San Diego Improving But Still In Purple Tier

Speaker 1: 00:00 The investigation continues into a tragic SUV crash in Imperial County. Obviously that vehicle is not meant for that many people. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Hyman. This is KPBS mid-day edition. San Diego stays put in the most restrictive purple COVID tier. Speaker 2: 00:28 Now that you have a growingly significant percentage of the population vaccinated, perhaps the tier system to take that into account. Somehow Speaker 1: 00:37 San Diego County offers $100 million in rental assistance and San Diego's Latino film festival goes virtual for the second time. That's ahead on midday edition, Speaker 1: 01:00 Despite falling rates of new COVID cases and hospitalizations San Diego did not make it into the less restrictive red tier when County status was updated. Tuesday, our case rate was still too high. The number of tests too low to allow lifting restrictions on indoor dining and other purple tier safety measures. But health officials are now hinting that the guidelines for the state's COVID tier system could soon change because of increasing vaccinations County officials say about 10% of San Diego ones have already been fully vaccinated, even though the problem of low vaccine availability remains joining me is Paul Sisson health reporter for the San Diego union Tribune. And Paul, welcome Speaker 2: 01:44 To the program. Thanks for having me. How Speaker 1: 01:46 Far off were we from getting from purple to red, Speaker 2: 01:51 As you may recall, this is this arcane measure of cases per a hundred thousand residents. Uh, we were at a 10.8 cases per a hundred thousand and we need to be at no more than seven. So we're just a 3.8 cases to find what other counties did make it into the red. Uh, we saw many of our neighbors to the far North and including, uh, Napa and San Francisco, uh, as well as San Louis Obispo. What's interesting in San Luis Obispo is they actually had more cases per a hundred thousand and then we did, but they got a bigger bonus and saw their, their robbery reduced because they'd been doing more testing per a hundred thousand residents than we have Speaker 1: 02:33 Chance of getting into that less restrictive red tier. Now, Speaker 2: 02:37 Uh, no, we don't actually, and I did verify this by email with the California department of public health yesterday, just to refresh my memory from the fall. Uh, you need to have a case rate at seven or under for two consecutive weeks before they will move you here. Uh, so we need to do it two weeks in a row. So even if we do it next week, we'll need to still do it for one more. Now, is the system going to change Speaker 1: 03:00 Because people, more people are getting vaccinated. Speaker 2: 03:03 There have been a lot of hints recently from folks who should be in the know, uh, locally. Uh, Nathan Fletcher chair of our local board of supervisors has hinted that the governor is up to something that they are going to be tweaking this system, as I recall. And, and, uh, I'm not sure if that was paraphrasing here, but I think his sense was, you know, as we see larger and larger percentages of our overall population getting vaccinated, that does influence the transmissibility of this virus in the community. And, and so, you know, this entire tier apparatus was designed before we had a vaccine. So it would stand to reason. It would seem logical that now that you have a growingly significant percentage of the population vaccinated, perhaps the tier system on to take that into account, somehow nobody's really sure exactly how Speaker 1: 03:53 One of the complaints that we hear from County officials is that they don't have enough vaccine. They're not getting the supply and blue shield now has a new role in vaccine supply. So how does that change things? Speaker 2: 04:04 It's early days, uh, they seem to be kind of easing into this and the month of March and say that they're going to take full responsibility for vaccine distribution by the end of the month. Right now it seems like they're kind of feeling their way in terms of, uh, deciding how much vaccine should go to each County and each health provider I've, I've read their contract with the state. It says they have some sort of algorithm to make these decisions, but that algorithm is not included in the contract. So, um, I'm not quite clear, I'm not sure who is quite clear at this point exactly how they're going to dice this up, but it's, it seems like it may be somewhat different from what we've experienced, uh, up to this point. Uh, for example, we know that the university of California system has received its own separate allocations as what's called a multi-state entity. Uh, and it's unclear whether or not that type of special allocation will continue, uh, that special allocation from what I understand has helped you CSD do so many vaccinations at it's, um, Petco park Superstation over the last couple of months, Speaker 1: 05:10 Just to be some real optimism surrounding the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. And I'm wondering why that is. And I'm also wondering when will San Diego beginning its first Johnson and Johnson shipment? Speaker 2: 05:21 We're all wondering that we, uh, we all asked, uh, the County at their, a weekly press conference last Wednesday. Uh, and Dr. Wooten said, she just wasn't sure at that point, uh, it was, it was up for approval by the FDA over the weekend. It got that approval. Uh, we haven't really seen any, any firm estimates on when those doses should be flooding in, but yes, everybody's very excited. Uh, you know, the, the, the key with this vaccine is that it only requires one dose. So, you know, it should, uh, create less of a logistical problem. Uh, you know, like we're seeing with the two existing axions from Pfizer and Moderna, which require you to come back either 21 or 28 days later. And now we're seeing situations where people's second doses are getting delayed due to this, uh, drop in supply. Uh, so, so a single dose vaccine, I think, uh, all of the public health departments are, um, you know, just licking their chops for that one. Cause it's just a less of a logistical [inaudible] Speaker 1: 06:21 Indeed the supply chain does improve. Does that automatically mean it's going to be easier to get an appointment for a vaccinate? Speaker 2: 06:27 Yeah, I think it should. Uh, you know, what they've been doing is they've been, uh, deciding how many appointments to make based on the amount of vaccine they, they have on hand or, or can assume that it will be, uh, arriving soon. One really big hope with, uh, with the blue shield situation is that you will have some forecasting, uh, that goes beyond just a few days. Uh, you know, last week that the County folks said, geez, we don't know more than just a few days in advance. How many doses we're going to get? Uh, you know, they're in the blue shield contract, it seems like they're committing to letting letting folks know at least a week ahead of time, how many vaccines they can expect to receive, and that should, should help them be a little more, uh, forward-looking about the number of appointments that they can actually put into the system and make available. Speaker 1: 07:17 Sounds good. I I've been speaking with San Diego union Tribune, reporter Paul Sisson, Paul. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 3: 07:30 Many people across San Diego County are experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic. Now there's money available to help with rent and utilities through the county's emergency rental assistance program. The need is great, especially in hard hit communities. Joining me today is Nancy Maldonado CEO of the Chicano Federation, which is helping to administer the program. Nancy welcome. Speaker 4: 07:54 Thank you. Thank you for having me Speaker 3: 07:56 Over $100 million is available to renters across San Diego County who is eligible for this assistance. Speaker 4: 08:03 So as far as I know, it's anyone that owes, um, back rent or maybe has outstanding utility bills, um, they're eligible for, for this assistance. And it comes in different amounts. And obviously, um, the median income, the area median income plays, plays a role in who is eligible to receive these funds Speaker 3: 08:23 And landlords can also apply. Or are you seeing that happen at all? Speaker 4: 08:28 Yes, this is, this is a huge, um, advantage for landlords that have tenants who own bathrooms. Um, if the, if the landlord is willing to give some of that rent, the rent is qualified for up to 80% of the backlog in rent. So it's a great program that, that can really help renters and landlords during this time Speaker 3: 08:50 In terms of eligibility, households must earn no more than 80% of the area income to qualify. For example, a single person household can earn up to $64,700 and a four person household can earn up to $92,400 and must be either at risk of homelessness or facing housing instability, how much money could an individual or family receive. Speaker 4: 09:15 So I think it, it depends on how much is owed, right? So it's up to 80% of the backlog and rent. So depending on how much rent that particular renter owes, um, I think it varies Speaker 3: 09:26 Just how great is the need for rental assistance in the communities that you serve. Speaker 4: 09:31 There is, there's a huge need for rental assistance. I can share with you that already our phone, um, has been ringing off the hook with people wanting assistance in filling out this application. Um, we also have people coming to our office, um, wanting assistance to, to help them fill out the application. Um, and you know, the, the County one is just one of the, um, the rental assistance programs. There's also one coming through the city one through Chulavista. So we're getting calls for those as well, even though they're not yet, uh, they're not yet open and accepting an application. So given that, um, you know, we can tell that there's, there's a great need for rental and utility assistance. So this is a great thing that the County of San Diego is doing Speaker 3: 10:14 And paint the picture for me. What are some of the stories that the Chicano Federation is hearing from people about how COVID has affected their ability to make ends meet? Speaker 4: 10:24 Gosh, you know, the, the there's so many different stories. I think one of the things that we're hearing a lot, um, is that, um, families have had to move in with relatives or with friends, and that there's multiple people, multiple families living in one household now because they haven't been able to pay their rent or their mortgage. Um, so for, for the families that we serve, we're seeing that a lot or, and they've had to move out of the area too. Maybe they don't have friends or relatives that live close by, and now they're having to commute to work. So this has had, it had an impact at multiple levels, but in terms of housing, um, you know, definitely what we're seeing is a lot of families and relatives and friends living together, unfortunately. Speaker 3: 11:08 And how is the Chicano Federation exactly helping families receive the assistance available? Speaker 4: 11:14 So what we do is we help families fill out the application. Um, for a lot of people navigating the application can be a little bit confusing, particularly if they don't speak English. Um, the other part that is sometimes hard to navigate is that the landlords do have to participate, um, for this one, if they want to get the 80%. Um, so navigating that is sometimes challenging for people, um, in getting landlords to participate, they don't always want to participate. Um, so sometimes we have to pay, we play kind of the intermediary to, um, to facilitate, you know, getting that conversation going and asking the landlords to, to participate in this program. Um, and that's really the role that we're playing is, is more just assistance, um, in helping families, uh, complete the applications. Speaker 3: 12:06 And, you know, the housing situation has always been fragile for so many people. Um, but much work has to be done to ensure that this ongoing health crisis doesn't turn into a housing crisis as well. How would you describe the current state of housing within the community? Speaker 4: 12:23 So San Diego County has had an affordable housing crisis for, for a long time. And one of the things that we we've been tracking is the cost of homes and, and how the, the increased rate. I mean, over the past year, the median income of a home has risen almost 10%. So I think that combined with the fact that that people are not just struggling to pay their rent, they're also having a hard time paying their mortgage. And as of right now, there hasn't been any mortgage assistance that has come through. So that's a lot of what we're getting to is, is questions about do people, is there support for mortgage assistance and for the, where the families and the people who can't pay their mortgage. So I think that that is something that we need to start thinking about if we don't want to see, um, an even bigger housing crisis here in the County Speaker 3: 13:14 And, uh, with, with the lack of mortgage assistance, uh, that can certainly elevate things. Also these, you know, rental assistance programs, they do provide a much needed stimulus for families in need, but with no end to COVID insight, what do you think needs to be done to protect families from housing insecurity for the remainder of this crisis? Speaker 4: 13:33 Well, I think that the programs like this obviously are helpful. I think in addition to that, a lot of families are just in need of flexible financial assistance. You know, there's other bills that haven't been accounted for, like medical bills or, you know, families come to us with a variety of different needs. And when these programs are very specific to rent and utilities, while that's helpful, there's also, there's also other needs that families have. And I think that flexible financial assistance for families would be really helpful during this time, um, and helping families navigate this pandemic and really address the needs that they have that we might not be seeing. Speaker 3: 14:12 I've been speaking with Nancy Maldonado, CEO of the Chicano Federation. Nancy, thank you for joining us. Speaker 4: 14:19 Thank you. Speaker 3: 14:30 You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade Hindman with Maureen Kavanaugh. There are new developments in a deadly Imperial County crash that killed 13 people after a tractor trailer hit an SUV carrying 25 people. Now with already say the SUV entered the U S through a hole that had been cut into the border fence between Mexico and California. And there's much more to that story. Joining us is KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman with the latest Matt. Welcome. Hey AJ, what more can you tell us about the new developments revealed by the border patrol this morning? Speaker 5: 15:04 Yeah. Some new developments are being reported by the associated press, basically saying that that SUV also entered with another SUV, a Chevy, um, and they entered about 30 miles from the spot of that crash, um, that it was through a small area in the border fence. Um, and that this is basically being investigated as a human smuggling operation right now, Speaker 3: 15:23 Was anyone taken into custody? Speaker 5: 15:26 We don't know that at this time, you know, but we do know that this is a very fluid situation. Speaker 3: 15:31 And do we know the status of the survivors who were involved in that crash in the SUV? Right. Speaker 5: 15:37 So we know some of those survivors that suffered some of the worst injuries, some of the most traumatic injuries, they were airlifted to San Diego. So we know that four of those patients were taken to UC San Diego medical center in Hillcrest. And we actually got an update from them. Um, basically saying that that accident near El Centro all are in serious condition. They're all staying there, uh, receiving care for a variety of traumatic injuries, um, at the level one trauma center. And two of those patients were also taken to Scripps mercy hospital, not far away from there. And we do know that the CHP basically said that people in this accident suffered a variety of injuries from, you know, very severe to people who they described as quote unquote, walking wounded. Speaker 3: 16:14 What do investigators know specifically about the cause of that crash with the semi? Speaker 5: 16:20 You know, there's not a whole lot known right now. Um, obviously, you know, there may not be any witnesses to that crash besides some of these survivors that were there. Um, one thing to note it was not a T-bone crash, so that truck, uh, collided with the driver's side, um, you know, it didn't send the truck spinning. It looks like it made contact with the driver's side door and the passenger side door. Um, we, we do know that there are, there appears to be some skid marks. So there might, may have been some braking involved there. Uh, we do know that federal authorities, the NTSB is investigating this along with the CHP. Um, so we'll see, we, we do know that that SUV was driving along a road that had a stop sign. So they're trying to see maybe if that stop sign was blown, uh, but it's gonna take, you know, a lot of forensic investigations to try and figure that Speaker 3: 17:00 And tell us about the area this crash happened in. Was it a remote area? Speaker 5: 17:05 Yeah, it it's, it's in a very small town. And, and one thing to note on that as well, the driver of that SUV who is a Mexican national, uh, he did, uh, pass away in this accident. So that's something that they're not going to be able to question that driver, uh, about what happened, but yes, it happened, uh, and an area near El Centro, uh, that, uh, is in a very small town, Speaker 3: 17:25 Many workers commute daily from Mexico to work on nearby farms in that area, especially during this time of the year. What can you tell me about that? Speaker 5: 17:33 Yeah. You know, it, it, it's the height of the seasonal harvest in that area. And, you know, initially yesterday when this happened, it happened early in the morning, you know, first reported around, you know, six in the morning. And, uh, CHP was not ruling out that this, that these could have been, you know, workers that were on their way to work. Um, because this is a town that's close to the border about 10, 11 miles away. Um, and there are people there who travel the border regularly to go to work. Um, now obviously as we're learning some new information here from the border patrol firms and federal authorities, um, appears to be shifting their focus, uh, to this being a potentially, you know, migrant smuggling operation, Speaker 3: 18:06 How were 25 people able to fit inside of this SUV? Speaker 5: 18:11 Yeah. It was a question that authorities were asked quite a bit. Um, you know, we're, we're finding out that, um, apparently inside that SUV, that Ford expedition, that there were just the front and passenger seats that the rear seats had been removed. Um, but yeah, you know, as you mentioned, I think nine people is what it's rated to carry. Um, so 25 people definitely, uh, over the load there. Speaker 3: 18:30 And when a vehicle is, is that full, was that many people inside? What effect does it have on how it operates? Speaker 5: 18:37 Yeah, obviously, you know, you can imagine when a vehicle is that overloaded, that it's might, might affect its ability to stop very quickly. Uh, one thing to note too, as well, that semi-truck trailer and to kind of paint a visual for you, um, it's, you know, imagine two trailers, it's a gravel trailer sort of, you know, with the triangle shape, two triangle shaped trailer trailers, and that is not carrying any gravel. So I'm not sure if that impacted that truck's ability to stop or not. Speaker 3: 19:03 Where does the investigation go from here Speaker 5: 19:06 Right now? The investigation, you know, goes to that forensic investigation, you know, where the CHP and now a federal authorities are going to try to piece together, you know, sort of what happened. Obviously, you know, we have the truck driver, um, who was taken to the hospital, but apparently he's doing okay. So they have him as a witness that we do know that they were able to question some of the people inside the vehicle. But yesterday the CHP had said that they weren't able to provide any preliminary information about why that accident may have happened. So, you know, using those tire marks to try to piece together what sort of happens, uh, and where he moved forward. Keep in mind too, that driver of the semi-truck of the CHP saying yesterday, you know, um, that nothing's off the table, so to speak, if they have to go down the road and maybe file criminal charges with the district attorney, should they find that he may have been at fault for this accident? Speaker 3: 19:50 All right. Something I know you will continue to cover. I have been speaking with KPBS reporter, Matt Hoffman, Matt, thank you very much for joining us. Speaker 5: 19:58 Thanks Jay. Speaker 1: 20:08 Staying in Imperial County, a story from our partners at I news source farm workers. There have long been plagued by poor housing options, low wages and barriers to healthcare. And COVID-19 has only made those conditions worse. Now, local leaders say more help is needed for the workers who serve as the backbone of the counties, four and a half billion dollar agriculture industry. I knew source reporter at Jennifer Bowman has the details. Speaker 5: 20:40 It's a summer weekday afternoon in downtown Speaker 1: 20:43 In Calexico, and the streets are bustling the border city as a hub Speaker 6: 20:48 For thousands of farm workers who arrived before the sun rises to head to the fields. COVID-19 has ravaged Imperial County and caused outbreaks in the agriculture industry statewide. But even during a pandemic Kesey, Freddo, Figaroa is reporting for work. Speaker 7: 21:05 I have faith in God that nothing will happen. I don't have fear. Speaker 6: 21:09 Figaroa began working on farms three decades ago when he was in his early twenties. He lives in Mexicali and crosses the border. Every day. He works though. Imperial County is the cheapest place to live in California. Figaroa says he can't afford to live in the us. Speaker 7: 21:27 We make little money in the fields here to cover rent rent. Here comes out to 800 to a thousand dollars. Speaker 6: 21:33 The agriculture industry dominates Imperial's economy, but low wages and barriers to healthcare have long been problems for its farm workers. The pandemic has made things worse. Speaker 7: 21:49 [inaudible] Speaker 6: 21:50 A new camp for farm workers popped up along the border in Calexico earlier this year on one side of the row of tents is an apartment complex. The other, the metal Brown barrier that separates the two cities. Some of those at the camp are homeless. Farm workers and others are seeking a place to stay. Instead of making the hours long commute across the border. Jose Moon, DACA is one of them. The 44 year old lived in Calexico, but said his house burned down in December. He said he must stay in the U S to maintain his residency. But as low pay has made the search for a new place, difficult, Speaker 7: 22:27 The apartments are very expensive. They're 1200, but my work doesn't provide for that much Speaker 6: 22:32 Farm workers have crossed the border and entered Calexico for decades, but there's no designated place for them to gather as they wait in the middle of the night, some hangout at a donut shop or a fast food restaurant before getting on buses and it's backpack city. Alex Cardenas is a board member at Vogue neighborhood medical clinic. The organization is helping farm workers with isolation housing during the pandemic. Cardinal says, even before COVID-19 the workers, weren't always welcomed downtown. Speaker 8: 23:03 Don't use the restroom unless you're a paying customer. You know, you can only be in the restroom from five minutes, no bathing. So imagine you walk into this restaurant and there's all this signature and signage, basically not welcoming you. Speaker 6: 23:18 When the pandemic shut down businesses, it closed public restrooms to farm workers are now left with even fewer options than before we need an emergency plan. Now roll Urania is a first term Calexico city council member. He says more farm workers are sleeping on the streets during COVID-19. He's now pushing the city to seek grants for permanent housing. Speaker 7: 23:41 You look at the quote, unquote unemployed or regular homeless population. Many of them are disenfranchised. Speaker 6: 23:48 Governor Gavin Newsome last week signed a legislation that gives $24 million in extra funding to help farm workers. The money will go towards services for those isolating because of COVID-19 and financial assistance. Speaker 1: 24:03 Joining me is I new source investigative reporter, Jennifer Bowman, and Jennifer. Welcome. Thank you. Housing for the harvest is an emergency program for farm workers who have contracted COVID-19 remind us what it provides. Speaker 9: 24:18 Sure. So the state launched housing for the harvest last summer, um, in response to the pandemic and the outbreaks that we were seeing in the agriculture industry, and it operates pretty similarly to other programs that people might be familiar with, um, like San Diego County, for example, where hotel rooms are being provided for quarantine or isolation housing. Um, it's like that this program is specifically meant for farm workers. Um, and it's offered in the state's biggest agricultural areas like Imperial County. So farm workers often live in multi-generational households and because of that or, or the size of their house, or any other reason, staying home safely may be an issue and this program is supposed to help. So the state covers the cost of the hotel room. Um, and so far it hasn't spent a lot on this program. Uh, just a few months ago, Cal matters reported just $75,000 had been spent, Speaker 1: 25:12 But very few farm workers have actually used the housing for the harvest rooms, despite lots of farm workers getting COVID. Why is that? Speaker 9: 25:20 Yeah. So the reason that the cost of the program is so low is because it is so under used, um, only 131 rooms have been booked under the program statewide. Um, one County, it hasn't been used at all in an Imperial County, just for reservations have been made. And that's a shockingly low number. When you think of the eight, 800,000 farm workers, California has. Um, and there's estimates that 46,000 of them have contracted COVID-19. Um, and there are multiple reasons the program isn't being used as much. Um, one is that there are administrative issues. Um, only hotel rooms are covered. So the cost of actually implementing the program staff and, and things like that, the local agencies have to cover that. Um, so no transportation, no meals, no wheels, wellness checks, those things aren't covered. Um, and then there's also concerns that farm workers have. Speaker 9: 26:15 Um, they've had concerns about the information they're providing in order to obtain a hotel room fears that it might lead to deportation, and just the fear of being alone and away from family while you battle COVID-19. So, um, seven months after the program has launched, the state is realizing this and governor Gavin Newsome recently signed a legislative package that gives $24 million in extra funding for the program. And that will go toward those wraparound services, um, and offer financial assistance to farm workers and farm workers who are instead isolating at home are now eligible for that program. Speaker 1: 26:52 Now, housing in general has been a longstanding issue for the counties, farm workers in Imperial County. So what are local officials doing to try to solve the problem? Speaker 9: 27:03 Farm workers and Imperial County have suffered from low, low wages for a very long time. And it's partly because of that, that many of them live in Mexicali because their money stretches further there. Um, and now there are two council members in the city of Calexico who were elected in November, and they say it's time to provide a more permanent solution. So they're seeking grant funding to build permanent housing, um, which we're seeing other cities and Imperial County doing the same as they try to find a solution for farm workers. Speaker 1: 27:32 Now, meanwhile, Imperial County is asking the state for more COVID vaccines, and that's what we're hearing from every County really. But what is Imperial counties particular issue? Speaker 9: 27:43 It's certainly not a unique request that Imperial County has. Uh, but their argument to Newsome is that they're not seeing his pledge, that the vaccines will be distributed equitably. Um, becoming a reality, Imperial County has been one of the hardest hit regions in the state by COVID-19. Um, it has a predominantly Hispanic and Latino population and Latinos and Hispanics have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Um, so in short County leaders are saying they've been absolutely battered by the pandemic, and yet other regions that haven't been hit as hard are getting more doses Speaker 1: 28:20 When answering an email from, I knew source, the state says it is increasing its vaccine allocation to Imperial County. Tell us about that. Speaker 9: 28:29 So nuisance office pointed out that the state increased the Imperial counties vaccine allocations by 91% last week. And they said that was due to changes in the state's methodology, um, that better reflects Imperial's large population of agricultural workers. Um, and it's all also offered an additional vaccination site to the County. And, um, as we see farm workers continuing to work and to be impacted by the pandemic, we're told that the state is working with local partners to provide culturally competent information to farm workers and their families to try to better reach them. Okay. Speaker 1: 29:05 Has Imperial County come up with a strategy to boost vaccinations among farm workers? Speaker 9: 29:11 Yeah. As soon as they were able to get some doses and as soon as farm workers were made eligible for the vaccine, um, they jumped right in. So just last week, Imperial County had a vaccination clinic for, um, 1000 appointments for farm workers in the County, got help from a local nonprofit to book those appointments. And it was fully booked by the time the clinic was held. Um, and the County has mentioned future vaccination clinics. Um, that will be similar to how they've handled, uh, flu flu shot clinics in the past. So mobile clinics, holding events in downtown Calexico in the middle of the night, you know, as farm workers wait to start their long day, going out to the fields to meet them where they are. Um, you know, farm workers are a huge part of the county's economy and it's an end its community. So County officials tell us they're going to be borrowing from those past practices to help them. I've been speaking with a news source, investigative reporter, Jennifer Bowman, Jennifer. Thank you very much. Thank you. The San Diego zoo global is changing its name to San Diego zoo wildlife Alliance in an effort to reflect the organization's new mission KPBS environment reporter Eric Anderson says the 100, five year old organization is taking a more holistic approach to conservation, Speaker 10: 30:31 Two African elephants, Swazi and Nissa eagerly reach out their trunks, searching for a treat from lead keeper, Lauren coats, Speaker 11: 30:39 Their skin, super thick and strong, but it's, it's really Brinkley. It's kind of like a tire like how it has some give to it. Even though you can tell it's super strong and it's super wrinkly and they have hair all over their body. You can see it here on the trunk, but it's really stick like wires Speaker 10: 30:56 Coats reaches into a bucket full of cut-up sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and food pellets. Speaker 11: 31:02 We can call them over at different times throughout the day. Um, and they should respond to their names. Speaker 10: 31:08 The keeper says the elephants get treats as part of their training. Speaker 11: 31:11 And if they choose to come over, then they get reinforcement for leaving, you know, what they were doing and coming over. And then we just we'll walk away when we're done and they get to go enjoy all their treats. Again, Speaker 10: 31:24 Code says the elephants have choice and control over what they do in the yard. The treats are a way to reinforce positive behavior Speaker 11: 31:32 In the beginning. It's just getting them to know their name, just to come to us when they're called. And then we can move into more complicated behaviors like blood collections, milk collection. Speaker 10: 31:39 The two moms in this nine elephant herd have been part of a more than year long study of elephant milk keepers regularly take samples from lactating moms and analyze the milk's composition. Researchers are trying to measure how elephant milk changes over time so they can help orphan elephants in Kenya Speaker 9: 32:02 [inaudible] Speaker 10: 32:03 Workers at the Teddy elephant sanctuary can make age appropriate formulas. That can be the difference between life and death for elephant calves. That connection makes the work in San Diego, even more important for both researchers and keepers like coats. The work that they do Speaker 9: 32:20 Every day is helping animals and plants in the wild Speaker 10: 32:25 Nadine lamb Bursky is the organization's chief conservation officer. She says the new San Diego zoo wildlife Alliance name reflects a holistic approach to conservation. Speaker 9: 32:36 It is about wildlife. It's also about people. And it's also about, again, the ecosystems that we share and, and it's that, that balance of nature that becomes so important in our work. Speaker 10: 32:48 She says the concept hit home recently when the Corona virus infected the Safari parks gorilla, true, it was the first ever case of human to guerrilla transmission. Several members of the troop were infected and the Silverback got monoclonal. Antibody therapy all have recovered, but lamb Bursky says the situation offered a lesson. Speaker 9: 33:08 This is an infection that originated from animals and then went into people. And unfortunately people transmitted it back to animals, but it goes more. It goes beyond just that we had a meeting just the other day with, with our colleagues that work with great apes in the wild. And we talked about how do we protect wild gorillas? What do we, um, what needs to happen to make sure that they don't, that they don't suffer consequences because of the exposure to this virus? Yeah. Speaker 10: 33:36 In fact, COVID-19 helped push the Zoot change the way it does business around the world. San Diego zoo CEO and president Paul Berra bolt says the zoo was making incremental movement in that direction anyway, but the pandemic accelerated the change. During this past year, we've all seen how our own human health is tied to the health. The wildlife is tied to the global health of the planet. And so in so many ways, COVID was the catalyst that said, we have to do this. Now bear about says the San Diego zoo wildlife Alliance brings research skills to the table, but he says, that's not enough for a complete solution, which engages communities, governments, and other wildlife organizations outside of San Diego. We, if, for us to have a greater impact in conservation, we need to use this moment to energize everybody. All of our partners, all of our donors, all of our supporters here in San Diego to be a part of this solution. Faribault says the new focus doesn't mean the two parks will be ignored. He says, those parks must thrive for the organization to stay financially healthy. Faribault says the animals like the African elephants at the Safari park help connect local visitors to the organization's research work. Eric Anderson KPBS news Speaker 9: 34:58 [inaudible]. Speaker 1: 35:02 This is KPBS midday edition. I'm worrying Cavenaugh with Jade Heinemann last month, the 27th annual Latino film festival had to cancel its in-person event on its opening day. That was following governor Gavin Newsome's ban on large public gatherings. It was the first San Diego festival to have to cancel because of COVID-19 KPBS arts reporter. Beth haka speaks with the festivals, founder and executive director, Ethan Von Tilo about the past year and the upcoming 28th Latino film festival Ethan Speaker 12: 35:38 A year ago, the San Diego Latino film festival was the first San Diego film festival that had to cancel their event. And you guys had to cancel it like on your opening night. Now it's a year later and you guys are completely online for this year's event. What does it feel like? Yeah. Speaker 13: 35:58 Yeah. I seem to remember you and I having our, one of our first zoom meetings ever interviews ever. We were, we were both learning how to use zoom about a year ago. Um, yeah, I know it was just right after we, uh, had to postpone the film festival, you know, for me as the founder of the San Diego Latino film festival, uh, one of my commitments to the community since day one is been the idea of you never not hold the event. You always hold the event at the screening. Uh, I don't think, I don't know if people understand that in me, but in terms of my passion and my focus, you know, you always find that print, even if it's not the exact print you're going to, you know, you're going to screen it in Blu-ray or digital. You're going to screen that movie no matter what. Speaker 13: 36:39 So for me to actually have to not hold a festival for the first time in 27 years, uh, was devastating. It was just emotionally draining, physically draining our staff as well, you know, just kind of went through it. And everyone kind of, there was this grieving process, right, which I think is the grieving process that everyone's been going through this past year. Uh, it's been a challenging year. Uh, 500,000 people have lost their lives due to COVID here in the us. Uh, but just, you know, the loss of jobs, uh, entertainment, industry, artists, filmmakers, film, festivals, trying to survive is, you know, it's just been incredibly difficult. So we had to postpone the film festival. Um, but thankfully the support of the community is, has been there. Um, this past year, uh, we had an individual donor campaign where people could donate and support our organization. Uh, our staff has just been incredible, uh, just pivoted quickly to a virtual format. So we've, uh, immediately started screening movies, uh, of, uh, digitally virtually with our digital team cinema and then our educational program. Uh, we immediately were able to do our Saturday team producers class, uh, virtually, uh, but yeah, but not without its difficulties and challenges. Like all of us, Speaker 12: 37:57 You have been able to expand a little bit in terms of what the festival is able to do because you're doing virtual screenings, but you are also taking advantage of our San Diego drive in. Speaker 13: 38:09 Yes. Uh, you know, we have beautiful weather here in San Diego and we have these wonderful driving experiences that already exists. And so our opening night, March 11th is going to be at the South Bay driving. We're so excited to see the movies on the big screen. Uh, we're actually taking over two screens at the, at the drive in, so you'll have a chance to see the classic movies, Zoot suit, uh, that's the seven o'clock screening, it's the 40th anniversary of Zoot suit. And then after that, the nine o'clock screening is a front that a filmmaker shorts program. So it's supporting local filmmakers. Uh, and then on the next screening, we're screening LA all these say they look healers, which starts with Ricardo, that deans and Argentinian film. And regardless that Dean has been a fan favorite of our film festival. And then after that, we're screening from that a filmmakers documentary short documentaries. Speaker 13: 38:57 Uh, so yeah, I just imagine if you're a local filmmaker and to go out to the drive in and see your movie on the big screen, I'm really excited about that to me. That's fantastic. And it goes back to the, you know, why we created the organization in the beginning, right. Is to support local filmmakers to support young, Latino filmmakers in particular. And so to see their movies on the big screen is going to be fantastic. And then on March 20th, doing something a little different, we're going to kind of create our own, pop-up a drive in experience at Westfield mission Valley mall on Saturday, March 20th. So we're going to put a huge 50 foot screen. Uh, it's the parking lot, just kind of West of the target there and the parking lot, uh, we'll have live entertainment. Kimberlites gonna play some salsa before bringing a little bit of our, so neither Latino, um, experience to the festival. And then, yeah, we're going to screen another Argentinian film edit, which is a nice family-friendly movie, sweet heartwarming film that everyone should enjoy. So yeah, opening night and then kind of closing weekend, and we'll both be driving experiences and everything else will be virtual. Speaker 12: 39:58 You mentioned that you're going to have some live music. Your event in the past has always been about a lot of in-person things, whether it's food and drink and music and discussions after the films. So how has that been like trying to recreate that in a mostly virtual environment? Speaker 13: 40:17 I think that's been one of the toughest toughest things for us to do, you know, it's that in-person environment and celebration of culture and cinema food, art music that's been made the made the festival so interesting. And, and you're running from one auditorium to the next to try to get into the film on time. And then you see an actor and people are taking photos on the red carpet. So, you know, that experience we do miss. And we miss seeing of course our attendees in person and talking about the films and opening up the catalog and stuff. But that says, you know, we postpone the last year's festival. We had it in September. And one of the exciting things that did happen during the festival was these virtual live streams. You know, I, and the, the, the ability to connect with filmmakers from all over the world, you know, they were in Europe and then South America, Mexico is just incredible to get them on one screen and have that dialogue. Speaker 13: 41:07 And so I do believe, uh, one positive thing this past year is learning how to have these live streams, these, this communication, the dialogue, because, you know, again, it's not the same thing, but you still feel that sense of connection with the filmmakers, which I think they, they so badly need it to, they want to see their work out there and they want to discuss their films. So I think we had close to 70 hours of a live stream Q and A's this past festival. So that's to continue to, so after the movies, I encourage everyone. It's nightly. There's going to be two to three Q and A's every, every night. So please enjoy those Q and A's get onto YouTube Facebook and check out the Q and A's with the filmmakers. It's pretty fascinating Speaker 12: 41:47 What have been the financial challenges of all this. So how has it been trying to adapt to this kind of new environment where selling in-person tickets is not really the main source of your income? Speaker 13: 42:01 Yeah, so our organization is built upon earned income, and it was something that we were, you know, really good at over the years, whether it's registration fees for our youth media and tech camps or ticket sales from our film festival ticket sales from the digital gym earned income from our video production services, everything except for the video production services that just kinda just went down completely. Um, you know, we've lost over close to $500,000, uh, in our annual budget this past year, which is just incredible that we're still standing and talking to you right now. And then we're going to have a film festival, but thanks to, uh, federal support, the PPP loans, city support, state support, we're still able to provide the programming. Uh, and, and we w we were very strong. I feel we're very confident. We're very strong and the organization is going to do fine, but it's definitely this period without earned income it's has been pretty dramatic for the organization. It has been devastating, but thankfully, uh, individual support foundation support, we've been allowed to kind of, I, you know, keep going and keep our core staff. Uh, and then, you know, we're excited to, uh, you know, uh, in the fall of 2021, we'll move into a new space and hopefully by then, everyone will have their vaccinations and feel more comfortable, and we'll be able to do some in-person events as well. Speaker 12: 43:20 Well, well, I want to thank you very much for talking about this year, San Diego, Latino film festival. Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity Speaker 1: 43:27 That was Beth haka. Mondo speaking with Ethan van. Tilo the 28th annual San Diego Latino film festival starts March 11th. Next week, Beth will speak with the festival programmer about the film selections.