Thousands Flee California Wildfires, Addressing Inequity Amid Climate Change, San Diego Padres’ New Manager And More

Speaker 1: 00:01 Firefighters race to contain Las Getty fire plus talks of environmental justice when addressing climate change. I'm Jade Hindman and I'm Maureen Kavanaugh. This is KPBS mid day edition. Speaker 1: 00:23 It's Monday, October 28th. The Getty fire started in the early morning hours along the four Oh five freeway near the Getty center and Santa Ana winds quickly fanned it into a raging blaze. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for 10,000 homes East to the four Oh five. A southbound section of that freeway was shut down. Evacuation centers are open. All Santa Monica and Malibu schools are closed along with almost 20 LA unified schools and classes have been canceled at UCLA, but an aggressive response by firefighters and weaker wins seems to have improved the situation from this morning. Joining us now as KPCC reporter Robert garoba in Los Angeles and Robert, welcome to the program. Speaker 2: 01:11 Thanks for having me. Speaker 1: 01:12 What do you know about the latest on the Getty fire? About how many acres has it burned? Any homes or structures burned or threatened now? Speaker 2: 01:21 Um, right now it's at 500 acres. Um, it's Euro percent, uh, contained, um, at the moment as far as structures that, you know, LA mayor Eric Garcetti, uh, came out of with the press conference this morning and said that there were, I think it was about five a hand panful of homes of on one particular street that were lost so far. So that's the only structures we know definitely lost so far. Speaker 1: 01:43 Now, despite the name of this fire, the Getty center, the museum was not burned at [inaudible] is, isn't that right? Speaker 2: 01:49 Yes, the museum, um, seems to have just made it, um, the fired it did not reach the museum, which would've been, you know, for people who have been to the Getty, that would've been an insane tragedy with all the artwork and, and antiquities there. Speaker 1: 02:03 And some of Las most expensive neighborhoods have been threatened by this fire. Speaker 2: 02:07 It's true. Um, and you know, you can kind of feel that at the evacuation center that I'm at right now, a lot of the people that are bringing, being brought here or are showing up are elderly or have pets. You know, there are a lot of people that have means in the area and a lot of times might go to a hotel or, or a concrete club, that sort of thing. Speaker 1: 02:28 The images from the fire overnight, they were extremely terrifying. What have you heard from people who were forced to evacuate in the early morning hours? Speaker 2: 02:38 Interestingly enough, some people that did bring themselves here, um, saw, you know, flames from their house and uh, we're, we're almost in the evacuation zone. Um, and you know, out of, out of caution, um, I talked with one couple who just, you know, they decided to go just because it looks so bad from their house and they didn't want to get stuck in traffic. You know, a of the, the homes in, in the canyons, um, in this area of Los Angeles, they're called the, and they're twisty winding roads and they just get completely gridlocked. If there's any sort of, um, you know, traffic incidents. Speaker 1: 03:12 You've been at an evacuation center now for hours and you've been speaking with the people there and hearing their stories. Tell us a little bit more about what the evacuation center is like and what the red cross is doing. Speaker 2: 03:25 Yeah, so the, the red cross has set up here at a rec center. Um, there's a Westwood rec center in West Los Angeles. Um, I spoke with someone here who is, you know, signing people in as, as they, as they trickle in throughout the morning and early afternoon. Um, and so far they've got about a hundred people signed in. Um, you know, there's, uh, places where people can get coffee, get a snack. Um, there's a lot of people out walking their pets, uh, w you know, wa walking their dogs, um, in the, the, uh, park that's right out front of the rec center. Um, you know, it's not, it's not a whole lot of people. Um, it's people kind of trickling in and coming and going. But definitely, you know, as I, as I may have mentioned before, there's, uh, quite a few older folks, um, who are here, who have been either transported by police or firefighters. Speaker 1: 04:19 Now with the freeway disruption and the evacuations on the schools closed, how would you describe the atmosphere up in LA today? Speaker 2: 04:28 Well, I'll tell you, you know, for one thing, it took me three hours to get from, you know, one side of LA to, uh, to where I am now in West LA this morning. So it's definitely affecting the roads. You know, Ellie's kind of funny. I mean, we're, we're so, um, pocketed and there's so many come compartmentalize neighborhoods, you know, if, if you're on the West side of LA, this is definitely something that's effecting you today. And if you're not, um, I feel like, um, you know, people are, are CSCs, you know, feel for their friends and family who maybe on this side of town, but it just doesn't affect them quite quite as much. Speaker 1: 05:02 This is the type of fire that isle LA has been dreading, a wildfire that really threatens downtown, threatens a real center of the community. Did you get the feeling that, uh, officials have been responding to this correctly with the right amount of urgency? Speaker 2: 05:19 Anecdotally from, from everyone I've talked to, you know, it's pretty amazing how individualized some of the emergency response was. Um, especially in the early morning. Um, I talked with, you know, a, an 85 year old woman who was, uh, you know, struggling to, to get around the park, uh, with her Walker. And um, she told me that, uh, firefighters came directly to her door, uh, early in the morning and um, transported her, you're here to this rec center. Uh, I talked with another, um, a woman here who, uh, her car was blocked in, um, and she could not, uh, leave her parking garage. And again, she had a firefighter at her door that took, um, took her and her dog, uh, to this, to this rec center. Sorry. It was actually a policeman in that case. But both policemen and um, and firefighters, uh, has have been responding individually. Speaker 1: 06:13 And you say at this time, even though winds have died down and firefighters have been throwing a lot of resources on it, there is no containment, no indication of containment at this time. Speaker 2: 06:23 I checked just before we get on the phone and it was at 0% containment. So yeah, I mean in in press conference we heard, you know, from officials this morning, um, did they don't expect it to be going away for the next, at least the next couple of days. You know, you had one councilmen go so far as to say that if you're in the evacuation zone and you don't get out, he his words, you're an idiot. So people are taking the fire very seriously, especially officials. Speaker 1: 06:49 I've been speaking with KPCC reporter Robert [inaudible] and Robert. Thank you. Speaker 2: 06:54 Thank you. Speaker 3: 06:59 As California experiences weather extremes, one organization is asking how San Diego can center equity when addressing climate change. That is the question to be discussed at an upcoming event being held tomorrow. The climate action campaign will host a panel called centering equity in the San Diego green new deal. Muleeka Marsden climate justice advocate and organizer of the climate action campaign joins us now with more. Malika. Welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Tomorrow's event is about climate equity within the San Diego green new deal. First refresh our memory on what the San Diego green new deal is. Speaker 4: 07:36 Right. So much like the federal level, the San Diego green UDL has three key pillars, climate, jobs and justice. So as we can see with all these fires that are ravaging the state right now, the climate crisis is now an emergency that isn't taking place in our own backyards right now. And uh, we need a plan to get to zero emissions as climate science is saying is absolutely necessary, but to do so, it is important that we ensure that we are creating good high wage jobs and also prioritizing and promoting justice and equity for communities of concern communities. A concern being working class communities of color, uh, that are disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice, racial injustice, and economic inequality. Speaker 3: 08:29 Cause I'd like to hear you tell me a bit more about that. You know, in what ways does inequity show up when action is made to address climate change? Speaker 4: 08:38 Right. So when addressing a inequity in climate change, um, there are several things we can do. Uh, we need to make sure that we have meaningful participation and leadership from these communities of concern. We also need to make sure that we are kind of centering the efforts that are already happening in these communities. And I'll give you a couple of examples. So, um, youth opportunity passes or no cost transit passes for youth, uh, is a campaign that is being advocated for by mid city can, which is an organization in city Heights. And this campaign originated out of that neighborhood. And the idea is that if we provide no cost transit passes for youth, not only will we, uh, create a new generation of transit riders that will help dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but we will also provide more opportunity, um, ways to get to school and, and to jobs and other activities for communities that already suffered just proportionately from the impacts of the climate crisis. Speaker 4: 09:45 Okay. And, and why is it important climate equity be part of the San Diego green new deal? Right. Um, so there's some criticisms out there that Y Y if this climate crisis is so urgent, do we have to tackle injustice and jobs? And there's a couple of different reasons. And the first is the climate crisis. Racial inequity and economic inequality are all rooted in and rely on the same, the same problems of exploitation and oppression. And if we don't acknowledge and address that, that is the root cause, we will never solve the climate crisis. Uh, so to try to, uh, to artificially pool, uh, the climate crisis away from these other symptoms, uh, will not be effective. And secondly, this moment in history is going to require everyone. And, uh, we need to make sure that we are building a movement that everyone can be a part of. Speaker 4: 10:45 And that includes the workers who are rightfully scared about their jobs in the oil and gas industry. So we need to make sure that we are providing jobs, um, that are going to be just as good or better. Um, and we also need to make sure that the, the, the communities, the people that are concerned about paying their bills, about making sure that their children have a safe and livable future and, and access to opportunity are also gonna be behind this movement. So we really need to paint a picture, a movement that everyone can fight. For what ways would climate equity be achieved through to San Diego green, new deal. And what do solutions look like? Right. So, um, I think this conversation is kind of the first step. We need to start listening. We need to hear from the great panelists we have and other voices about how we can create a movement that invites and inspires the participation of working class communities of color that are on the front lines of climate change. Um, and we also need to learn from and support current sustainability efforts that indigenous communities and working class communities of color have already been working on for a long time. Speaker 3: 11:56 And assembly woman, Shirley Weber is the keynote at the event. Tell me about why she's the person you all chose for this Speaker 4: 12:04 right. Assembly member Weber has, um, been a longtime champion for both environmental justice and racial and economic justice. And for that reason it just made sense. Um, she also represents the district where we are having this event, which is at the Malcolm X library in Southeast San Diego. Speaker 3: 12:27 And there will be a panel discussion after the keynote. Can you give us an overview of who will be on the panel and what they'll be discussing? Speaker 4: 12:33 Right. So we have an amazing list of panelists. Um, so we have Rosa, LS, guava for mid city. Can we have Eddie price from grid alternatives. Amy and Mary from the Indian health council, uh, Jacquelline Raynoso from mothers out front. Bobby Wallace from Barona band of mission Indians and then moderating the whole thing will be Vista council member Corina Contrarez. And um, so they're going to talk about, a lot of things are going to talk about what equity means to them. They're going to talk about current efforts that their communities are already working on in terms of sustainability or the intersection between sustainability and equity. They're gonna talk about how we can build this movement that really invites and inspires communities of concern to, to participate. We're going to talk about how we can make sure that there is meaningful participation and leadership as we move forward. Speaker 3: 13:26 And this kind of, this discussion is the first step. What are the next steps in developing the San Diego green new deal? Speaker 4: 13:32 Right? So we have this growing Alliance right now of organizations and individuals and next step or next steps, we're finalizing a vision statement and a platform. We're going to hold town halls, we're going to grow the movement and ultimately we're going to start implementing in cities and the County and so that is why we are calling on the next mayor of San Diego to really lead on this and also counting on the new County board of supervisors to also lead on this and a, we need to get moving as quickly as possible because we have no time to waste as these fires are reminding us. Speaker 3: 14:09 I have been speaking with Muleeka, Marsden climate justice advocate and organizer with the climate action campaign. Mullica. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. The centering equity event is Tuesday from six to 9:00 PM at the Malcolm X library on market street in San Diego, RSVP and climate action campaign.org we've all heard the famous prose poem written after the Nazi regime. It goes first. They came for the socialists, the trade unionists, the Jews, and then they came. For me. The message is that when one group of people loses their rights, all us are less secure. Speaker 1: 14:52 A new book brings that message to contemporary American culture, outlining abuses of constitutional rights, police overreach and bureaucratic nightmares. Joining me is David Kirby, author of the book when they come for you, how police and government are trampling our liberties and how to take them back and David, welcome to the program. Speaker 5: 15:13 Thanks Marina. I'm really happy to speak with you. Speaker 1: 15:15 Was there a story you read or something that you witnessed that got you concerned about this type of government overreach? Speaker 5: 15:21 You know, it was actually stories from my partner who owned properties in Florida and the abuse of a code enforcement officers down there is over the top. People are foreclosing on their homes because they rack up daily fines because their window isn't up to code or their lawn is too long. And that really got me started looking into other forms of abuse by government actors and before long I was finding out all kinds of things that shocked me to my core that I had no idea go on in this country. Speaker 1: 15:55 Give us an idea of the range of the government intrusions that you cover in your book. Speaker 5: 16:00 Sure. Some of the larger issues I cover are things like warrantless raids, violent military style raids on private homes and businesses. Uh, the government confiscating people's cash, cars, businesses, homes only for being suspected of committing a crime without actually having criminal charges filed against them. The government still confiscates their property. I think the most egregious thing I came across was abuses by child protective services agencies in which theyF they calm. They take the kid away from the parent without a warrant, without due process, and they fight to keep those kids away from their parents. The stories I profiled, these parents were 100% innocent and in one case it took them four years to get their little girl back after the County agency basically falsified information and withheld exculpatory evidence. Speaker 1: 16:58 You know, when it comes to illegal searches, the, a violation of the fourth amendment, how often and in how many ways do you say that happens? Speaker 5: 17:06 It happens every day. It happens, I would say hundreds of times a day. It happens with illegal searches of Automile mobiles after somebody pulled over for say, a missing taillight. It happens in these raids or these homes that I spoke about. It happens in strip searches, roadside strip searches again without a warrant. People suspected of carrying drugs. Uh, it happens in the asset forfeiture situation where they seize cash from your car because they think it came from drug money without any evidence to show that. And those are just a few of the samples. I, I would say that, um, the fourth amendment is probably the most widely abused and also after perhaps the first amendment, the most important amendment we have, it's great to have free speech, but not when the police can come into your house without a warrant and drag you away into the night. Speaker 1: 17:58 What should people know when it comes to their rights and illegal searches? Speaker 5: 18:03 Well, if a police officer comes to your door, you do not have to let him or her into your house in less. They have a warrant signed by a judge and that includes your backyard as long as your backyard is protected from public view. I have a story about a birthday party where it was suspected that a few people there were under age and they staged a SWAT style raid on the house, but they went around the backyard. And because of that they violated what is called kurta ledge. And the case was thrown out of court. Speaker 1: 18:34 You told us about children being taken away from their parents by child protective service. Lately we've seen the reverse immigration raids with parents taken away from their children, sometimes in front of their children. So when people are taken away, when they are living here peacefully, even though they are not documented, do you see that as a violation of American values? Speaker 5: 18:57 Oh, absolutely. And I, I see it as a violation of the constitution. The 14th amendment says that all persons are to receive equal protection and all the protections granted under the constitution, whether they are citizens, immigrants, asylum seekers, even tourists, we all enjoy the same protections. We don't have the same rights such as voting and things like that. And these people are obviously being denied that. And, uh, but in terms of American values, yes. I, I think it's horrible. Speaker 1: 19:31 So what's you're describing in when they come for you, your book when they come for you is a growing crackdown on our freedoms. What do you think has given rise to that? Speaker 5: 19:40 That is a very difficult question to answer. I think it started after nine one one with passage of the Patriot act and when the NSA really started surveilling Americans, I think things got worse under the Obama years. Uh, certainly in terms of freedom of the press, uh, freedom of information, spying on journalists, spying on protestors. And I would suggest that things have gotten even worse under Donald Trump again, particularly when it comes to freedom of the press and expression and protest. But most of these problems, these issues take place at the local and the state level. And some States are better than others, but this happens in blue States and red States, poor States enrich States. There's, there's really no pattern to it. But a lot of local law enforcement agencies have some real ethics problems that need to be deal with, dealt with. And I don't mean to cast a wide brush. There are plenty of very good officers and prosecutors and judges out there, but there are quite a few bad apples too. Speaker 1: 20:46 You, this book should be a Speaker 5: 20:48 call to action for readers. What type of action would you want readers to take? More than anything, I want readers to question their elected officials and by the way, they're candidates for office on what they have done or will do to address these problems and we need to pressure the media to bring these up. We've had how many presidential debates? We have another one next month. These issues never come up. You don't hear that candidates bringing them up. You don't hear reporters asking about them whether on the campaign trail or on Capitol Hill, but they need to, and media will respond to public opinion and as the public tells them, we want to hear these answers. It'll be up to the media to at least give some time. I know we're all distracted with impeachment in elections and everything else going on in the world, but this is our rights that we're talking about, our fundamental liberties. And this affects left right and center. This is not a liberal or conservative issue. There's a famous libertarian saying that when the boot is on your throat, it doesn't matter if it's a left boot or a right boot, and I'm coming from the left end of the political spectrum and yet I have whore, government overreach and official state abuse of power. Speaker 1: 22:06 I've been speaking with David Kirby, he's the author of the new book when they come for you, how police and government are trampling our liberties and how to take them back. David, thank you so much. Thank you, Brian. Last year San Diego changed its laws to encourage place making. That's an urban planning term that describes temporary changes to public space like installing benches, tables or planter boxes to create a sense of place and community. Hey, PBS Metro reporter Andrew Bowen says, advocates are embracing the reform but still want to see some improvements. Speaker 6: 22:52 Oh, I know that you call, it's a hot afternoon and five men are sitting in the shade of some eucalyptus trees at a new gathering space in city Heights. They're playing the dude a board game. That's popular in East Africa. One year ago, the nonprofit city Heights community development corporation installed the benches and tables here at 50th and university. Since then, it's become a popular gathering space for the neighborhood Somali community. And when you see people here, there's a lot more dignity brought to the community. Anesthesia Brewster spearheaded this project which was approved under the city's new placemaking ordinance. She says when the community first approached the city with its idea, there wasn't any formal process tailored to small and simple projects like this one. It would have had to go through and typical development permit, which would have Speaker 7: 23:46 been upwards of $20,000 to insult picnic benches on city-owned right away. And that was completely out of our budget. Um, and also just frankly not fair and inaccess Speaker 6: 24:00 the permit under the new placemaking program cost only $1,500 in city Heights. CDC got reimbursed under a city grant program. Brewster says the city does celebrate these kinds of projects and recognizes their value, but she adds the process could still be simpler. Her team had to hire a consultant to help with paperwork and the decided not to include art in the project to avoid an extra bureaucratic hurdle. Speaker 7: 24:26 The way that the current code is written, it doesn't allow for art to be installed in a place making project without a secondary permit through our commission for arts and culture and that is just another hurdle to just very simple community driven work, which I think that with a creative solution we could, we could change that. Speaker 6: 24:48 Elizabeth Studebaker oversees placemaking in the city's economic development department in the year and a half since the ordinance was okayed, three placemaking projects have been approved. Another four are in progress. Studebaker says the city will be studying the ordinances effectiveness, but that the application process is the way it is for a reason. Most of that review process is ensuring that the applicants have a plan and they can tell us what materials they're using and they can tell us what the design is going to be before we do that ministerial issuance of a permit. That's all that review is, is like, okay, we understand you want to do something. Give us the detail. Speaker 8: 25:29 We're talking about giving the communities enough tools so they can create and enhance their own community. Speaker 6: 25:36 Barry Pollard is executive director of the nonprofit urban collaborative project. Four years ago, his group attempted a placemaking project at the blinded intersection of Euclid and Imperial and Lincoln park installing benches and planter boxes. But city officials ordered them removed saying he hadn't secured the proper permits. Speaker 8: 25:57 When you get to the engineers, it's no, you can't do this. Nope, can't do this. You need this for a permit. You can't. And as I left, every time I felt defeated, Speaker 6: 26:08 the ordeal kickstarted the creation of the city's placemaking ordinance. Pollard ended up turning his efforts to a vacant lot, one block away. It's now a community gathering space, which Pollard says has empowered the Lincoln park community. Speaker 8: 26:22 This has been a traumatized community. So things like this is what makes them feel better about themselves and gets the families involved in it. Speaker 6: 26:32 With only three permits issued so far, Pollard says he'd like to see the city do more outreach to encourage placemaking, and you want city officials to see the successful in person. Speaker 9: 26:44 So they can more deeply understand their value. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news. Speaker 10: 26:54 [inaudible] Speaker 3: 26:57 it's official. The San Diego Padres have just made the announcement that 38 year old Jace Tingler is the new manager. He replaces Andy green who was fired last month. Tingler comes to the team with little management experience. So what will he bring to the table? San Diego sportswriter Jay Paris joins us now to talk about it. Jay, welcome. Speaker 9: 27:16 Thanks Jade. Always fun to talk a little Padres baseball. Speaker 3: 27:19 So tell me who is Jace Tingler and why did the Padres hire him to be the new manager? Speaker 9: 27:23 You know, that's the, uh, the question of the day in San Diego. As you know, mr Tingler could walk in the room right now and not many people could point them out. Uh, what he does have is a strong connection with AGA Prowler, the Padres general manager. They go back to their days with the Texas Rangers when, uh, a J a selected him in a minor league draft in 2005, uh, he played one more year, then decided that, uh, being five foot a little bit wasn't gonna make it to the major leagues as a player. So he turned his attention to coaching and, uh, uh, front office that work as well. So, uh, he's worked his way up the ladder, but he never played in the majors and he's never managed a major league team. So there's a few red flags right off the bat. Speaker 3: 28:04 So what's the big deal? What would make general manager a J or take a chance on someone who has little management experience, uh, and never actually played in the major league? Seems like a big risk. Speaker 9: 28:14 It's a big risk, a comfort level. I think he, a respects, uh, what he brings. He respects his knowledge. He respects his, uh, his varied, uh, experiences as a, in the front office. Um, while he didn't play in the major leagues, he's coached at the major league level on the two teams, two ranger teams that they went to the playoffs. So I think that in his communication skills, the, here's the guy who went and learned how to speak Spanish because of the influx of Latin players in the Rangers organization. So all that put together, uh, it's a, it's a, it was a candidate that, uh, really AAJ was zeroed in on and uh, he probably had to sell the organization on it because let's face it, uh, the Padres are built to win. Now you would think, uh, a guy coming in with experience, the guy had been around the block, a guy who would be a quote unquote named manager would be with the way they go. Speaker 9: 29:03 But, uh, Aja felt this was the right move and it's a gutsy move on his part. So while he may not have experience, he's got promise, he's got promise and just look at the world series, which we're watching right now, a de Martinez for the nationals and a J Hinch, a former Padre executive. Neither of them had managed at the major league level as well. 10 of the playoff teams, eight of those, uh, teams, first time managers. So while some of those guys played in the major league, which mr Tingler hasn't, uh, it has been done. And, uh, I think two is, X is an extension, if you will, of how baseball is played with the general manager being so involved. And with the analytics being such a big part of it that the old, uh, the old model, if you will, of having to have experience has kind of gone out the window. Speaker 9: 29:46 How do you think this choice will sit with the players? Uh, that's a great question. I mean, a one deal with, uh, or one aspect of, of having a proven manager is somebody who can command a room, somebody who has a presence, somebody who when they walk in the door, you sit up a little straighter. As you respect him, you know what he's done, you know what the back of his baseball card says he's been around. And uh, let's see if that works. So Manny Machado, Eric costumer, I think those guys were, were leaning into a more veteran guy coming through that door. And uh, it's going to be interesting to see how they respond. And you know, the Padre season wasn't the best 70 ones, 92 losses. So what went wrong at 92 in San Diego? And that wasn't the temperature and that was in number of losses, four straight years and 90 losses. Speaker 9: 30:30 What went wrong was the starting pitching the falter in the second half. What went wrong was Fernando tattoos, one of the most exciting young players and baseball wasn't able to play the last couple of months because of a bad back and they simply couldn't get on base. They said her franchise record for most strikeouts and, and strikingly that's what Tingler did. He did get on base and that was his calling card as a player. So they're hoping maybe that can transfer over to the big league club. So what will it take, do you think to fix it? It'll take more players and uh, you know, uh, the greatest manager in the world could be sitting on that top step. And, uh, if he doesn't have the players, you're not going to do anything. I mean, you can train a Shetland pony needed to run in the Kentucky Derby, but he's probably not gonna win it. Speaker 9: 31:11 You know, you gotta have players and uh, this is the first of many moves of the Padres this off season, hopefully for the fans' sake, cause they have to, they have work to do on that roster and it's all gonna come down to the talent level and increasing that town level and letting mr Tingler have something to maneuver with. And you know, some Padres coaches that like pitching coach Darren Bosley have been with the team a long time, possibly 13 years. There are their jobs on the line. Absolutely. Glenn Hoffman, the longtime through base coach would be another guy to look at. Uh, you know, when you build your staff, you usually want to build guys that you know and know well and, and appreciate their talents. Certainly says nothing about mr Bosley and Mr. Hoffman. Those guys are all time pros, but you know, it could be time for, uh, you know, the old, uh, same message, different messenger and I bet they'll give him some leeway to build that staff. Speaker 9: 31:59 But both those gentlemen are very well respected with the Padres and throughout baseball. Yeah. And Jay, I'm just curious what you thought about Donald Trump. He was at the world series yesterday and at received booze from the audience. Is that correct treatment do you think? Uh, well we know we're talking about guys getting jobs with little experience with mr Tingler. I didn't know that was a segway into Mr. Trump as well, but, uh, that's usually not the, uh, the response of the commander in chief for the president gets, so there's a long tradition of the president, uh, throwing out the first pitch and that Mr. Trump, uh, didn't think that would be a wise move to, to throw out the first pitch in front of everybody is a little telling of what he thought the reaction might be. I thought the, uh, the nationals were coy in, uh, introducing them while they were also introducing the veterans as well. But, uh, the, um, the response was mixed and as being charitable. Speaker 1: 32:55 I've been speaking with San Diego sports writer, Jay Paris. Jay, thank you very much for joining us. Likewise, Speaker 11: 33:03 [inaudible] Speaker 12: 33:07 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 33:08 150 people live in a three room Catholic shelter in Tijuana. They share four bathrooms and one washing machine. Entire families share a single mattress, but this migrant shelter is the first into, wanted to be affiliated with an early childhood education center. California report magazine host Sasha Coca takes us there Speaker 11: 33:31 across the street in a light-filled house. Children are painting while listening to classical music, building with colorful magnetic blocks, wooden toys, silk curtains, comfy couches, Krantz organize by color in rows of glass jars. Everything feels spacious and orderly, even beautiful. You might think that beauty, we're disputing fit into the tragic lives of a migrant or refugee, but all the more reason for beauty because everyone needs beauty in their life and they're sure not getting it. This is Elise Schafer, Ivy. She ran a private early childhood education center in Santa Monica for more than three decades. She created this center called the nest. It's the first school of its kind in Tijuana for kids living in a migrant shelter while their families wait to apply for asylum in the U S because a lot of these children are in a state of suspended childhood like their childhood just ended on that day when suddenly mom or dad just said, you know, we're, we're leaving like their whole life is, they know is just on hold for a while. Speaker 11: 34:41 She's watching a three year old named Kevin playing with colorful silk scarves. He's waiting them over a clear plastic tube attached to a fan. So the pieces of silver shoot up into the air again. Again, he shrieks Kevin and his mom arrived at Daniela to shelter across the street two months ago from each watt gun. A violent cartel was threatening their town, extorting people from money, kidnapping and killing them. So Kevin's mom, Julio [inaudible], we're not using her real name for safety reasons. Got on a bus and traveled three days to deep. One that Kevin arrived shaken and angry. Hooley at the says he had a hard time adapting, accepting the crowded shelter as their home. He would hit other kids and yell at them. Speaker 13: 35:29 Yeah, though. Mucho [inaudible]. Yeah. [inaudible] Speaker 11: 35:40 Julio says, since the nest opened last month, Kevin's learned to listen better. She doesn't have to grab him, so he pays attention. Speaker 13: 35:47 Yeah. Red barrel Yardi [inaudible] mucho [inaudible]. Speaker 11: 35:59 The research shows kids who have a hard time adjusting socially before age five have a lot of trouble catching up. Elise Schafer says, if kids like Kevin can play and relax away from the stress of the crowded shelter, it could give them some sense of stability. This isn't a bandaid solution. It isn't. This isn't sweetening the day of a child who might be stuck on a mattress in a shelter. I mean, yes, of course we're sweetening the day of that child, but it's so much more than that. This is about really setting the trajectory that will have impact. The whole idea of the nest started with the trip. Goalies took to Greece. The school she used to run, send her and her husband on a trip to Lesbos as a retirement gift. They happened to meet a relief worker who invited them to visit a refugee camp. Most of the migrants there were from Syria and Afghanistan, so I started to pay attention to what are the children doing here and they are digging in the dirt. Speaker 11: 36:57 You're playing with nails in their pockets. They had old cigarette lighters that they had found me. There was nothing for children. Elise impulsively offered to create a program for them. She returned to LA and tapped her private school network to raise $10,000 in 48 hours. Eventually she set up a second nest in Greece. Then two more in the Congo, early childhood teachers, many of them from California volunteer for a week or two at a time at these NES, they train refugees from the shelters or camps nearby to work with young children, a skill that could help them get a job if they get asylum in a new country. While she was setting up these nests around the world, Elise was painfully aware of the refugee crisis. At the border just hours from her home in LA. Then she visited Donya Lottie shelter in Tijuana and the two women instantly connected living [inaudible] [inaudible]. [inaudible] Speaker 11: 37:53 had already set up a makeshift elementary school next to her shelter in an old bus, but she had nothing for younger kids. She says they were just playing on their parents' phones most of the day. Oh, what are you goes bill El Nino Gambia. Now let says she's really seen the kids change a lot. You can see it in their faces. [inaudible] if gonna put the heat, let the Annalise make an unlikely pair. Elise doesn't speak a word of Spanish and was raised Jewish. Let the is a devout Catholic who sees Elise coming to set up the school across the street as a blessing. Speaker 11: 38:33 Columbia let these hair is as she scrambles to carry boxes of donated milk and cereal up the steep stairs to the shelter. She used to focus a lot more on her appearance. She owned a beauty salon, traveled the world, lived in upper-class life here in Tijuana, but one day everything changed. Her son was killed in a car accident. If yet getting [inaudible] [inaudible] administers are levied [inaudible] no [inaudible] no, absolutely. [inaudible] the only thing that saved her from her grief, she says, was her faith. A priest urged her to channel her pain into helping people. One day a friend asked her to go to the border to pass out food to homeless migrants. It, it when that [inaudible] [inaudible] hit the name [inaudible] she says it crushed her soul to see people so hungry. They were wiping up every last drop from the pots and pans with tortillas. It made her feel like she hadn't really been doing anything meaningful with her life, ignoring other people's pain. Speaker 11: 39:43 He [inaudible] but uh, [inaudible] she tried to figure out how she could house migrants like these. A Catholic charity helped her find a space to start a shelter. These days it runs entirely on donations and grants. As more migrants have come to the border to seek asylum, more families want to stay here because this is the only shelter with a school. And the parents who volunteer at the nest have time and space to focus on playing with their children. And we have a no cell phone policy and we have a rule that adults don't talk about adult problems in this space. We protect the sacredness of this place. This is about children and the biggest problem can be, I want that. And you got it first as we're talking, Elise notices that one of the silk scarves, three-year-old Kevin floated up into the air, has caught on a ceiling fan way above his head. Kevin, you can't reach, what should we do? Elise encourages Kevin and some other kids to lock in a heavy ladder. Then figure out where to position it to climb up and get the scarf down. Wonder if we move the ladder, if that would be helpful. [inaudible] Speaker 11: 40:57 this is the kind of autonomous decision making kids need. She says, especially refugee kids who haven't had much choice in what's happened so far in their young lives. Yeah. Now I see the mistakes I make with my own kids, not letting him do the things the way we'll call this dad Alfredo again to protect his identity. Since he's fleeing violence. He's been volunteering at the nest playing with kids. Cause I used to all in all do it this way because I say it so and I learned that I was wrong. Alfredo speaks English because he lived in Oakland in the central Valley for decades. He returned to Mexico to build a house and start a business. But then he and his family were targeted by a cartel, escaped kidnappers and fled to [inaudible] where they're applying for asylum in the U S many parents at the shelter share these kinds of harrowing tales of near death and survival. Speaker 11: 41:55 Now almost all the asylum seekers staying here are from Mexico, get it all and meet [inaudible] at the end of the day. Elise Schafer, Ivy welcomes a dozen parents to the nest for an orientation wine and non alcoholic beverages as well. And then we're going to gather right here for a short meeting. She serves wine and cheese on little plates, just like get her high end preschool in Santa Monica. And there's discussion of brain science and neural pathways. Why memorizing ABCs and numbers isn't enough. So the more we talk to children about their ideas and ask them, I wonder how that would work. Not quizzing them, but just wondering with them. I wonder how that works. The more all of those parts of the brain are activated, Elise encourages the parents to try out the magnetic wall, the light table, the clay, and then like the preschoolers do every day the parents act in a short play. They write. This one is by Kevin's mom [inaudible] and it's a take on little red riding hood. She pretends to be a grandmother walking, hunched over her hands on her back to meet a Wolf and Elise say it's the first time they'd seen Willy at the smile. Then Julio sits down in a child size easel and paints a picture of a building that looks like a home be if the front of the lung barrier. Is that your house or the shelter? I ask her. Speaker 11: 43:31 It's the nest. She says a place where she and her son finally feel safe.