Adam Carolla calls for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to be recalled, shreds state lockdown



Outspoken comedian and radio show host Adam Carolla said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) should be recalled over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also said that Californians should stand up for their rights and blasted the notion of continual coronavirus-related lockdowns.

What are the details?

In video footage captured by TMZ, Carolla indicated that Newsom is akin to some sort of self-appointed king and that Californians should balk at his never-ending COVID-19 restrictions.

"We talked to the comedian Tuesday in Burbank, CA, where he was about to head into a restaurant his friend owns for a little sit-down mean ... almost out of protest, it seems," TMZ reported. "It's pretty clear ... Adam thinks the new shutdown orders are ridiculous, and he explains why."

In his remarks, Carolla said, "F*** Newsom. F** that idiot."

"I don't know who Newsom thinks he is. He's not a monarch. You can't shut down society. You gotta offer some proof why it's dangerous," he said. "And by the way, sheep: Wake up, sheep. It's not Newsom, it's all the sheep who listen to Newsom."

Carolla also said that he thinks a recall movement against Newsom is gaining momentum.

"It'd be nice. ... I think it is gaining some ground because he's an imbecile and he's incompetent and he's running this state into the ground," he proclaimed. "Listen. We should recall him and just replace him with one of those plastic owls that they put on top of restaurants so seagulls don't s**t on the roof. And we would be much better off ... with no replacement than with Gavin Newsom."

Los Angeles-based TMZ reported, "Might sound crazy, but the petition already has more than half the necessary signatures needed to get the issue on a ballot soon — and word is Newsom's camp is nervous."

(Content warning: Rough language):

Restaurant Workers Rally In Times Square To Save Indoor Dining

A week out from Christmas, New York's restaurant workers are fighting for their jobs.

In major setback for NY's economy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo shutters indoor dining amid COVID-19 spike



New York City's indoor dining will be shut down, according to a Friday report from The Hill.

What are the details?

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Friday that the new regulations are in an attempt to stem the tide of rising COVID-19 cases across the city and state. The ban goes into effect on Monday.

According to Cuomo, restaurants will still be permitted to utilize outdoor dining and offer both takeout and delivery options to customers.

The outlet reported that indoor dining resumed at just 25% capacity in late September in New York City.

"In New York City, you put the CDC caution on indoor dining together with the rate of transmission and the density, and the crowding," he said. "That is a bad situation."

The Hill reported that the state's contact tracing data of 46,000 confirmed cases between the months of September and November show that small gatherings have driven at least 74% of all infections. Infections attributed to restaurants and bars, however, accounted for just 1.4% of all infections between those months.

.@NYGovCuomo is displaying a chart on the source of new coronavirus infections in New York.Here it is. I’ll tweet… https://t.co/HCLzFNJMJJ
— Jimmy Vielkind (@Jimmy Vielkind)1607705211.0

"It's not forever," Cuomo promised. "We have to get through this period, and the faster we can get through this period, all businesses can open again."

Cuomo said New York is expecting 170,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday or Monday after it receives emergency approval, The Hill reported. And the highly anticipated vaccine from Moderna could get the green light next week, and Cuomo said the state expects 346,000 doses of that vaccine the week of Dec. 21.

According to the New York Post, Cuomo said that there will be "economic hardship."

"The 25 percent to 0 percent [capacity], but we have compensated in other ways," he reasoned. "The restaurants have adapted and New Yorkers have really adapted. ... We're asking everyone to hold on. The end is in sight, but we still have to get there."

What else?

Eater on Friday reported that nearly half of New York's restaurants are in danger of closing.

A new survey by the New York State Restaurant Association has found that New York restaurants are being more adversely impacted when compared to the restaurant industry nationwide.

The survey — carried out on 6,000 restaurant operators, to include 238 restaurant operators in New York — found that 54% of New York restaurant owners say it is "likely" that they will be forced to close within the next six months if a second federal stimulus package does not come through. And 60% of restaurant owners in New York also reported that they are considering a temporary closure until the coronavirus pandemic ends.

Just 37% of restauranteurs outside of New York said they would be forced to close within six months without a federal aid package, and 36% of operators said they were considering the temporary closure, the survey said.

Cuomo’s New Ban Indoor Dining In NYC Is Abject Madness

The science is in. It says keep the restaurants open, but Emperor Cuomo is closing them anyway.

Cuomo won't let NYC restaurants have indoor dining until de Blasio creates social distancing enforcement task force



New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he doesn't want to allow New York City restaurants to have indoor dining services until Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) establishes a social distancing enforcement task force, according to WNBC-TV.

Restaurant owners are suing Cuomo and de Blasio over the continued restrictions, which remain in place despite the number of daily COVID-19 deaths sitting in the single digits and the infection rate staying below 1%. Even though restaurants in other parts of New York and New Jersey can serve customers indoors, Cuomo isn't budging on New York City.

"If we have the enforcement mechanism in place, then we can talk about opening restaurants," Cuomo said Tuesday, WNBC reported. "It would be negligent and reckless to open indoor dining, knowing that you have issues in Upstate New York, knowing that compliance is going to be a problem, and knowing that you have no enforcement mechanism. And we're still working through that because I believe local governments could help us accomplish this goal if they wanted to."

The State Liquor Authority and a State Police Task Force monitor restaurants for compliance with COVID-19 regulations in areas outside New York City.

De Blasio, meanwhile, said he doesn't even plan to have a timeline for indoor dining until the end of September, which means there is no relief in sight for restaurant owners even as the impact of COVID-19 is nearly nonexistent relative to the number of people in the city.

"We've been patient, the numbers are fantastic, the COVID statistics, we don't know what more we could do," said Robert Hanley, general manager of NYC restaurant Bocelli. "This is a lawsuit. We don't wanna do this. This is not us, we are workers. We work 100 hours a week. It's not a luxurious lifestyle. I have waiters; none of them drove here in a Ferrari today."

Malls in New York City are open with 50% capacity and casinos are open with 25% capacity, although food and beverage service is unavailable to people who go to those places.

New York has travel restrictions on people from 35 states that require them to quarantine for 14 days if they travel to New York. The COVID-19 statistics can't get much better than they are right now for the state that in April was experiencing nearly 1,000 deaths per day. From WNBC:

Meanwhile, New York went from the epicenter of the national crisis to celebrating a full month of daily COVID positivity test rates below 1 percent, which is what allowed establishments like malls, gyms and museums to reopen in the first place. Total hospitalizations are also at six-month lows and daily deaths are in the single digits.

Hundreds of NYC restaurants join $2 billion lawsuit against Cuomo, de Blasio over city's indoor dining ban



More than 350 New York City restaurants have joined a $2 billion class action lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) over the city's ban on indoor dining, arguing state and local officials have done "irreparable harm" with the coronavirus shutdown measure.

What are the details?

The state of New York has opened up indoor dining for everywhere except The Big Apple where only outdoor dining is allowed, leading (remaining) struggling New York City restauranteurs to take legal action as the city's COVID-19 numbers hit new lows and colder weather approaches.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday, and the next day, Cuomo said during a press call that he would not budge on the issue until the NYPD — whose funding was stripped by $1 billion in recent weeks by de Blasio — had in place a 4,000-strong task force of officers to enforce social distancing guidelines for the city, according to Reason.

Making the issue worse, neighboring New Jersey has allowed indoor dining, leaving New York City establishments to helplessly look on as their competitors reopen for business but they remain shuttered.

Joe Oppedisano, owner of Il Bacco in New York City, spearheaded the lawsuit.

Newsday reported:

Il Bacco is about one and a half blocks, or around 500 feet, away from the Nassau border, where restaurants are permitted to have indoor dining at 50% capacity. New York City is the only part of the state where indoor dining is still banned due to pandemic-based restrictions, though its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests is similar to the rest of the state. There is currently no timeline to open indoor dining for city restaurants, even as fall weather approaches, and owners are concerned that their doors will remain closed through the end of the year.

"Every restaurant is packed and me, a block and a half away, I can't open," Joe Oppedisano, owner of Il Bacco, said Monday in an interview. The restaurant can have customers on its rooftop, but not on the first two floors of the building. "And winter is coming," Oppedisano said. The weather is warm now, but what happens two or three weeks from now? And then when it rains? I'm lucky I have a rooftop and I have a cover I can open and close, but once it gets cold, I can't do that anymore."

According to The Daily Wire, Cuomo responded Monday:

I am aware of that competitive disadvantage for NYC restaurants … I'm aware that restaurants in New York City are very unhappy with doing no indoor dining, I understand the economic consequences, their argument will now be exacerbated [because of NJ] and it's something that we're watching and considering. I want as much economic activity as quickly as possible, we also want to make sure transmission rate stays under control. That is the tension.