More Contagious Variant Of COVID-19 Is In San Diego

Speaker 1: 00:00 Researchers test for more of the COVID variant in San Diego, Speaker 2: 00:04 We saw those mutations occurring at this very specific protein where like a hot, maybe the virus is evolving to better infect us. Speaker 1: 00:11 I'm wearing Kevin all with Jade Heinemann this is KPBS day. Speaker 3: 00:15 Yeah. Speaker 1: 00:24 Governor Newsome's plan to reopen schools is met with both hope and caution. Speaker 3: 00:29 The other encouraging, uh, part of, uh, what the governor is laying out is his intention and the state's intentions and prioritize educators to receive the vaccine. I look back at it, Speaker 1: 00:41 The difficult conversation the Marine Corps had this year about racism and a San Diego movie house will help you catch up on the work of a great Hong Kong director. That's ahead. On mid day, Speaker 3: 00:53 Addition Speaker 1: 01:00 Officials say the San Diego man diagnosed with California's first case of the COVID virus. Variant is observing quarantine, but they are still concerned that the strain is already out there in our community. Here's Dr. Christian Anderson of Scripps research whose lab identified the variant. Speaker 4: 01:18 We have detected this lineage, but we knew because of travel patterns and because of how prevalent it is in other parts of the world, we knew that this was also something we were going to find here in San Diego is only a question of when we have now found that first case. Again, the case had no history of travel. So we know there's more, we don't know how many Speaker 1: 01:38 The variant was first detected in this country in Colorado, after circulating widely in great Britain, causing a new lockdown for much of that nation, UC San Diego and scripts researchers were key to identifying the variant strain and they continue to process samples of the virus searching for any sign of the virus mutation. Johnnie Mae is Dr. Davy Smith, chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego. Dr. Smith. Welcome. Speaker 2: 02:05 Thank you. It's good to be here. Speaker 1: 02:07 What do we know about that variant called [inaudible]? How is it different from the original virus? Speaker 2: 02:14 Yeah, so there's a few mutations, uh, that are a little suspect. They occur at the protein of the virus called the spike protein, and that's the protein that engages the virus to be able to infect the cell. So if there was a mutation that allowed the virus to become more infectious, more transmissible than it would be most likely to occur at that spike protein. So when we saw those mutations occurring at this very specific protein, we're like, aha, maybe the virus is evolving to better infect us Speaker 1: 02:46 Difficult to distinguish between the two strains of the virus. And what's the process involved. Speaker 2: 02:51 Yeah. So the way that we distinguish between the two, uh, strains is we take the sequence. We have to sequence all of the different viruses that are out there and, uh, Christian Anderson's lab and others across the world are doing exactly this. So every time we get a new case of coronavirus and we get it to the right lab, we can sequence it. And once we know the sequence of the virus, then we can compare it to all the other sequences. And there's a, there's a really good, uh, software now that we can look and see what the differences are. Speaker 1: 03:20 Variant is described as more contagious. What exactly does that mean? Speaker 2: 03:26 So this is all from epidemiologic studies. We just, in the UK, they saw that they had this new variant and it had these specific mutations that the protein that thought maybe it was more transmissible or infectious. And then they also saw that more people were getting that variant than other people getting the other variant. So then that meant that, uh, we could suspect that that variant was most was more transmissible than other variants. However, uh, it could be that the virus was just in the right place at the right time. It came in it, uh, there was a bunch of susceptible people there and it spread very quickly amongst those susceptible people. So it looked like it was more infectious when in fact it just happened to be at the right place at the right time. So there's still more studies that need to be done to determine whether or not that variant is actually more infectious. Speaker 1: 04:18 How did Britain discover the variant? Have they been doing testing and sequencing that we have not? Speaker 2: 04:25 No, no. We we've been doing the sequencing. They've been doing the sequencing people in China, every place around the world has been sequencing their variants. And we've been looking specifically at the different mutation patterns that have been occurring and they, uh, identified this new variant and it happened start to rise in the number of the proportion of the number of cases. And they're like a HOD. This might be a variant that has become a more evolved, uh, for us. Right? So since jumping from a bat in the humans, the virus is trying to figure out how best to infect us. And perhaps, uh, this mutation is one of those ways that the virus is learning. Speaker 1: 05:03 There have been complaints though that the U S is not testing these viruses as much as other countries have in there. Speaker 2: 05:10 Oh, for sure. Uh, so to be, to be honest, uh, this, uh, strain that we found here in San Diego was done by academic labs, right. Um, and not by, um, the CDC or, uh, governmental agencies, it's it, it's going to require all of us, but, uh, for sure we're not been, we have not been testing enough from the very beginning. And we haven't been doing enough of this sequence surveillance that the text, these sorts of mutations and the texts when these new variants, uh, come up, Speaker 1: 05:42 What are UC San Diego researchers doing to search for more possible cases of the various Speaker 2: 05:49 Question? So we were doing the regular surveillance of people when they become infected. We sequence, we collect that virus, we isolate it. Then we sequence it. We also can go back and test it in a lab. And that's, what's going on now to see if it's more infectious in a, in a, in a Petri dish, so to speak. Um, then the other thing is to actually for this particular case is to go back and do contact tracing. So who, who was this person in contact with? Do they, are they infected? Can we go and sort through the chain of, uh, viral infections to see where exactly this virus came from? Speaker 1: 06:24 Okay, so we don't know definitively then that this is the same variant that they experienced in the UK. Is it possible it mutated here in the U S Speaker 2: 06:33 It is, it is very much possible that this virus mutated here in the U S those far there's tons of RS in our community. There's tons of artists in the United States. And that virus is evolving here, just like it's evolving in the UK and it's evolving and every place else in the world. And if it makes a mutation that makes it what we call more fit, I able to transmit faster. It could evolve that same mutation here just as well as it could, uh, someplace else. Speaker 1: 07:03 Do we know doctor at the vaccines developed for the original virus will protect against the variant. Speaker 2: 07:09 We do not know whether or not the vaccine will protect from this period, but there's no reason to suspect that it won't. So this virus did not evolve at a time when lots of people were vaccinated. So it's very unlikely that this mutation in this virus was around, uh, that the virus was trying to escape responses that were made by the vaccine. Speaker 1: 07:30 Now, health officials say that because the San Diego man who has tested positive for this variant has not traveled recently. That must mean the virus is circulating in the community. If that is true, what should we expect to see? Speaker 2: 07:46 Well, there is virus circulating everywhere. It's not just this variant, but, uh, all the other variants that are out there as well. So I think we're still in the midst of a very, very tough, some tough winter. And if this variant is more infectious and it's circulating wildly, um, then we're going to just see more and more and more of this variant, uh, in people who become infected, um, just going to make the winter even rougher than it is. Speaker 1: 08:14 Is it possible? This variant diagnosis could be an isolated, Speaker 2: 08:18 It could be, um, it could be that this was an evolution that happened in this person, or maybe a few people. And we were able to contain it, um, in this group and it won't get out broadly. Um, that would be great. Um, but if it did evolve, then it's more, it could happen again on its own, or it could have already gotten out and spread, um, in our community. Speaker 1: 08:40 Okay. So Southern California is already under a stay at home order. Many workplaces and businesses are closed. No public events are taking place. We're wearing masks, distancing, staying inside as much as possible. So I, as an infectious disease expert, what more could we possibly do to try to keep this virus and this variant from spreading? Speaker 2: 09:02 Yeah. So if this parent is more infectious and able to spread more than we need to really double down on the mass and socially distancing and not gathering for the holidays, um, unfortunately we were already starting to have uptake in cases before Thanksgiving, and then Thanksgiving, people wanted to see family and friends, and there were less socially distancing gatherings going on and happening in doors. And that's the surge that happened, um, that we're in the midst of right before Christmas. And then I think that, that, uh, fatigue of socially distancing and gathering, et cetera, happened also during those holidays. And that's what we're seeing, going to be seen this week. Um, I'm actually on service, uh, this weekend at the hospital and it's going to be a really rough time, but if this variant is more infectious than we're going to have to really double down and be good about our using our mass and not getting close to one another and not being inside with other family members and friends. Speaker 1: 09:59 Okay. Then I've been speaking with Dr. Davy Smith, chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego, Dr. Smith, thank you. Stay safe and try to have happy new year Speaker 2: 10:13 Happy new year Speaker 5: 10:22 As the state hits record deaths from the coronavirus and scientists discover a more contagious variant governor Gavin Newsome has announced a plan for students to go back to the classroom Speaker 1: 10:35 By definition, to talk about getting our students back in Speaker 5: 10:39 The classroom, starting next spring, Newsome proposes reopening schools and phases beginning with the youngest students and those who struggled most with distance learning. The governor is also promising $2 billion in state aid for testing classroom ventilation systems and personal protective equipment. Joining us to discuss the announcement is Richard Berrera the San Diego unified school board president Richard. Welcome. Thank you, Jade. Uh, what's your reaction to the governor's plans for a phased reopening of schools beginning in February? Speaker 2: 11:12 Uh, we're in, we're encouraged by it. We sent a letter to the governor in early November that was signed by the leaders of our district, but also the other large urban districts in California. And what we asked the governor to do is to come up with a set of statewide standards, aye. That would ensure the safe reopening of schools and what we've seen in the governor's plan that he announced yesterday, uh, were many of the core elements, uh, that we had, uh, advocated for in that letter and foremost among them is the critical importance of regular testing. So, Speaker 6: 11:54 You know, we developed a partnership with [inaudible] a couple of months ago that is designed, uh, to be able to provide testing for every student and every adult on campus every two weeks. And we believe that that level of frequency of testing is not only necessary, uh, to protect the health and safety of people who are on campus, but as also maybe the most important strategy to allow schools to open and to stay open. And in the governor's proposal, he is acknowledging the critical need for testing at that scale. And so we were encouraged to see that the other encouraging, uh, part of, uh, what the governor is laying out is his intention and the state's intention to prioritize educators, to receive the vaccine. And so if we could, as we work through this plan, uh, if we could get to the point that we can vaccinate every educator who needs to be on campus, uh, when students come back for in-person learning, and if we can be doing testing at the frequency, that's necessary to allow us to know who has the virus, uh, you know, when somebody comes onto campus, we think those two elements, uh, if we're able to be successful, uh, will, uh, be the most important steps forward in allowing us to, uh, get our kids back in our classrooms and to keep them there. Speaker 5: 13:30 Given there's a new, more contagious variant of the virus circulating in San Diego. Uh, do you have any reservations about the timing of this announcement and the proposal to reopen schools for in-person learning? Speaker 6: 13:43 Yeah, of course. You know, we're obviously in a situation where the is frankly, out of control and we're not only seeing the, you know, case rates, uh, you know, explode. We're not only seeing, you know, positivity rates of people who are getting tested, uh, at my, at, at levels that are much too high, but of course we're also seeing overwhelming of our healthcare system. And so, yeah, I mean, uh, Jade, a lot of this comes down to, if you are a teacher or a cafeteria worker or a bus driver or principal, you have to have confidence that if you come back onto campus, or of course a parent, you know, the, a student, you have to have confidence that it's going to be safe. And right now all of the indications are going in, in the wrong direction. So, so that's why we keep coming back to these critical, you know, strategies around vaccination and around testing. Speaker 6: 14:41 So if we are vaccinating the adults who will be on campus, and then if we're testing at, you know, uh, at a, at a high enough level of frequency that we can know and have confidence that we know who has the virus and who doesn't on campus, those are the best strategies to build confidence, you know, among our parents and educators, that it, it would be safe to return. So the governor's laid out his proposal and we appreciate that. But now we, you know, we need to work with the governor and we need to work with the legislature to make sure that the vaccination schedule is accelerated and to make sure that there's enough funding, uh, to provide, you know, the level of testing that's required, because if we cannot do those things, then, you know, you can understand why parents or educators would not have confidence that now is the right time to return to in-person learning. Speaker 5: 15:39 I mean, and that brings me to my next question, Kesha board and president of the teacher's union at San Diego unified said, quote, hospital morgues in San Diego are near, or at capacity ambulances are being turned away from hospitals. It doesn't make a lot of sense to incentivize the reopening of schools with predetermined timelines when our community spread is at such concerning levels. What's your reaction to that? Speaker 6: 16:03 I, I, 100% agree with Kesha statement, you know, it is, it is unfortunate that the, um, framing of the governor's plan is around this idea that, you know, schools need incentives, financial incentives to reopen look, what we need is to know that it's going to be safe to reopen. And then of course, we need the state to provide the funding that's necessary to pay for, you know, the things that, uh, you know, the governor went over, uh, ventilation of classrooms, uh, you know, masks, PPE, and testing. All of those things are critical and, and the vaccination schedule is critical as well, but, you know, without those things in place, you know, I, I, 100% agree with Kesha that, you know, just hoping that, uh, it's safe to return to the classroom in a time when the healthcare system is being overwhelmed by the virus. That's not going to get it done. That's not going to be what is necessary to get kids back in school and to, and to have our schools remain open. Speaker 5: 17:04 Now, the reopening plans set a case rate that a County has to be under in order to reopen San Diego County, doesn't meet that metric. So, um, how confident are you that it will come spring? Speaker 6: 17:16 Oh, there's no reason for anybody to be confident in that, you know, you were talking about, uh, you know, getting below 28 cases per a hundred thousand right now, I think San Diego County is at about 38 cases. The public health experts that we talked to believe that, that those case rates will rise, you know, in, uh, in January as a result of holiday travel. So, you know, there is absolutely no reason to believe that our County or, you know, and then you think about counties like Los Angeles and others that have higher case rates, you know, uh, are going to be position to reopen. So again, what we keep coming back to is, you know, let's not talk about these sort of arbitrary timelines. Let's talk about getting our educators vaccinated, uh, providing the funding for testing. Those are the strategies that are going to keep people safe. And, you know, and when this, uh, final plan is approved by the legislature, we hope that the focus is on, uh, those, uh, strategies rather than just setting arbitrary timelines that, you know, frankly, Jade, we've seen these kinds of timelines before, and they just haven't panned out and that's because nobody can predict what's going to happen with the virus. Um, but right now, you know, what, uh, public health experts are predicting is that the rates are going to get worse before they get better. Speaker 5: 18:39 And as we mentioned, the governor is proposing an additional $2 billion in funding to help schools with necessary upgrades and PPE to make them safe. Is that enough? Speaker 6: 18:50 We don't think so. At first of all, we're troubled by the fact that that $2 billion is coming out of the, um, the, uh, or, you know, already in place budget for education. You know, what folks call the prop 98 budget. Um, we can't Rob from Peter to pay Paul to do this. You know, we're going to need, um, a lot of resources to help our students with learning loss, to help our students overcome, you know, the social and emotional challenges that they've faced over the course of this pandemic. So we can't take money that's necessary for supporting students, uh, out of the pot and use that, you know, to pay for things that are really health and safety issues like testing and PPE and masks and ventilation that should come on top of the funding for, uh, uh, for schools. We also are skeptical that $2 billion is really enough to pay just for the testing that, um, that the, you know, that needs to be done at the frequency that the governor has laid out. Speaker 6: 19:51 We agree with his point about, you know, the need for frequent testing. We don't think $2 billion is enough to cover it. The state actually just got over a billion dollars from the federal government as part of their COVID relief, uh, package specifically, you know, for testing, uh, and contact tracing. We believe the state should first tap into that, uh, you know, pot of funds and then look for other funds on top of the regular education budget, uh, to pay for, uh, you know, testing and the, and the other strategies that are necessary to keep people safe. Speaker 5: 20:26 I've been speaking with Richard Berrera the San Diego unified school board president Richard, thanks for joining us. Thanks so much, Jane You're listening, KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade Hindman across the San Diego unified school district. Kindergarten enrollment is way down this year. Kids doing kindergarten remotely are supposed to learn to read, follow a teacher's instructions, work with peers and stay on schedule all for the first time. And without the structure of being in a classroom or the patient guidance of a teacher KPBS, investigative reporter, Claire, Travis, or says, this is exacerbating inequalities that already exist among families who can afford to hire a tutor or have a parent around. And those who can't. Speaker 7: 21:24 What's the good word that starts with a J Speaker 8: 21:29 Yeah, it's very quiet in the Ramos household. As four kids sit and work on their laptops, the living room has been completely remade into a classroom. There are word cards on the floor charts on the walls and a giant timer to help the kids stay on schedule. It smells like warm muffins, and pretty soon the kids stopped to take a snack break. Two families are in this learning pod. They've paid a private tutor, $2,500 a month to guide their kids through online lessons each day. Plus come up with extra activities. She's moves between the kids to see if they need help. Speaker 7: 22:13 The first day, the kindergartners they're faced was just like, what's going on? Like actually one of them was even like on the verge of tears, Speaker 8: 22:21 There are two kindergartners in this learning pod and she says, they especially need her help. They've never been in school before and are learning to read, follow a teacher's instructions, even do gym class, Speaker 7: 22:35 All remotely reading workshop, writing workshop. Um, they have kind of a checklist that of independent activities they have to do every day. That's true Speaker 8: 22:43 Across the school district, but for families without extra help, it's really difficult to handle. Speaker 9: 22:50 When we first started this, the swim classes, it was a disaster. Speaker 8: 22:55 Danielle Hernandez, his daughter, Jasmine is in kindergarten in North park. She can't work from home. So her plan was to have her mother helped Jasmine with online school. Speaker 9: 23:04 You know, there was, there was times where my mom was telling Jasmine to sit down and just pay attention to the teacher. And she was like, no, but the teacher is telling me to stand up. Speaker 8: 23:13 Then Hernandez brought in her cousin who takes night classes in college to help guide Jasmine. It's better, but there's still lots of issues. Speaker 9: 23:23 She had a couple of fits because she was like, I know the answer. I know the answer, but there's, there's too many kids. Speaker 8: 23:29 Hernandez is worried about her daughter being so stressed out, but also about her falling behind Speaker 9: 23:36 I've thought about just pulling her out. I'm just like, okay, maybe I just pulled her out. But then at the same time, I'm thinking, no, just Speaker 10: 23:46 A little bit that she's getting, or maybe the assignments and the one-on-one that she's getting from my cousin, it is helping her Speaker 8: 23:53 Across the district. Kindergarten enrollment is way down there ended up being about 2,500 fewer students than expected. And two thirds of that drop were kindergartners. Speaker 10: 24:05 In some cases, you know, we think parents are making a conscious decision to not enroll their students. Um, but we think that there are other cases where, uh, you know, parents just might not be clear about the process, right? Speaker 8: 24:19 Barrera is vice president of the San Diego unified school board. He says the district is trying to find families of kindergarten students to get them signed up. Speaker 10: 24:28 Yeah, that's a challenge because if a student is not in our database right now, cause they never been enrolled in our district, we might not actually know who they are. Speaker 8: 24:38 Students enrolled in school may benefit them, but it won't fix the huge inequities online learning is creating while some parents like Hernandez are thankful. If their kindergartners can just get a little learning that something is better than nothing, others are launching ahead in their kindergarten curriculum. Speaker 1: 24:57 I feel like Maya and Kaia are learning Speaker 8: 25:00 To read. Yeah, Nicole Ramos is one of the moms in the learning pod we visited. She says all things considered. It's going really well. The kids Speaker 10: 25:09 Morning wake up and they're just, they're excited for school. They're excited to see their friends. Speaker 8: 25:15 In fact, even if her kid's school reopened, she's not sure she would send them back because she doesn't want to disrupt the routine. They've established Claire Trek, Asser KPBS news, Speaker 1: 25:39 The metropolitan transit system got a new CEO, Sharon Cooney. After the sudden death of her predecessor in may, she spoke with KPBS Metro reporter, Andrew Bowen earlier this year about her priorities as she navigates the COVID-19 pandemic and tackle several new projects to improve public transit in San Diego, Speaker 10: 26:01 Sharon Cooney. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Oh, thank you for having me. So you took the helmet MTS in a time of real crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt your ridership. It's hurt your finances. What are your priorities? As you try to navigate this really difficult time, it's been a challenge, but you know, it's been great being part of such a great team at MTS. Um, we get through it together. I think one of my highest priority is to continue with the excellent level of service that we've provided, um, pre COVID, um, to make sure that we continue to be the best, uh, transit agency, um, to continue to reach all of the goals for things like ridership. Um, as people come back to make sure that we have a really great on-time performance, um, all of the things that matter to people when they're choosing transit for their commute and their, their daily lives, what are the biggest barriers to recovery for MTS? Speaker 10: 26:57 Well, I think the big challenge is making sure that our customers and our employees are safe. I mean, that's a high priority as well. Um, it's underlies everything we do. Uh, we want to make sure that for instance, if somebody has to now start going into work, as the economy opens up, they choose transit because they know we are a safe, alternative to an automobile. We've been doing everything from using foggers that immediately disinfect the vehicles to, uh, making sure we have germ barriers to protect our drivers on the buses. We're, we're putting those in as we speak and had we'll have the fleet done by the end of August. Um, we are making sure that everybody's wearing a mask. If you're going to choose Chan's that you're going to wear a mask. And so, um, if you don't have one, we'll provide one for you, um, to you. Speaker 10: 27:47 Well, I want to ask you about your fare enforcement policies. This has been under scrutiny a little bit. The voice of San Diego is reported on a big surgeon and fair citations that have been issued over the past couple of years. Um, how sometimes failing to pay a $2 and 50 cent fare can spiral into hundreds of dollars in fines and court fees and things like that. What does that tell you? Does this concern you and what will fair enforcement look like under your leadership? So, uh, we've already begun working with the board of directors and through our public security committee, our chair, um, Monica, Montgomery, um, it has really helped us drive forward. A couple of new policies. One of them is a diversion program that will start in September. Uh, what this will do is it allows people a chance to first, if you are approached and you don't have a fair on board trolley, we're going to, um, allow you to buy your fare. Speaker 10: 28:42 Um, but then if you can't then, um, you can expunge the, um, potential citation and you have 120 days to do so. Um, so the diversion program is intended for those who, for whatever reason, couldn't pay for their fare or didn't pay for their fair. Um, but that they could avoid having to go through any kind of, um, procedure, um, administrative or otherwise. Um, this, this, I think will be a really helpful for those who feel like they've been somehow being harmed by the way we were doing fair. Your predecessor, Paul J Blonsky passed away really suddenly in may. And you would work with him for many years. What did you learn from him? Well, I learned a lot about transit. Obviously I wasn't in transit before I started here at MTS. Um, but I learned a lot about the nuts and bolts, but I think more than that, I think I learned the value of team building and really understanding that not just one person, it's everybody pulling together to become the most effective, excellent transportation system that we possibly could be. So that's what I learned from him. And, um, I'm hopeful to bring that forward in my own leadership. All right. Well, Sharon CUNY, thank you so much for speaking with KPBS. You're welcome. And thanks for having me Speaker 5: 30:09 This year, the Marine Corps banned the Confederate flag on military bases around the world. It was the first step in what's been noted as a difficult conversation. What about racism in the Corps? Marines say this conversation has never been easy. KPBS, military reporter, Steve Walsh has the story Speaker 11: 30:32 From the time Marines enter bootcamp. They're told that the service is colorblind. There are no white Marines. Brown Marines are black Marines. Everyone is Marine. Speaker 12: 30:42 That statement I'm totally against. Um, and I explain it to a lot of the leaders. Speaker 11: 30:48 Williams runs a leadership training firm in Jacksonville, Florida. He joined the Corps in 1993 and retired in 2014. During that time Williams facilitated many conversations on racial bias. He still works with Marine units as a consultant. Speaker 12: 31:03 When you tell people that, Hey, you all green, it's just like saying, I don't see color. If you don't see color, you don't know who's on your team. So I have to know that, Hey, as an agent Marine, I know the cultural challenges you're going to have in the Marine Corps. Speaker 11: 31:18 Williams, who is African-American remembers walking into an empty barracks. His new roommate had a Confederate flag on the wall. Speaker 12: 31:25 I told him, Hey, listen, this is not going to work out. Uh, I'm gonna have to leave. And they pulled me out of the room. I got a different roommate, but later on, that person was actually court-martialed for, for actively recruiting into a racist organization. Speaker 11: 31:41 His career at the time, William says he didn't think about reporting the incident to his command. He feared he would be the one to get into trouble. Other Marines felt the same way. Francisco Martinez queloz is from San Diego. Originally from the Dominican Republic as a kid, he was attracted to the macho image of the Corps. He remembers talking to a friend of his, in his unit who was consistently being singled out for extra duty. They both agreed. It was for one reason his friend was black. Speaker 12: 32:11 I remember talking to him and apologize to him. And it got me really emotional because I didn't do anything about it. You know, I didn't speak up Speaker 11: 32:21 In conversations with a number of retired Marines. It's a common story. 10 years ago, Travis horror was at an isolated post in Helmand province, Afghanistan like horror. Most of the unit was white. You remember his fellow Marines repeatedly complaining about their African-American corpsman, the Navy term medic, or it says he remembers defending the corpsman after seeing him help save the life of an Afghan woman. Speaker 12: 32:45 So why are you giving them a hard time kind of deal? Um, probably not as much as I should have in retrospect, but, um, like again, I was young and Speaker 11: 32:59 Stefan Williams, the retired Marine who still works with military leaders on issues of racism. It's still a difficult conversation. Speaker 12: 33:07 First, let me tell you why people don't say something. They look at what they're willing to lose to do the right thing. You know, do I want to lose this if I speak out because those people are actually factors in your, in your career. If you don't get promoted, if you're not, you don't get to do this station. If you're not, how long are you going to be with them? How hard they're going to make it for you. So it's very, we a little different because a lot of people have power around us, but we talk about intestinal fortitude all the time and moral courage all the time. Speaker 11: 33:39 Quintin Hannah was a Sergeant. He left the Marines in December after four years in the Corps, like other Marines. And it says there has been changed, but it's been slow for him. An honest open conversation is the key. It binds together people and it binds together units or shops. Speaker 12: 33:58 And when you don't have that connection or where you could talk to someone or have a friendly conversation at all times and not just be work-related, it could diminish relationships between shops. It could diminish relationships between people, Speaker 11: 34:15 You welcomed the ban on the Confederate flag, but he says the core is no worse or no better than any other American institution when it comes to handling race. Meanwhile, secretary of defense, Mark Esper recently announced that he was ordering the Pentagon to take yet another look at how racial dynamics play out across the military. Steve Walsh, KPBS news. Speaker 1: 34:37 The story first aired on KPBS earlier this year, it 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 broadcasting. This is KPBS mid-day edition. I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Jade Heinemann KPBS arts reported. Beth OCHA. Mondo has been tracking the career of Hong Kong director, one car Y for decades. So when Janis films restored seven of his films for a streaming collection called the world of Wong car, why she jumped on the opportunity to share some archive interviews with Wong and two of his actors. Here's an excerpt from her cinema junkie podcast that she hopes will inspire you to check out Wong's lushly romantic films. Speaker 12: 35:33 When it comes to romance, I'm a cynic, but there's one contemporary Speaker 13: 35:38 Who can make me Swoon and that's won car. Why? Since his directorial debut in 1988, Wong has been sweeping audiences off their feet with his intoxicating style In person, one cuts of romantic figure with his spiky haircut, a chair of cigarettes moldering between his fingers and ever-present shade. Speaker 14: 36:00 And he's very mysterious on the side. I don't know what happened behind those sunglasses. Maybe he's sleeping. Speaker 13: 36:07 That's actor, Tony lung. He's worked with Wong for more than a decade. Speaker 14: 36:11 Working with them is very challenging, especially without a full script. And we develop everything. I mean, in the character and the stories in the sad, and it's fun to do that because not much director two movies that way. And he's so unique. And the most interesting thing is even you, you know, very well about your character after you finish all the shootings, but you will never have an idea of what the story is about because he will do that in the editing room. Speaker 13: 36:41 Hetty romantic cocktails in the editing room is something Wong does exceptionally well. Long's films are not romantic in the Hollywood sense of boy meets girl, boy loses. Girl, boy gets girl back. His films are about an aching romantic longing in days of being wild. A man is condemned to aimless, wandering in search of a woman. He will love best in Chungking express. Two young men tried to forget with great difficulty. The women who have dumped them in Wong's world a single moment can change a life forever and a missed opportunity can haunt a character for the rest of his or her life. In Chungking express. Wong adds an unexpected charm and humor that his earlier films didn't have here characters, wallow in love. Lauren agony in a slight variation on the long suffering lovers of his earlier films, Wong even allows for the possibility of happiness, at least for one cup Speaker 15: 37:43 [inaudible], Speaker 13: 37:43 But happiness proves elusive in his 2000 film in the mood for love the film stars, Maggie Chung and Tony lung, two actors who work regularly with Wong Chung's Lizanne and lungs. Moe won move into the same apartment building on the same day and find their belongings mixed up. Despite the cramped quarters of the building and the close proximity of other people, we immediately sends the isolation of these two characters. Chung explains her relationship in the film as very romantic, but painful. Speaker 16: 38:14 You feel that the love is so strong, but then there's no love. The love doesn't exist at the same time. It's all kind of like in their own imaginations, it's real and surreal. At the same time for me, Speaker 13: 38:29 His films can easily be enjoyed as visual and audio sensations in which sound and break free from conventional storytelling. They also seem like dense exquisitely, clever music videos, where image and music blend seamlessly to create a mood. And music is always crucial to a Wong film for in the mood for love. He turns to Nat King Cole to set the tone Speaker 15: 38:56 [inaudible] to [inaudible] to see him. He stopped. He saw us. He saw us Speaker 13: 39:10 The fact that the song is in Spanish yet somehow familiar reflects the way Wong to pics romantic relationships. They can seem familiar yet at the same time, distant and removed combining music and image is an essential part of Wong's work. Finding the perfect match is crucial to setting the right mood says Maggie Chung when they were shooting in the mood for love long paired up cordial, slow motion images with music, just for the actors to watch the dailies from each day's filming. I remember we used to be in office looking at the Davies and he would put on the music that his chosen for the film now. And we'll be looking at those images. And those were the first exciting images that we saw is like, this is it. This is it. But you know, it's not a film is it's like a montage is beautiful to look at, but it's not a film, but we held on to that mood all the way through for the film. But mom's music for Chungking express struck a much lighter note because the love sick character played by FEI Wong brims with dreamy romanticism, Speaker 17: 40:12 I start, uh, Chungking express force idea that I will use California dreaming because to me it is very much have the same spirit of Chungking express, which is very seventies and, uh, very simple minded Speaker 15: 40:35 [inaudible] Speaker 13: 40:36 In the film, happy to gather the music that defines the central gay relationship. Speaker 15: 40:45 [inaudible] Speaker 13: 40:45 South American music to finds the central mood of the film as the lover separate come together. And part again, Wong sights, the description of the tango as the vertical expression of a horizontal desire as the one most fitting to his film, Speaker 17: 41:01 I hear the music of PSR and I think, well, this is the music of the film. I choose the music because it is tango music and it is more than a tango music. It is if it's just like the human heartbeat. And I think this is the rhythm of the city. Speaker 15: 41:24 [inaudible] Speaker 13: 41:24 If the titles of Wong's films from happy together to in the mood for love, sound more like the titles of songs, maybe that's because he likes to think of himself as a jazz musician and his hip improvisational films like jam sessions. Speaker 17: 41:38 So then we just like a group of musicians adjust span, you know, and I'm the band leader. Whenever I have session, I just call up everybody and they just come over and we have a jamming, Speaker 13: 41:49 The resulting films, approximate jazz improvisations in their rhythms and visual rifts, their stylist characterized by handheld camera work, quick cuts, odd angles, and a distinctive, blurred, slow motion. That's become Wong's visual signature stylistically Wong uses the blurred slow motion to isolate characters. In the case of fallen angels, he uses it to isolate a young man's goofy obsessions. In one scene. She will meets an old lover at a fast food shop. Wong lets the scene play out in a long, slow motion wide shot in which we see the young woman oblivious to the shenanigans of gee, woo hoo. Behind her back pantomimes a violent death complete with ketchup bloodstains. She was melodramatic or both comical and heartbreaking as he fails. Once again to connect with the woman he wants loved fallen angels, typifies Wong's delirious drunk on style approach to filmmaking. He began shooting with just a story outline and then improvise scenes as he shot. He also employed voiceovers to convey the isolation and loneliness of characters that sometimes only have themselves to talk to Speaker 17: 43:03 First, it provides different angles for the characters, becomes a, the stories consists of different point of view. Later in Chungking express, I realized the voiceover become, uh, an expression because it's just like a guys keep talking to himself. And I think this is very effective to, to, to express something about loneliness. You know, people, when people get lonely, these starts talking to themselves, actually voiceover give me more space so I can rung up by stories. If I have different happenings, you know, to make it more flexible in making the film Speaker 13: 43:42 Voiceovers allow Wong to make last minute changes long after shootings completed, this allows Wong to tweak the romantic relationships in post-production. After he's grown to know his characters better, long spontaneous approach has resulted in a cinematic style. That's earned high praise. Although each of Wong's films has a distinctly different flavor. They all expand on a similar pool of ideas, love loss desire, and a fascination with tangled romantic relationships. Wong says that in a sense, he's just making a single Epic work with each film and added chapter. Speaker 17: 44:19 I always said I'm making a very long film. Each film I make is just like a sequence in that long film. And I'm not sure what the long film is intended to be. But anyway, I just love them more instead of Y and now you Speaker 7: 44:32 Have an opportunity to enjoy them together. As part of the world of won car, why the seven restored titles are available for the next month through digital gym cinema at home Wong refers to these restorations as an opportunity to present them as new works from a different vantage point in his career. So whether you're familiar with his films or completely new to his work, this is a great opportunity to serve Speaker 3: 44:56 Render to his rapturous. Romanticism, the seven restored films in the world of Wong car. Why collection are available for the next month through digital gym cinema.