When my “woke” state on this pandemic really started, I was getting updates from Deadline.com, as all of the film and TV jobs and movie premieres and movie theaters shut down in China. Then texts from my Mom in Ohio started coming in as Ohio prepared for the coronavirus. Their Governor, Mike DeWine, was giving daily briefings, and the numbers were startling. While Ohio’s test cases remain lower than New York’s (New York’s are as of today at 25,665 positive cases. N.J. has 2,844 cases, California has 2,240 cases, Washington state has 2,101 cases, and Ohio has 564 cases; they are at 60% hospital bed occupancy as of today, and are retrofitting their hospitals.

Then blips of Gov. Cuomo began coming across my radar. Not being a political publication, following politicians closely is not our beat or of particular interest, unless it manifests into something where action needs to be taken. We don’t accept political advertising on this blog, and don’t include political fundraisers in our Event Guide. Even if they are at really fun places. (OK, if it’s an over-the-top amazing event, we’ll consider it.)

Point is, we’ve been blogging a lot about Gov. Cuomo lately, and I wanted to set the record straight that it isn’t because of any feeling about him - I really know nothing about him. I’m from Ohio. Lived in New York for 18 years (seven in NYC and 11 in Beacon), and since moving to Beacon, have felt like a Beaconite. But now with this pandemic, and Cuomo’s insistence that this is a state issue, and not an upstate/downstate issue, I am rallying as a New Yorker.

How To Catch Governor Cuomo’s Daily Press Conferences

We here at A Little Beacon Blog listen to the governor’s press conferences every day. They start at about 10:45 am or 11 am. We take notes and decide how to slice and dice them into smaller articles for you. But, there are shortcuts to knowing what happened in them: Twitter.

Twitter will tell you when the governor is starting, when you follow his twitter: @NYGovCuomo. Just have that open on your phone and refresh the screen to see when the live stream is starting. He has a “pinned tweet” at the top - usually about something he needs right now. Like medical supplies, or retired medical professionals.

You can stream it on Twitter. However, his press conferences have become so game-changing for the rest of the day and what the president decides to talk about that afternoon, that the national news stations have begun broadcasting Cuomo. That, and the national news stations are also located in New York City, so they are really eager to learn how Gov. Cuomo is going to fight this war against the pandemic virus. Step 1: Getting all of us to practice social distancing.

Also on Twitter are the play-by-play tweets. So if you need a quote, stat, or to just catch up quick, most likely it has been sliced and diced on Cuomo’s Twitter.

The Church Of Cuomo

Listening to his press conferences is very necessary. Not only for the facts - he loves telling you about the numbers, what current needs are, why he needs it, and when he’s not getting it. But he leads you through the scary part, and then presents the Life After The Pandemic part, helping you (all of us) through the mental difficulty of this. He usually ends each briefing with basically a sermon.

Today’s briefing was pretty impactful. He was mad. A mad dad. He was protecting all of the people after the president indicated that he wanted to open the economy, have everyone not touch the subway railings, and to not kill the economy for some deaths. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas was on Tucker Carlson on Fox, who literally said: “And those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country.”

That left grandparents everywhere that night really confused. My mom was flipping channels, trying to figure out what was going on. She heard the president allude to wanting to open things back up soon, and it caused mild panic. She lives with bronchitis always at bay.

Enter Cuomo today. Fighting for all Americans, saying that Americans are not expendable. That he named New York’s stay-at-home status (he refuses to call it a shelter-in-place) “Matilda’s Law,” after his mother. To protect her. While the New York State On PAUSE executive order is designed to protect all of us in New York, this is where this governor is coming from.

So. Touch base with Cuomo’s press conferences. You will know the facts much sooner, and will be able to make it through any news you read or listen to during the day. You will be able to separate fact from fiction during the president’s press conferences. And you will have the sermons at the end, to bring you back to center.

Governor Cuomo’s Outfits

Also fun to do: Guess what kind of day it’s going to be by Governor Cuomo’s shirt. I know this is looked down upon when talking about women, and to be honest, I don’t know why this is. Women tend to wear different outfits, color and style their hair so differently, wear very different makeup, and love shoes and accessories. Men - in politics - tend to wear suits and have short hair. There’s not much to work with.

When there is a change, observations can start. Regardless if the person is he/she/them. Normally during the briefings, the governor wears a suit. Very sharp. On Saturday, he wore a khaki polo shirt. It had a different feel for the day, which frankly, was welcome. He was going out scouting that day to look at the Javits Center and other locations for the hospitals. He also went to see for himself the New Yorkers not social distancing in the parks. You don’t want the Mean Dad version of Gov. Cuomo coming after you!

Today, he was in a windbreaker, zipped up all the way. With a giant seal on it. And he was mad.

Noted.