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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

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Contrasting golf tournaments last week

Uploaded: Apr 6, 2021

It was striking to see the differences between the PGA tour and the LPGA tour events on Sunday.
The Texas Valero Open, played in San Antonio, had spectators following the competitors throughout the event. That reflected Texas’ status as a state with no mask mandates (some were wearing masks) and a state that is open without restrictions. Tournament organizers did limit the crowd size and suspended complimentary admission programs for first responders, military vets and children.
By contrast, the LPGA’s first major of the season, the ANA Inspiration at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage was devoid of spectators. There were players, caddies, officials and volunteers. Spectating was limited to homeowners looking at the fairways and greens from their patios in the scenic Coachella Valley.
The golf in both places was excellent. Native Texan Jordan Spieth returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since July 2017 in San Antonio, setting himself up for a run at the Master’s title this week in Augusta, Ga.
Down in the California desert, 21-year-old Patty Tavatanakit led throughout the tournament and held off Lydia Ko, who tied the course record with a 62, for her first LPGA victory. In normal times, the crowd would have been going wild when Ko opened with a 29 on the front nine. Instead, it was quiet in the desert and, with 100 degree temperatures, perhaps a day better spent in the swimming pool or in front of the television in an air-conditioned room.
That said, it was unfortunate that the world’s best women golfers could not receive the in-person support that they deserved. Sprawling Riverside County is still in the red tier (we’re in the orange tier in Alameda County) so given the amount of time it would have taken to prepare for spectators at the tournament, the decision is reasonable.
It’s notable to compare Gov. Newsom aggressive shutdown with that in Florida. The governor conveniently started to ease shutdowns, including the ban on high school athletics, when recall proponents started to submit enough signatures so he likely will face an election this fall.
Reading some national business news, I saw an interview with the tourism director for Orlando, also home of many theme parks that are international draws. Those parks re-opened in a limited way in July 2020. Disneyland in Anaheim is scheduled for an April 30 reopening.
It’s entirely fair to ask whether it was worth it. As I have written, the aggressive shutdowns will have lasting health, educational and economic impacts. Most public health officials seemed to be only concerned with COVID 19 and did not consider the other impacts.
There needs to be a careful post-mortem examination that can guide future decision makers because at some point there will be another pandemic—hopefully not in our lifetimes.

Democracy.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Ndna Jnz, a resident of Mohr Park,
on Apr 7, 2021 at 10:19 am

Ndna Jnz is a registered user.

Tim �" Given your assessment of whether the aggressive shutdowns in CA were "worth it", you apparently didn't lose any family or friends to COVID-19. I lost my only remaining aunt, and two uncles. So yes, the shutdowns were worth it for me, because I am glad I didn't lose any more relatives or friends.

But, you're entitled to your opinion that a golf tournament trumps a few lost lives here and there �" as long as those lives aren't dear to you.


Posted by Kevin, a resident of Castlewood,
on Apr 7, 2021 at 7:36 pm

Kevin is a registered user.

Tim and the rest of Trumpsters (DHKSK, Lahommed, et al) keep using their biased data and warped logic to compare Florida to CA and question whether the shutdowns were worth it. This is because they only watch garbage Fox opinion shows that fill them with lies to keep them angry (ala Jan 6th insurrection).

From another post on same subject:

look for real data and analysis such as the article below for reasons why Florida apparently did better than other states. Instead of listening to Fox and DeSantis.

Web Link

- Other states with lax Covid regulations had the worst Covid infections and deaths. So, lax regulations does not explain why Florida had low cases.

- states with very strict regulations such as Oregon and Washington did better than Florida on Covid hospitalization and deaths rates

Bottom line- there are other reasons why Florida did better than simply because they had laxed rules. Don't listen to biased politicians. Do your own reading.

The world scientists will continue to learn about this virus. We will learn new facts that will replace old wrong assumptions.

I can tell you from personal experience that our medical device manufacturing plant in Florida was shutdown many times in the past year because of infections. We are short in product for our European and North American markets that the plant supplies.

Tell the patients without product about How good Florida is.


Posted by Anti racist, a resident of Ruby Hill,
on Apr 8, 2021 at 8:51 pm

Anti racist is a registered user.

Last week when I looked up the data, FL had a higher infection rate than CA, a higher death rate per capita than CA, and a higher rate of deaths per cases than CA. Yes we need to study every bit of this inside and out later. All I can think is, how many MORE cases would CA have had if we hadn't reacted so stringently? How many MORE deaths would CA have had if we hadn't enacted so stringently? We'll never know. I can't help but know it would have been worse if we'd left everything open.


Posted by Kevin, a resident of Castlewood,
on Apr 16, 2021 at 8:56 pm

Kevin is a registered user.

Isn't it amazing that the J&J vaccine is withdrawn because it may have caused 7 deaths in 7 million people who received it? Emphasis may. And there is not one f'ing thing being done about gun control with crazy people who can buy guns with 100s of rounds to kill innocent Americans.


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