By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – January 11, 2021 And you and everyone else in California thought things would get back to normal after June the 15th when Governor Newsom promised to end the State's State of Emergency and the numerous and draconian restrictions on every day life. Not so fast… It would appear that the governor is not willing to relinquish his dictatorial powers quite so soon. In a Friday announcement promoting the State's new "bribe me program" to boost lagging Covid-19 vaccinations, the governor went on to announce that while California's Covid restrictions would be lifted he would retain his broad powers by keeping the State of Emergency in place. What this really means is that only some of California will be able to return to some what normal life, while the remainder will still be under certain restrictions…such as Del Norte County which is one of three county's that remain in the "Red Tier". For us in the far north, who have experienced very little in the way of serious consequences from Covid, we will remain subject to the governor's mandates for the "Red Tier" as we languish under the "State of Emergency". Fancy talk for nothing will change on June 15th for Del Norte County. Furthermore, certain restrictions Statewide will continue to be in place for large scale events and certain businesses, vaccinations not with standing, though September. This should come as no surprise to anyone. Covid-19 became about the governor's power more than any effort to keep Californians "safe". As more information about the virus continues to leak out to the public, it is becoming more and more evident that none of the mandates offered by the governor's emergency powers had any effect on prevention or spread of the virus. It was simply a pablum offered to the fear driven public over Covid in a vain effort to appear to be doing something. Once Governor Newsom's emergency powers were in place, he now finds them difficult to relinquish. Clearly California desperately needs a new governor. In November Californians will have the opportunity to do just that by recalling and removing him from office.