San Diego selects developer for Sports Arena redevelopment

S1: San Diego selects the midway rising plan for a sports arena redevelopment.

S2: The vote that was taken yesterday was to begin exclusive negotiations with the Midway Rising team.

S1: I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Jade Heineman. This is KPBS Midday Edition. A shot for flu and a booster for COVID. How to take them both safely.

S3: The big message here is if you haven't had a booster and you're more than 4 to 6 months out from earlier shots , please go ahead and get one.

S1: California launches a new reproduction rights website and a beloved Indian musical comes alive at the Old Globe. That's ahead on Midday Edition. San Diego now has a plan to move forward with the redevelopment of the 48 acre sports arena site. San Diego City Council members chose the mayor's pick , the Midway Rising proposal. It would provide the most affordable housing of any other plan for the city owned property. But the other developers in contention did not go down without a fight. The public testimony at yesterday's council meeting criticized the speed of the decision and questioned the expertise of the Midway Rising team to deliver on such a huge redevelopment project. Joining me is KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen. And Andrew , welcome.

S2: Hi , Maureen. Thanks.

S1: So remind us some of the reasons why the mayor and now the city council say they chose midway rising over the other redevelopment proposals.

S2: Well , it's really important to remember a bit of the back story. The city went through a redevelopment process once before under former Mayor Kevin Faulconer. He put up this site for bids. He selected a team and then the state rejected that project because Faulconer had not followed a state law called the Surplus Land Act , which basically regulates how cities and local governments can dispose of property that they don't need anymore. That state law has really been motivating Mayor Gloria's actions on this property from from the beginning. So that law requires the city to offer first priority to the project with the most low income , affordable housing. And if the city does not select that proposal and goes with another project with less affordable housing , they have to provide a written explanation to the state. And that could be risky. The state could say , Well , we don't like that explanation. It's not good enough for us. And so Gloria really wanted to avoid another fiasco of the state , basically saying , you know , rejecting the city's decision. And , you know , so he and his staff and the council majority were just not convinced that there was a good enough reason to say no to Midway. Rising.

S1: Midway Rising development group is actually three different companies. Tell us about them. Sure.

S2: Sure. So the first one is Zephyr. It's a development firm based in Encinitas. They'll be responsible for building the market rate housing. There's also Chelsea Investment Corporation , which is an affordable housing developer. They would be building the about 2000 affordable housing units on the site. And then the third team is called Legends. They're a firm that most recently built the Sofi Stadium in L.A. , where the Rams and the Chargers play. And they also operate several other pro sports venues.

S1: Now , it's recently been reported that the owners of Zephyr Partners gave big donations to an organization supporting Mayor Gloria's election in 2020.

S2: The donation was in 2020. It was $100,000 that the Zephyr CEO , Brad Germany , gave to an independent expenditure committee that was run by a labor union. So this committee is not controlled by Gloria. Gloria doesn't have any say over how that money was spent. And he also couldn't stop that donation from happening in if even if he wanted to. But yes , it did come up in public comments , and the mayor's staff categorically rejected that there was any connection between that donation or Brad , Germany's support of Gloria's election and the selection of Midway Rising. They pointed out that there are other members of the other competing teams that also supported Gloria with donations to either his campaign or committees that supported his election. So , you know , if everybody is supporting Gloria , then there's that doesn't really set apart that one particular team. And I will say that the selection of Midway Rising would definitely look suspicious if there were not a state law saying that that project should have been given the priority if the mayor had selected another project. And then that team also had members that had donated to his election , that would that would definitely raise some more eyebrows. But given that the state law really makes clear that Midway Rising was supposed to be the project the city should go with , you know , that donation to me at least , did not seem completely out of the ordinary.

S1:

S2: Many Point Loma residents , in particular , a drive through this area to get out of their neighborhood and reach the freeways. And they worry that any kind of intensification of the use on that land will make traffic worse. There were also some suggestions that Brad Germany , that CEO of Zephyr , couldn't be trusted because of past lawsuits that were filed against him. The main lawsuits that that has been referred to in the media was settled. So we can't really say whether or not it had any merit to it. And , of course , litigation is very common in development. So any and all of these teams have been sued before. At one point we didn't hear as many critics of the Midway Rising proposal at. Self it again , it does have the most affordable housing. It has the largest size of units , the most parks and open space , and one of the largest arenas out of all these proposals. But there was a concern also that they might be overpromising , that they are putting forward these big numbers of affordable housing , but they won't ultimately be able to deliver on those. I will say that is a very real possibility , but we simply can't predict the future. We won't know whether that's true until the end of the due diligence phase and when we actually get an agreement and construction get started.

S1:

S2: So now both sides will have to do due diligence. The developers will go to the site for physical inspections. They'll be checking the soil to see how that might impact what kind of construction they can or cannot do. The city will have to do a deeper dive into the financial assumptions of the project to make sure it's not a pipe dream. And they'll have to draft a ground lease agreement. So that would include details like how much money will the city get out of this deal ? Who will maintain the parks ? Who will , you know ? Will the city put any new requirements into the lease like , say , you know , inclusion of a child care facility in the project ? And the city expects that those talks will last at least two years , potentially two more years. So for total and they'll also be doing a square analysis. So an environmental impact report for the project in its entirety.

S1: And then there's the vote on this city ballot in November to eliminate that 30 foot height limit in the Midway area.

S2: It's completely unfeasible. If the developer cannot build above 30 feet , above 30 feet. A quick background that there was a ballot measure that passed overwhelmingly in 2020 to raise the height limit in the Midway District that got put on hold because of a lawsuit. The city is appealing that lawsuits and that's sort of a backup plan if the measure on November's ballot doesn't pass for whatever reason. But even if it does , that same group that sued the city once before says that it will sue again. So , you know , who knows when that issue will be resolved ? But absolutely the 30 foot height limit would kill this project entirely if it remains on the books.

S1: I've been speaking with KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen. And Andrew , thank you.

S2: Thank you , Maureen.

S4: Last week , the CDC approved a new COVID booster shot , which specifically targets the highly contagious Omicron variant. Health experts hope the recent approval will lessen the burden of a fall and winter surge. At the same time , officials are stressing that Americans renew their flu shots as well , leaving some with questions about the health impacts of combining the two shots. Joining me once again with a COVID update is Dr. Eric Topol , director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Hoya. And Dr. Topol , welcome back to the program.

S3: Thanks so much , Gene.

S4: So first things first.

S3: And , you know , the fact is it's the only booster now. So you can't get the original strain. This one , of course , is combination of the original and the V5 spike. There's two different types of Moderna and Pfizer. The Moderna has a dose of the five or 25 micrograms. Pfizer has 15. And so it's really important that people keep up with boosters. So if they haven't had one third shot or four shot , it's essential that they go forward because we know provide more protection. And we're still got plenty of Bay five out there. This this virus is really a tough one. So the main message is boosters , whether they're going to be better against be a five , that's the hope. But at least they're going to be as good as the boosters have been throughout the pandemic. And so that's why the big message here is if you haven't had a booster and you're more than 4 to 6 months out from when you were getting your earlier shots , please go ahead and get one.

S4:

S3: This one could be different , but we have no clinical data for the new booster in terms of will it prevent infections , transmission , how long will it last ? These things won't be available , this data for at least a couple of few months. So it's really too early to know. There's no reason to think the boosters will work any less than prior ones. But to to expect a lot more against such a tough version of the virus may be too optimistic.

S4: And , you know , there's been some recent discussion about super Dodgers , people who more than two years into this pandemic , still have not caught COVID.

S3: Now , of course , a lot of these people have had vaccinations and boosters , and that's important. But the fact is they could be exposed to their partner or , you know , household where everyone else gets infected and they don't. And they all had the same type of vaccine. Of course , some of these people had prior infection and have immunity. Just they just don't know it. Some of these people , you know , have been just very ultra cautious living in a cave and having little interaction with other people. Or so then we get down to what about the biology that would explain it ? And then we have a few different pathways. There are some genetic variants that seem to be protective. There are some aspects of our gut and skin microbiome that we have cross-reactivity to some of those bacteria that seem to also have some protection. And then interestingly , some people , when they get common colds from coronavirus , they develop these really broad antibodies that can be very effective against the coronavirus and its variants. So some people just have a very reactive , broad , intelligent , hyper intelligent immune system. And that would be something I wish all of us had.

S4: With flu season right around the corner. Health officials are also encouraging people to stay current on their flu shots.

S3: So if you get a flu shot now , it's a bit early for the flu season. You can I mean , obviously they're available , whereas if you haven't had a booster six months , it's important at this juncture to get one. So it's hard to make the sink here. The only thing would be is if you had a recent booster and , you know , October and August. Number is when you start to see the really the flu season get into higher gear. We don't know what it's going to be like this year. Flu vaccines aren't nearly as effective as the COVID vaccines and boosters , but if you're going to get one , this might be a little bit early. And so trying to get them both at the same time is safe. And it'd be good to kind of get a twofer in some respects , but it may not be ideal timing wise at this particular point in September.

S4: Some health experts are recommending a yearly updated COVID booster just like the flu shot.

S3: Maybe this bivalent vaccine will have more durability , but we have not seen any that lasts more than 4 to 6 months. So why would this one be so different ? I think until we get nasal vaccines or or tweak the nanoparticles in the vaccines or do something in terms of broadening the coverage to the variant proven to do those things , I don't see how we're going to get the annual shot because this is not like flu.

S4: Well , there has been some recent evidence to suggest that vaccinated people are less likely to develop long COVID.

S3: You don't want to get long COVID and the protection , the range from the various studies 15 to 70% , but it tilts much more. The more vaccines and boosters you have , it appears the better protection you have from long COVID. That is , your immune system is just so revved up. It doesn't allow the virus to have that chronic capability of causing inflammation. So that's a really good reason to stay away from COVID. Don't get a reinfection. Keep up with your boosters because it might even be 70% protection from long COVID on the basis of the best most recent report. But we don't know for sure what level that would be. Of course. Great. But it's just a more incentive to to keep your immunity up and keep away from COVID.

S4: And finally , the World Health Organization chief recently said in a press conference that while the COVID 19 pandemic is not over yet , the end is in sight.

S3: I took on Dr. Tedros. I have a high regard for him who heads up the W.H.O.. But when he said that today , earlier today , it doesn't go along with the data. You know , we're still the deaths around the world are still 35% higher than their lowest point in the pandemic. And we also have a ways to go , and that doesn't take into account the fact there's there's still tens of thousands of infections every day here. We have lots of long COVID. We have one fifth of the world's deaths , even though we're only 4% of the whole world population. So we're not as a country as a region in such a great state yet. I hope we'll get there. Jane , I hope that in the weeks ahead , we just keep dropping down and have low circulating virus. And , you know , people can feel very confident about going out and about and not having the worries that we've had to work through. But we're not there yet. And I think , unfortunately , that gives people a kind of unbridled lack of evidence for where we are right at the moment.

S4: We are not out of the woods yet. I have been speaking with Dr. Eric Topol , director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla. Dr. Topol , as always , thank you so much for joining us.

S3: Thank you.

S1: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Jade Hindman. California has a new tool to provide information on abortion access to people both inside and outside the state. On Tuesday , Governor Newsom introduced the website Abortion Dot S.A. Gov and he's telling people seeking reproductive care across the nation that they are welcome here in California. Meanwhile , on the other side of the country yesterday , a Republican bill banning abortions nationwide after 15 weeks was introduced in the Senate. KPBS North County reporter Tanya Thorn is here to talk about these two opposing developments. And , Tanya , welcome. Thanks for having me , Maureen. Tell us about the bill that was introduced in Washington , D.C.. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. And so his proposed bill would ban abortions after 15 weeks of a pregnancy nationwide. Here he is talking about the bill.

S3: I think we should have a law at the federal level. That would say after 15 weeks , no abortion.

S2: On demand except in cases of rape , incest.

S3: To save the life of the mother. And that should.

S2: Be where America is at.

S1: So the bill doesn't have much of a chance of getting anywhere with both houses controlled by Democrats. Right. You know , it has very slim chances of advancing right now as Democrats hold the majority of Congress. But this bill is the most prominent effort from Republicans since Roe v Wade was overturned in June. But he vowed that if Republicans take back the House and Senate in the midterm elections , that a vote would take place on this nationwide ban. But why is Graham introducing the bill if it's not going to go anywhere ? I think he's really hoping to debate the issue during his announcement. He also had a presentation of his supporting evidence on why he thinks abortions should be banned after 15 weeks. How this bill mirrors what a lot of other countries are already following when it comes to abortion. So I think he wants to talk about it debated and present his supporting evidence. Okay. So at the same time , California has launched a new website to help people get access to abortions. What kind of information does abortion dot S.A. Gov provide ? Yeah , it's kind of ironic , but as this nationwide ban on abortions was being proposed , California launched a new abortion resource website available to all no matter where you live. Here is California Governor Gavin Newsom talking about it.

S3: A resource for those seeking reproductive care , whether you live here or not. Abortion not. S.A. Gov is now online.

S1: So what kind of information does abortion dot S.A. Gov include ? You know , it's set up as a search engine where anyone can enter their location and find a provider closest to them. It also has financial resources , information about your rights for an abortion , and information in Spanish. And I think the Spanish aspect of it and other languages could really help those that are worried about their legal status in the country and what is required for an abortion in California. Documentation is not needed for one , and this website has resources for anyone in the U.S. looking to get access to an abortion. And why does the governor say a website like this is needed ? You know , California has been like a safe haven for women looking to get an abortion and supports reproductive rights. He says Republican states continue rolling back fundamental civil rights and even try to prevent people from accessing information online or crossing state lines for care. And with this website , you know , he's he's opening up access to anyone , anywhere. California voters will actually be able to vote on abortion rights this November. What would the ballot measure do ? You know , so that's Proposition one , the right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment. And it's an amendment that the state constitution would explicitly guarantee the right to an abortion and contraception. You know , the San Diego Board of Supervisors , along with other counties , have already shown their support for this proposition. No state so far has a constitutional provision protecting abortion. California , along with Vermont , could be the first states to see this in their constitution. I've been speaking with KPBS North County reporter Tanya Thorne. Tanya , thank you. Thank you.

S4: For business owners in Tijuana. Having threats of violence levied against them and their families for money is a common occurrence. A new study from UCSD and researchers in Mexico finds extortion is more widespread than previously thought in Tijuana , and it's a major cause of violent crime. KPBS investigative border reporter Gustavo Solis has been covering this story and joins us. Gustavo , welcome. Hello.

S2: Hello. Thank you for having me.

S4: So first , paint the picture of what business owners in Tijuana are experiencing.

S2: Well , it's kind of like what you would imagine or what you would see from old mob movies , right ? It's personal. It's a person is a goon or a henchman showing up in your store every couple of weeks or every month and asking. Well , really not asking , but demanding to collect protection money. They call it mostly happens in the eastern part of Tijuana. And the victims tend to be small to medium sized businesses. But in terms of what it looks like , it's what you would imagine an extortion racket would look like. Right. It's somebody going up to you and say , hey , you are was X percent of what you make and if you don't pay up , well , then we're going to have to get a little bit nasty with you. So.

S4: So. So then researchers from UCSD in Mexico looked into this to find out how widespread this type of extortion is in Tijuana.

S2: The interesting part about about this research is that they did it the old fashioned way. They just , you know , hit the streets door to door , knocking out businesses , talking with them. As you can imagine , nobody would fill out surveys when they first tried to do this study that way. So they had to actually be on the ground doing the work over there. And in terms of key takeaways , I mean , like you said in the intro , one of the biggest ones is just how underreported this is. They said , researchers say that fewer than 1% of extortion cases are actually reported to the authorities. It kind of leads to a second takeaway , which is that because they're still reporting that the official stats are so low that there's no real public outcry about this , there's no recognition that this is an actual problem in Tijuana , and therefore there's no real political incentive to do anything about it. The third takeaway , which I think we might get to a little bit later , is how extortion escalates. Right , especially when businesses don't want to pay it. It goes from being this , quote unquote , invisible , silent crime because it's so underreported to being a very visible violent crime rate. If you don't pay up. Bad things will happen to you or your business or your family.

S4:

S2: Right. 99% of it goes unreported. And when it is reported , business owners reported or told researchers that there just isn't much done about it. They can report it to the police , but sometimes the police are in on it. They can report it to the state authorities. But again , I think we've talked about this in previous episodes , just the state of the judicial system in Mexico when it comes to violent crime , less than 10% of crimes are actually prosecuted and the victim is taken to jail , and that's with violent crimes like homicide. So if you think about extortion , there's even less of a likely that that the authorities , the judicial system is going to work in the favor. So in terms of the why is because they can get away with it. And there does not seem to be much consequences now in terms of the WHO. It was interesting because the answer is , is not what you would typically expect , right ? When we hear about crime in Mexico , we automatically assume , oh , the cartels are behind it. What the researchers found is that this is done by really small , hyper local bands of criminal organizations. They're basically an extortion ring of somebody who who extorts businesses within a two or three block radius. And that's kind of their territory. They know everything about the business owner , where they live , where their kids go to school , how much money they make. In many cases , they have access to the financials so they know exactly how much they can extort from a business without , you know , shutting it down without extorting too much and forcing that business to close. So because it's so hyper local , because everybody knows everybody in these communities , they just have a high degree of information that they can use against their victims. Hmm.

S4: Hmm.

S2: I mean , especially when you don't pay. Right. And kind of like back to what I was saying about the old mobster movies. Right. What happens to businesses that refuse to pay their protection payment ? At first , somebody will show up and start breaking , you know , merchandise or breaking the windows or the doors to the store. But it quickly escalates to arson , to physical violence , to murder , and not just murder of the individual store owner , but murder of their entire families as well. So what the researchers were kind of suggesting or proposing was that if you want. To tackle more , quote unquote , serious visible crimes. It might be a good idea to start with extortion , because that's kind of where some of these crimes begin. So if you tackle extortion , it won't get to the level of arson and kidnapping and murder.

S4: In your reporting , you point out that there doesn't seem to be any political will to stop this problem. You mentioned it before.

S2: And what they faced , what they came across , was just this lack of care. Politicians would just straight up tell them , like , look , it's not an issue. The numbers aren't that high. My constituents don't care about it. Why would I invest my time , money and resources into fighting an issue that the public doesn't even really care about ? It'd be better. It'd be more prudent , politically speaking , for me to champion issues like homicide , like violence against women , like like migrant rights issues , but with extortion , just politically speaking , it doesn't really move the needle one way or another. So there really , like I said , is no incentive to tackle the issue.

S4: I've been speaking with KPBS investigative border reporter Gustavo Celis. Gustavo , thank you so much for joining us.

S2: Hey , thank you , Jade. I really appreciate it.

S1: 3D printing has brought innovation and flexibility to the creation of goods that was never possible in traditional factories. KPBS science and technology reporter Thomas Fudge has the story.

S5: Walk on to the factory floor of INSKEEP 3D and Mira mesa , and you hear the low din of machines and you see their more than 100 3D printers in action. They're making everything from replicas of human bones to housings for electronics and tap handles for San Diego breweries.

S6: It's basically a very sophisticated hot glue gun.

S5: Company founder and CEO Michael Armbruster explains the process as he points to a roll of thermoplastic cord on a 3D printer.

S6: You've got filament that goes up through a tube and it comes out of this very tiny nozzle. The 3D printer will then travel along the X and Y plane , compositing that filament onto the part. And that's in a nutshell how 3D printing works.

S5: The printer nozzle darts across the object making in this case the model of a mold for a cement structure. Some objects are made in 24 hours. Some are made overnight. Armbruster says he got hooked on 3D printers ten years ago because he loved making things and immediately saw the potential of 3D printing.

S6: I was just blown away that this technology completely disregards complexity as a challenge. The machines simply don't care. You can then build any shape.

S5: He says 3D printing is great as long as you are making a diversity of products or small volumes of the same thing. They can now compete with conventional manufacturing when you want to make 10,000 identical items. Factories using pre-determined molds can punch out product a lot faster. Carolyn Freud is an economist at UCSD who is dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy. She has studied how 3-D printing has affected trade. And she says it has increased international trade among those products that are commonly printed. She says 3D printing excels at the innovation and product creation.

S1: 3D printing allows you to design many , many , many different parts and components and then test them out so you can find which one works the best and then use that one for your mass production.

S5: And then there are products where every one of them needs to be a little bit different.

S1: Because you can literally scan whatever you need and then individualize that product. So a really good example is in hearing aids where you can scan the cavity of someone's ear and create a product that uniquely fits that ear.

S5: Another example of that is making artificial limbs , which is what San Diego based limber , prosthetics and orthotics does. UCSD engineering doctoral student Joshua Pelz is the CEO of Limber Piano. He holds out an artificial lower leg made of cream colored plastic.

S6: This is the limber UNILAG. It is a single piece prosthesis that is 3D printed in just half of a day. So you start at the night and you pull it off looking just like this in the morning , ready to go on to an amputee , allowing them to get back out into the world.

S5: Back at Inset 3D , Michael Armbruster shows me the printed spine of a young child based on CT scans from a children's hospital. They're preparing for a surgery on the child. Armbruster says while 3D printing seems very innovative , it's not new technology. So why the recent explosion in its use ? Expiring patents have totally changed the industry.

S6: It was this tiny little market that only the most high end people would use. Then some patents expired. Some big ones , the ones that allow for all of this.

S5: There are new uses for 3D printing in medicine. Organic printing of some body parts like heart valves is in development. Some construction companies are beginning to make 3D printed houses. It works off a computer program , of course , but their printer pours cement. Thomas Fudge , KPBS News.

S4: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman with Maureen CAVANAUGH. Come Fall In Love , the DLJ Musical is the next big Broadway bound show getting its roots in San Diego. The Old Globe officially opens the production tonight. It's an adaptation of a beloved 1995 Hindi language rom com musical known widely by its initials Deedle J. It's the story of Simran , who is a young Indian-American woman with an arranged marriage awaiting her in India. Before she goes through with it , she sets out on a summer trip across Europe where she meets someone else. The stage adaptation is by prolific Broadway lyricist now Benjamin and the Mumbai based musical duo known as Vishal and Shekhar , who wrote new music for the play. Here's a taste of their work and why. Get it. Michele and Shankar spoke with KPBS arts producer and editor Julia Dixon Evans. And here's their conversation.

S7:

S3: The musical is based on or is rather an adaptation of an Indian film called Dilwale Dulhania LIZARRAGA , popularly known as RJ , which is a seminal film in the in the history of the Indian film industry , a firm that has transcended being a story and become sort of part of the fabric of modern Indian culture. Why this happened , I think , is because of the beauty of the love story and the fact that the at the core , the film talks about the commonality of human emotion. The film itself is about the fact that that people are people and the musical is about that as well. It's about unifying people from across various backgrounds. It's about about the meeting of cultures through the love of two young people. Within a few minutes of or starting to watch the musical. It's your story , you know , wherever you're from and whatever your background is , it's your story. So that's , I think , why people relate to it so strongly.

S7: Thanks , Vishal. Shekhar I'm wondering what your own background is with the original film , whether you'd grown up watching it and and maybe how that shaped your approach to penning new music.

S3: So I think there's it's very rare to find anyone who's not a big fan of this film. This film came out in the year 1995 , and I remember going and watching this film with my wife , and I was 19 years old when I went to see this film , and it just became one iconic love story. And like every single dialogue used to be discussed and still it's been talked about. Every character is spoken about even today. Every line , every dialogue , every comic , you know , moment is even used in every it is banter. Even now , this movie still theatres right now. And when they kind of offered us this script , we were very excited and very thrilled because all the memories of the songs , all the memories of the dialogues , the characters in the film , and it just , you know , took us a little time to figure out how to disconnect from the film because this is a totally new adaptation altogether. And for Michelle and I , we kind of immediately jumped into , you know , what , she's she's the author and , you know , the writer for Come Fall in Love. She had written all the songs down in this entire book , and then we kind of started making music and , you know , and we realized that something really , really cool. We have 18 new brand new English songs which we have composed in Come Fall In Love. And the movie has , I think , five or six songs which are very , very popular , but we've made 18 new songs for them Fall in Love.

S7:

S3: I think it's magical to see that. It's magical to see the effect that that , you know , that nostalgia still has on audiences. And it's also magical to see that that we're able to give them an entirely new story with entirely new music and just hints of Christmas songs. And it all works as one because of the universality of the story itself of controlling love.

S7:

S3: The fundamental thing is that this is now a story of the meeting of two cultures. So it's the story of the American culture as well as the Indian culture or the Indian American culture meeting through the love of these two characters , Roger Mendell and similar thing. And they , for whatever it's worth , that in itself is a major change. There's also entirely new music. The songs are very celebratory. India is a huge character in this show. India is right up front and center. You know , when we set out to do this , we one of the one of the fundamental things we really wanted to sort of have running as a thread through all of it was that anyone who watches it , if you're if you're South Asian and you watch it , you feel like you're home and you feel like you want to go home , you know , you feel like you want to reconnect with your roots. And if you're not South Asian , you feel all the same things , but you want to reach out and learn more about India. You want to all South Asia , you want to be part of that culture , of that sound , of that music , of that of the colors and the joy and the the magic , the veracity of that that part of the world. So the film was a story of an Indian boy and a girl , but it was conceived as this story by Adi when he was a young writer writing his first film. What he wanted to make was a story of , you know , of of the love between an American boy and an Indian American girl. And of the meeting of the two cultures and both cultures finding , understanding.

S7: And shake out.

S3: We've actually , in the last night lost about 11 to last 12 previews. The reaction has been it's very weird , but the reaction has been that we like this better than the food. So and and a lot of South Asian people coming in and the them actually , you know , reacting like this that is better than the film gives us even more , you know , joy and confidence that , yes , we are doing something right. And for a lot of , you know , non-South Asian people who are coming to watch the show , they are planning their next visit to India and kind of really want to kind of know more about our our colors , our festival , our people , our culture , our food , all of it. So I think it's is going really well and we can't wait for , you know , the show to kind of open. So.

S7: So. Vishal , I wanted to shift gears and talk a little bit about your career and the work you've done so far , composing and producing music across many genres. You've also written for a lot of movies.

S3: We were all having a tough time , everyone was having a tough time and and thing level in that time was quite difficult. This is the project that that kept us sane , kept us connected , kept us level. And , you know , while we were all in different locations , Shikha and I were in different locations. I was in a third location in India and Neil was , of course , in New York. And we were , you know , we were connected by Zoom and working on this magical piece of storytelling. And I think that's what brought us some joy. We've done , as Jacob said. 65 or 70 films or 50 or 400 songs. Most I mean , pretty much 99.5% of that would be in Hindi. And this for us , was an opportunity to showcase the challenge of songwriting to an entirely new audience in an entirely new medium , an entirely new language as well. So very , very exciting for us. A huge challenge because obviously anything based on videos also , you know , has to bear in mind that the the original is so iconic. You don't want to mess with that. You want to you want to get it right. You want to go a step further , step sort of ahead. And I think the primary function of the music was to bring comfort in love to the people as their story , which is what we've tried to do.

S7: Fisher Shekhar , thank you so much.

S3: Thank you for having us , Julia.

S4: That was Vishal and Shaker speaking with KPBS arts producer and editor Julia Dixon Evans. Come Fall In Love , The Deedle Jay Musical opens tonight at the Old Globe and is on stage through October 16.