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No More Masks on June 15! Thank You, Gov. Newsom.
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 4 years ago on
May 12, 2021

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Blessed with a state treasury that has a spare $100 billion and a pandemic that’s finally receding, Gavin Newsom is surfing across California on a seemingly perfect wave.

He’s passing out tax rebates, emergency drought declarations, and billions to reduce homelessness and support education.

Portrait of GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen

Bill McEwen

Opinion

On Tuesday, he told FoxLA’s news anchor Elex Michaelson what Californians yearned to hear.

Michaelson asked Newsom what California would look like on June 15.

“That world looks a lot like the world we entered into before the pandemic, we’re not wearing face coverings, we’re not restricted. …” the governor replied.

Any exceptions?

“Huge large-scale indoor convention events where we’ll use our common sense.”

Hallelujah!

Celebrate Freedom — and the End of Mask Politics

Don’t get me wrong, the coronavirus pandemic is deadly serious business.

I wear a mask religiously. I’m fully vaccinated. But the freedom to go maskless is the surest sign yet that we’re beating this virus. And that’s cause for celebration. Not the least of which is ending the divide created by the Looney Tunes politicization of masks.

Newsom Wins the Recall. No Ifs, Ands, or Buts

The winding down of the pandemic and the gargantuan budget surplus are enabling Newsom to extinguish any drama from Republican efforts to recall him.

The latest polling shows just 36% of voters support his ouster. That percentage will dwindle in coming weeks, as Newsom’s budget gifts and the end of the mask mandate soften voter ire.

As for Caitlyn Jenner, she can’t even accurately remember if she voted in the 2020 election. That makes her the recall candidate with no recall.

By any measure, the recall is an endeavor fueled by Republican frustrations over their failure to win elections in California. Tired of the coronavirus mandates, Democrats signed the recall petitions, too. And, Newsom hurt himself with a maskless trip to a high-end Napa Valley restaurant.

But, anyone with a modicum of sense, knows that a majority of Californians aren’t going to yank Newsom from office a year before his term expires.

Not when the options are Kevin Faulconer, Doug Ose, John Cox, and Caitlyn Jenner.

Faulconer is virtually unknown north of San Diego.

Ose is virtually unknown south of Sacramento.

Cox got drubbed by nearly 24 percentage points in the 2018 gubernatorial race and is running a recall campaign so juvenile it’s turning off Republicans. When will this guy get the message, take his bear, and quit politics?

As for Jenner, she can’t even accurately remember if she voted in the 2020 election. That makes her the recall candidate with no recall.

Still, a recall election will take place, and it’ll cost taxpayers up to $400 million.

So much for GOP frugality with public spending.

The good news is, no one going to the polls needs a mask.

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Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

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