CVS Pharmacists Begin Vaccinating San Diego County Nursing Home Residents

Speaker 1: 00:00 CVS begins covered vaccinations in long-term care facilities. Speaker 2: 00:04 We have 40,000 long-term care facilities that have agreed to opt-in with CVS 15,000 of which are in California. Speaker 1: 00:12 I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Hyman. This is KPBS mid-day edition. We'll get a breakdown of Watson, the new federal stimulus bill. Speaker 3: 00:28 There is, uh, an extension in place of federal unemployment benefits. Um, this will go through the middle of March. So it's going to allow people to get up to 11 weeks of extra benefit, Speaker 1: 00:40 How special ed students and their teachers have been coping through the pandemic. And if you're fed up with holidays specials are Beth Huck. Amando suggests an offbeat series to binge that's ahead on midday edition COVID-19 vaccinations in San Diego. Nursing homes are expected to increase this week with the introduction of teams from CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. The two retail pharmacy companies were chosen by the Trump administration to administer vaccinations in long-term care facilities, and eventually provide vaccinations to the general public. For this huge undertaking. CVS is looking to add more than 100 pharmacists and technicians to its staff in San Diego. Joining me is Lisa Collagian. She is a licensed pharmacist and district leader for CVS health. Lisa, welcome to the program. Speaker 2: 01:40 Thank you. Thank you for having me. Speaker 1: 01:42 How is CVS coordinating with local nursing homes to set up the vaccination program? Speaker 2: 01:49 So actually back in October, the CDC sent out a survey to all long-term care facilities nationwide to survey them, to decide if they wanted to opt in and have CVS or Walgreens come onsite and provide the vaccine. So a lot of this work has been happening since October behind the scenes. We have 40,000 long-term care facilities that have agreed to opt in with CVS 15,000 of which are in California. So, um, there is a timeline schedule and all of that has been going on with CDC in partnership. Speaker 1: 02:21 Can they still apply now? Speaker 2: 02:24 Absolutely. Our goal is to get as many vaccinated as possible. Um, they would contact CVS directly and create that contract. Speaker 1: 02:34 No, what vaccine the CVS teams will have. Would that be Pfizer or Medina? Speaker 2: 02:40 It's a great question. It's actually state specific. I can just speak on per you know, on behalf of California, we are now moving forward with the Pfizer vaccine as of this morning. Speaker 1: 02:50 And the CDC makes that decision then w what, what vaccine that you, you get what vaccine each state gets Speaker 2: 02:58 It state. So it would be a partnership with the state and the CDC. Speaker 1: 03:03 Will there be a charge to the residents who receive the vaccinations? Speaker 2: 03:08 The vaccine will not have a charge for any of those who will be vaccinated with it. It's actually going to be initially reimbursed with the federal government, after which behind the scenes reimbursement would, would occur with private insurances. And for those who are not insured, the HRS would step in and provide the reimbursement for it. Speaker 1: 03:27 And how will the vaccine be transported and administered at the longterm care facilities? Speaker 2: 03:34 It's a great question. So five out of the six vaccines that are going to be coming out are standard refrigerated and freezer types of temperatures. Pfizer is a little bit more complicated. It is on dry ice. The packaging that is arriving right now is actually phenomenal. It has its own temperature screening inside the box when it arrives, there's constant temperature readings and dry ice will be utilized in order to keep it at the right temperatures. And it will be transported with that same temperature monitoring device with dry eyes, to the long-term care facilities. Speaker 1: 04:07 Do you, do you know how many, uh, long-term care facilities in San Diego have signed up already? Speaker 2: 04:13 I don't have the numbers for County specifically just 15,000 in the state of California. And we're expecting to vaccinate 700,000 long-term care residents and facility members in the next 12 weeks. Speaker 1: 04:27 Now it was reported over the weekend that there are currently a hundred cases of COVID-19 at one Escondido nursing home. So for many in these care facilities, vaccinations cannot come soon enough. When would you expect to start seeing a reduction in COVID infections at nursing homes here? Speaker 2: 04:46 That's a great question. And the sooner we get into that nursing home, the sooner we expect to see that reduction today was our go live date in California. So on behalf of the company, we're very excited and eager to help bring normalcy back, allow for the longterm care residents to really feel what it's like to go back to, um, you know, being able to hug and touch and see relatives. So today is our first day inside the long-term care facilities and the sooner we're in them, the sooner we'll be able to get back to normalcy and have humanity restored. Speaker 1: 05:16 And will you also be administering a second vaccination to the residents in 21 days? Speaker 2: 05:22 That's correct. So actually we will be visiting each long-term care facility three times. The first one would be for the initial dose. The second visit would be three to four weeks apart, depending on the vaccine. And then the third visit would be for anyone that actually received the initial dose during our second visit. So perhaps somebody joined the long-term care facility a little later, or weren't feeling well on their first visit. So we will make sure to hit each one, three times to ensure that everyone has been vaccinated appropriately with both of the vaccinations, the initial and the booster. Do you have estimate on Speaker 1: 05:58 How long it may take to get all long-term care patients in San Diego? Speaker 2: 06:04 I actually don't have those numbers. The sooner each, um, long-term care facility is contracted. The sooner we can move along with making sure that every resident who wants to receive the vaccine has been given that opportunity. Speaker 1: 06:17 He says the next groups of people to get vaccinated will be workers in essential and critical industries and people at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness due to underlying medical conditions, will CVS be involved in those vaccines? Speaker 2: 06:35 Absolutely. So CVS has been contracted with the United States department of health and human services to be one of the official COVID 19 vaccination program providers. So initially, yes, we are going to the long-term care facilities. After that we have plans to then move past to the next phase and eventually to the general public really anticipating by March, April. Um, of course that timeline is fluid, but there is a phase approach and CVS is definitely on board to help with that. Speaker 1: 07:05 What are you expecting to start in March or April? Can you tell me that again? Speaker 2: 07:09 The vaccination to the general public? Speaker 1: 07:12 Okay. So in, in, uh, pretty much early Speaker 2: 07:15 That is the anticipated, but again, that timeline is fluid and how Speaker 1: 07:19 Work will it be like getting a flu shot or will you have to make an appointment? Speaker 2: 07:24 You will have to make an appointment. So initially you'll make your first appointment after which it will prompt you to make your second follow-up appointment in the appropriate timeline. And that can be done online. We're also going to be leveraging our social media online platforms, as well as reaching out to our 30 million extra care loyalty members and 90 million of our patients who are already signed up for text alerts. So those are the platforms we will be utilizing when we are ready for general vaccinations. Speaker 1: 07:54 As I mentioned, it's been noted that CVS is looking to add more pharmacists and technicians because of this large undertaking of, of all these vaccinations. How has that hiring going? I mean, are there pharmacists just waiting to be hired? Speaker 2: 08:09 Absolutely. So we are excited to be able to provide this to pharmacists or pharmacy entrance and technicians based on each state's regulations. We are anticipating 30,000 pharmacists onboard and 60,000 technicians to provide for the vaccinations. And yes, absolutely. We are open. We are hiring, we've got a whole team out there recruiting. And I think at this point as a pharmacist, our goal is to be involved as much as we can. So if we weren't a CVS pharmacist prior to, and we know we have those who are reaching out and saying, I want to be part of this and are interviewing and actually becoming part of the COVID vaccine program for our company. So we're very excited to provide for that. Speaker 1: 08:49 I've been speaking with Lisa, Collagian a licensed pharmacist and district leader for CVS health. Lisa, thank you. And thank Speaker 4: 08:56 You for all that good information. Thank you as well. The pressure of overfilled ICU's and job loss, president Trump signed a second COVID relief bill last night, the bill sets in motion, stimulus checks for eligible Americans extends unemployment benefits and more to break down how this bill will impact your wallet is Ron Lieber, the New York times, your money columnist. Thanks for joining us, Ron, thank you for having me. So let's start with the stimulus payments. People will be receiving who will be getting those and how much will they be Speaker 5: 09:38 Quite a work pretty similarly to the way that it did back in March, but the payments will not be the same. So it's going to be $600 per adult individual instead of the $1,200 people got before. Um, if you've got kids, uh, you will get $600 per kid, uh, up to the age of 17. And so that's how it's going to work this time for the payments. Um, there is, uh, a little bit of a twist. Now they've clarified that if you happen to be a citizen yourself, but are married to a non citizen, you as a citizen will not be ineligible anymore. So that's a change from before. Speaker 4: 10:19 And when will people see these checks and will they come in the mail or be directly deposited into bank accounts? Speaker 5: 10:26 Well, it's hard to say. I mean, under the very best of circumstances, the money starts showing up in people's accounts may be next week sometime, but that is only people who are set up to receive these payments by direct deposit. You will know if that's the case. If you managed to get my direct deposit last time, then there are millions more people who will get it by paper check or via a debit card, depending on if they interact with the federal government through other sorts of benefit programs that allow them to receive payments via the plastic debit card. So it's just going to depend in some ways, or maybe in large part on how it worked last time for you Speaker 4: 11:04 And how will this bill impact people who are receiving unemployment. Speaker 5: 11:08 It will help them. So there is, uh, an extension in place of federal unemployment benefits. Um, this will go through the middle of March. So it's going to allow people to get up to 11 weeks of extra benefit at $300 per week. So this is above and beyond whatever you may or may not be eligible for via the state. So this gets complicated because every state has their own system and every state system works a little bit differently. So if you have already filed for unemployment, say with the state of California, you should have a reasonably good sense of how it works. I would be keeping a very close eye on your state's unemployment agency website for instructions. Um, if there's anything you need to do, uh, or just for information about when you might expect to payment Speaker 4: 12:01 And how about those who are self-employed, Speaker 5: 12:04 There will also be an extension of the same, um, federal benefit that was made available to them. So again, if that is the spot that you're in, you should keep a close eye on the state's website for more information about how that will work. Speaker 4: 12:17 This bill also made some changes to food assistance. What can you tell us about that? Speaker 5: 12:22 There's going to be an, uh, an increase for people who were eligible for what's colloquially known as food stamps, but as officially known as snap benefits. And so that's going to benefit people who should get a boost up to 15% and the maximum amount that's available to them. Uh, so that is happening. And then the other thing that's changed is that college students who traditionally have had a very difficult time qualifying for food stamps, um, it has now become easier for them to do so. The, the qualifications are not simple. And again, if you are a college student, and if you are eligible for a federal or state work study job, there's a chance that you may now be eligible for food stamps depending on your income and, um, a number of other things. So there are two, you want to look at the state agency's website that keeps track of, um, snap benefits and, or talk to somebody in your financial aid office to see if they can help you Speaker 4: 13:22 About people who are trying to keep a roof over their heads. Talk to me about what relief looks like for them in this bill. Sure. Speaker 5: 13:29 So much depends on whether you are an owner or whether you're a renter. The renters got an extension of what had been a federal eviction moratorium, um, that was supposed to expire. And so those folks now have a little bit longer to be protected. And so you'll want to make sure that your landlord is aware of this as well. Some landlords, you know, plead ignorance. Um, so if you're in conversation with your landlord, uh, you'll want to make sure that they are aware of it. So that gives you a little bit longer and we should expect that the Biden administration is going to take another look at this, uh, towards the end of January. And there may well be another extension after that. Speaker 4: 14:10 And there will be help paying for internet service for some who will be eligible for that. Speaker 5: 14:15 Yeah. So this was something that was, um, that was new and potentially very generous. Um, there are a number of people who qualify for existing federal programs, known as lifeline programs that, um, help pay for high speed internet. But what's new here now is that they've created a pool of money that will exist until it's depleted. That will help anybody who has lost a job or lost a significant amount of income and can prove it through a furlough notice or having qualified for unemployment benefits, um, sometime this year. Uh, and we'll give you up to $50 per month or $75 per month if you live on tribal lands towards the internet. So basically anybody who's been laid off at any point this year should be eligible for this. Um, it's not clear how quickly the money will disappear, but what you're going to want to do is you're going to want to go to your internet provider and say, hi, I've heard about this $50 benefit that is now available to me. How do I qualify? And it will probably be mid to late January before any of the carriers have systems in place, but after that, that money should be available. And so, you know, 50 bucks a month is not nothing. And it's worth taking a look at if you have endured that kind of hardship. Speaker 4: 15:30 Yeah. And you know, there's also something in there regarding unused money and FSA accounts. What are these accounts and what is the change? Sure. Speaker 5: 15:38 Um, so this will benefit people more at the sort of, um, uh, you know, uh, upper end of the income stream generally, or at least people who have been lucky enough to have gainful employment. What these flexible spending accounts do is that they help people who work for an employer that offer the benefit, um, where you can take money from your paycheck and put it aside in the account that you can use for healthcare expenses or daycare expenses, or other dependent care expenses, uh, that your insurance does not cover. And so the way this came into play was that there are all sorts of people whose lives were completely disrupted this year, right? And they did not end up having the same expenses as they thought they would. And for people whose expenses went down, particularly people whose daycare's closed, right? The money in those accounts normally expires at the end of the year. So now it's not going to expire anymore. As long as your employer agrees to allow you to roll it over. So that'll be true for this year and it will be true for next year. So the bottom line is it gives people who have the privilege of having access to this account, uh, way more flexibility with their money and will help them not lose it. At the end of the calendar years. Speaker 4: 16:50 Is there a relief for small businesses included in that? Speaker 5: 16:53 Yes, there is an extension of the PPP program, um, that was, uh, a sort of a forgivable loan to small businesses. Um, and so there are going to be more of those loans available now, as we learned this year, right? It, isn't always simple getting a hold of them. And it isn't always simple, um, applying for forgiveness, but on the whole, the people that were able to get their hands on them, um, did find, uh, that they helped a great deal in terms of being able to keep the lights on. So there are going to be additional funds available for now, um, for people who might need them. So, um, that is, you know, going to be a big benefit for those who are in a position to take advantage of it. Speaker 4: 17:34 Lots of good information there. I've been speaking with Ron Lieber, the New York times, your money columnist, Ron. Thanks. Thanks so much for having me. Speaker 6: 17:45 [inaudible] Speaker 1: 17:51 This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Jade Hindman with the pandemic. Now in its ninth month, both parents and teachers of students with disabilities have struggled to keep their students on track. Leticia Aguilar has one foot in both worlds in a story. We first brought you earlier this year, KPBS education reporter, Joe Hong spent the day with one special education teacher who has two sons of her own on the autism spectrum, Speaker 7: 18:22 Always on time and ready to learn. Speaker 8: 18:25 Leticia Avalara starts her day at six 30 in the morning. She wakes up an hour before her two sons. So she can lesson plan catch up on emails or clean her house. When her sons wake up, she prepares breakfast and logs into her virtual classroom. Speaker 7: 18:40 Okay, Jonah, I'm going to go on classes, guys, to have a quiet voice. I got to go on class. I got to do work Speaker 8: 18:49 30 year old Leticia. Hadn't always planned on a career in special education. She was originally studying English and art, but our outlook changed after our first son, Jonah was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy, her early experiences with trying to get them the services you needed letter to take a job as a special education teacher's aid. She started working for the San Diego unified school district in 2016, Speaker 7: 19:11 You kind of just get an initial diagnosis and they're like, okay, bye. And for me, I knew there had to be more than that. Luckily she had some help. So his first special education teacher like guided me through the whole process on how to get services, how to navigate special education. And like she would call me and tell me, this is what you have to do. This is the best thing for your son. And I want it to be that person for somebody, because I knew how important it was, like just to have somebody on your corner. So, Speaker 8: 19:40 But today Latisha is on her own. She's a single parent raising both 11 year old Jonah, and seven-year-old Dez. Who's also on the autism spectrum earlier this year, she earned her special education, teaching credential, fate, Delta, another twist when she had to start her teaching career in the middle of a pandemic, Speaker 7: 19:57 The beginning, it was very hard, especially like everything being shut down. So we were literally stuck in there and like a one bedroom apartment for probably two months. Um, and that was like very difficult for all of us. Speaker 8: 20:09 She says the first few weeks of teaching in the new term have been smooth, but life's still a challenge while she teaches high schoolers, her sons still need her attention as they attend their own zoom classes. Speaker 7: 20:20 It's kind of transitioning back into, you know, I'm working again. I don't have the time it's, what's making this difficult again. Like, um, as you can see, like, I don't have enough time to like entertain one while I'm doing this while I'm doing that right. Speaker 8: 20:34 Has said her older son, Jonah hasn't fallen behind academically. Her younger son does, is having a harder time with reading and adjusting to the new schedule. Speaker 7: 20:42 And he's kind of having a hard time with the sight words. Um, and he's just a hard time getting back into like the school, like routine of like being online and seeing as teachers. And it's still very hard for him. Speaker 8: 20:56 Both Jonah and Dez are getting speech therapy services, and Leticia says, they're getting better at distance learning when their classes are over, she spends the rest of the day preparing lessons or helping her sons with their schoolwork. She's also studying to get her master's degree in special education. Speaker 7: 21:12 Nice. So, um, I feel like I, I, I'm not doing enough on their end. And then sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough on the teaching end. Like you always, like, I always end the day, like what more could I have done? But then I think like, what more can I possibly do? Speaker 8: 21:26 But she's comforted by the knowledge that the insight she's gained from her son's experiences has made her both a better teacher and a better parent Joe Hong KPBS news Speaker 7: 21:47 During the COVID-19 pandemic, there's been a Renaissance of bike riding and San Diego County. There's also been a decrease in bike crashes and injuries perhaps due to lower traffic volumes, KPBS, Metro reporter, Andrew Bowen says advocates, see this moment as critical to whether that positive trend continues. Speaker 9: 22:08 I'm biking with Oscar to Vera through terracotta park. One of the stopping points on the self guided black indigenous and people of color history ride to Vera is a board member of bike SD and helped organize a small group bike ride along the tour to Rolta park was included because of its significance to the history of city Heights. The site itself is a great visual representation of what can be achieved. Uh, the community organizers were able to advocate for this park. After the state, route 15 was constructed. It bisected the two communities, but this park was able to kind of join them together. It's making street-level connections like these that Tavarus sees as central to bike STS mission. And one of the few positives of the pandemic is that people have become more apt to get on a bike and explore their city. He and others are hopeful that the new habits stick after the pandemic is over getting the people more comfortable with understanding the logistics of the road and feeling just even being comfortable, riding next to cars. Speaker 9: 23:08 I think getting those families and getting those daily commuters out of their cars and understanding that biking isn't a possible alternative, not every day, but most of the time it could be a good solution. Long-term the regional transportation planning agency SANDAG measured a 42% increase in bike trips, countywide for mid March to mid August this year, compared to last year. Meanwhile, cyclist injuries from collisions were down 19% in the city of San Diego during that period. So more people are biking and fewer are getting injured. And then as you get more people there, there is a critical mass and Speaker 10: 23:46 Drivers become more aware. And I think we have to do all of it. Speaker 9: 23:48 County supervisor, Nathan Fletcher also sees a window of opportunity to make lasting change, to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. His office recently launched a program to give away up to 400 electric bikes to County residents. He says, e-bikes are especially promising in San Diego, which is spread out and has lots of Hills, right? Speaker 10: 24:09 I think this program is a perfect compliment to come at the right time to inject electric bikes in there, which are much easier to use as a community than a traditional bicycle. And so I think we really need to think about as we come out of this, how do we maintain and expand that the progress we've seen in, in this area Speaker 9: 24:24 Life lost is too many. One, one person injured. There's too many Hassan. A CRADA is executive director of SANDAG, which gathered the cycling data. SANDAG recently completed eight new traffic circles in the city of San Diego meant to slow down cars and improve visibility of cyclists. It CRADA says they're an improvement, but they're still not enough. Eventually we have to get to a place where we figured out how we separate bikes from traffic. And I think our longterm vision for San Diego region will envision a bike network that will provide some dragons, the ability to ride without having a funeral biker like to Vera and Fletcher. It CRADA hopes the increased interest in biking brought on by the pandemic will change mindsets around building new protected bike lanes. Some projects have been delayed by several years, often under pressure from residents who don't want to sacrifice any road space currently dedicated to cars. Speaker 9: 25:23 We need our communities to be willing to, to, to give up something they've got used to just simply because we believe a multimodal approach to any community is a great way to sustain that community advocates say the great promise of the bike boom during the pandemic is expanding their constituency. Things like e-bikes and safe, protected bike lanes can make biking more accessible to more people like older adults or families with young children. Again, Oscar to Vera. This could be a simple thing that you can start doing on the weekend, and it's not a 20 mile commute, but maybe just starting around your block in the neighborhood. I think that will kind of make the system last longer. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news, Speaker 1: 26:09 The need for spaces to house people experiencing homelessness is at an all time high, but in Escondido interfaith community services has made some headway. The nonprofit recently purchased a hotel. It describes as a campus for healing and transformation in a story. First reported earlier this year, KPBS North County reported Tanya Thorne says it will provide a safe space for people experiencing homelessness in North County, in a commercial zone in the city of Escondido, a motel that had been listed for sales in 19 Speaker 11: 26:44 Will soon serve as a tool to combat homelessness. It will be run by interfree community services, interfaith and other organizations throughout San Diego have steered towards purchasing distressed hotels as a way to provide a safe and effective space for people in need of housing. Inter-faith graduate. Jennifer [inaudible] calls them healing hotels Speaker 12: 27:05 Because it's impossible to go from street to, you know, something that's like this, or like the place that I'm at now. Speaker 11: 27:13 Cause see, Zach was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago, the physical and financial burden of treatment took a toll on her, causing her to lose her home and job. Speaker 12: 27:22 And the chemo made me have brain fog a lot. So it was really hard to get a job afterwards, you know, similar what I was doing before. And so I just kind of, I guess you could say gave up, you know, didn't pay rent and pay my car max credit cards. So it was just like, yeah, you know, just depression pretty much. And being broke because of cancer. Speaker 11: 27:46 She says the interfaith program made all the difference in helping her get off the streets and into a place she can call home. Speaker 12: 27:53 It's amazing. They have these programs and the fact that they're for people that come out of the hospital and they can recuperate. I think that's fantastic. Speaker 11: 28:01 Greg angel is the CEO of interfaith community services. He says cases like Jennifer's ringing the bell for the need for spaces, for people to recover and get back on their feet. That is what led to the recent purchase of this motel. In Escondido. Speaker 9: 28:15 We are so excited to turn this, uh, now, uh, empty motel into a place of healing and transformation. And we've been working on this project for more than a year. Uh, we have the support of our San Diego County board of supervisors who approved a $6 million grant to, uh, go towards this purchase. Ultimately it will be a $10 million project. Speaker 11: 28:38 The motel will provide beds for a mix of recovering and graduate interfaith clients. Speaker 9: 28:42 And we will help people who are exiting hospitals without housing. And we'll also help people who are on the streets to be able to have a safe place to go while they move forward in their lives. Speaker 11: 28:54 Angel. So the need for these beds has never been greater in North County. Speaker 9: 28:58 There are thousands of people experiencing homelessness on any night in our, in our County. And the reality is there are not enough shelter beds. There are not enough, uh, graduate lodging beds or recuperative care beds. Like we will provide here to help those individuals. Speaker 11: 29:14 The trend of purchasing hotels to serve as housing for the homeless has been gaining momentum. The San Diego city council recently approved the purchase of two hotels to service permanent housing. A move that mayor Kevin Faulkner says is leading California in the right direction. Speaker 13: 29:29 And by converting these hotels into housing and continuing to navigate folks and to other housing, our region will continue to lead the state on solutions to reduce Speaker 11: 29:42 Homelessness. Interfaith community services continues to provide food, employment, addiction, treatment caseworkers, and counseling support to those in need. The purchase of the motel now means the expansion of services they can provide. Every room here will be helping another person move forward in their lives. In Escondido, Tonya Thorne, KPBS news, Speaker 4: 30:09 The right to vote is something many treasure, some take for granted and some don't use, but how that vote came to be for women goes back more than a century in this country. Our next story aired earlier this year as the country celebrated, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment KPBS is Maya Travolta. He takes a look back at how San Diego has played a part Speaker 14: 30:30 Inside the women's museum of California in a room lined with clothes, buttons, postcards, and political signs, president of the museum. And Hoiberg reads from a poem written by a suffragist more than a century Speaker 15: 30:45 For the long Workday, for the taxes we pay for the laws. We all Bay. We want something to say, Speaker 14: 30:57 But who were these trailblazers fighting for? Women's rights to vote. And more specifically, how did San Diegans play apart in 1895, Susan B. Anthony, the famous leader of the national suffrage movement paid a visit to the then sleepy town of San Diego. Speaker 15: 31:15 And the town was so excited. The famous Susan B. Anthony. She spoke at the Methodist church standing room only Speaker 14: 31:23 1896. Anthony led the first local campaign Speaker 15: 31:28 When down to failure, which was very disappointing. Speaker 14: 31:32 It wasn't for another 15 years in 1911, that women would seize another opportunity. This time led by a local point Loma resident, Dr. Charlotte Baker. Speaker 15: 31:45 So she became president of the San Diego woman. Suffrage associates, Speaker 14: 31:51 Suffragists got organized with support from other prominent women like flora, Kimball of national city, Ellen Browning, Scripps and attorney Clara Shortridge Foltz. The local suffragists used a three-pronged strategy. They believed was short to work for starters, instead of protest, the women used the power of persuasion Speaker 15: 32:16 And these women would go into a man's home and they would sit with that man, and talk about the importance of women getting the right to vote and they wouldn't leave until they convinced you. Speaker 14: 32:29 Women took advantage of the times, the California exposition was coming to San Diego and Balbo park was having a groundbreaking ceremony in July of 19 for their second strategy. The suffragists would parade. They decorated a float with yellow ribbon, promoting their clear message of equality. Speaker 15: 32:49 They call it the modern Boston tea party and also had on their taxation without representation is cheering me now, as it was in 1773, Speaker 14: 33:06 For the most part, San Diego County was still a rural town. Agriculture was highly dependent on the labor of women. The just knew they had to reach the outlying communities by using their third strategy. Automobile campaigning. The campaign started on a Monday morning. Speaker 15: 33:25 Women left San Diego for Oceanside. It probably took them several hours to get there. The roads were probably running a dusty dirty Speaker 14: 33:37 From there. They drove to speak to men in Escondido, then to Fallbrook and finally to Ramona Speaker 15: 33:44 Was highly successful. And then Tobar 1911. And that was the big election day. Was it going to go down to defeat like it did in 1896 or would it be successful? Speaker 14: 33:59 Well, it was a, when the final statewide vote was close with a margin less than one and a half percent in San Diego, the margin was wider with more than 57% of men voting. Yes. And California became the sixth state in the country to give women the right to vote. All of which were Western States. Speaker 15: 34:19 Explain that. But I do think it has to do with the sense of equality between men and women, the pioneer spirit of people who would venture from the East coast to come out here. To me, that's fascinating. Speaker 14: 34:35 [inaudible] KPBS news. Speaker 4: 34:38 Congress passed the 19th amendment in June of 1919. It was ratified in August of 1920. Speaker 4: 34:53 This is KPBS day edition. I'm Jade Hindman with Maureen Kavanaugh for many people. This time of year is full of television and movie watching. If you're looking for another show to watch KPBS arts reporter Beth Armando Amando recommends FX networks. What we do in the shadows, the series is a spinoff of the 2014 mockumentary film of the same name. The show looks at a group of Staten Island vampires, trying to navigate a modern world of emails, online trolls and Superbowl parties. Earlier this year, Beth spoke with actor, Matt Barry, who plays the vampire Laszlo here's that interview. Speaker 14: 35:31 So Matt, you are heading into the season finale for, uh, what we do the shadows. Speaker 16: 35:40 How does it feel to be entering the, uh, end of the second season? Speaker 17: 35:44 So it's just worth remembering that it has an ed in the UK. So it doesn't feel like anything because I haven't seen any of it and I can't watch it go out. So I've no idea. Speaker 16: 35:57 So how did you initially get involved with the series? Speaker 17: 36:00 I was doing a film about three or four years ago with Jermaine and halfway through that film, he just lent over and said, well, I'm thinking about doing a TV version of that vampire film that I did. Would you want to do it? So I said, yeah. Speaker 16: 36:19 So since you got involved, so early on that show, how much involvement did you have in creating Laszlo and who he is and what kind of a person he is? Speaker 17: 36:28 It wasn't much conversation had. I mean, the only thing I can kind of remember is I said to Jermaine before we'd filmed anything, you know, before we did the pilot, you know, how do you want this fellow to sound? And he said, I want it to sound like you. And I said, well, you know, if he's Eastern Europe, you know, everyone else is doing that, you know, then I can do that. And he was dead against that. He said, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want him to sound like you sound. So that was it. That was the only conversation that we really, you know, that we really had. Speaker 16: 36:58 Now the show has a very kind of free form feel to it because of that mockumentary style. But how tightly scripted is it and how much interplay is there in terms of like you guys improvising or changing things as, as you're shooting, Speaker 17: 37:13 It's very loose. It's a basic starting point. And then we kind of shoot from there. So no one is particularly pretty precious about the script, unless there's a line that is going to be kind of relevant for a visual joke or something, a couple of scenes sort of later on, you know, then you have to make sure that you get that right. But other than that, it's very, very loose. I mean, there's a lot of sort of British reference. If the, I always think they're going to cut out and I just kind of put them in, you know, just to sort of test the waters. It works. Speaker 16: 37:44 He didn't have a lot of, uh, background on Laszlo when this series started. What kind of a backstory did you create for them? Speaker 17: 37:51 He's unwittingly become sort of part of this scene kind of this way of, you know, way of life, I guess. So. And he was just like a normal, a normal pompous idiot who just so you know, just so happened to have, uh, a vampire fly outside his window, she materialized into a sort of beautiful young woman and that was it. Then he was, you know, then he was a vampire, but he's no different than he was the day before he was a vampire. So, you know, he's still the same conceited idiot, you know, that he always was. Speaker 18: 38:28 We'll try to the township posing is your average American Yankee doodle dandy. And I took over lucky bruise bar and grill the previous owner. Speaker 19: 38:36 He mysteriously disappeared because I killed him drinks on the house. I have not looked back since I now go by the name of Daytona, Jackie Denton. And I'll tell you something, Jackie did his life. It ain't so bad, not bad at all. Speaker 17: 38:54 You find any kind of through line between some of the other characters you've created and, and Laszlo now the most fun is, you know, when you play somebody who has no sense of humor and has no sense of themselves in that way and doesn't really care, you know, what other people think? I mean, it's the way, you know, that it was kind of written because he sounded like he was quite sort of keen on the sound of his own voice. So I had to go with that. Well, and you do have this great voice and some of your inflections just make a very simple plain line so much funny. I mean, just the way you say New York city with us, just to keep you concentrating otherwise, you know, you might drift off and think about selling some set or one of those other shows that are on. Speaker 17: 39:40 I don't know why I mentioned that one. I've just seen a picture for it. Maybe now, when you do the scenes where they're the like, sit down interview parts of the show, how are those to shoot? And are you just completely kind of improvising to questions that are being thrown at you? They are completely improvised. I would say. I mean, if they're plot driven, then you go on and make sure, you know, you sort of mentioned that two or three words that are kind of relevant, but other than that, you can say any old nonsense because they can just cut it down. You know, we get quite a lot of time to do those, which is good. You know, it gives us, you know, it gives us the time to say anything and we really do say anything on those, the most horrendous things sometimes. Speaker 17: 40:25 And thank God they're not included, but in order to say those horrendous things, you get to something else. So sometimes it's worth it. And what is it like shooting on the set? Because it seems like as characters, you guys have this ensemble, I mean, you guys are living together for centuries. Uh, what kind of a, a feel is there on the set and have you guys kind of developed this sense of comradery on the set? We all love the set. I mean, the set is the best set that I've ever worked on. I mean, I've worked in a lot of sitcoms where the, you know, where the sets of sort of pony, they're just normally a bunch of flats with office furniture, but, um, this is fantastic because everywhere you look, there's a three 60 affairs. So you can go back to your trailer, you know, just sort of rest in between scenes. Now I don't do that as a rule because the set is far more comfortable. So I'll go and pick a room that isn't being used for filming, and I'll go and sleep there for an hour or two, because it's much more comfortable. It does freak you out when you wake up because you wake up and say, what hell, you know, it's a bit of a shock because there'll be a portrait of you or a skeleton or something, you know, horrendous, but, um, they're far more comfortable than any of the trailers. Speaker 16: 41:47 One of the things that I really appreciate about the show is the particular kind of humor there is because it constantly surprises you because you think you kind of have the characters figured out to a certain degree. And then like in the ghost episode, suddenly here are these vampires who don't believe in ghosts. And that was such a nice kind of word. And I'm just wondering, like what kind of things is Jemaine Clement drawing on in, in terms of coming up with these storylines, Speaker 17: 42:15 We've sort of touched upon that in the first series too. It's just, you know, it's just that same, which is always really interesting and can be quite funny where you have a figure or a certain kind of creature be it vampire or zombie, but then you think, you know, what scares them, they're very famous for sort of scaring everything else, but then, you know, what would scare them and the most stupid and trivial almost childish thing that scares them is always going to be quite interesting. You know, it could be funny. Speaker 16: 42:48 And I do have to ask you about the episode you did with Mark Hamill. Cause you got kind of featured in that one and that was a great piece. What was that one like to shoot Speaker 17: 42:55 A lot of fun, definitely Robinson wrote that and she's great. And, and it was, it was just weird because there was a scene where we were fighting each other with pool cues. And I just thought, you know, here I am, I'm stood in front of Luke Skywalker holding a pool cue. Oh yeah. It's just, you know, it's there aren't that many moments, you know, we'll take you out of what you're doing, where you think, how the hell have I ended up here doing this. I mean, I think that quite lot, which is how the hell have I ended up here. Speaker 16: 43:31 So as you're, uh, heading into the end of this season of what we do in the shadows, what have you liked most about playing Laszlo? Speaker 17: 43:38 I like working with Natasha that's, that's my, you know, one of my main highlights. That's great. Cause we got almost identical sense of humor. So that really helps Speaker 20: 43:52 Has always been quite musical. It's true. I can play anything. I don't give a monkeys, whether it's a three-way plunk box, Antwan sax is Metalla Cloudinary or the chin grinders, wind piano, but I'll tell you this, my luck changed the night I met nausea for sheep is an exquisite. Let us just send me down. Speaker 17: 44:11 It's just made so much easier for me being in such an amazing set, everybody kind of concentrating as, as hard as they can, because that really brings out everyone to, you know, sort of feeds off each other and do what you need to do. Yeah. It's just a good environment. I mean, you know, it's a good environment for me personally. I can't speak for anyone else. I mean, you know, I don't know how they find, you know, but it's, it's good for me. It's inspiring. And if something, you know, if there's that amount of attention to detail, that's gone into everything that you know, that you look at around you, then you have to match that. I think you have to be as good as all this. So it does, you know, it kind of makes you raise your game, which is always, always worth doing Speaker 4: 44:56 That was Matt Berry of what we do in the shadows. Speaking with Beth DACA, Mondo, their full interview is on Beth's Sinema junkie podcast, which you can find@kpbs.org. Season three of the FX show is in the wings.