Where COVID-19 Outbreaks Have Happened In San Diego County

Speaker 1: 00:01 An exclusive look at COVID-19 outbreak locations. Speaker 2: 00:04 Every man and woman should be able to evaluate their own risks. Speaker 1: 00:09 I'm Jade Hindman. This is KPBS day edition, Public health officials. Talk about the vaccine rollout and challenges ahead Speaker 2: 00:29 And another encouraging, um, where that I've heard healthcare providers say that the vaccines being available, give them hope. Speaker 1: 00:38 And from environmental pressures to food access and underserved communities. I look back at some of the impactful stories of 2020 that's ahead on midday edition. Community outbreaks of COVID-19 have touched every corner of San Diego County and all types of establishments over the past nine months, but they are most prevalent in big box stores, restaurants, and group living situations like nursing homes in jails. According to County outbreak records obtained exclusively by KPBS. Since the onset of the pandemic County officials have kept outbreak locations secret instead, only listing outbreaks by categories, such as bar, restaurant, or business. What do these numbers and types of locations mean for the public here's KPBS, investigative reporter, Claire Traeger, sir. Speaker 3: 01:41 Uh, yes. So over here in the morning time, yeah. To avoid the crowded people Speaker 4: 01:46 Ho-hum was dressed in a mask and plastic gloves while shopping last week at the Walmart on college Avenue, he's worried about catching COVID-19 while in the store. Speaker 3: 01:55 If he aware that previously they have someone in there, baby, I'm not going to use those store. Maybe I'm going to use the other store. Maybe Speaker 4: 02:04 Han didn't know it, but that Walmart did have an outbreak. At the end of October, with at least 24 cases, it was one of 14 different outbreaks at local Walmarts. Since the start of the pandemic like Hong, if you've gone out at all, since the pandemic first struck, you quite likely walked into a place. That's had an outbreak. That's according to a KPBS analysis of more than 1000 outbreak records dating from March through the end of November, at least 208 outbreaks have hit restaurants, popular chain restaurants, like all of garden cheesecake factory Denny's and the broken yolk cafe have each had multiple outbreaks, at least 125 outbreaks have occurred in large retailers and grocery stores like Costco target, home Depot, trader Joe's and Walmart. According to the records, KPBS obtained a Walmart spokeswoman responded a statement that the retailer has taken steps to make the shopping experience as safe as possible. Speaker 4: 03:05 During this challenging time we're working to balance health and safety concerns while still meeting the needs and expectations of our customers and associates. She said, however, just because you visited a place that had an outbreak doesn't necessarily mean you were exposed to the virus and doesn't mean you can catch COVID-19 by going there. Now, an outbreak means three or more people with COVID-19 who aren't close contacts were in that place over the same 14 day period. It's possible. None of them caught the virus at the outbreak location. Being the site of an outbreak doesn't necessarily mean the businesses had unsafe practices. Also the records reviewed by KPBS don't reveal, whether employees or patrons were infected. That means it's hard to say how the virus might've spread says UC San Diego epidemiologist, Rebecca fielding. Speaker 1: 04:00 If you have nine people report that they happen to be in a Walmart within a 14 day window, because they were grocery shopping that I think you would have to narrow it down to a much more specific window. Speaker 4: 04:16 Also says context is important. A higher number of outbreaks at retail chains is likely partly because they have multiple locations, more customers and more employees. Speaker 1: 04:27 So you wouldn't say, Oh, Thai Mesa has only had one outbreak, but Dennis has had five, therefore Otay Mesa it's safer. Speaker 4: 04:33 First time the public has seen the list of specific outbreak locations for San Diego County County officials have kept them secret. Instead, only listing outbreaks by category, such as bar slash restaurant or business frontline employees and union representatives interviewed by KPBS agree that detailed outbreak records should be made public Speaker 5: 04:56 Go feel safe at work when they're dealing with the public Speaker 4: 05:00 Jaime Vasquez is with the union that represents Costco employees, Speaker 5: 05:03 Especially now with the Christmas shopping, uh, you have packed warehouses almost on a daily basis. Speaker 4: 05:11 He says Costco is allowing half capacity, but argues it should be classified as retail, which would keep it to 20%. The store did not respond to a request for comment. Devin Hannigan works as a supervisor at Vaughn's on Balboa Avenue. He says it's important for the public to know where outbreaks are happening. Speaker 5: 05:31 Every man and woman who works for this company should be able to evaluate their own risk and be able to come up with an idea of what's too much. Speaker 1: 05:44 And joining us now is Claire Tresor KPBS, investigative reporter Claire. Welcome. Thank you. So clear. What does the data you obtained about COVID 19 outbreaks in San Diego County? Tell us generally, right. So Speaker 6: 05:58 Let me break down a couple of different things. Um, we found that there've been at least 208 outbreaks in restaurants, bars, and restaurants, um, and specifically popular chains like the olive garden, cheesecake factory Denny's and the broken yolk cafe have had multiple outbreaks each. Um, and then we found 205 outbreaks in businesses, you know, car repair, pet care banking shipping, and then 125 outbreaks specifically at businesses, large retailers and grocery stores, including Walmart, Costco, target, home Depot and trader Joe's. And then, you know, not surprisingly, which has been news, I think since the beginning of the pandemic, a large number of outbreaks in nursing homes and other group living situations like jails, rehab facilities and shelters. Um, and we did find that there was some breakdown in terms of zip codes where, where the outbreaks were happening, 136 were in just five lower income zip codes in East and South County where, you know, more frontline workers, uh, people who can't work at home necessarily live, but also 86 outbreaks in Pacific beach. And Gaslamp zip codes, which are kind of known as two of the county's biggest party spots. And then the last thing, um, and I think we'll hear more about this in a later story, but, uh, seven casinos in the County have had outbreaks and they've had a combined case count of more than 638 cases linked to those outbreaks. Speaker 1: 07:36 Interesting. So how does the County then define an outbreak and how does it determine where they occur? Speaker 6: 07:43 Right. So it's really important to stress that the definition of a outbreak with the County is, is pretty broad. So it's three or more people who test positive for COVID-19, who aren't close contacts, meaning, you know, they don't live together or spend a lot of time together. Um, we're in the same place over the same 14 day period. So those people may be never even crossed paths. They could have been there on different days. And so while we have this list of outbreaks, people should know that just because you visited a place that had an outbreak doesn't necessarily mean you were actually exposed to the virus and of course doesn't mean that you can catch COVID-19 by going there now. Speaker 1: 08:24 Wow. It's such a broad, uh, definition. Um, how reliable is that information? Speaker 6: 08:31 Right? Well, I mean, it's something that I really learned through doing this reporting is of course there are trends that we are seeing that that makes sense, you know, big box retailers, for example, have had a lot of outbreaks, uh, while, you know, maybe locations like whole foods have had none, which suggests partially that, that more people maybe go to these, uh, big box retailers and there, so there's a higher chance of there being an outbreak there, but also, you know, it follows the same trends that we know about how COVID 19 impacts, maybe more lower income populations, but the County, they aren't doing enough contact tracing or the detailed amount of contact tracing to really be able to say these two diners at this restaurant caught COVID 19 from the server. We just, we just don't know that because the time span is so long. So you could be a restaurant and have two different people who are at your restaurant on different days, end up testing positive. And so it's possible that that server, you know, passed COVID-19 on to the two different diners or it's possible the server didn't even interact with those people. And it's just, you know, an odds game that three people ended up being in that location over 14 days, the County isn't tracking enough information to be able to, you know, definitively make, make those determinations. Speaker 1: 10:01 And we should note, the County did not want this report published in the media. Um, why was that in, what was their reasoning? Speaker 6: 10:08 Right. So KPBS along with two other news organizations, voices, San Diego, and the San Diego union Tribune, um, have been trying to get this information for a long time. Ever since the County started in their, in their briefings, basically releasing outbreaks just by category where they would say bar slash restaurant business bar slash restaurant. And we were hearing so much from, from our listeners and viewers and readers. Can you please tell us more? We want to be able to make decisions about where we go and where it's safe to go. And, and we just didn't have that information. So we sued the County along with those other news outlets, um, to get the information. And the County has, has always said, one argument is that their contact tracing program would really break down if this more detailed information were made public because businesses would maybe be afraid to report to the County that they've had an outbreak because they knew that that that information was going to be made public. Speaker 6: 11:07 I should note, first of all, that it's against the law for businesses to not report that information. And also other parts of the country. They published this information, Los Angeles County basically publishes very similar to what we've published on KPBS and businesses are, are still reporting. And so last month, a judge ruled that the County can continue ruled against us, basically that the County can continue to, to keep that information secret. But we are still appealing that, um, our hope would be that, that the County would provide this information on an ongoing basis with regular updates instead of the one-time release of information that we've done today. Speaker 1: 11:48 And so, so how did you get this information? Speaker 6: 11:51 Well, I can't specifically say, but I can say that, that these records come from the County, they are County records and we did a lot of work to authenticate them, check them, uh, double check, triple check them, and then do the analysis that we've provided on KPBS today. Speaker 1: 12:11 And the database is on the KPBS website, correct? Speaker 6: 12:15 Yes, that's right. So you can go to, um, it's kpbs.org/outbreaks, and there's lots of different charts and analysis there. Oh, one that I think is actually really interesting is it is a, um, time-lapse where you can see kind of early on assisted living centers, nursing homes had the largest number of outbreaks, and then as things start opening up over the summer, uh, the numbers really go up for retailers and restaurants, things like that. But you can also, um, search, we have the database where you can search outbreaks by zip code, by name, by city. Um, and then also another list of, uh, outbreaks in November where you can see the total number of cases at each outbreak and that you can also search as well. And so that's all at kpbs.org/outbreaks. Speaker 1: 13:05 I've been speaking with KPBS, investigative reporter, Claire Tresor Claire. Thank you very much. Thank you. San Diego County health care workers received the first doses of a COVID 19 vaccine from Pfizer last week. And the second emergency approved COVID-19 vaccine developed by Medina should be heading here soon County public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wootton and health and human services director. Nick [inaudible] spoke with KPBS health reporter Taren Minto to provide an update on the rollout and discuss the challenges ahead. How has the rollout gone so far? Speaker 7: 13:45 So far has done very well. Uh, as you know, we've gotten just over 28,000 doses so far, I've heard stories from many of the hospitals systems they've gotten, the providers have obtained their vaccination and things are going well. I'll just add, uh, turned up, uh, talking with, uh, some of the hospitals CMOs talking to my own medical director County, psych hospital. Um, just the amazing turnout. Um, you know, we didn't know, or, you know, people are going to show up and it's been done in a very, uh, calm and orderly way, uh, but with great urgency. And so, uh, I can tell you like for our County psych hospital in our first day, when we scheduled, I think with the exception of a handful of folks that we had to reschedule, uh, almost everyone else was there. We got, uh, and got their vaccine. And so I think that's a great indication thus far, uh, of the, uh, um, healthcare workers are lining up getting their vaccine and understanding that we're going to have to do this in a phased approach. Obviously as Dr. Root pointed out, as we get more, Speaker 8: 14:59 Was there an unexpected challenge? You know, that came your way. And how did you work around it? Speaker 7: 15:05 We received a small number of doses to date. So things so far have gone. Well, there are no particular challenges that I'm aware of, but we know that we're getting more vaccine. We anticipate that we will get vaccine after the Madonna, uh, vaccines or go through the various approval processes with the FDA and CDC. And then we will get, there are six different vaccines that will be coming down the pike. So we will be getting for other vaccinations, but I feel confident that we'll be able to manage that because we have the San Diego immunization registry and we can determine who's been vaccinated or not. And what that scene they've received and providers will be checking that a FTIR so that they make sure they give, uh, individuals the appropriate vaccine when they come in for vaccination. You know, the, the challenge is that the way that the vaccine arrives, um, is for us, for our hospitals, 13 hospitals. So, um, you know, four of them are getting a directly and then nine come through us. So it'd be nice if it was one air traffic control, but, you know, we have multiple. And so it requires that extra challenge of communicating to make sure that we're getting our fair share, uh, of vaccine into the region. And so that's communicating with our hospital partners, which has again, has worked great because of the cooperation and collaboration we have. Speaker 8: 16:36 We know that decisions on allocations where things are going, a priority groups are set by federal and state agencies, but I know that the counties clinical advisory group was talking about approaching their mission through the, through an equity lens. And so w what control over equitable distribution does the County have, and, and how would you be relying on this advisory group to inform that? Speaker 7: 17:02 Well, the first important thing is to know is that we do not get all of the vaccines at one time, if that was the case, we could facilitate everyone being vaccinated in the various phases, as well as the tiers, the area where the advisory committee, uh, will, uh, or could, or will help is with phase one C, which is those individuals with underlying medical conditions and 65 years of age and older. And also when vaccines are to be delivered to, uh, young adults, 30 years and younger, and then the general population. So we will have discussions about that. Uh, actually the next meeting I believe is Tuesday. So we will have discussions about that. It comes to a point when you get into categories, um, even sub categories, depending on how much vaccine is available, um, to your point, um, how do we look at how the pandemic impacts place in people? Speaker 7: 18:01 And it impacts place people differently. Uh, we, we just have to look at South Bay, uh, to understand that. And, uh, and I would add place people and providers because our hospitals are more adversely impact in South Bay. So where we have that discretion, um, and I say, we, our clinical advisory, uh, and that's why it's, it's fantastic to have leaders across the County, in the community, in public health, in systems coming together and saying, you know, how do we ensure, um, that we get it as best to the right folks at the right time, based on the limitations we have. And that's when you start talking about that, we may not be seeing, uh, as we go further and this distribution a kind of cookie cutter approach because of the pandemic is spread across, but it is impacting people in place and providers differently and, and using a health equity lens, kind of guide you in those discussions. And that's in fact, where I think more of the clinical advisory group we'll be having in the coming weeks, Speaker 8: 19:04 You know, the next group in the second tier of phase one a is skilled nursing facilities. And they're, um, we already talked about the overlap with the County and the state in terms of shipping and allocating and, and getting it to the right places. So with skilled nursing facilities, is that going to be handled by the County or the state, or is there overlap there as well? Speaker 7: 19:25 What we're literally doing is ensuring that no one is left behind. And what I mean by that is working with the list that we get from the state, working with Walgreens and CVS of who they have, uh, covered so that the remaining are the ones we immediately focused on. Um, they are a highest priority. I mean, as you follow the tiers right in the rollout. So, um, as we speak, we have a whole team focusing on and trying to get to determine who is remaining. That's not covered by the pharmacies so that we can then, um, reach. And then this is an inReach because in these facilities, they can't come to a site, right? You have to go into them. And so this is a, um, uh, kind of, uh, uh, a unprecedented effort to, to get to this sector, to this magnitude in, in a, in a rapid way. Speaker 7: 20:20 So we're working on, and we'll be releasing pretty soon, really novel approaches activating, um, our workforce that remember, can only be, uh, licensed physicians or nurses or paramedics or so forth. So being as creative in our ways of the workforce that we have to get into these facilities, many of which you do not have a nurse, you know, skilled nursing facilities are different, and yet they still need assistance from the farm, the retail pharmacies, the long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities. May some of them may not have a, you know, a nurse as readily available just steps. So tremendous amount of thought has been going on into how do we get to them throughout our County. We've already mapped them out. And then that's kind of, that's the work that's happening as we speak. And as vaccine comes in and we know who is again, not, we were already canvas that's when we start getting into those facilities. Speaker 8: 21:18 One of the things that keeps coming up is, um, whether places can mandate or will mandate someone getting the vaccine. What, what would be your role in supporting or endorsing businesses asking people to, or holding them to getting it, and what will the County do for its own employees? When it comes their time in the, in the schedule, Speaker 7: 21:37 This point, I have no plan to mandate. And in the general public, we can't mandate, the people have the right to make their own decisions. They have the right to make their own decisions. We will educate them and ensure that they understand the rationale for the recommendations that at the end of the day, if they want don't want to be vaccinated in there. And for some, there might be reasons why medical reasons, why they can't. But, uh, at this point, no plan for mandating the vaccination Speaker 1: 22:08 That was KPBS health reporter, Tara and Mentos speaking with the counties, Nick [inaudible] and Dr. Willman boudin. You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade. Hindman a farm in South Bay aims to increase community access to affordable and fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers. And this story we first bought you earlier this year, KPBS PBS reporter max Rivlin Adler tells us about the Pisgah farm stands, unique business structure, and how it code point a way forward for urban agriculture. Speaker 9: 22:47 On a Tuesday afternoon, the Pisco farm stand is open for business. It's one of the few places where people can buy fresh fruit and veggies directly from a farmer in the South Bay. Well, smaller farms are typically owned by families who often manage their workers, Pisco farms. It's different. The workers are the ones who own it. Everyone's a leader here, or that's how it worker co-ops typically are. We all have a decision on our part. Speaker 8: 23:17 We have that control and immediate control. We decide what to do as a collective and how to proceed. Speaker 9: 23:25 Who is the Alcatraz grew up in Santa, see drew. He has a degree in environmental engineering, but decided to become a farmer and part owner of a farm. After he found out about Pisco two years ago, I found this place and I just never left around a mile from the border of the ocean. And the desert Pisco sits in the Tijuana river Valley. The year growing season means farmers can pack in a lot of produce inside its small footprint and experiment with what will flourish and what won't. Speaker 5: 23:53 Yeah. This is where we do all our seedlings. We got some beats, some fennel Speaker 9: 23:56 Leonard Vargas is a third generation farmer in Southern California. Vargas started the farm in 2017 with the idea of making fresher food available to communities that lack access to it. Speaker 5: 24:07 Really. One of the things that we wanted to do was start to provide vegetables to some of those communities that are in food deserts. This gives us kind of a, a real close proximity to that. So we can start to move that into those communities, particularly in the South Bay, seems to be struggling with that. Speaker 9: 24:22 Shortly after Vargas began leasing the land from the County, he was joined by Christina Juarez. Who's from Tijuana. The farm like the surrounding area is PI lingual together. They realized that a workers cooperative was the best way forward for the farm [inaudible]. She said, I believe he could do work with more heart. When you feel equal to the other person, when you don't expect orders from them, when you feel like they won't schooled you because something is different. And so you're putting your heart and your soul and your knowledge into something, but it hasn't been easy with four worker owners. They're just beginning to pay themselves a minimum wage in nature. Hasn't exactly been cooperating when the Tijuana river Valley floods all the produce touches has to be thrown out. Speaker 5: 25:09 I had a little flood that came through here, uh, early December of last year and took out all our vegetable crops. So Pisco had to get creative. So at that point, we decided to go ahead and add, cut flowers to our mix so that we could be more sustainable case of anything else that came along like that. Cause we are in a flood plain. And then we found that people really liked them. And so we continued to grow them and keep them in our mix. Speaker 9: 25:28 They now sell their flowers at the farm stand and at shops like gem coffee and city Heights, the newest worker owner, Eric Rodriguez also grew up in South San Diego. He was furloughed from his longtime job at the beginning of the pandemic. He started helping with [inaudible] and like Jose soon, couldn't bring himself to leave for him. Connecting the community to agriculture is a huge part of what Pisco does they sell and give away saplings for people to plant in their home garden. Speaker 10: 25:57 A child came and bought a pepper plant, and then he came back like every week showing me the progress of his pepper plant. And then finally, when he harvested the paper plant, he ate it. And I was just, you know, like I was just like, so into it that he was so into it. Speaker 9: 26:11 Pisco whose farm stand is open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons in the South Bay is hoping to kick off the local urban farming movement. Following the worker cooperative model, especially among people of color. Speaker 11: 26:24 We're an example to other POC that we, they can be part of a business and part of an industry because we, whether we want to or not, we're still part of the system, but in our own way with our ownership and it feels really good. And I feel a lot more people, more, more farmers should Speaker 12: 26:44 Totally feel that max Nadler, KPBS news Speaker 1: 26:58 Warming climate is putting environmental pressure on California forests that have towered over the golden state for thousands of years, as part of the KPBS climate change desk. We revisit a story from KPBS environment reporter Eric Anderson, who says underwater forests are also facing challenges from the heat Speaker 12: 27:18 At Parnell. Didn't have to walk far from San Diego Scripps pier to find strands of giant kelp washed up on the beach. Speaker 13: 27:25 The root system is called the hold fast that holds the kelp plant to the bottom right there. You can see that Speaker 12: 27:31 They really aren't roots. The Scripps institution of oceanography biologist says that's how the algae stays anchored to the ocean floor. Once anchored, they grow up Speaker 13: 27:41 Simply it puts out these stipes and each individual Stipe puts out these blades that then make it up to the surface for it to photosynthesize up near the surface. Speaker 12: 27:53 Small gas filled bubbles, carry the long stems to the surface where the blades can soak up. The sunshine. Darnell says giant kelp can grow up to two feet a day, making it one of the fastest growing, living things on the planet. Speaker 13: 28:07 The canopy depends on how much bottom hard bottom is located at depth here off San Diego. We have the two largest kelp forest off the West coast because we have hard bottom that the kelp can attach to, um, over in large areas Speaker 12: 28:20 Under water, the giant kelp forests off the coast of LA Jolla and point Loma can be spectacular. Biologists have compared them to an underwater forest of sequoias, but unlike the giant trees, kelp grows fast and dies fast. These young kelp that were videotaped just off the shores of San Diego are already reaching Skyward in the cool Pacific ocean. Plants can quickly reach lengths of a hundred feet, but their lifespan is pretty short in this vital, but delicate ecosystem. Cornell says the kelp provide food and habitat, Speaker 13: 28:59 But the kelp forest, the bottom had hosts a lot of habitat for species that live in the kelp forest over their entire lifetime. Speaker 12: 29:07 Cornell says giant kelp in San Diego is under siege storms and sea urchins have taken a toll, but the potentially more devastating issue is heat. That's on full display at the end of Scripps pier where Sean Bruce was one of many people who performed a daily ritual. So the sample we take is about two feet off the bottom, two to three feet off the bottom. Uh, the heavyweight ensures that no matter the surgery or the swell that day it'll stay in a fixed position. He's taking temperature readings of the ocean and those temperature readings show that the ocean has been warming here since the mid 1970s, temperatures hit a sustained peak in 2015 and 2016, and then set records just two years later, the heat is devastating for the fast growing kelp Cornell shared a video of a Rocky barren seabed near LA Jolla that has yet to recover from those heat waves. It's a Rocky area that should be full of kelp. And the problem is not limited to Southern California, Speaker 14: 30:10 Australia Tasmania, um, especially up in new England, um, also in Europe. And so it's a phenomenon that is affecting these ecosystems, uh, in both Northern and Southern hemisphere. Speaker 12: 30:25 Cheers, Mark Carr studies, evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz Speaker 14: 30:30 Consequences that warm water temperature has is it reduces the nutrient availability, um, to the algae and shallower water. Speaker 12: 30:41 Southern California kelp are not yet at the point where they're struggling to survive, but the iconic underwater habitat is at risk. Climate science predicts oceans will continue to warm and data confirms that the trend has been underway for some time. Speaker 14: 30:58 Certain is whether we're now Glenda's start to experience more and more of these deep waves over time. Speaker 12: 31:06 Script's researcher, ed Parnell says the iconic kelp may already be in trouble and that could have a dramatic impact on the regions near nearshore habitat. They host hundreds of species themselves and are provide. They provide shelter, habitat, and food for many, many species and losing the kelp forest will make the ocean a little less appealing to humans who dive in the underwater forests. We'll remove a small slice of the state's coastal tourism economy. Eric Anderson, KPBS news. Speaker 1: 31:47 You're listening to KPBS midday edition I'm Jade Hindman. The studio door has been pivoting since long before the pandemic. It has had to change locations and rethink ways to both present art exhibits as well as spaces for artists to work KPBS arts reporter Beth Armando speaks with studio door owner and artist Patrick Stillman, Patrick, you run and operate the studio door here in San Diego. So first of all, tell us what the studio door is. And in normal times what you would be dealing with. Speaker 14: 32:21 Well, the studio door is Hillcrest premier art gallery in the heart of Hillcrest, and we are a local artists gallery. We have artists studios and under normal circumstances, we would be having concerts workshops performances. Speaker 15: 32:40 So when this pandemic hit back in March, what were kind of the initial steps you took to kind of adjust to? Speaker 16: 32:49 Well in March, it was very daunting because everything truly shut down and there was sort of this panic about what's going to happen next. So we went dark, but I think that as an owner of a business, I was working twice as hard trying to come up with ideas of how to stay relevant. So I started to work on our website. E-commerce focusing on the studio, artists who were no longer able to sort of put themselves out there and start thinking about ways that I could try to be relevant online. Speaker 15: 33:31 And as this pandemic has continued on for months, what kind of things have you found have been successful and what ha what ways have you found to kind of connect artists with community and with buyers and display their art? Speaker 16: 33:46 You know, I think it's really a challenging time. I've seen the studio door as sort of a bellwether of how people are feeling about COVID our politics. It's been a real swing back and forth for people to want to be out of their house and engage, think about buying something like, uh, the arts, uh, to enhance their life. And so no one approach has been the true way to go sort of have to throw the spaghetti on the wall and try a lot of different approaches and just realize that the response is going to be dependent upon how people are collectively feeling. Speaker 15: 34:29 So we're lucky in some ways that during this pandemic, we have a lot of technology at our disposal. So what kind of things have you been doing through either social media or through zoom meetings that have proven successful? Speaker 16: 34:42 So one of the things that I've been doing for the local artists here at have a studio practice is I've been promoting them a lot online. We've been doing video interviews, we've actually walked through the gallery to capture what is going on that people would normally see when they come in. And also maybe for the first time, we're doing some online advertising to reach people who might be online and searching for art. Speaker 15: 35:14 And what has this pandemic meant for the artists who have studios there? Are they still able to access that and do their work? There Speaker 16: 35:23 It's been a challenging time for the business, but I think even more so for hardworking artists, those artists that are professional artists trying to make a living at art are having some really times trying to maintain a studio practice, get their art in front of people who are interested in purchasing it. It's been really challenging. I've seen some artists move out of town for financial reasons and they're searching for ways that they can remain relevant. And they might not have thought about those opportunities before. So it's a challenging time for working artists. Speaker 15: 36:05 And are your artists actually able to still come into the studios at the studio door? Speaker 16: 36:10 Yes. Studio artists are considered light manufacturing. So, um, as long as they keep to their studios, they're allowed to be in the space and continue working, Speaker 15: 36:21 Hearing you use a definition of an artist like that makes me think of how much people have had to learn about what they do and how it's defined by the state and how daily changes in these lockdowns affect them. So how is it for you to have to deal with things that are constantly changing and that you can't really plan for? Cause you don't know if a month down the road, something you're planning on doing was okay to do and suddenly is not. Speaker 16: 36:53 Yeah, it's been very confusing trying to keep up with all of the changes that the state and County put on to us. Uh, we definitely think of ourselves as artists and the gallery and all of a sudden, we're now forced to start looking at what is retail mean? What does light manufacturing mean? It's extremely challenging. And then along that same line, we're in the community in a neighborhood. And so when restaurants and bars close, it's impacting, you know, the foot traffic that comes into a small boutique or a gallery Speaker 15: 37:28 And you are a gallery space. So have you figured out a way to do kind of an online exhibition at this point, or are people allowed into the gallery space? Physically Speaker 16: 37:40 We're allowed to have capacity at 20%. I wish that we had capacity at 20% right now it's a bit of a ghost town. We feel very optimistic about keeping the arts out in the public in front of people. I am having art exhibitions that are ongoing. Some are featuring local artists like our affordable art marketplace. So we bring in affordable small pieces from local artists, um, at this time a year, but we're going to move right into January with our regular programming of featuring six artists in the main gallery. And so the challenge now is to come up with ways that we can do that in person, but also online. And so we're doing a lot more artists, videos, interviews, you know, spotlights on specific works of art, actually moving in the direction of the gallery in ways that we hadn't been before Speaker 15: 38:43 And financially, how difficult is it to stay afloat when your main source of income is really being, you know, infringed upon? Speaker 16: 38:52 So I've always been a good businessman and not always in the arts. And so when the opportunities came to seek out a government assistance, I went in full force and I, one of the few businesses, small businesses that benefited from PPP disaster alone and even some local funds from city and County governments. So without those funds, I don't think we would have been able to stay open, but in some ways, especially with the loan from the federal government, I think man, I've worked so hard to put myself into so much debt and that's going to be a real challenge in 2021 for me. And I'm sure other small businesses Speaker 15: 39:39 And in coming up with ways to deal with presenting artists in this pandemic, have you started to do things that as you head into 2021, you may continue to do, even though you may not have to like some online components or, you know, things like that, because it seems like a lot of arts organizations are innovating in ways that may prove beneficial beyond just the pandemic. Speaker 16: 40:07 Yeah. I think that, um, the positive side of the pandemic, uh, arts organizations like the studio door, I've been able to come up with, uh, innovative online programming that we didn't really have the time or didn't feel was as a top priority in the past is now becoming an essential part of how we operate. Speaker 15: 40:32 And how do you feel now in terms of the position studio door is in, are you optimistic that you're going to be able to stay afloat if this stay at home, stays in place for another number of months or, you know, uh, what's kind of your outlook right now? Speaker 16: 40:52 I think I have a lot of uncertainty about the coming new year and how we're going to survive that. I certainly am hoping that patrons will step up and return to the gallery in ways that they did before this pandemic hit. But overall, I feel, I think I'm an optimist when it comes to my heart. So I'm optimistically looking forward to the new year and I'm going to do everything I can to keep the doors open, but it's going to be, uh, difficult times ahead. Speaker 15: 41:25 Thank you very much for talking to me about struggling through the pandemic at the studio door. Speaker 16: 41:31 Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with Speaker 2: 41:34 Someone here in the arts community and small business. We appreciate everything that you do. And I hope that we all can look forward to a new year. Speaker 1: 41:44 That was Beth doc. Amando speaking with Patrick Stillman of the door studio. Check out the holiday art market@thestudiodoor.com Seniors have arguably taken the biggest hit in the COVID 19 pandemic. They have the highest death rate with the strict stay at home orders. Why for them can at times feel like house arrest today. We're revisiting a popular story from KPBS reporter. I meet the Sharma about a city Heights woman who is crooning her way through the lockdown. Speaker 17: 42:24 Yes. I love to sing. I love to sing for the people. Speaker 1: 42:28 72 years-old as Meralda Sanchez discovered her talent for music late in life. Speaker 17: 42:35 I was over 60 before I realized it was a gift. That is a real gift. I'll give you a sample. If you don't mind Speaker 2: 43:03 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 43:04 Before the Corona virus crisis Sanchez says life was full and she lived it outside of her tiny senior housing studio. Speaker 17: 43:12 I did enjoy very much go into Balboa park. I'd sing and play a little bit. And then I go into the senior center. I played bingo, usually one, at least one game. And then I come out and I'd sing and play some more. I have a lot of instruments and, uh, which I only brought the guitar, but I have a whole box of instruments that kids could use to be able to come over and handle the instruments and play with them. You know, pretend that they're the musician. So of course I miss that tremendously. Speaker 1: 43:43 And now over two months into the shelter in place directed this native new Yorker also misses her friends. Speaker 17: 43:51 I've been here only a year, but I got accustomed to going into the dining room and associating. And as I told you, I started a group. We call ourselves Queens, Queens from Queens and we don't do that anymore. We still socialize on the phone and we still get together, but we're not in the dining room that one-on-one kind of every day sort of thing. That's not happening. I miss human contact Speaker 1: 44:19 Sanchez says an unexpected benefit of the lockdowns is that it's helped her unlock her true self. Speaker 17: 44:26 I learned that I'm a survivor. I think more than anything, I, I believe for me, the learning is that I'm meant to be here. I meant to be here and I don't fully understand it. And I hope that amongst all the words in the jibberish that comes out of my mouth, that maybe someone else will glean an idea of what it is. But I feel that I've learned to love and to forgive, if you can't forgive, then you can't communicate. You can't collaborate. You can't get along to save this planet to save our earth. So as a person who holds a grudge for the first time in countless years, I spoke to a sister of mine that I just don't. I love you, you know, from a distance, but we speak on the phone now. So I've learned to forgive. Speaker 18: 45:25 What advice would you give to other seniors who during this time might be feeling neglected, isolated, lonely, Speaker 17: 45:33 Just get up in the morning and make the bed. It's incredible, but make that, spread it up, throw a pretty pillow on it, whatever, uh, move around as much as you possibly can, uh, do what you can for yourself. You know, we're all there to tell them we are old people. We do have our old people ways do an old people, things, you know, but sometimes like now reach out step outside of that little box that we're in and reach out to people because just like you might need someone, that person that you knock on the door, that might be just the thing to keep them from the hangman's rope or the pills or the dope or whatever foolishness that they might think is better than being alive. Speaker 2: 46:28 [inaudible] Speaker 18: 46:29 Amit, the Sharma KPBS news.