Newsom’s $12 Billion Plan For California's Homelessness Crisis

Speaker 1: 00:01 Governor Newsome proposes big spending to resuscitate California's econ. Speaker 2: 00:05 I mean we, yes, we have this enormous budget surplus right now, but how are we going to do it once this money runs out? Speaker 1: 00:11 I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Heinemann. This is KPBS mid-day edition, San Diego health care centers say they have the shots, but not enough arms. Speaker 3: 00:29 So now we're moving to a phase where there is this smaller group of people who aren't as eager, aren't as motivated to get vaccinated, but who still need to get their shots if as a community, if we're going to really slow the spread of the virus, Speaker 1: 00:43 Uh, San Diego author explores Asian American history and heritage for young adults and a focus on short films made by local filmmakers during the pandemic that's ahead on midday edition, Speaker 1: 01:00 The numbers are staggering. In the past two days, governor Gavin Newsome has unveiled parts of a $100 billion pandemic recovery plan for California included in those proposals are a second round of $600 stimulus checks and a $12 billion plan to secure housing for homeless Californians. The massive spending plan comes as California finds itself with an estimated $76 billion budget surplus plus extra billions in federal pandemic recovery funds. All of this is taking place in anticipation of a full reopening of California's economy and with a backdrop of a pending recall election for governor Newson, Johnny meat is [inaudible] senior editor of politics and government Scott Schaefer, and Scott. Welcome. Thank you, Maureen. Now that's a lot of numbers, so Speaker 2: 01:53 Yeah, I'll try not to add to that pile. Speaker 1: 01:56 Let's talk first about though, we have to the stimulus checks and rent relief. The governor is proposing. Who's getting the stimulus checks this time around, Speaker 2: 02:06 Well, you know, this is a, an expansion of a program that the state began earlier this year, which was targeted at the lowest income earners. And this is going to, uh, expand that to individuals or households earning up to $75,000, uh, in adjusted gross income. And that's about two thirds. They estimate two thirds of Californians will be getting a check for $600. And then if they have dependent children that they've listed on their income taxes, they'll get an additional 500 so 1100 for those that weren't eligible for any of the earlier checks and then an additional 500 for those who did get that first round of $600 checks, uh, if they have dependent kids Speaker 1: 02:47 And there was also a proposal to kind of fill in the gaps of previous rent relief programs. Tell us about that. Speaker 2: 02:54 Yeah. So the governor is proposing and of course, all of these are proposals because they have to have a legislature has to have its hearings on the budget, but it's notable that this week, uh, when all this was rolled out, at least in Oakland, uh, that the chairs of the Senate and assembly budget committees were there with the governor. So that's essentially a stamp of approval, although they may ask for even more money given how much there is, but the render assistance, uh, is going to be $5 billion. It's going to be used to pay back rent for those affected by the pandemic. And that's an additional, uh, in addition to earlier, uh, rental assistance that the governor laid out, you know, you have to be eligible, there will be an application process. And I think that's worth noting Maureen because, uh, this is not an automatic payment. And, uh, we were talking yesterday with one of the legislators and they said that, uh, you know, it's been really slow in rolling out that earlier pot of money for renters. Uh, not as many renters have actually benefited from the relief as you might imagine because of that application and approval process. Speaker 1: 03:55 Okay. So governor Newsome actually was in San Diego yesterday. He was proposing a $12 billion program to provide housing for California's homeless. And is it based on what we have seen here in San Diego during the pandemic where motels and hotels are used to provide housing? Speaker 2: 04:13 Yeah, that certainly is part of it, uh, that, uh, retrofitting of hotels and motels that, uh, were used during the earlier months of the pandemic. So those would become more, uh, permanent. There's a question that homeless advocates have, which is how is this going to be sustained? I mean, we, yes, we have this enormous budget surplus right now, but how are we going to do it once this money runs out? And this is true for a lot of the things. I mean, the governor today is proposing 14 and a half billion dollars, uh, for the schools, including expanding transitional kindergarten for all age appropriate kids. Well, that's great, but like what happens when there's a downturn? Because as we know in California, the revenues, uh, it's a rollercoaster, they go up and then they come down at some point. So, but what happens when that money runs out Speaker 1: 04:59 And where did all this money come from with this enormous budget surplus, Speaker 2: 05:04 If you look at the a hundred billion dollars about a quarter of it, uh, 26, 27 billion is from the recovery act that the Biden administration proposed and Congress passed. And the rest of it largely comes from the booming stock market. I mean, California is disproportionately reliant on income tax and we tax the highest income earners and especially things like capital gains, uh, stock options that get cashed in those that's taxed at a very high level. And because the stock market has just roared back since the pandemic in ways that nobody really anticipated a lot of entrepreneurs have decided, well, this is a good time to do an initial public offering. Let's take advantage of all this exuberance. And so a number of companies have had very successful initial public offerings. And as those employees begin to cash, their stock in California takes its share. So this is really largely driven by the stock market. It's just shows how powerful California's sort of innovation economy is when it comes to our state budget. Speaker 1: 06:03 Now, you say that a democratic legislators look like they, this, this, these proposals will sail through, uh, Sacramento without much of a hitch, but what's been the Republican reaction. Speaker 2: 06:18 Some of the proponents of the recall are saying, we can take credit for this tax a rebate. You know, he's only doing this because he knows he's, there's a recall on the ballot. And I think there's some truth to that. I think there's actually some truth in general, to the fact that this recall campaign has lit a fire under nuisance. We've seen him out and about in ways we never did before. Uh, the recall became a serious issue. So, uh, I think there's some truth to that. Then you've got like today, Kevin Faulkner is proposing a, uh, broad middle-class tax cuts. Uh, so Republicans are saying, Hey, why do we need all this revenue? Let's not just give a rebate, let's cut our tax rate. And then you've got people like Mitt Romney, Senator Mitt Romney from Utah who tweeted yesterday, why are we giving California $26 billion in federal money? They've got a $75 billion surplus. And so, you know, there's some truth to that as well. Uh, so, you know, generally speaking Republicans are sort of keeping to their, um, you know, talking points and positions, policy positions on taxes, lower taxes, and Speaker 1: 07:22 That involves a lot more numbers to Scott. So Speaker 2: 07:25 Yes it does. Speaker 1: 07:27 I've been speaking with KQBD senior editor of politics and government Scott Schafer. Thank you so much. Speaker 2: 07:32 You're welcome, Maureen. Anytime Speaker 4: 07:42 Gone are the days of long lines, internet delays and supply shortages for the coronavirus vaccine demand in San Diego County is down. Supply is so abundant. Healthcare systems are asking for less doses. So is this an indication we are winning this fight against COVID-19 and close to herd immunity? Or does this mean there is much more work to do in terms of getting people vaccinated? Jonathan Rosen, who is the San Diego union Tribune, biotech reporter has been covering this and joins us now, Jonathan, welcome. Thanks for having me in your recent report, Dr. Marlene Millen, who led vaccination efforts at UCLA said we are in the hand to hand combat phase of vaccination. What is meant by that? Speaker 2: 08:28 So I think what Marlene was saying is that if you think back to January, you think back to February, there were so many people who wanted a vaccine who couldn't get one and the moment they became eligible, they were lining up outside Petco. They were lining up outside of pharmacies, looking for extra doses showing up early in the morning, late at night, I was getting emails from a lot of readers. Uh, some of whom were stuck in traffic trying to get a vaccine site Speaker 3: 08:56 And wanted to know exactly when and where they could get their shot. A lot of those people have now gotten their shots and they've been vaccinated for some time. And so now we're moving into a phase where the people who haven't been vaccinated may be a little on the fence. They may feel that it's too inconvenient to go to a vaccine site outside the neighborhood, away from where they work. They may have some serious questions about the vaccines and about the virus. So now we're moving to a phase where there's this smaller group of people who aren't as eager, aren't as motivated to get vaccinated, but who still need to get their shots. If as a community, we're going to really slow the spread of the virus to the point that it needs to be for longterm. Getting back to normal life Speaker 4: 09:40 Far, have the numbers of people getting their first shot declined. Speaker 3: 09:44 So we don't have data at the County level for that. We've asked for that from the County and haven't gotten a jest yet, but in a general way, we can look at the numbers in terms of first doses, which are people who haven't been vaccinated are now beginning that process. Uh, as few as a few hundred first doses a day, a second dose numbers are still pretty high at UC San Diego. A lot of people who got the first shot are still coming back for the second, but the number of people deciding to get vaccinated now seems to be going down a bit that that could change pretty soon. Once kids 12 through 15 become eligible, and that could happen by this Wednesday afternoon, but for the moment, demand has definitely gotten much lower. We can see data supporting that. Speaker 4: 10:30 You spoke with Dr. Suzanne Afflalo, who organized vaccination clinics that mainly targeted communities of color demanded. Those clinics dropped drastically too. Why is that? Speaker 3: 10:41 Well, it's basically for the same reasons, you know, in the beginning, uh, Dr. [inaudible] was talking about really focusing on creating vaccine sites in parts of the community where a lot of black and Latino San Diego, this are already going community centers, you know, local YMCAs churches, places that are familiar, and basically being able to create that infrastructure and have people show up in those settings, uh, holding town halls, essentially with the County and with other trusted messengers in the black community. So a lot of the folks who simply wanted a place to go and maybe had a couple questions, but weren't necessarily vaccine skeptics per se. Uh, they've been vaccinated too. So it's not just a matter of the big healthcare systems, seeing the slowdown, we're seeing it at the community at the grassroots level. And what she expressed to me is that there's a real need now to have smaller conversations, maybe not one-on-one, but you know, smaller, more intimate conversations with people about, uh, the questions they have around the vaccines. And it's no longer just a matter of creating these sites in the community, but then going out and really, uh, answering specific questions that each person has. Speaker 4: 11:55 Right. I mean, and where are we at w within various communities? I mean, in the communities of color that were hardest hit, for example, is this an indication that outreach efforts and those communities that were not being reached when this pandemic started and that were being hit hardest, worked, or is there still a lot of work to do in terms of getting people vaccinated at this point? Speaker 3: 12:17 Well, I think we've seen a lot of progress in the South region in South County. Their vaccination rates have been pretty strong, especially among older San Diego ones. And at this point more broadly as well, uh, where we're still seeing numbers lag a little bit is actually in East County. So generally more conservative region of San Diego County. And that's something that we have, uh, one of my colleagues is looking into right now and where the messaging around the vaccines and around the virus has been mixed in terms of the value of the vaccines, what you can do before and after you're vaccinated. So I think particularly in East County where there hasn't been as concerted of an effort to have trusted messengers, to make vaccines accessible and to get information out there, uh, we're still seeing a little more of a slowdown there than we are in the South region right now. Speaker 4: 13:09 Do you have a sense of what it will take then to convince the rest of the population who can get vaccinated to go ahead and do so? Speaker 3: 13:16 Yeah, that's a good question. Especially considering that as big as the numbers might appear when it comes to how many San Diego has been vaccinated, we're, we're not there yet. So to put it in perspective, the county's goal is to have about 2 million residents fully vaccinated by July. Right now, we're at about 1.27 million. So that leaves around 700 plus thousand San Diego who haven't been fully vaccinated yet. Some of them will be because they've gotten shot one just needs to get shot too. Uh, but clearly we're not at that point of herd immunity, even though the COVID numbers daily are relatively low, they're not as low as they need to be. As we keep hearing, you know, I've, I talked for this most recent story with, uh, on a mirror who studies human behavior and decision-making at the Rady school of business and management. And what he said, which was kind of interesting was really the, at this point, it may not necessarily be a matter of getting the information, getting stats, getting the facts out there to people because the pandemic has been going on for a while. Speaker 3: 14:22 And those numbers have been out there for awhile. Uh, but it might be more about creating a system where you have clear incentives and you're communicating those incentives to the people who haven't been vaccinated. So if it's more of an argument of get vaccinated, because you'll be able to do X, Y, and Z, you'll be able to go dine in restaurants, you'd be able to get together with, with family and friends. So I think that that type of messaging that's needed, uh, it needs to be different, especially since the people who haven't been are generally a younger group. So if we're talking about people who are 1820, 25, you know, COVID outcomes tend to be pretty different than if you're 80 years old, where we have data showing that about one out of every seven San Diego, ans 80 plus who got COVID actually passed away from it. So, you know, explaining, uh, the impact of long-term, COVID explaining the fact that some young people still can get really sick, but then also making the case that, you know, this is going to be the way that you can get back to all the normal things in terms of getting together with friends and family and going to concerts, uh, that might be the different messaging it's needed right now. Speaker 5: 15:31 Speaking with Jonathan Rosen, the San Diego union Tribune, biotech reporter, Jonathan, thank you so much for joining us Speaker 3: 15:37 Anytime. Speaker 5: 15:44 This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Cavenaugh with Jade Heinemann late last month, San Diego da summer Stephan announced that her office was dissolving the last remaining gang injunctions in San Diego County. Those were restraining orders issued by a court that limited the movement of alleged gang members, race and equity reporter. Christina Kim tells us what happens now that the injunctions are gone. Travis Smith. Hasn't been to his grandmother's house on Jay street in Southeast San Diego in over a decade. As we walked towards the newly painted blue house, he stops Speaker 6: 16:21 When I first walked up, it was just like, boom. You know, I got hit with so many memories. This was my daddy's house when he was a kid. You know what I mean? So definitely, you know, through the generations, you know, it's is home. It's always going to be home, Speaker 5: 16:34 But for 13 years, the now 37 year old Smith couldn't go home. His name was put on a gang injunction, a court order that determined where he could and couldn't be his grandmother's house was right in the middle of a restricted area. In 2006, when his name was added to the gang, injunction Smith was a member of the West coast, Crips years before Smith had been convicted of gun possession, as well as drug possession and sales. But he says the crimes weren't gang related, and he'd already finished his probation. Smith's still remembers what went through his head. When two gang officers knocked on his mother's door and told him that he was on a gang injunction, Speaker 6: 17:10 How is this going to work? How am I not going to go to this store that I've been going to for 20 something years? How am I not going to go to this park that I've been hanging out at? You know how Speaker 5: 17:23 The main idea behind gang injunctions is if you make it extremely difficult for gang members to congregate or live in a community, they'll eventually go away and the community will be better off Smith's as he understands the need to end gang violence. And he doesn't make excuses about his choices, but he is among many who say the injunctions have harmed far more people than they've helped people like his grandmother who passed away in 2010. I mean, Speaker 6: 17:50 Not being able to see your grandsons, you used to see in your grandsons out front barbecuing, and then next thing you know, you don't see them. And you're older. I mean, that's the American dream, right? To get you a house and have your grandsons and your kids dwelling around. Right? Well, they took that from us. Speaker 5: 18:11 Many law enforcement leaders have come around to Smith's way of thinking. In recent years, San Diego County, da summer Stephan began removing names from gang injunction list two years ago. And in April, she announced that her office was ending all of the county's remaining gang injunctions, the change and Stephen's approach, however, has been slow in 2019. She was against a recommendation by the city's gang commission to immediately end all injunctions. I may not act as quickly as somebody might like me to act because I have a duty to take thoughtful, considered action, to make sure that I don't have collateral damage. It says the process of methodically reviewing cases for the past few years has changed her mind. Even though she's still not convinced the injunctions didn't reduce gang violence during their peak use. Well, what I've learned is that you always have to be open-minded to change. And that things that worked in law enforcement years ago may be cast too wide of a net for Smith. The scars from being caught up in that net run deep, and they won't just go away because there's been a shift in policy during the visit to his old neighborhood. He heads to Mullins, market and liquor store on the busy corner of Imperial and 30th. As he looks at the building where his former church used to be two police cars drive by and one parks across the street. Speaker 6: 19:31 This is the w the worst part. I'm not on an injunction. I'm not a part of a gang. And just standing right here. I still feel like, you know what I'm saying? Even saying this police officer, you know, that, that's what I, when I was talking about that trauma from being jacked up by the gang suppression, this is it right here. I thought he was coming from me. Speaker 5: 20:00 UNESCO. Donna says she hears experiences. Like what happened to Smith all the time? She's the therapist at RiseUP industries, a nonprofit that works exclusively with former gang members who have been incarcerated. You've been conditioned when you have so many of these negative interactions, right? That are oftentimes violent, frightening. Um, you feel helpless in them. Cardona says it's important to address former gang members, mental health, and re-entry into society because it's not an individual problem. It's a community problem. And it has a ripple effect and impacts all of us. Travis Smith wants to see programs like rise up industries in his old neighborhood. He can't help, but wonder what might have happened if he'd been given therapy, instead of being placed on the injunction. Now, a minister who's been sober for 14 years and the father of four girls. He Speaker 1: 20:48 Says institutions that upheld gang injunctions, how a part to play in rebuilding communities. You've got to come back and you have to bring healing, which after we part ways, Smithville drive 20 miles to get to his current house, he's still undoing years of conditioning that kept him away from these places that used to be home. Christina Kim KPBS news, joining me is Inez Corona, a therapist at rise up industries, and as welcome to the program. Speaker 7: 21:19 Hi Maureen. Thank you. Speaker 1: 21:21 Can you tell us a little bit more about rise up? What's its mission Speaker 7: 21:25 Rise up is a reentry program that helps formerly incarcerated individuals and former gang involved individuals successfully reenter society. And they do that with a comprehensive system of support that not only includes job skills trainings, uh, it's an 18 month CNC machining training program, but they also receive therapy services, case management, mentorship, and other sources of support to help them succeed. Speaker 1: 21:57 Okay. So do the former gang members contact you or does the therapy start while they are incarcerated? Speaker 7: 22:04 So the application process can start when members are incarcerated, um, and some actually reach out and apply even shortly after their release. Their first interaction with a therapist is actually during the application process in which they undergo a thorough psychosocial assessment, which is a comprehensive evaluation of their mental, physical, and emotional health. It's also an opportunity for us to determine their ability to function within a community. And it gives us a more detailed look into their needs. And so then we can tailor their treatment plans. Speaker 1: 22:40 What kinds of trauma do you see in people who've been in gangs and incarcerated? Speaker 7: 22:46 Many, if not, most of them have been exposed to violence, death witnessing the various forms of abuse, neglect, and not just in their home environments, right. Uh, within their communities, um, they witnessed or directly experienced police brutality. And then you add, you know, the punitive and abusive prison environment, which they're exposed to as well. Speaker 1: 23:13 And what kinds of problems do these sort of unresolved issues? Cause in people's efforts to move on to a different life. Speaker 7: 23:21 What we see mostly is PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Speaker 1: 23:27 What do you hear from people about the problems that they're encountering when they try to move on to a different life? What are the obstacles they face? Speaker 7: 23:37 Right. A lack of job skills, a lack of employment history, a lack of housing, food insecurity, transportation challenges, you know, social problems often again, addiction, which directly impacts their physical health, not just their mental and emotional health. Speaker 1: 23:55 And, and let me ask you this, in what ways did gang injunctions actually make it harder for former members to build a new life? Speaker 7: 24:03 Well, having your name on a list, you know, restricted a lot of their efforts in terms of their ability to obtain employment. You know, employers typically won't hire those with criminal convictions on their records. So it really limits their job prospects. Um, it also prevents them from receiving public housing assistance and social services assistances, again, such as food resources and all of that is compounded right with, um, sometimes they face homelessness or addiction and mental health challenges. Yeah. Speaker 1: 24:34 You say in the report that addressing former gang members, mental health issues is important, not just for the gang members, but for the whole community. Why is that? Speaker 7: 24:44 I think gangs are only a symptom of a larger issue, right? Um, so yes are individual challenges that they face that absolutely need to be addressed. And then in terms of community and increasing safety, it's important for us to think about what happens when these individuals don't receive the necessary support and resources, how it perpetuates, right? The challenges that they face in terms of mental illness, addiction, and the maladaptive behavior, they engage in to sustain those, right? So we may see it in the form of violence or theft as well as the cost to taxpayers. They're a huge people who struggle with homelessness or drug addiction or mental health issues are a huge strain on public resources, um, emergency room services, law enforcement, first responders, um, or emergency responders. So it costs both literally and figuratively the community Speaker 1: 25:43 Find that communities are open to accepting people back who maybe once terrorized that same community when they were in. Again, Speaker 7: 25:52 I believe some people are, and I believe the more information and awareness and context that people have would increase the number of people that would be more accepting and open to allowing people to have a second chair. Right. Speaker 1: 26:08 I've been speaking with Yunez Corona, a therapist at rise up industries, Inez, thank you so much for your Speaker 7: 26:14 Time. Thank you for having me Speaker 1: 26:30 As college students who have been stuck at home during the pandemic. One way they've sought community is through online video games. This competitive gaming also called e-sports is gaining popularity on California campuses Speaker 5: 26:44 Where professors say recreational play is leading to professional opportunities. K QED and Cal matters. Reporter Marissa Martinez. As the story Romeo's on says if the student president of the Cal state Dominguez Hills e-sports association Speaker 7: 27:00 Over the summer of COVID like a lot of people started trying to get more involved in, on campus, even though they weren't on campus. So that was basically just like basically opening the doors into competitive use for it. For a lot of students, Speaker 5: 27:16 Blanca says academic advisor, Ruben Kaputo says that the pandemic amplified a community. He saw growing up the campus. He says he wants students to see that there is professional potential attached to their gaming skills. Speaker 7: 27:27 When you see e-sports and you're part of an organization that actually treats this with high level of respect. And we, we then are able to help bring transfer students that are coming from different colleges to now be in a space that understands, Oh, wow, this is, this is beyond a club. I'm actually having internship opportunities from this. I'm actually having to put this down in my resume. Speaker 5: 27:49 Students at Dominguez Hills can even earn a school certificate and e-sports San Francisco state also has its own offering in the form of an advanced media performance course. And e-sports club. The class teaches students how to manage the production of e-sports tournaments, which includes marketing campaigns, audience outreach, and technical streaming software knowledge. Speaker 8: 28:09 It was an awesome experience. I learned so much and that kind of just threw me into the water and, uh, got me prepared for pretty much everything that I've done since those opportunities and that experiences 100% why I'm here today. Speaker 5: 28:23 SF state alum, Fernando Gomez is now the digital content coordinator for the Portland trailblazers. Dr. Dena Ebraheem teaches that course. Speaker 7: 28:31 What I wanted to do was just provide a venue for students who are doing it anyway to get credit Speaker 5: 28:38 Dream says, if campuses are going to start taking e-sports seriously, they need to make sure students have the support they need to pursue. E-sports academically Speaker 7: 28:47 We've seen during the pandemic is the stark, vast digital divide. My students are living in their cards. They're living in RVs. There's a lot of access issues that campuses should be providing, Speaker 5: 29:01 Was looking to create a center on the SF state campus, where her students can have access to PCs, wifi, and the ability to host e-sports tournaments. Speaker 7: 29:10 I kept thinking, how are we evolving? Right? Higher ed needs to evolve or die. We need to be teaching students relevant skills. That's gonna get them jobs in a rapidly changing landscape. This Speaker 5: 29:28 Says is the future of digital media. I'm going to use some Martinez in Rancho Cucamonga. Speaker 4: 29:42 So much of American identity can be explored through heritage, particularly in the traditions that families pass down from generation to generation. For many Korean Americans, the question of identity means examining how these traditions fit into the modern way of life and what it means to truly embrace one's heritage and history. These themes are explored in a new children's book that tells the story of a 10 year old girl who learns to embrace her Korean heritage by immersing herself in her family's history and legacy. It's a story with a particular resonance right now during Asian and Pacific American heritage month, as well as a time where Asian Americans are facing a rising tide of racism. Joining us now is Christine Peck, author of the girl and the gold dress. Christine. Welcome. Speaker 9: 30:33 Thank you, Jay. Thank you for having me. So Speaker 4: 30:36 Christina, I've got to ask so much of this book has to do with examining the importance of family tradition and heritage. What inspired you to create a story that draws on these themes? Speaker 9: 30:48 You know, the inspiration actually came from my own family experience a couple of years ago in 2019, I took my family, my children to South Korea for the first time. And it really was a special experience because we visited the marketplace where their great grandmother had once sold humble fabrics, handbooks, our traditional Korean dresses. And so my daughter ended up getting a humble dress at that very same marketplace. The moment just felt, gosh, so amazing to be able to connect her to her history. That way I had been wanting to write a children's book with my mom, the illustrator for a long time. And that's the idea that sparked this book, Speaker 4: 31:31 As you mentioned, your mother was the illustrator on this project. Did you know from the start that you wanted to have her involved in this project? Speaker 9: 31:40 Oh, absolutely. That was the make or break thing for me, it was always going to be a book that I wrote and that my mom illustrated, she immigrated from South Korea to America in the 1970s. And she had been an art major in college, but she couldn't afford the tuition. She dropped out, she got married and immigrated to America and really put aside her art career to pursue the American dream and to raise her three kids. And so this was a way of kind of thanking her, paying her back to be able to showcase her art in this way. And I'm so, so proud of her. This has been a really emotional and special experience for both of us. Speaker 4: 32:22 And, you know, even though the audience for your book is children, it touches on some very serious subject matters, particularly in a brief depiction of a war, torn Korea. Why was it so important to invoke this more somber imagery? Speaker 9: 32:36 I did wonder whether war and topic was appropriate for children, but it's so integral to the history of Koreans and Korean Americans that I didn't feel like I could tell the story without that component, because it was really central to our family history and many family histories. And I think, um, you know, to be able to show the struggle, the hardship, the sacrifice that our ancestors went through and to be able to honor that that was really important for me Speaker 4: 33:09 And how much of this story is autobiographical. Speaker 9: 33:12 Cool. I get that question often, you know, is this a true story? Is it based on a true story? And the answer is yes, somewhat. And so I would call it historical fiction. Obviously the Korean war happened. And the other things that happened in this book are the moment in the marketplace where the character Hannah goes to the marketplace to get a humble dress. And it's the same marketplace that her great-grandma once sold Humboldt fabrics that is true in our family history. The other thing that also happened are those, you know, perilous train rides, uh, when people were fleeing the war from, uh, North Korea to South Korea, you found a spot on that train, whether you crammed into a compartment or rode on the roof. And so we've heard many harrowing stories from our grandmothers, great grandmothers about what happened then. And then the other thing that is true, and that actually happened is the wrapping of the fabric around the body to transport the fabric as a way of making a living and surviving. And so that story really stood out from our grandmother. And I really wanted to include that as a key moment in the book. Speaker 4: 34:27 And I'm sure when you began working on this book, it was hard to imagine it would be released at a time when we're seeing an increase in anti-Asian American rhetoric and violence. How does it feel as an author to have a work that so explicitly deals with the importance of cultural connection to come out at a time like this? Speaker 9: 34:46 The timing could not be more important of course, with COVID happening. That actually was the impetus for us starting on this project, it's taken about a year to, from start to finish. Initially it was because we had the time, you know, our evenings were free. We were stuck at home. I told my mom it's now or never. And then as the Asian anti-Asian crimes started occurring and we started hearing more about this in the news, we thought, Oh my goodness. You know, there, there's a sense of urgency here. And to have this book now come out for, um, Asian Pacific American heritage month and amidst all these anti-Asian hate crimes. It's more important than ever. I firmly believe that the key to combating racism and ignorance is education. And so children and even adults who see this book Speaker 10: 35:38 And see that other cultures, people different from them are to be respected, included. And it's something beautiful to be shared. I think that creates future generations. That will feel the same way. I've been speaking with Speaker 1: 35:52 Christine Peck, author of the girl in the gold dress. Christine, thank you so much for joining us. Speaker 10: 35:58 Thank you so much for having me. Speaker 1: 36:07 This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Heinemann 48 hour film project and the San Diego international film festival have been partnering for years to highlight short films made by local filmmakers. This Friday at noon, the best of the pandemic produced 48 hour short films will be available in a virtual shorts Fest, KPBS arts reporter, Beth Armando Amando speaks with 48 hour film project organizer, Dwayne Trammell and filmmaker, Christina Ruby. Speaker 10: 36:41 Dwayne, the 48 hour film project is going to be having a special screening showcase at the San Diego international film festival this year. So for people who may not be familiar, explain what a 48 hour film project. Speaker 11: 36:57 Sure. Well, 48 hour film project is in its 20th year. It's a worldwide filmmaking competition where teams of filmmakers in and certain cities around the world. There's about 130 or so cities on a competition weekend teams of filmmakers meet. And they're given a, a line of dialogue that character and a prop, and they draw random films, genre to different films, genres, and they have 48 hours from 7:00 PM on Friday to 7:30 PM on Sunday, which is an additional half hour. That was historically Protravel time. Of course, these days we kind of do it electronically, but they still get the extra half hour. So they have 48 hours to write shoot, edit, and turn into complete film. And then the films are judged locally with the winning film, going on to film a Palooza, which has held in some city around the world, somewhere from all those films, a winning film is chosen as the grand champion. Speaker 10: 37:54 So Christina for a filmmaker, why do you want to put yourself through the ordeal of trying to crank something out in just 48 hours? What's the fun or the challenge of that? That's actually the best part of it is that, you know what I like to tell people. So when I put out the movie that we made, I like to tell them if you think it's amazing, we made this in 48 hours. And if you don't think it's great, just remember we made this in 48 hours. So it's like buys you a lot of flexibility and credence from people that they're like, Oh wow, you made this important eight hours. That's amazing. But that's part of the appeal for me is that you get basically carte blanche to do whatever you want to do, because there's really no downside to doing something awesome. In that timeframe, like with my film specifically, we've made it a one-shot, which is where the bulk of it. There's no edits because I wanted a thing that I was like, we're going to get it. Like we rehearsed all day. We five of our seven minutes as a one-shot because I just wanted to see it and have it all come together. But yeah, I, I'm not in it for the long haul. I want the instant gratification in running this program. What is it that you see in filmmakers that comes out when you force them to kind of work with these restrictions of time and character and a dialogue line and you know, a prop, Speaker 11: 39:12 Uh, the, the single biggest thing is the creativity. A side note too. The creativity is just the teamwork and how everyone just loves doing this competition. I know as a, as a film student, I did it right after I graduated San Diego state. And I feel like I learned as much doing the 48 hour film project as I did in any of the film projects that I did in school, the compression of time forces you to be creative and to make decisions very quickly. Speaker 10: 39:45 And Christina, your film that is going to screen is called sound soundbites. So what were the parameters you had to work with in terms of character and prop and law? I think we'd use a musical instrument as our prop, which lucky for me, one of my cast members played the violin and not very well. So it actually worked out perfectly for what I needed it for. And then we had to use a character, which was, um, I know we used Rocky, but I think you could also use Raquel. And then the line was, did you wash your hands? Cause I think we were in mid COVID at the time and everybody was mindful of that thing. So in the beginning I'd be moaned the fact that I had to use all of those things because I'm like, ah, it's holding me back creatively, but it ended up, I actually really like that they're in there, there's little sort of Easter eggs, except when you put it out for people who are outside of the 48, you have to sort of give them context of why this person is playing a violin in the middle of whatever it is that you're talking about. Speaker 10: 40:45 Cause it really doesn't make sense outside of the 48. And one of the things that you're also restricted by is you draw a genre. Speaker 10: 40:55 Yes. So, um, and they give you two. And so, uh, ours this year where the, it was horror and film noir. So I took the horror route. I actually, I took liberties with the horror because it, for me, it was more of a, mine was a movie within a movie. So they were filming a zombie movie, which was a horror. And then in addition to that, it was supposed to be the main characters, like worst nightmare, worst day, sort of like his life falling apart. So it wasn't traditional horror and that you see like ghosts and zombies and all that stuff. So I sort of took liberties with them are all the films that are showing at the San Diego international film festival where these shot during pandemic or also outside of pandemic, Speaker 11: 41:38 Everything that's shot was shot during the pandemic. For sure. Yeah. I want to make a comment about the prop because this is something that we struggle with every year is having a fun prop that can not be used as a weapon, not easily used as a weapon because so many teams want to use their profit as a weapon. So every year, like one year we have marshmallows and of course someone died by marshmallow, if you can imagine that even happening. So, but yeah, all the films were shot during the pandemic. They were all shot last year at the height of the pandemic actually. And uh, we actually, uh, you know, speaking about the pandemic, we do have guidelines in place and actually an online certification that the filmmakers can get the, say that they're doing safe set practices. Speaker 10: 42:24 When are you going to be having your next event in terms of people actually making the film? Speaker 11: 42:28 We're looking at September this year and the same with last year, because we were hoping that we would get to a point where theaters would open up last year and we would be able to have at least some form of in-person screening. And you know, if we can't get a theater, then it'll be online. Like it was last year. And I guess mid case scenario is that we do a limited in-person screening with an also a online presence as well. Speaker 10: 42:57 And Dwayne, if people want to find out about participating in the 48 hour film project, where can they get that information? Speaker 11: 43:03 So if they go to www.fortyeighthourfilm.com/san Diego, that's where they can find out information about the competition right now. It says that no dates have been chosen yet. That will be updated. As soon as we, we know exactly what we're going to be doing this year. I'm also want to mention for beginning filmmakers, we encourage beginning filmmakers and we, if you email us and tell us that your beginning filmmaker will work to get you hooked up with a mentor, somebody who's done it before to help you through that process. So it's a great, we have a high school teams that do it. And even our youngest filmmaker who formed his own team was nine years old and was very close to winning best film. The, he did a great film his first time. Of course, yeah. He was working with his family and everything, but he was the team leader at nine years old. It was amazing. Speaker 10: 43:58 Well, great. Well, thank you both very much for talking about the 48 hour film project showcase. Speaker 11: 44:03 Of course. Yeah. Thanks for having us. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Speaker 1: 44:08 That was Beth haka, Mondo speaking with Dwayne Trammell and Christina Ruby. The 48 hour film project shorts block is available online this Friday at noon through the San Diego international film festival.