Midweek heat spike sweeps region
S1: Just before first pitch , unseasonably warm temps.
S2: In San Diego and the Padres have had a roller coaster weather.
S1: I'm Jade Hindman with Andrew BOE and Maureen is off. This is KPBS midday edition. Several blocks of downtown are up for development.
S3: It feels like a dungeon. Certainly they haven't been maintaining those buildings at a great standard.
S1: Law enforcement agencies have to release information about officer discrimination , but are they doing it ? And in keeping with Halloween season , a screening of Night of the Living Dead. That's ahead on Midday Edition. In just about an hour from now , the San Diego Padres will be taking the field for the second time of the NLCS series Battle with the Philadelphia Phillies after losing two to nothing last night at Petco Park. But instead of the rain that greeted Padres fans during their Saturday night celebrations after beating the Dodgers , today's game will bring the heat literally , and could end up being one of the hottest MLB playoff games on record. The hotter than normal temperatures across the county have led the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory from 10 a.m. until six this evening. I'm joined by Alex Tardy , meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Alex , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S2: Yeah , thanks for having me on.
S1: So now you're just arriving at Petco Park for this afternoon's game.
S2: We're down here at Petco Park out in the parking lot , getting ready to get in to the stadium. It's already 93 degrees. 93 degrees. So it's already hot. And temperatures are probably going to peak out within the next hour. So that's the only good news , is that when you have heat like this and you're close to the ocean , that temperatures to get that hot , they usually don't allow. They're not allowed to go much hotter in the afternoon because they get to sea breeze.
S1: This heat is quite a change to the weather we saw last week where we saw rain and even some lightning and thunder. Was that normal for October ? Yeah.
S2: You know , San Diego and the Padres have had roller coaster weather , including those thunderstorms you mentioned on Saturday it rained and it's not usual. No. Usually this time of the year it's pretty dry. And we're typically talking more about Santa Anas and warm temperatures like today. But we've had a little bit of both , both extremes from the wet , cool and even lightning on Saturday , rain delay slightly and then to a day like today where it's just downright hot and dry.
S1:
S2: There was a lot more in the mountains and the deserts where we saw one or two inches of rain. But everyone saw a little bit of rain , enough to make puddles. And even downtown San Diego , a little bit of lightning Saturday afternoon. So I know it affected sports and it also affected a lot of recreational activities that were going on.
S1:
S2: The heat advisories in effect for today. So that means those people susceptible to heat or those who have to work outdoors or like at a ballgame or you might be in the sun for several hours. Those are the type of people that really need to take precautions and drink more water and get out of the sun , take some breaks , wear light , clothing , sunscreen. It looks like today's the hottest day and then we're going to cool off tomorrow. So we'll see an earlier sea breeze. Tomorrow is what that means. Instead of getting in the nineties , we're talking about load mid eighties tomorrow.
S1: You mentioned Santa Ana conditions earlier.
S2: They started yesterday and that's really what pushes the marine layer and the sea breeze out to sea. That's what makes our climate more like a desert. When we get these Santa Ana winds , we don't expect any more , though , coming up. And in fact , next week we're going to go right back into fall ish weather and maybe even some beneficial light rain this weekend.
S1: Oh , wow. Well , along with the Santa Ana's , though , does come concern for wildfires. Even with those that change expected to come later this week.
S2: So it looks like fire conditions are okay in general because we had the rain on Saturday and then we also had the rain from the tropical cyclone in September. We've seen a little bit of everything this fall weather wise. But that said , a lot of the fuel is still receptive. If there's a fire start today , it will burn and we'll need attention from the firefighters. So we're certainly not in the clear , but it's not a high threat today.
S1: As San Diego heads towards it's rainy season. We are expecting our third straight year of La Nina conditions.
S2: So we're entering potentially three years of drought in Southern California , potentially for Northern California. So we've already seen two under our belt for Southern California that were dry , well below average , 50% of what they should have been. We're in a drought and it's obvious with the reservoirs and the soil and the fire conditions , we had a hot summer , so that compounds it , especially over the mountains and deserts , really hot summer. So with another La Nina , which is the cold phase of the Pacific. We're looking for drier than average conditions. It doesn't mean it won't rain or we'll see rain this winter. So don't worry about that. It just won't amount to what we need to get out of this drought and could end up being below average.
S1: I've been speaking with Alex Tardy , meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Stay cool and enjoy the game , Alex.
S2: Thank you very much for having us.
S4: San Diego is about to take on another massive development project. Six blocks of real estate in the core of downtown are owned by the city. Mayor Todd Gloria wants to use them to build a mix of housing and office space for city workers. The city council held its first discussion of that proposal this week , and a lot of very big decisions lie ahead. Joining me with more is Jennifer Van Grove , who covers growth and development for the San Diego Union-Tribune. And , Jennifer , welcome.
S3: Thanks for having me.
S4: Let's start with where this property is located downtown and tell us what's on the property right now. Sure.
S3: Sure. I mean , we're actually talking about a lot of different properties , but I think , you know , the bulk of it is concentrated on the city hall assets , which are , you know , in the core of downtown. If anyone's been to a city council meeting that's called the city administration building. Also on that same site is the Civic Theater , that the parkade , which is a really windy , confusing parking structure. Civic Center Plaza and then Golden Hall , which was being used as a convention center and is no longer adjacent to that , is the infamous one , a one ash street building that's across the street. And then another property in the mix is the city operations building , which is also across the street from city Hall , but kind of in a in a different way than than one on ash.
S4:
S3: The city has said that there's $262 million worth of deferred maintenance and or , you know , needs 1 to 1 ash in particular being the most with with the $115 million estimate to remediate the asbestos in that empty building. But , you know , anyone who's been to those buildings or if you've done any sort of development work and you've needed a permit and you've had to go down to the building , which is the operations building , you just know it. It's very dated. It feels like a dungeon. Certainly they haven't been maintaining those buildings at it at a great standard. So there's there's just this sense that it would cost a ton of money to get the buildings to even just kind of a minimum standard of operation , let alone , you know , be emblematic of what the city wants to kind of project , which is this kind of big city energy as mayor. Todd Gloria has said in the past.
S4: And there are a few other properties downtown that are owned by the city that some city council members want to include in this larger discussion of redeveloping city assets. Tell us about that.
S3: Yeah , so that's where things get tricky , right ? So we have this six blocks of contiguous land right in the core , but a few councilmembers have wanted to look at potentially offering in the same sort of notice of availability , which is a solicitation. The San Diego Police headquarters at 14 on Broadway , the controversial Housing Navigation Center down in East Village , and then a maintenance yard , I believe , at 20th and B and in that particular area. So not contiguous. Pretty far away from the civic core. But but you know , offering much more land which could potentially increase the value of the overall transaction.
S4: Now , the city has to follow a state law called the Surplus Land Act when it redeveloped its own property. We've talked about it quite a bit on this show , but remind us what that law requires the city to do.
S3: Yeah , so the Surplus Land Act was amended in 2019 , went into effect in 2020 , and it requires when the city is disposing of either via lease or sale excess land that it no longer needs for public use. It requires that the city that it that it dispose of the land to somebody offering 25 a minimum of 25% residential units that are deed restricted for families making 80% or less of the area median income. And so in this case , if the city were to offer up all of those those sites that I just mentioned , the 25% restriction would apply to the contiguous portion in the core , but then it would also be applied individually to each other noncontiguous site. And that was clarified at at the council meeting earlier this week.
S4: So no matter how much the housing that the city builds on these properties , at least 25% of those homes have to be affordable for low income renters. Exactly.
S3: Exactly.
S4: Got it. So you've been closely following the city's redevelopment of the sports arena property , which is also going through this surplus land Act process.
S3: So when the city started the process of disposing , you know , the technical terminology of the sports arena site , it went through first an initial step of declaring the property surplus land. And that's what the city will have to do here with this. But first , they're going to have to actually to determine which properties they want to include and declare surplus. So they have the option to declare all these properties surplus and issue what's called a notice of availability , which the city did with sports arena. But the city also has the potential to withhold some of the sites , as you know , and deem them either exempt surplus land or I think I think that's the only other declaration. But but essentially maintain them for 100% public use , redevelop them , you know , through a public works process. So that's one distinction. But otherwise , they will , you know , determine the properties that they want to put out on the market. They will declare those properties surplus or exempt surplus , and then they will issue a notice of availability. And that goes out to affordable housing builders and agencies that are kind of vetted with the state and have expressed interest in these types of projects. And then the the market has 60 days to put together a response and submit their interest for for these sites. And that's very similar to what we saw with sports arena.
S4: And timelines on these types of projects are always very hard to pinpoint.
S3: But that's very speculative and maybe very aggressive. The process will really need to play out , and it might go relatively quickly once the city issues that notice of availability , which they've said they'd like to do in February or March , but the 2026 year was put out there and might be a possibility that we could start thinking about now.
S4: Well , we'll have to see.
S3: If not tomorrow.
S4: Yeah , certainly a lot going to happen before then. I've been speaking with Jennifer Van Grove , reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune. And Jennifer , thanks for joining us.
S3: Thanks for. Thanks for having me.
S4: This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Andrew Bowen with Jade Hindman. A new state law went into effect in January that requires law enforcement agencies to release records about officer discrimination. But KPBS investigative reporter Claire TRAGESER found most local police departments say they have nothing to report.
S5: It was a night in Vegas that didn't stay in Vegas. In January 2020 , sheriff's Deputy Andrew Phillips and his girlfriend spent hours at a casino drinking heavily with a group of German tourists. That's according to a sheriff's report. Later , the group went up to a hotel room. That's where things took a turn. Phillips allegedly punched a hole in a wall and pulled out his gun. He was arrested by Las Vegas police.
S6: He's claiming that his girlfriend is in the room. They got into a fight over Russian Nazis. So it's actually family that does this. So that's what he's saying.
S5: Phillips was fired for breaking several sheriff's department rules , drinking while armed with a gun and saying he's in law enforcement to avoid arrest.
S6: If the roles were reversed. That was in San Diego. Now putting in the same situation out of respect of the course and process. Okay.
S5: But all of this would have stayed secret if Phillips hadn't broken one other rule.
S6: For you claim in Germany.
S5: Yes , he said discriminatory things about the Germans.
S6: So you said they were Russian , Russian , German. Where the hell they are ? They're speaking some other damn language.
S5: Or Russian , German , whatever the hell they are. He says they were speaking some other damn language. A new state law says when departments find their officers say or do discriminatory things , those records have to be public. But San Diego County police agencies say they have nothing to report. The Phillips case is just one of six released. But does that mean all officers are behaving correctly ? Nancy Skinner , the state senator who wrote the law , is dubious.
S3: If you have a culture in an agency. Where.
S2: Where.
S3: They , number one , don't.
S2: Even want to.
S3: Recognize misconduct. So even if the officer.
S2: Is behaving.
S3: In the way I described.
S5: They don't sustain a finding. And that doesn't serve us. It could be that the reviews aren't done thoroughly. So no discrimination is found. Or it could be that officers don't want to report on each other.
S3: I mean , I was scared to report it because I didn't want to be known as like the weak female or , you know , the quote unquote snitch or rat.
S5: Stacey Ralph is a former sheriff's detective suing the department for sexual harassment.
S3: So I think there's this fear of reporting because then , you know , everybody looks at you like , oh , I can't work with that person because they're a snitch and they can't take a joke.
S5: There's also reluctance to report from members of the public.
S2: So the first big issue is that the public does not think that these discrimination claims will be taken seriously.
S5: Rashawn Ray is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He says people may not want to go into a station or give out personal information to file a report. And even if they do.
S2: Discrimination claims are extremely , extremely hard to prove. And it does oftentimes come down to a community member said. And a police officer say , and that's the reason why video evidence is so , so important.
S5: Video evidence is crucial in these cases. So says Lieutenant John Boyce , who runs the San Diego Department's internal affairs. He calls it body worn cameras or BW sees.
S2: I can think of several examples where there's an allegation of some insensitive term being used. And when we review the BWC , we clearly see that it never occurred.
S5: He says the low number of discrimination cases is a sign of progress.
S2: I would like to think that it just shows that our the deputy sheriffs and the employees of the sheriff's department are doing their job impartially and and doing what we expect a.
S6: Lot of Russians have to do.
S5: With anything. But community members who deal with police say there is discrimination going on. And more than just sheriff's deputies like Andrew Phillips saying things about Germans. Claire TRAGESER , KPBS News.
S1: For the first time in eight years , Chula Vista voters will elect a new mayor this November , as Mayor Mary Salis is termed out. The two candidates , Councilman John McCann and a MA camp in AJA frame the race as a choice between experience and new ideas. KPBS reporter Gustavo Solis has been covering the race and joins us now. Gustavo , welcome.
S4: Hello , Jane.
S1: So first , before we talk about the candidates running for mayor , I want to talk about Chula Vista.
S4: Right. The city's own financial department projects a growing budget deficit , meaning they are going to spend more money than they generate. And this isn't a new problem for Chula Vista. The city is a bedroom community. They've historically struggled to attract businesses to Chula Vista , so its tax base is overly reliant on property taxes and there aren't enough sales and hotel taxes to to offset that future. Mayor and city council should definitely address this issue. Some of the other ones are problems with the city's marijuana ordinance , right ? It took them two years to get it off the ground and they're in legal trouble. So I think at least three lawsuits last time I counted from dispensaries that that that the city didn't even follow its own complicated ordinances. And the judges have sided with some of those lawsuits already. The other big issue that we've covered extensively here at KPBS is criticisms with the city's surveillance technology policies , particularly from civil liberty organizations and private advocacy groups. And that's just at the police department's use of the drone program and license plate reader data that gives this feeling that Chula Vista is one of the most surveilled cities in the county. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S4: The mayor of Chula Vista is essentially just another city council member , but with a few added perks. The mayor has more of a say in what items go on the agenda for weekly council meetings. So that influences a little bit what city the city council votes on. The mayor also sits on regional boards like SANDAG , which gives Chula Vista say , over to the entire county , particularly on transportation issues that they're focused on. And despite their campaign promises , the mayor of Chula Vista really has limited power to unilaterally change city policy.
S1: Mm hmm. And so there are two candidates running for mayor. One is John McCann. What can you tell us about his background ? Right.
S4: Right. As you said in the beginning , right. The race is being framed as one of experience versus new ideas. And John McCann would represent the experience. He's been in the city council for 16 years. He loves reminding people that that he has the experience. He's a veteran who served in Iraq and he's also relatively wealthy. He owns a multimillion dollar property management business and several homes. Like I said , he's the established candidate who essentially wants Chula Vista to stay the way it is. Go in the same direction that it's been going to in the last decade. Now , I'd say if you live in Chula Vista and you're relatively happy with how your government functions , John McCann might be a good option. He is very reluctant to criticize anything the city does , including the police department's use of surveillance , the city's marijuana ordinance , and whatever the city council votes on. And that's partly because he's been part of those city councils. Something that differentiates him a little bit from a cabinet czar is he's a conservative who has spoken out against some social issues like drag queen story hour. He's very against. He's also against removing the statue of Christopher Columbus from Discovery Park.
S1: Mm hmm. The other candidate , as you mentioned , is a MA champion , Aja. What do we know about his background ? Amar.
S4: Kevin , Aja really made a name for himself running for Congress twice in this county. And it was a little bit of a shock when he announced a mayoral run for Chula Vista because he had spent the last years portraying himself as a son of East County. He does have more money and more endorsements than John McCann. He seems to be the favorite in the race. Registered Democrat , but also ran as a moderate for Congress. Right. He criticized Nancy Pelosi on some issues and smoke cigars with groups like defend his county cabinet. DA wants to change things in Chula Vista , so he would be like the new ideas candidate. He says current government has dropped the ball on issues like the garbage strike that left garbage on people's streets for for weeks and weeks on end in Chula Vista. He's also been very critical of the homeless situation , particularly down in western Chula Vista. So if you are a little bit fed up with the way Chula Vista has been managed over the last decade , camping AJA might be an appealing option.
S1: Where do these candidates stand on the issues affecting the city that you mentioned earlier ? What ? Start with the city's problem of not enough money coming in.
S4: Both candidates are very , very similar on some of these issues. Right. And this isn't just these two candidates. Basically , every politician who has run for office in Chula Vista over the last five years since I've been covering this city all say that they support public safety. They want to attract new businesses , Chula Vista. They want to finish the Bayfront project and they want to bring a four year university to Chula Vista that everyone across the board says they want all those things in terms of how to address the the long term budget deficit. AMAR Captain Aja seems a little bit more focused on it and more aware of it. I think John McCann is a little bit dismissive of it when I've spoken to him. Like I said before , in terms of the marijuana ordinance , I think both candidates will recognize that the city messed up in the beginning. John McCann said that the city should have gone with another contractor to to evaluate some of these applications. And in retrospect , he wouldn't have done it that way. But now he says that the issue is basically solved , whereas Kemp and Aja says , no , the issue is and software is still getting sued because of this and we need to address it going forward. In terms of police oversight , that's where they're kind of night and day with surveillance. John McCann , like I said before , is extremely reluctant to criticize the police department , even with something like the surveillance , the license plate reader program , right where it was proven and shown that Chula Vista was sharing license plate reader data with ICE and Customs and Border Protection for three years without the city's police chief or mayor knowing about it. I've asked John about that several times , and he just kind of dismisses it as well. We're not doing it anymore and the problem is solved , whereas Kemp and Aja will say that never should have happened in the first place and we need more police oversight to prevent stuff like that from happening in the future. So that's a little bit of the difference of where they stand on some of those issues.
S1: And it will be something we all keep our eye on for sure. I've been speaking with KPBS reporter Gustavo Solis. Gustavo , thanks for joining us.
S4: Oh , thank you. I really appreciate you having me.
S1: For more information about the candidates , visit KPBS dot org and look for the voter hub.
S4: Ballots are arriving in voter's mailboxes and a big portion of the decisions voters have to make are on judges. But the average voter knows a lot less about those candidates than anyone else on the ballot. Candidates for state legislature or city council usually have websites stating their platforms. But judicial candidates are nonpartisan , and they're not supposed to be bound by political ideology. This commitment to impartiality can sometimes leave voters at a loss for which bubble to fill in. Thankfully , the San Diego County Bar Association offers their own independent evaluations on judicial candidates for voters reference. And joining me is San Diego County Bar Association president. David , my shock. David , welcome.
S2: Thank you. Appreciate you having me here.
S4: I want to start by first asking you why we vote for judges in the first place.
S2: In fact , most cases , which are internal vacancies due to retirements , deaths or other departures , those are filled by the governor. Otherwise , matters put to the voters every six years. The reason for that is one of the things that you already hinted at , which is that judges are supposed to be nonpartisan and to take that out of the political sector , out of the appointment process , where the appointment is by somebody who probably has a partisan designation , that that's significant. And ultimately , it's the most democratic way that we have of selecting those who ultimately are going to be interpreting our laws.
S4: The Bar Association has been doing these judicial evaluations for quite a while.
S2: And that's where the L.A. County Bar Association , the region's largest legal organization , comes in. Who better than us to provide this vital service ? We are the organization comprising the largest portion of San Diego County legal community , and we serve both the legal community and the public at large. So for the past 44 years , since 1978 , the County Bar Association has been following a comprehensive and confidential process to evaluate candidates based on and various criteria to help the public get that information. That , as you noted early on , is sometimes difficult for them to access.
S4: So let's talk more about this process.
S2: The committee is comprised of experienced lawyers representing a diverse cross-section of practice areas from across San Diego County. Each committee member serves a four year term , and no current member of our board of directors can serve on that committee. The evaluations do not compare , endorse or oppose candidates. Rather , they serve as a vital educational service to the voting public. The process is designed to provide neutral , impartial evaluations , to provide the most reliable , credible information possible to the voting public. And so the criteria that we've developed , as I mentioned , they're 15 different factors. They go from bias tolerance , the ability of somebody to manage a large caseload.
S4: Who are the judicial candidates on the ballot that the Bar Association has evaluated ? And how did you write them ? Sure.
S2: So there are now only two seats that remain on the ballot. As you may know , back in the primaries earlier this year. There was one uncontested seat. And so there remains just two challenge seats. One is for office number 35. Rebecca Canter and Mike Murphy are the candidates for that seat. Rebecca Canter has been evaluated as being well qualified , which means according to to the terminology , that the Center County Bar Association uses that she presently possesses a high level. Personal ability , experienced competence , integrity and temperament , indicating a high level ability to perform the judicial function. And Mike Murphy has been evaluated as being qualified , which means he presently possesses professional ability , experience , competence , integrity and or temperament , indicating an ability to perform the judicial function. The other see office number 36 Pete Murray has been evaluated as being well-qualified , and Commissioner Peter Singer has been evaluated as being qualified.
S4:
S2: SB CBA dot org. San Bernardino County Bar Association. If they go to the homepage , just click on the Judicial Voting Guide and they will learn about the process we follow and have a reminder about the evaluations that we came out with.
S4: All right. I've been speaking with San Diego County Bar Association President David. David , thank you so much for joining us.
S2: Thank you again for having me. I appreciate it.
S1: This year , California voters will take up two propositions that would legalize sports betting. One of them would expand gambling in tribal casinos. But opponents say if it's passed , it could also put card rooms out of business and hit cities that rely on them for their bottom line. KCR Megan Jamieson reports.
S3: Proposition 26 would make it illegal to bet on sports in-person at tribal casinos and the state's four private racetracks. That has the potential to be a boon for local tribes , says Prop 26 spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks. She says just look at what tribes have done with casinos so far.
S2: They've built homes. They've built schools. They've built health centers. They built.
S1: Fire stations.
S3: Several tribes are backing the prop. And Fairbanks says more revenue from expanded sports betting could go even further.
S2: It not only benefits tribes , but it will bring tens of millions of dollars to the state of California.
S3: Opponents of the measure are largely led by card rooms. They are a small but important group that has a lot at stake. And for them , it's not so much about the competition , but rather a legal provision in Prop 26. Juan Garza is the No on 26 campaign spokesperson and he says that legal provision could leave card rooms vulnerable to civil lawsuits.
S2: It's just like , I think anybody in their position , they're scared. They're scared of the possibilities.
S3: And this is where things get complicated. The legal stuff is part of a longstanding disagreement in the gambling world over the differences between tribal casinos and card rooms. Take this demonstration of pi out a common table card game.
S5: Shooting dice , playing.
S3: In a tribal casino. This game is played just like it is in Las Vegas , which means the casino is the bank , explains Michelle Fernandes. So any time you're playing , you're competing against the casino directly and they pay you directly. Fernandes trains professional dealers to work in Los Angeles. Card rooms and card rooms are not allowed to be the bank , so they hire third party professionals to act as the bank at each table. No more bets. Oh , my God. Tribal casinos say this isn't legal , and they've taken card rooms to court. But those lawsuits didn't go anywhere. That could change with the new enforcement measure and Prop 26. And this is where things go beyond gambling operations. There are 78 cities in California that rely heavily on their local card rooms. These are cities where nearly half of their budget or more comes from card room taxes and fees. And they're worried about the long term economic consequences if card rooms are hit with a slew of lawsuits. Take Hawaiian Gardens , the smallest city in Los Angeles County. Over 70% of its revenue comes from the city's.
S5: Local card room.
S2: You know , talk.
S3: About all of your.
S1: Eggs being in one basket. That card room is. The.
S2: The.
S1: Economic engine that makes our city run.
S3: Seven More Kage. As the executive assistant to the mayor and City Council of Hawaiian Gardens. She says that revenue pays for essential services. They.
S1: They. Fund.
S3: Fund.
S1: You know , fire.
S3: Police department.
S1: You know , all of these vital.
S3: Services that.
S1: Allows us to have a. Good.
S2: Good.
S1: Quality of. Life.
S3: Life. Both cities and courtrooms will be watching the outcome of Prop 26. The latest polling shows it only has a 31% approval rating. But this probably won't be the end of the sports betting debate. There's already talk of a proposition for 2024. In Los Angeles , I'm Megan Jamison.
S1: You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade Hindman with Andrew Bowen. Maureen CAVANAUGH is off. In 1968 , George Romero's Night of the Living Dead revolutionized horror by defining the modern zombie and placing the genre in a modern context where social commentary could be made this Friday. Digital Gem Cinema will pay tribute to the film with a 16 millimetres screening. KPBS arts reporter Beth ACCOMANDO speaks with Michael Maguire of See It on 16 Millimeter , about what it takes to tour the state with a projector and 16 millimeter print of the Romero Classic.
S5: So , Michael , you have a very exciting project that you're working on. You are touring around with a 16 millimeter print of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead.
S7: Night of the Living Dead. The Dead Truth. Haunted Souls Hunt the Living.
S5:
S8: It's called See it on 16 millimeter. Basically , I am bringing film to places and theaters that aren't set up for film , which is quite a lot of theaters these days. The Night of the Living Dead tour , I am taking to four locations now. It was a print that I've had for a long time. I bought it. It was actually the first print I ever bought with the hopes of , Hey , someday I want to show this for a crowd , but just never really got around to it until now. This is my first time taking the print out on tour. It's an original. It is a great movie. And people I know people have seen the cleaned up Criterion version and stuff like that , but like to see it on film on the way that everybody else first saw it , I thought would be a great thing to tour around , especially during the month of October with Halloween and everything.
S5:
S8: So if you're if you're into perfection , if you're into crisp , clear , stick to digital. But if you're if you're into analog and an imperfect ness about it , there is a great allure to it. Film is has a history to the prints. You know , many audiences have seen these prior to when it became my property at this point. And you see scratches sometimes you see skips , you see splices which are little tears in the film that you have to repair back. So I compare it to like listening to a record , like an original record. There's hiss , there's pops , It's not perfect. But that experience of seeing it on film , on the big screen , it's a magical feeling that you really cannot get anywhere else these days. I truly believe that it's a special event. Any time that film is able to be projected onto a big screen.
S5: Now for this particular film , Night of the Living Dead , its history makes it even more appropriate to be screened on 16 millimeter because this was a very independent film made by George Romero way outside of Hollywood in Pittsburgh. So give us a little background on this and why it's a film that you want to bring around and show people. Absolutely.
S8: Absolutely. It's it's Pittsburgh's first movie , I believe. And it was actually shot on 16 millimeter on a bunch of news equipment. Yeah , it was not shot on on 35. Like most big Hollywood motion pictures , it was 16 millimeter. So just to be able to see the film on the correct format that it was actually shot on and not blown up to a bigger picture , I think is truly magical. And I wanted to share that magic of that movie with people again , and especially just like I said , on watching It on 16 is just truly a special event. It's magical.
S5: So you're going to be screening this at Digital Gem Cinema here in San Diego. So what can people expect ? Because you're also going to bring some trailers and you have to set up your own projector and everything too. Yeah.
S8: Yeah. So actually for this event , I had to source a very rare lens from Holland in order to fit the theater because there's such a short throw in the theater. But I got the lens , and the lens is perfect for the theater. It will be filling the entire screen inside digital gem cinema. We are going to be running it. I think we're just going to do one projector because of space , but there will be a quick 22nd changeover. I can change the film out pretty quick , but there is also a trailer show. Before that I have queued up a bunch of , I would say like October themed type of trailers to get everybody kind of amped. I've been excited for the for the feature and maybe some snack ads and stuff like that from drive ins. No.
S2: Confidential information. Your convenience was delicious.
S5: And what got you interested in the actual physical format of 16 millimeter ? You're a young guy. I'm not sure , like how often you got to see film on film in theaters.
S8: I'm thank you for saying , young guy. I'm 34. I feel a little older these days. So I used to travel a lot to L.A. to go see film. I actually went to events held at the Aero and I was not specifically looking for film events. I just was going because it was movies they wanted to play that were interest to me. And I went and I saw that it was a triple feature and two of them were on film. And I've never experienced a movie like that or that movie. I've seen the movie hundreds of times , but to see it on film for the first time was a different experience. And ever since that I've been really hooked to it. Eventually , like a year or two later , I started collecting film prints , which is a big mistake. It's it's you're chasing a dragon. At this point , it kind of feels like. And since then I've just been hooked. It's been my life's calling at this point to screen prints , to restore prints. And yeah , I'm currently attending grad school right now for archival and restoration , so I'm hoping to dedicate the rest of my life to preserving this stuff because we're not going to have it around forever.
S5: And you said you're studying to go into archive work.
S8: But if people are interested in archiving , I would seriously consider an internship. I know the Academy offers stuff like summer internships or winter internships where you're going through like home movies and and archiving home movies from Southern California and stuff like that. It's thankless work. I feel like you don't really get a big pat on the back , but you're doing a lot of historical preserving at this point because a lot of this stuff is forgotten about. And honestly , a lot of people don't give a crap about it , some of it. So to be able to be a part of preserving that history , especially motion picture film , is a great thing. And if anybody is interested , please reach out. I will convince you to go do it.
S5: All right. Well , I want to thank you very much for talking about the night of the Living Dead on 16 millimeter. I'm so excited to be able to see that on film. So thank you for bringing it here. Absolutely.
S8: Absolutely. I'm excited for everybody to be scared.
S1: That was Beth ACCOMANDO speaking with Michael Maguire. He will be screening Night of the Living Dead on 16 millimeter Friday night at Digital Gem Cinema. The 7 p.m. show is already sold out , but tickets are still available for the 9:30 p.m. show.
