chief of Staff, Aimee Faucett tweeted that the mayor's office was alerted last night that Newsom would be announcing the closure of all beaches and it was not until right before the press announcement that the San Diego Mayor's office was notified that only Orange County would be closed. In addition to Mayor Faulconer, San Diego County Supervisors Greg Cox and Nathan Fletcher also contacted the governor last night expressing concern over his plans to close San Diego beaches. There is no word why the governor of the country's largest state changed his mind, but Newsom actually complimented San Diego County's efforts several times throughout the conference. Newsom also mentioned that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be pursued by California and he intends to consider each county's situation and COVID-19 numbers.
"Great news: the Governor heard us. San Diego beaches WILL STAY OPEN under our plan approved by lifeguards and health officials," tweeted San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. "In a time of great crisis we don't need knee-jerk policies. We need to keep a steady hand. It’s the only way to keep the public’s trust. Keep it up, SD!"
As of today, all beaches in San Diego were open except Carlsbad, Solana Beach and state beaches in San Diego County. Del Mar beaches were scheduled to reopen this morning but the plan was halted based upon news surrounding the leaked memo's indication of the governor's statewide beach and park closures.
