Via Breitbart, is it really so hard for this guy to stay out of restaurants during a pandemic?

His night out at one a few months ago might end up costing him his job. If that’s not a reason to dine in until COVID is over, I don’t know what is.

This PSA was filmed at Los Amigos restaurant in Fresno. Fresno is in California’s “purple tier,” per Fox News, which means indoor dining isn’t allowed. Yet there was Newsom with comedian George Lopez, firing off this PSA about vaccinations inside the building.

Here’s the video. pic.twitter.com/CME7vZVzoW

— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) February 27, 2021

Fox notes that he was at Los Amigos to discuss a relief grant received by the restaurant’s owners to help them weather the economic storm until restrictions are finally lifted. Okay, but why did they need to meet indoors to do that?

And more importantly, did Newsom simply record the PSA or did he actually break the purple-tier rules by eating while he was there? His office insists that no food was consumed but this tweet got some attention this weekend:

California is the only state where indoor dining is banned. Industry gutted. It’s an explosive topic. Newsom holds an event INSIDE a restaurant, posts video, and group is “dining/drinking” (see pic) – people are actually saying this is OK? If it’s ok for them then open it all up. pic.twitter.com/fRVTdlxVWv

— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) February 28, 2021

Curtains for Newsom in the probable gubernatorial recall this fall, then? Eh, not so fast. He has two things going for him right now. One is that California’s COVID fortunes have improved to an almost shocking degree after this winter’s ferocious outbreak:

NEW: CA has now administered over 9 million #COVID19 vaccines.

Our test positivity rate has dropped to 2.3%.

Today we report 3,516 cases of COVID-19.

6 weeks ago, we were reporting over 50k cases.

Vaccine rates are up. COVID-19 rates are down.

Progress.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 1, 2021

A 2.3 percent positivity rate in America’s most populous state, with a “California variant” circulating, is as low as one could reasonably hope for. California’s also improved dramatically on vaccinations after a dismal beginning. Of the four biggest U.S. states (CA, TX, FL, and NY), Cali has the highest percentage of the population that’s received its first dose, at 16.0 percent. Daily cases in California have now fallen to their lowest levels since late October, a nice talking point for Newsom at a moment when he’s under pressure.

His other notable achievement this week is reaching a deal that would potentially put California’s students — some of them, at least — back in classrooms by April. Newsom plans to tie forthcoming school funding to reopening, with schools eligible to keep more of the dough appropriated for them depending on how quickly they open their doors.

To be eligible for this new money, school districts in regions that fall under the most restrictive level — known as the purple tier — must return to in-person instruction at least through second grade, the officials said…

Districts in the next highest tier, the red tier, must return to in-person instruction for all elementary school grades, plus at least one grade in middle and high school, the officials said…

To get the money, districts must meet the requirements by March 31, the officials said. Beginning April 1, for every instructional day school districts do not meet the requirements, the amount of money they are eligible to receive will go down by 1%, the officials said.

School districts wouldn’t be required to get the approval of teachers unions before reopening but someone’s going to have to teach classes, of course. To sweeten the pot for teachers, Newsom announced a few days ago that he’ll set aside 10 percent of California’s weekly vaccine allotment in the near term exclusively for educators, to give them more confidence about safely returning to class. And if you’re wondering, “Why should teachers get vaccine priority when their jobs are safer than many other frontline workers’ jobs are?”, know that I’m wondering it too. The best answer I can give is that it’s not a matter of risk or vulnerability, it’s a matter of raw political power. If the only way to get teachers unions to give their blessing to returning to class is to give their members special access to a preciously scarce commodity, that’s what Newsom’s going to do. He knows that the more kids are back in school, the less interested their parents will be in tossing him out of office if they have the chance this fall.