Coronavirus: Governor Gavin Newsom of California Parties

Governor Gavin Newsom of California was recently outed for having attending a friend's 50th birthday dinner. Now one's 50th birthday is definitely a birthday to celebrate, but this action results in certain hypocrisy - especially since he's implemented a curfew across the vast majority of California. 

The Associated Press (Nov 13) points this out:

Newsom and state and local health officials have urged people to stay within their own households. If people must visit others, they should meet outside, include no more than three households, wear masks, stay socially distant and limit their interaction to two hours.

The dinner, first reported Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle, included 12 people sitting outside at the famed restaurant in Napa County. It was in celebration of the 50th birthday of Jason Kinney, a Newsom friend and political adviser. Newsom's wife also attended.

According to the Chronicle, representatives for Kinney and Newsom declined to specify how many households the diners represented, but did not dispute that it was more than three.

Yes, the dinner was held outdoors, but then the party included more than three households. Can we also assume this party lasted more than two hours? That wasn't addressed in the article, but I bet it was longer than 2 hours. I doubt there was any risk to anyone catching COVID-19, but there is more than the hint of hypocrisy. This, of course, comes after the well known hair salon incident surround Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in late August.

We have this situation where politicians are saying citizens should act a certain way and then they act in another. Though like everyone, they also want to be near friends and family, so how hard can you really be on them? 

This party occurred at a restaurant called the French Laundry. It is a rather expensive restaurant, at least to someone like me who often picks up something to eat at a food truck. What does Napa Tourist Guide (June 27, 2018) have to say about pricing:

The French Laundry costs $350 per person to dine and there are two set menus, the Chef's Tasting (meat and seafood) and the Tasting of Vegetables. It's 9 courses, not including the opening "appetizers", aka Amuse Bouche. Wines by the glass are around $35 for whites and $45 for reds (more or less) and there is no set "wine pairing" option. Bottles are hundreds of dollars, perhaps best for when someone else is paying, and corkage fee $150 per bottle. Figure a glass of champagne to start, a white, a red, be ready to drop $300 per couple on wine as the starting point. 

While the menu is "set" you can upgrade certain courses which can add another $100 or more to each persons bill. In the end, set aside $1,000 for dinner for two and if it goes over a bit just go with it - it's only money.

Okay, while way more people in California are going to food banks than were in 2019, our governor is spending about $500 for dinner. Okay.