Suppressed Southern Californians Make a Grand Exit - to Arizona's Lake of Liberty

AP featured image — In this Monday, June 5, 2017 photo provided by RiverScene Magazine, Jack White tosses a carnation off the Lake Havasu City London Bridge in memory of the victims in the deadly van and knife attacks on the weekend in London, England, in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. The city of London sold the outmoded, 19th-century bridge to the Arizona city in 1968. A candlelight vigil at the bridge planned for Friday evening will allow more people to come show support for the victims, resident Rick Powell said. (RiverScene Magazine via AP)

California isn’t exactly know as a haven of liberty. That goes for any time of year, pandemic or not.

But during these COVID-tainted times, those in the Golden State are havin’ an especially hard row of it.

It’s been a dispiriting spring: Wanna go to the beach? The governor won’t let you. Wanna protest that fact? The governor won’t let you. Wanna function like a normal human being? Ya might have to wait a while.

But people’ve gotten sick of waiting. And more than a few of those fed-up, festered freedom-fighters have been doing something about it: leaving.

As reported by The Los Angeles Times, Cali’s castoffs are flocking to neighboring Arizona — specifically, to Lake Havasu. Who needs Gavin Newsom’s power grab when you’ve got a getaway car and a full tank? (If you can afford it — your business is most likely still closed)

The Times notes the border beach area has been of late filled with lovers of sand and shore seeking shelter from their West Coast Orwellian woes.

It’s been a good time to get out: Though the governor’s said some restaurants and offices can reopen, Los Angeles County’s top health director announced Tuesday that anti-coronavirus restrictions will probably remain in place for, in the words of LA’s Channel 4, “at least another three months.”

From KNBC:

Barbara Ferrer, LA County’s leading voice on anti-COVID measures, has warned repeatedly that precautions in some form will be necessary well into the future, absent a major breakthrough.

While the Safer at Home orders will remain in place over the next few months, restrictions will be gradually relaxed under our 5-stage Roadmap to Recovery, while making sure we are keeping our communities as safe as possible during this pandemic,” Ferrer said in a statement released Tuesday evening. “We are being guided by science and data that will safely move us forward along the road to recovery in a measured way—one that allows us to ensure that effective distancing and infection control measures are in place.”

And they’re counting on cooperation:

“We’re counting on the public’s continued compliance with the orders to enable us to relax restrictions, and we are committed to making sure that LA County is in the best position to provide its 10 million residents with the highest level of wellness possible as we progressively get back to normal.”

Only last Friday did the state allow some retailers to start opening with curbside pickup.

And on Wednesday, LA County reopened its beaches, “though only for active recreation.”

Active, indeed — as I covered recently, the government had cops patrolling the shoreline, telling an elderly couple they weren’t allowed to sit in chairs.

So while many beaches have been closed and LA’s offered a less-than-friendly approach to crowds, as relayed by The Daily Caller, “Lake Havasu is described as reminiscent of a holiday weekend, with as many as 70 boats waiting for a single ramp and gas stations sold out of fuel and beer. Hotels have also filled up, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Not that Arizona’s unconcerned with the spread of the virus.