In case you somehow thought Newsom was not a hypocrite! The Sun writes:

While these latest permits were awarded in the heat of the 2020 election cycle, CalGEM previously awarded permits on June 1 – shortly after the death of George Floyd – as well as around the Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekends and in early April as the COVID-19 lockdowns were first issued. 

In looking at the first half of 2020, Newsom has issued 190 permits more permits than the first six months of last year, according to studies from fracking opponents. 

“The Governor has expressed his commitment to work with the legislature to change state law to prohibit the practice of hydraulic fracturing by 2024,” Uduak-Joe Ntuk, State Oil & Gas Supervisor for CalGEM, told nonprofit publication Capitol & Main.

“For the remaining time that hydraulic fracturing is expressly permitted under state law, CalGEM’s process for reviewing permits for the practice continues to be the strongest in the country.”