Biden Pushes Closer To Win As Trump Presses Legal Threats

Speaker 1: 00:00 The presidential vote count continues as the legal challenges Mount Speaker 2: 00:09 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 00:10 I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Alison st. John. This is KPBS mid day a day, San Diego County hopes to ramp up COVID testing to stay out of the purple tier Speaker 2: 00:30 People just aren't wearing their manage. They're having too many gatherings at their homes. Uh, they're they're not keeping their social distance. They're just not doing the things that they used to be doing. Speaker 1: 00:39 The voters render a split decision on development. And if you've had enough of real politics, some political movies like calm your narrows, that's a head-on midday edition. Speaker 1: 01:01 The counting is still underway an update this morning. So Joe Biden's lead grow in Nevada. Donald Trump's lead shrink in Georgia and Pennsylvania, but no new States have been called for either candidate as our marathon presidential election continues. According to the news organizations, keeping track momentum is moving in Biden's direction, even as the margins and the outstanding races remained razor thin and an array of legal challenges has already been launched by Donald Trump's lawyers with Trump himself repeatedly demanding that States should stop the count I'm joined by Stephen. Goggin a lecturer and the political science department of San Diego state university, who has expertise on campaigns and elections and welcome Stephen. Speaker 3: 01:48 Thanks. Thanks so much for having me. Speaker 1: 01:50 Now, this was the outcome that many political observers were dreading, very narrow margins and a potentially disputed election. What do you make of the situation so far? Speaker 3: 02:02 Well, so far it's been quite interesting because it's quite close right? In multiple States, not just one where it's kind of razor thin and the States right. Are different in that in Nevada and Arizona, right. Biden currently leads, whereas in Pennsylvania and Georgia, right. Uh, president Trump currently leads in many of the late or the arriving ballots, right. Or late counting ballots, um, are growing and bite into direction. So he might actually end up overtaking Trump there. Um, right. The legal challenges are kind of pretty widespread, right? But notably they've all been filed in Pennsylvania and Georgia and Michigan States in which Trump kind of has the early lead, but ballots that arrived by election day, right. Are still being counted and still being added into the totals there. And his lead may very well disappear. Speaker 1: 02:46 Now Americans have been asked to be patient while the numbers continue to come in for this election, but can you explain some of the reasons why the results are taking so long? Speaker 3: 02:58 Sure. So I think it's really instructive that looking kind of at the difference between Ohio and Pennsylvania. So Ohio also had a large share of mail-in ballots as did many other States given the, kind of the ongoing pandemic. Um, but in, uh, Pennsylvania and in a number of other Midwestern States, right. Laws were not changed, uh, earlier this summer in response to other electoral changes, uh, given the, the COVID-19 crisis. Um, and so in fact, in Pennsylvania, right, the ballots couldn't be processed or opened or started to be counting counted, even if they arrived before election day until election day. And so then it's of course takes quite a bit of time to count millions of ballots. Um, so we're seeing that play out here. Um, but other States, right, had also millions of mail-in ballots. They would just were processed and counted before the election. And I think it really highlights, right, how relatively small differences and kind of the legal requirements and statutory requirements different States have for how their elections operate. It can make a huge difference in how this plays out, uh, because we could have known Pennsylvania much earlier if this law had in fact been changed. Speaker 1: 03:58 Now, Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the U S Supreme court, which has three of his nominees on it now will settle the election. Now that we remember the high court settled the Bush V Gore dispute in 2000, do you think the high court would do that again? Speaker 3: 04:14 I think there are a lot of key differences between kind of what happened in 2000 and this election in particular, then it came down to a very narrow margin at one state Florida. And in fact, the initial count was completed. Um, and there are also a lot of kind of technical errors with the butterfly ballot and kind of hanging CHADS and everything were there. Um, whereas in this case, right, there are very few kinds of errors or problems or kind of violations of various statutes or constitutional requirements in these States. And so many of the challenges is the Trump campaign has filed, are relatively thin on the merits that are mostly trying to kind of simply delay or ask for additional access, not directly challenging a number of ballots. Uh, the Supreme court did weigh in right earlier about kind of possibly segregating later riding ballots in Pennsylvania. Uh, but in many cases, the way the councilor shaping up, it's looking like it's not going to come down to hundreds of votes in kind of all of these States. And the result will be kind of quite a bit more clear than it was in 2000. So the ability of the court to intervene on in a particular way and kind of push the election in one way or another is much, much smaller. Speaker 1: 05:17 How long could such a legal challenge go on if indeed the Trump administration gets a ruling from a lower court and then wants to move it onto the Supreme court? How, how long could that continue before we had to have a answer to this election? Speaker 3: 05:34 Well, so if we work backwards, right, the electoral college, the electors in each state meet in mid December and so theoretically, right. Things could be drawn out until then. Um, and that's part of the reasoning behind the Bush V Gore decision. It's kind of finalizing it in those those needs. Um, but many of the cases, right, we've already seen, right? A handful of cases, either being withdrawn by GOP officials today, um, or dismissed by judges and in state, both state and federal court. And so many of these challenges were likely to resolve themselves in the coming days and weeks. Um, because a number of them are simply asking for more access to the counting process or ballots or other things which could reasonably be granted without really changing the result or changing anything, just kind of delaying the process slightly more. Um, and as possible, even with those delays, we'll still have a clear answer in the very near future about the kind of the outcome of the election or the likely outcome. Even if, you know, maybe dozens or hundreds of ballots are contested here and there around the country, it wouldn't necessarily be consequential for the overall result. Speaker 1: 06:32 Now, one thing that Joe Biden mentioned yesterday that hasn't been commented on that much is that Biden is comfortably ahead in the popular vote. Does that strengthen his case if he should win the electoral college too? Speaker 3: 06:44 Well, you know, legally winning the popular vote, doesn't kind of exactly matter. But I think from a public sentiment perspective and from the kind of willingness of other GOP officials, particularly in state legislatures, right. And others that have to kind of certify, um, kind of are involved in electoral college process, I think kind of weakens their hand and possibly trying other kinds of tactics later on that would be kind of relatively are quite unpopular, arguably. Uh, and so while legally informally, it doesn't matter. I think it strengthens the hand kind of in, um, kind of early claims for victory and by early, I mean, simply kind of, as soon as it becomes quite clear and definitely kind of diminishes the ability of president Trump to claim kind of the need for further delay or that this thing is actually closer than it might actually be. Speaker 1: 07:30 How are you hoping the American public reacts while their selection is being resolved? Speaker 3: 07:35 Well? So we've already seen a few reactions that are maybe not the best right, with kind of protests and rallies, uh, in Arizona and, um, in Michigan and response to this that got of got a little uncivil at times. Uh, but in general, one of the big lessons we know from political science, right, is that many people follow the elite cues and follow what politicians are talking about. And so the hope generally is whatever the outcome of the election is, right, is that the leaders of both sides and the kind of the president tweet, the president's current tweets, right, are an indication of maybe the opposite of that. That is once the results are clear that politicians do kind of fall in line and respect, right? What the, the kind of the results are showing them. Um, because people generally will listen to write various calls to arms or other things that might come from from leadership. And so the hope right is, is that the transition will kind of will automatically happen through the electors being selected and electoral college. That the process is not necessarily a messy, Speaker 1: 08:32 Even Goggin a lecture in the political science department at SDSU. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Speaker 3: 08:38 Thanks for having me. [inaudible] Speaker 1: 08:45 Latino voters overwhelmingly supported Joe Biden for the presidency, but a growing share of Latinos voted for president Donald Trump nationwide and in California, Speaker 4: 08:56 That's according to an election Eve poll of more than 5,000 Latinos across the United States [inaudible] Speaker 5: 09:03 Reports. David Hernandez is 72. He was born and raised in LA and chairs, the Los Angeles, Hispanic Republican club. He says he voted for Donald Trump because he was the better candidate for the economy. Speaker 6: 09:17 The fiscal policies and prosperity over the past mom was four years. That has really been a deciding factor. Speaker 5: 09:26 Many Latinos work in industries, hard hit by COVID-19 my construction and the restaurant industry. And he says, Latino Trump supporters agree with the president's push to reopen the economy faster. Speaker 6: 09:40 Well, there is a concern over the disease itself. There is a more immediate concern that they're not going to be able to pay their rent, that they're not going to be able to take care of their families. Speaker 5: 09:55 We won't have a full picture of how Latinos voted for a couple of months, but the American election Eve poll gives a glimpse. It found that 16% of California Latinos supported Trump in 2016 this year, it was 22% polster. Gary Segura of Latino decisions says Democrats didn't do enough to engage with these voters Speaker 6: 10:32 In California. Speaker 5: 10:34 The poll found that while a majority of white voters supported Trump nationwide, almost three quarters of Latinos turned out for Biden. Speaker 6: 10:43 Those were the only voters. The election results will be blindingly clear. Speaker 5: 10:48 Clarissa Martinez. The Castro is with only those U us. One of the advocacy nonprofits that sponsored the poll. Another thing that's clear, she says, Latinos are a growing force deciding presidential elections and should not be ignored. And [inaudible] Speaker 4: 11:12 Corona virus cases are still on the rise in San Diego County. And we're at risk of falling back down into the more restrictive purple tear next week that would require restaurants, places of worship, gyms, and movie theaters to stop all indoor operations and affect retail stores too. However, there are ways to avoid this fate, some things the County could do, and some things that we as residents could do here to talk about where we are as San Diego union Tribune reporter pole system, Paul, thanks for joining us and welcome back. Thanks for having me. So now what exactly has happened to put us back on the brink of falling back into the purple tier? How much did the rate of COVID cases go up? Right. So we've, Speaker 6: 11:51 We've just seen the, uh, the number of Speaker 7: 11:54 Cases that are following in this one week window that the state uses to calculate our local case rate every week, uh, increase and increase. And now, now it's gotten to the point where it's over eight cases per a hundred thousand residents in a single week. And that, uh, that is enough that, uh, that it's just difficult, uh, to drive the numbers down under the, uh, the magical limit of seven cases per a hundred thousand. So Speaker 4: 12:21 How do you think we got into this position? Why are those numbers going up? Right. Speaker 7: 12:25 You know, that, that came up in the county's press conference yesterday, uh, that they hold every week. And they said, you know, people just aren't wearing their mask. They're having too many gatherings and at their homes, uh, they're, they're not keeping their social distance. They're just not doing the things that they used to be doing to keep this virus from spreading. Speaker 4: 12:41 Okay. So the purple tier looms, here's what supervisor Nathan Fletcher has said about our situation yesterday. Speaker 8: 12:47 We'll have to wait until next week to see what our numbers are next week. Uh, but it would take a significant change in trajectory, uh, given everything that we've been witnessing over the course of the last month, uh, in order for us to avoid that. Speaker 4: 13:00 But Paul, we don't necessarily have to fall into that purple tier. Right. I mean, one thing that could change their trajectory is an increase in testing explained to us why an increase in testing could help keep San Diego in the red. Yeah, Speaker 7: 13:12 Yeah, that's right. So for one thing, uh, you know, we're looking back a week, they don't go by the most immediate numbers. They look back a week, uh, next Monday when they calculate the new rate. And so it's the number of cases that have fallen into this week ago, period. Uh, I ran the numbers yesterday and we're at 6.6, uh, cases per a hundred thousand as of yesterday. Uh, so we, you know, for the next three or four days, we will see more cases coming in, but not all of the new cases that come in will fall into that week. Go window. Uh, so, so for one thing, uh, the case rate just might not rise past, uh, you know, too far past seven cases. Um, and then the other thing is that the state has this system where they adjust downward your case rate based on the number of tests that you do in that we could go seven day window. So if we have more test results that come in that fall in that window, and it puts our overall average number of tests above, uh, the state median rate, then we can, we can see are our overall rate reduced significantly up to 40%. So there's still a lot of hope, uh, to be had the, that even if we go over the, that magic threshold, that there is a possibility that the number can still be reduced. Speaker 4: 14:28 It's kind of ironic that more testing could help us bring our rate down, but that's the way it works. What about hospital rates, Paul? I mean, that's the main goal is to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. What would it take to overwhelm them at this point? Speaker 7: 14:41 Right. So, uh, you know, at this point we really haven't come close to overwhelming hospitals. Uh, generally the number of COVID patients in hospital beds on any given is about 6% of all people hospitalized on a given day. So we really, we haven't seen a massive impact on the hospital beds. It would take a really big surge to swamp our hospitals at this point. Um, but it's also important to remember and experts have hammered this home for me, time and time again, it's not just about hospital beds. You've got to have people to staff those hospital beds, and it gets really, uh, the most dicey in intensive care units where you need highly specialized, critical care nurses and doctors and respiratory therapists. And these people don't grow on trees. So, you know, you can easily burn them out. Uh, and, uh, you know, there's this entire, um, traveling nurse and doctor system where many will move to other States that have a higher need. And there's some indication that that's happening right now. So, uh, you know, even if we have beds that doesn't necessarily guarantee we're going to have, uh, the, the necessary professionals that we need to care for people who end up in a very serious situation in a hospital. Speaker 4: 15:52 You know, if you look at the map of the counties who are in different tiers, all the counties surrounding San Diego County to the North and East of us are already in that lower purple tier, which presumably doesn't help does it? Speaker 7: 16:04 No, no. Especially if you have a lot of people who are traveling here and there, and maybe for work, maybe for family, uh, you know, there is a fair amount of mixing in Southern California. It's not as if these, uh, borders between counties are really vary from at all. Uh, you know, this is, uh, this is one mega region that has a lot of, um, social reasons why people, uh, go different places. So, so having rates that are higher in other areas bordering us certainly does put pressure on our local rate. Speaker 4: 16:35 No, of course, local businesses, dreads dropping back into the lower tier again, have we heard anything from them about what these latest numbers could mean? Speaker 7: 16:44 Yeah. I mean, we know that, uh, if we do fall to the purple tier, if we get the second purple score next week, that there would be a three-day period in which, uh, many different types of businesses would have to stop operating in doors. That would be restaurants, places of worship, uh, movie theaters, uh, businesses, a few weeks back said, we are not going to go along with any, any such outdoor move. If it does happen, we're just, we're not gonna comply. Uh, the County said yesterday, very firmly that, you know, we are going to enforce, if we get complaints about businesses operating in doors, that shouldn't be, we're going to, you know, move forward with enforcement action. Um, so it really sets up quite a, quite an interesting tension. Uh, you know, just how far will local law enforcement be willing to go in enforcing these rules, uh, for restaurants and other places that are really just trying to survive? Speaker 4: 17:41 Well, it's not just the County, I guess it's us. That could make a difference too hard because the County did crack down on, on social gatherings, Halloween, uh, with cease and desist orders. So what do these latest numbers say about, you know, any Thanksgiving plans ahead, for example, Speaker 7: 17:58 Right. I mean, I think it's a warning to all of us, that there are real consequences of not following some of the very simple things that people are being asked to do. I think it probably just means that we all need to be a little mindful, uh, that our individual actions just really have a cumulative effect in our area that could really hurt our favorite restaurant. For example, Speaker 4: 18:23 We've been speaking with San Diego union Tribune reporter pole system, Paul, thanks so much. Speaker 7: 18:29 Thanks for having me. Speaker 4: 18:34 You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Alison st. John, along with Maureen Cavenaugh, two ballot measures that would have built over 700 new homes in San Diego's North County got very different receptions from voters in this week. Selection in power voters approved a new housing development to be built on the old stone Ridge golf course. While in Oceanside voters solidly rejected a plan development on what is currently farmland in Morro Hills here to tell us more about why the measures met such different fates is KPBS North County reporter Tonya thorn. Tanya, welcome. Speaker 9: 19:07 Thanks for having me, Alison. Speaker 4: 19:09 So now these measures had a lot in common didn't they, they both even had the word farms in their names, North river farms in Oceanside and the farm in Poway, but how were they different? Why did one pass and one fail? Speaker 9: 19:21 Yes, they were both very similar, but measure Ella notion sides. Um, the North river farms project would have gone into a neighborhood already dominated by commercial farming. So there's already tons of farms in place. The yes on L side argued that their development would have preserved farming as well as, um, adding new housing opportunities. But, you know, the opponents argued that the housing wouldn't be affordable and that the new homes would actually create an infrastructure problems, um, as well as pose a fire hazard due to the, the roads that are there now. And in Poway, you know, residents are currently dealing with a deteriorating country club that is really an eyesore. I mean, it's graffiti, it's abandoned, there's overgrown plants, the windows are broken, so they're just not happy with what they currently have there. And it does pose a fire hazard because of all the overgrown plants. And so their project, the farm, it presents a better opportunity for the building that, you know, currently is being used for nothing. Speaker 4: 20:21 So let's look at the Oceanside measure. L the developer spent around $2 million on the campaign, and yet the opponents still defeated it with, uh, just like $10,000 in campaign funding. What made Oceanside residents so determined not to see this project build? Speaker 9: 20:37 Yeah, I mean, I live here in Oceanside and I saw yes on L marketing everywhere and their graphics, their marketing, everything was on point. You can just tell that they poured into this project. And it really was a big project. I mean, supporters of measure Al you know, propose that the farming area that they were going to build was going to be 68 football fields. So that is a pretty big farm, you know, but the thing is that the area already serves an agricultural purpose. So there's already farms and fruit being grown there. And I think, you know, the Oceanside residents were just really hesitant about change being brought to an area that has gone unchanged in such a long time. They feared, you know, the traffic congestion, wildfire hazards, and just developments overtaking this last agricultural land left here in ocean side. And I really think that's what kept it from passing. Speaker 4: 21:30 No, in the case of the stone Ridge country club golf course in Poway that was owned by LA-based real estate developer, Michael slash ginger, who bought several golf courses in San Diego County and then shut them down as unprofitable. And he did make himself pretty unpopular. Didn't he? And yet voters finally decided to approve this project. Why? Speaker 9: 21:48 Yeah. Schlesinger is definitely, isn't very popular around here because it's not the first time that, you know, he's let a property sit and get to the condition that Stoneridge is. And now, um, and you know, with, with the farm project, I think his partnership with Eric McNamara, you know, really helped move this project forward. Um, it's not just a new housing development, which is what Schlesinger has usually proposed. The farm comes with parks that I think really intrigued Poway residents, um, this time around, um, planners say that they have a specific plan and environmental impact report and city council approved maps that are pretty set in stone. So I think that this time around, because it's not just the housing development, it comes with perks for Poway residents. It really helped move this forward. And I think just the scale of the project itself, I mean, we're only talking about 160 new homes compared to his usual thousand, you know, proposed homes being built into this new development. Speaker 9: 22:50 Will any of those homes be affordable? You know, well, what is affordable nowadays in San Diego? Alison, if you mean, will they be low-income housing? I don't think so. Um, their website States that there will be a maximum of 160 new homes in the development. If they were to be priced in today's market, they would be ranging from $800,000 to $1.4 million. And so now those home options will range from five bedrooms to three bedrooms. So there are some options and, you know, I'm not really sure when we'll see them. It really depends on the market. If, and let's say three years from now, the market goes down. We may be, we may be seeing some more affordable pricing, but as far as low-income housing, I don't think they will be Speaker 4: 23:33 Probably not. Yeah, it's very difficult to get a master plan community passed by voters these days. You know, we heard about the noon Sierra project up North of San Marcus, for example, that was rejected. Do you think the Poway development buck to trend here? Speaker 9: 23:47 I mean, definitely these big developments rarely ever get passed. And I think in Poway, you know, I think it's just that this project itself just came in a much smaller scale compared to the North river farms and the Newland Sierras in San Marcos Oceanside measure Al proposed 585 new homes. And that was the number that they already reduced from the original, nearly thousand homes that they propose to build Newland. Sierra's proposed over 2000 new homes. So because this project itself is proposing 160, I think the project itself just landed on voters a lot easier than the bigger, you know, 500 enough new homes. So I think the scale of it, what was really, really resonated with voters, Speaker 4: 24:32 Right? So now that the voters in Oceanside have rejected, um, as your L what do they say about how the city will be able to meet its state mandated requirements to build hundreds of new homes in the next few years? Speaker 9: 24:46 One of the arguments from yes, on L they said that, you know, the need for housing and Oceanside, is it, there really is a need for it in Oceanside, and this would have brought, this would have met those needs. And so now I think it really, you know, goes back to city council, of course, we're in the middle of election. So it just really depends on it. Then you council members and you mayor, you know, they need to find a places that voters will be happy where these new developments will go in. I know that the developer of North river farms already built a, an affordable housing development here in Oceanside. So I think they just need, you know, maybe need to look into other, other pieces of land that maybe don't hold such sentimental value to ocean siders. Speaker 4: 25:30 We've been speaking with KPBS, North County reporter, Tanya thorn, Tanya, thanks so much. Speaker 9: 25:35 Thanks for having me. Alison, Speaker 4: 25:52 The department of veterans affairs health system is welcoming more patients back after months of tight restrictions due to COVID-19, but VA clinics are reopening at a slower pace than many civilian health facilities from Tampa, Stephanie Colombini reports for the American Homefront project. Speaker 10: 26:12 You won't see rows of parked cars on the first floor of the Tampa VA's parking garage. Instead hospital beds, computers, medication carts, and an x-ray machine. The pandemic has affected the way all health centers operate, but this is one of the few that's moved. Most of its emergency department, outside patients with issues like a sprained ankle can actually receive treatment in the garage and never have to step foot inside the hospital. Dr. Timothy McGurk runs this operation. The goal of setting this out here Speaker 11: 26:45 Was to protect our very vulnerable patients inside and our staff. Speaker 10: 26:50 What stands out even among other VA medical centers with its parking garage setup, but all of the agency's facilities are taking steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Well, many civilian health facilities have allowed patients to come in for routine care for months and even opened up for visitors. That's largely still off limits. How many VA's McGurk says VA patients are typically older and sicker than the general population making potential outbreaks, more dangerous. Speaker 11: 27:17 They have heart disease, they have kidney disease. They have lung disease that makes them more at risk. Plus, we don't have any pediatrics here. We don't have young, healthy people for the most part Speaker 10: 27:28 62 year old Navy veteran, David toodle pulled into the garage with severe back pain because of the pandemic has other doctor's visits lately have been removed Speaker 11: 27:37 Telephone, but not video. I'm not techno like that. Speaker 10: 27:43 While the VA has increased virtual care by about 1500%, since March many veterans have been anxious to return to face-to-face visits some outpatient and specialty clinics that were shut down for months have gradually started welcoming patients who need hands-on procedures or can't use virtual care down the block from the main hospital. The Tampa VA's audiology clinic is offering drive up hearing aid, repair army reserve veteran. Michael Kelly pulled up in his car and a staff member wearing a mask and gloves asked him to hand her his hearing aid through the window. Can you give me your last one? Cause I think I need to change the tubing on that real quick at 80 Kelly says he's very concerned about getting COVID-19 and is grateful for the drive-up option. Speaker 4: 28:26 There was no contact and, uh, I feel very safe. Speaker 10: 28:30 This was a rare outing for Kelly. He spent most of the year home with his wife. Speaker 4: 28:34 You know, you feel confined, but we're following the rules. Basically. Hopefully it'll be all over soon, but you don't know. Speaker 10: 28:45 Corona virus cases have spiked in many parts of the country and among VA patients, Paula Myers, chief of the Tampa VA has audiology section says she's not ready to ease restrictions. Flu season is just around the corner. Bars have just opened in our community. Um, we don't know if there's going to be a huge second wave all of a sudden. So while we have this process that veterans finally know is this is how it is for right now. We want to sustain that for right now. VA officials say, despite the need for caution, it's important, veterans don't avoid care. They encourage vets to stay in touch with their providers to ensure they get the help they need. I'm Stephanie Colon beanie in Tampa. Speaker 4: 29:30 This story was produced by the American Homefront project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans funding comes from the corporation for public Speaker 1: 29:52 Pilot project to replace police intervention with social workers to help San Diego's homeless population has been called a success. So last week, the San Diego city council officially approved the coordinated street outreach program. The aim is for caseworkers to establish relationships with unsheltered people, direct them to needed services and eventually find many homeless residents, a permanent place to live. Joining me is hand-on scrapper. She's regional director of the San Diego office of people assisting the homeless or path. And hand-on welcome to the program. Thank you so much for having me. How are you measuring the success of the pilot program? Speaker 12: 30:32 So we track our numbers really closely. For example, this past year in our outreach specialists, it started with one outreach specialist and would have a second one. Now we're able to see 219 unique individuals, and we were able to house 59 of those individuals, um, which 22 were permanent homes that street to home is something that we've seen to be really successful when we're working with clients and not person centered approach. And that's 41% positive rate that we're seeing as in a street outreach program, which is highly successful. And through our engagement, we've identified 37 individuals who are new to the homeless system, or haven't touched the homeless system and more than two years. So that's been really effective. Speaker 1: 31:18 Why do you think replacing police with social workers as having such a better outcome? Speaker 12: 31:23 We don't see it as replacing, um, the police at all. I think we're seeing it in a way of when you have someone experiencing a mental health crisis and they are out on the street sending our mental health clinicians to be able to respond to those individuals and work with them on deescalating the situation and connecting them to those appropriate resources. We see that to be hugely beneficial to our community, Speaker 1: 31:49 San Diego city council, president Georgette Gomez has expanding this program is a natural extension of the city's new effort to combat homelessness. She spoke at last week city council meeting. Speaker 12: 32:01 This is a continuation of shifting how we're responding to this crisis. Um, in terms of we'll be having a more scent people center approach, both by how we're reaching out to them, where we're placing them and how we're supporting them to restore their lives. Speaker 1: 32:18 And tell us more about how path operates its outreach program. I read it's divided into two different service elements. Speaker 12: 32:27 So we will have a rapid response team, which are going to be equipped with individuals who are able to work seven days a week. We'll have the teams, at least until 10:00 PM. Being able to respond to immediate responses that stakeholders, community members are seeing in their communities and making that linkage and immediate access to shelter is going to be really critical for those who are interested in accessing a bed for the night or, um, for a little bit of time until they identify other housing options. And then our other team is going to be the mobile homelessness resolution team. They are, uh, very much like our, our traditional outreach specialists, but they will do street-based case management, carrying a caseload of at least 15, where they're working with each of those, each of those individuals and creating a plan, a housing plan that makes sense, and the client identifies to be a priority to them and then carrying them through the system and helping them with system navigation and resource connection. So that's going to be the team breakout. We will also have peer support specialists who are going to be part of the team and working with our clients and connecting with them on that level of lived experience and being able to understand the situation and really just from a humanistic approach of like, what are your needs and, you know, let's, let's make the connection happen Speaker 1: 33:49 With the rapid response team. How are they alerted that someone has an urgent issue and what constitutes an urgent issue? Speaker 12: 33:58 I think we have spoken about the possibility of using the, get her done app and going through that. And then in other situations they will most likely can call our, um, our team directly, um, and say, Hey, we have this situation. I think emergency will vary, right? Health and safety is, um, an area where we want to look at, make sure people are safe first. Um, and then from there deescalate any situation that might come up, I think in some cases, what we've been seeing is really someone who is sleeping on the side and there's a little bit of a danger to themselves because they're not able to fully see the situation in front of them or maybe going through a mental health crisis in that moment that we're able to actually just sit with them and process and talk through and identify how we can get them to the help that they need. So I think the emergency aspect is going to vary and we're going to have to try out what makes sense and what works for the community as well as the team. Speaker 1: 34:57 Currently, the program operates in North park, in city Heights into what other communities is it going to be expanded? Speaker 12: 35:04 It's a city funded project. So our goal is to look out throughout San Diego, but we will be working with, um, our council members and local districts and identifying we're going to use, uh, uh, you know, our point in time number and census track to identify the hotspots and where do we need to target and focus them, being able to, um, have people specifically, um, located in those neighborhoods and districts to be able to begin building that relationship, we're still working out those details. So I think once we have that, we'll be able to share that. Speaker 1: 35:40 And finally, on, on, what would you say are the biggest challenges to your organization when trying to get people off the streets and into permanent housing? Speaker 12: 35:50 I think the biggest challenge is, um, access to permanent housing. Um, as many of us know, we have a shortage of affordable permanent housing, not just in San Diego, but, um, California and, um, other States. And so the vacancy rates we are seeing, um, is really, it makes it hard for us to identify those places where our clients can actually call home and that they're in their home for longterm. Um, that's really, our biggest struggle is finding those affordable housing units where our clients can reside in. Speaker 1: 36:24 I've been speaking with hand-on scrapper, she's regional director of path, San Diego. And hand-on thank you for speaking with us. Thank Speaker 12: 36:32 You so much for having me. Speaker 1: 36:40 This is KPBS mid day edition. I'm Maureen Kevin Hall with Alison st. John on the Eve of the last presidential election KPBS film critic. Beth Armando spoke with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz about the cable channels, showcase out political films. Four years later. Those films are once again, worthy of checking out and enjoy this interview from the cinema junkie podcast archives, you've grouped these films into kind of smaller packages. One collection is called born to run, which is kind of looking at more the campaigning process. One of the films is one of my favorites because I love Spencer Tracy. And that's the last hurrah. So tell me a little bit about why you pick this film and what you'd like to be. Speaker 6: 37:29 It's strange to call any movie your favorite John Ford movie, because just by virtue of picking a favorite John Ford movie, you leave out so many great films, but I will say that this is certainly the John Ford movie that I think is most overlooked when discussing great John Ford movie. I think it's his only really political movie across the spring from the tumultuous pages of the most powerful bestseller of our time. Rooming over with the juices galaxy for greatness as two time Academy award winning actors, Spencer Tracy, and award-winning director, John Ford create the most unforgettable character in screen history. I was born here at M see those two windows. Rottenberg I mean the Cardinal, this is it. We're all born down here together. Speaker 6: 38:34 And you know, it comes, uh, pretty late in Tracy's career. And Tracy essentially in the movie plays the mayor of Boston. It's never completely referred to as Boston, but it's pretty clear as a large new England city, uh, what we're talking about. And it's just a, it's, it's a really layered political movie because you can't, it's Spencer, Tracy, you can't help but root for him here as the mayor, but there's plenty of corruption to pick at. And he's had a political machine, which he presumes will put him into office again here in one final hurrah. This is gonna be his last hurrah. This is going to be his last election. It is layered. It is complicated. My father loved this movie and my dad was Bobby Kennedy's press secretary, and ran George McGovern campaign. And he always thought from the moment he saw it, when it came out, when he was 35 years old, that it was pretty close to as this is as good as Hollywood can do politics. This doesn't turn politicians into buffoons, which Hollywood does from time to time, but it also sort of gives us the complicated nature of, uh, of how political campaigns work. Speaker 13: 39:42 Another film I want to highlight from your born to run group is one of my favorite political films, which is the candidate. And this has Robert Redford as kind of this unwilling candidate who gets drafted into a campaign. And this film was made in 1972, but it is still so on the money for the kind of commentary it makes. Speaker 6: 40:05 When I talked to my dad about political movie, the two movies that he said most accurately reflect the campaign were the last era and the candidate. I mean, the candidate is so realistic that it feels like a documentary. Speaker 14: 40:17 I think it's important to note what subjects we haven't discussed. We completely ignored the fact that this is a society divided by fear, hatred, and violence. And until we talk about just what this society really is, then I don't know how we're going to change Speaker 6: 40:32 From start to finish. It's terrific, but a Redford who is, you know, I also think just this, another actor who, uh, can save volumes without speaking, and I think is supremely underrated, but in the candidate, Redford plays a, I think he's an environmental lawyer and he's the son of a former governor played by Melvin Douglas. And as you say, sort of drafted to run a Senate campaign. And the beauty of it is, Hey man, you can say whatever you want, because you're never going to win. This is an establishment candidate, uh, who can't be beaten. And then it takes us through that campaign and how the campaign changes even sort of the most ideologically pure. And uncorrupt among us, but it's a really good lesson for people who were overly idealistic about politics. And I don't want to, I don't want to crush people's idealism, but, but, but politics works in part because it probably crushes too much idealism, but this is a good perspective on, on what being part of that system does. And it does it even to the best politicians who sort of accomplish the most good for the most people. So it has one of the great, uh, last lines of, of any, of any political movie of all time to the candidate does. Speaker 13: 41:42 All right, we won't give that away, but you also have a group of films that are a little less serious, which are the political comedies. And if I had to recommend just two films from this group of films, it would be the candidate and the great McGinty. I love that movie, Speaker 6: 41:59 Nothing wrong with, uh, with, uh, recommending the great McGinney. First of all, it's never wrong to recommend a Preston Sturgis movie. This was, uh, made really at the beginning of what was an amazing four year run for Sturgis, uh, just a remarkable set of movies. And it begins in many ways with the great McGinty, which again, he wrote and directed Brian, Don LaVey came to mere off, uh, William Demarest. It's such a terrific political movie and funny, and Jen genuinely funny Speaker 15: 42:28 Was filed by dr. Jonas J Javez chairman of the civic purity league, inc. They're always talking about graph, but they'd forget if it wasn't for graft, you'd get a very low type of people in politics. Men went out, ambition, jellyfish, Speaker 13: 42:42 It's hilarious. And it just comes at you rapid fire and almost every line seems to be a punchline Speaker 6: 42:49 Sturgis managed to give you extreme circumstances without making them seem so silly that you lost interest in the movie because on paper, you know, like, uh, the idea of a hobo forgive the terminology, but it was 1940, you know, who, uh, uh, just sort of rises one rung up the political ladder, uh, at a time until he's at the top of the political ladder is absurd, except somehow in the great McGinty. It actually makes sense while also sort of amusing you every step of the way. Speaker 13: 43:20 Well, and it's interesting too, because on a certain level it's extremely cynical about the whole process and yet there's still kind of a warmth to it that Speaker 6: 43:30 Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, of course. There's, you know, there's, there's some good in it. No question, but yes, uh, it is incredibly cynical about the process and it, it also just shows you that, that, that as cynical as we think we are now about, uh, American politics, uh, you know, uh, we were plenty cynical, uh, in 1940 and, you know, uh, and again, this movie released, you know, basically a year, a little over a year before, uh, uh, before we actually joined the fight in world war II and, you know, imagine sort of patriotism and, and, and belief in our political leaders was at an all time high. Speaker 13: 44:02 If you could pick from any film outside of the ones that TCM is running, do you have a favorite on-screen president? It could be somebody playing a real president or a fictional on, Speaker 6: 44:11 Uh, Henry Fonda and fail safe is really my favorite. Um, uh, my favorite onscreen president 64 comes out the same year as dr. Strangelove, but this, uh, uh, a fail safe takes the, the moment of, uh, of an accidental nuclear war seriously, whereas Kubrick and, and in, in dr. Strangelove, uh, made it farcical, uh, both remarkable movies, uh, taken from different books with similar ideas. And it's really terrific and interesting. If you have the opportunity to see those movies together on the same night or the same weekend, it'd be a pretty good film festival for you. Dr. Strange love and fail safe. Speaker 1: 44:46 That was Beth Armando speaking with Turner classic movie host Ben Mankiewicz in an archive interview from 2016. You can find the full interview at Beth's cinema junkie blog@kpbs.org.