Catholic diocese considers bankruptcy in wake of abuse lawsuits

S1: Bankruptcy and hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits faced the Roman Catholic diocese.

S2: They said that it may declare bankruptcy in the coming months as it faces what they say are staggering legal costs.

S1: I'm Jade Hindman. This is KPBS midday edition. And Imperial Valley Hospital is running out of money.

S3: You hear real concerns from community members that the hospital closing is an actual possibility.

S1: The military is dropping its COVID vaccine mandate. And just in time for Valentine's Day , a few gourmet meals you can try at home. That's ahead on Midday Edition. The Catholic Diocese of San Diego is considering bankruptcy as a result of ongoing legal claims against it , according to a letter it sent to parishioners last Thursday. The diocese is facing hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits dating back decades , some coming as a result of a California law that has extended the amount of time victims of sexual abuse have to file claims. I'm joined now by KPBS news reporter Jacob Air , who's been covering this. Jacob , welcome back to Midday Edition.

S2: Thank you for having me back on.

S1:

S2: And they said that it may declare bankruptcy in the coming months as it faces what they say are staggering legal costs in dealing with roughly 400 lawsuits alleging priests and others sexually abused children.

S1:

S2: But the bankruptcy case , if filed and deemed valid by a judge , it would likely suspend the trial temporarily or potentially end it altogether. And that could halt most civil lawsuits because of an automatic stay which is issued the moment you file for bankruptcy. In theory , this automatic stay will stop a creditor's attempts to collect most money judgments. So in this case , that could mean the payouts to victims. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. You heard from some of the attorneys representing victims with cases against the diocese.

S2: I spoke with attorney Irwin Zielke and who represents about 120 of the victims filing lawsuits. And he told me that the diocese announcement is both premature and unfair to survivors. He also said that they don't need to file this bankruptcy and that they want to hear about two reasons. One is to protect their assets and try and reduce the amount that they need to pay claimants. And the second one is to cut off future claims against them. He also said the dioceses shouldn't be using this as a way to lowball settlements with survivors. And the other attorney who we got a statement from , he made an even bolder statement saying that the diocese is a healthy , wealthy organization and the mafia is not allowed to file bankruptcy and neither should the Catholic hierarchy. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. In your reporting , you cite a fairly recent state law that's playing a role here.

S2: And in this case , religious institutions or churches. That filing period ended at the end of 2022. So the diocese analyzed that and now said there are no claims against anyone in the ministry. However , only four of the accused are still alive and have since been stripped of their duties.

S1:

S2: In fact , the diocese is facing claims that date back to 1945. So we're talking decades here. Diocese spokesperson Kevin McCarthy said almost three quarters of the lawsuits stem from the period between 1945 and 1975 , and that none of these lawsuits happened during the 21st century. So in the last 30 years or so.

S1: This isn't the first time San Diego's diocese has tried to file for bankruptcy.

S2: The dioceses ended up settling 144 claims , or $198 million , similar only for sexual abuse. They said in a statement that settling cases now at that same rate , which is about 1.3 1.4 million per claimant or per lawsuit , will cost them more than $550 million due to about 400 lawsuits. And they say that even with insurance pay , that the dioceses will not be able to pay out similar sums.

S1:

S2: Actually , just this morning , I spoke with those spokesperson Kevin Acker. He told me the timeline is looking like late May or early June for a decision on whether or not to actually file for bankruptcy. He also said that decision on whether or not the dioceses will do that requires an application for permission from the Vatican itself. In the meantime , over the next three or four months , he says , the diocese will be having all going communications with the attorneys for both sides. And they're actually beginning to work on some cases , as well as continuing to evaluate the state of their financial situation at the dioceses.

S1:

S2: He says his firm will be filing a lawsuit later this week or next week , alleging that the dioceses fraudulently transferred some of their assets to separate parish corporations. And those are corporations that didn't exist during the previous filing back in 2007. Morgan Can says that in theory , this spreading out of assets could help the dioceses argue in courts that they have limited assets. But he says that's not the reality. Hmm.

S1: Hmm.

S2: They said it's for transparency reasons. And back when they were dealing with this in 2007 , they weren't as upfront. The attorneys that we spoke with said it was kind of unfair towards a lot of the victims and survivors , that they were announcing it so early with a decision yet to be made. But the diocese says they're just trying to be transparent and upfront about the realities of the financial situation that they're facing.

S1: I've been speaking with KPBS news reporter Jacob Air. And , Jacob , thank you.

S2: Thanks for having me on.

S1: The future of the Imperial Valley's largest hospital is in jeopardy. A string of financial challenges have left multiple departments of El Centro Regional Medical Centre shuttered and have seen its governing body either ousted or resigned. The uncertainty surrounding the hospital could present numerous challenges for a region already beset by long standing community health problems. Joining me now with more on this story is AI News source reporter Jennifer Bowman. Jennifer , welcome back to the show.

S3: Thanks for having me.

S1: So this hospital is running out of money and its future is uncertain.

S3: So in combination with , you know , low reimbursement rates for services and patients leaving Imperial County for those services , the hospital was also badly hit by the COVID 19 pandemic. So officials have said that it's been a challenge over these recent years to keep up with all of those associated costs.

S1:

S3: What they've done so far , it's been described as a consolidation , but essentially the obstetrics and maternity departments were closed at all central regional pioneers. It has since taken its nurses from El Centro Regional and expanded its office. This is something actually that both hospitals have pointed to as a as a good thing. They say it can actually improve the quality of care and could be , you know , one of those benefits should they merge.

S1:

S3: His public remarks have been pretty consistent in saying that bankruptcy and the hospital closing is not an option and that it's not being discussed. But , you know , there's still a massive amount of debt on the table and not much cash on hand. The latest numbers I saw were about 21 days of cash on hand. So there have been talks about running out of cash by March. And despite those words , you hear those reassurances , you hear real concerns from community members that the hospital closing is an actual possibility.

S1:

S3: And the actual fallout remains to be seen. But what health care experts tell me is that Imperial County is not unique. And in fact , they've pointed to a recent hospital closure in Madera County , in the San Joaquin Valley , which now has not. They have no general hospitals for their rural region.

S1:

S3: So Imperial County is one of the poorest regions in the state. It has fewer doctors. It has more kids being hospitalized for asthma , has more pregnant women receiving inadequate care. It has insufficient mental health resources. The list goes on. And this region needs more , not less. The majority of residents are patients that El Central regional serves is covered by medical or Medicare.

S1: Yeah.

S3: Yeah. Community members are frustrated. They're frustrated with the level of information and transparency they're receiving from local hospital leaders. And they're frustrated with the level of attention they're receiving from state leaders , too. So it's a region that has felt like it has needed to consistently advocate for itself and that they haven't always gotten the help when they do that. What we saw was an open letter to Governor Gavin Newsom recently where several community leaders criticized him and his lack of response to this situation. And they wanted to know why they're predominantly Latino region one that is so important in terms of agriculture and our binational community , why it's seemingly being ignored. And they wanted specifically to know , you know , where is he ? And I'll note that in our effort to get comment from Newsom , his office declined to comment.

S1: And , you know , a lot of patients end up seeking medical services outside of the county.

S3: I don't know if it's perception or if it's , you know , the level of care they think they'll get in Imperial County versus elsewhere. What we have heard leaders say is that these services are available in Imperial County. And because residents are not coming to us locally , we're losing money. And they've talked about how consolidating the two hospitals , El Central Regional and Pioneers Memorial and Brawley , how that could actually strengthen the quality of care , strengthen their ability to to survive and to to serve the residents better. But that is something they are definitely seeing over the past five years. It's certainly been a pattern where they're seeing residents leave their area.

S1: I mean , is that pattern ultimately causing problems for the remaining hospitals in the region ? Just in terms of revenue. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. So El Centro Regional is not unique in terms of the money problems it's having. Pioneers Memorial and Brawley is also having those problems. You know , they were badly hit by the pandemic. They have money problems as well and they've had their leadership turnovers. So it's definitely not something that's unique. And they they've really pointed to the money being lost when residents go elsewhere in terms of what their budget looks like now.

S1: Speaking of those leadership turnovers , El Centro Regional has also had a lot of that with its management.

S3: So the El Centro City Council essentially took over the hospital's board in the fall , and it was at that same time that the CEO of the hospital was replaced with outside consultants. Those consultants were costly. So even as the hospital was grappling with financial troubles , it still paid these two consultants over $600,000 for just two months of work. Now , those consultants are already gone. They've been replaced with some help from the hospital's partner of UC San Diego. That is at no additional cost. But there has certainly been a lot of instability in terms of leadership and management at this hospital over the past few months.

S1:

S3: There have been some early talks , in fact , since our reporting , the county has agreed to pay in part for a study that looks at what happens if the two hospitals in Imperial County will would merge. And there's even been a local doctor who's expressed interest in buying the hospital , though the city of El Centro has said it's not for sale. What we hear from hospital advocates around the state and here in San Diego and Imperial Counties is that what's really needed is the state is going to need to step up and help and help with an infusion of money.

S1: A possible merger with another nearby hospital has also been proposed.

S3: So as I mentioned , pioneers is not financially stable either. You know , it's got the high cost of traveling nurses from the pandemic inflation , leadership turnover. And its CEO has already said that El Centro regional debt is a real problem and would probably stand in the way. And these talks have happened over the years in Imperial County before with without much movement. So a merger would also require some legislative action in terms of consolidating health care districts. All of these things , you know , they come with a cost. So while it's currently being studied , there are a lot of questions to answer before any kind of merger could come to fruition.

S1:

S3: And that's what hospital advocates and and the folks who are dealing with this this situation in Imperial County firsthand tell us they tell us it's not unique. But I don't think that changes the the seriousness of the situation. You know , as we mentioned , Imperial County needs more , not less. And while it may not be unique , it's certainly a dire situation.

S1: And for now , it seems the center is really in limbo right now.

S3: Again , there's situations that we've seen recently and in Madera County where there's no general hospitals in that region , whether there will be a solution for the people who are directly impacted by it and Imperial County remains to be seen.

S1: I've been speaking with a new source , reporter Jennifer Bowman. Jennifer , thank you very much.

S3: Thank you.

S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Heineman. The military is now allowing troops to serve even if they don't get vaccinated for COVID 19. Congress passed a law late last year that overturned the Pentagon's previous vaccine mandate. Before the change , about 8400 troops were discharged for refusing to get the shots. Desiree Diorio reports for the American Homefront Project.

S4: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the shots mandatory in 2021 , calling the vaccine necessary for troops safety. Congress reversed that order late last year as part of the annual military spending bill. Defense Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh says mandate or not , the department's recommendation is simple. Just get the shot. Even though we have rescinded the.

S3: Vaccine mandate , we're going to continue.

S4: To encourage our service members are civilians to take the vaccine. It's free. It will save your life. While current service members and new recruits won't be forced to get the vaccine , it's less clear what will happen to the more than 8000 people who were discharged for refusing it or who left voluntarily. Singh says the Pentagon position is they won't be reinstated automatically and they won't get backpay. If they wanted to rejoin the military. They would have to follow the process just like anyone else who would want to join for the very first time. For advocates and some congressional Republicans who argued the vaccine should have been optional all along. The repeal doesn't go far enough. Matt Staver is the co-founder of the Liberty Council , a Christian ministry organization that advocates for religious freedom. He calls the repeal a first step.

S2: It's not enough because on the one hand , it stops the mandate going forward , and on the other hand , there are people that have been discharged and or are currently in the military under punishment , and that has to be resolved.

S4: Staver says the mandate was unconstitutional from the start because it infringes on the religious and free speech rights of service members. The U.S. Supreme Court last year upheld the Navy's right to reassign sailors who refused the vaccine , with Justice Brett Kavanaugh , writing that the courts should defer to the judgment of military commanders. But Staver has filed additional lawsuits on behalf of former service members who applied for a religious exemption to the mandate but were denied.

S2: Those that have been separated for any reason , whether they had religious or non-religious objections to these mandates , should be allowed to return with backpay.

S4: Representatives for the Defence Department have skirted questions on the precedents set by active duty troops who refuse a lawful order that is later overturned. Others worry about the message the military would send if it allowed those troops to come back without any consequences. Robert Sanders is a retired Navy lawyer who teaches national security at the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

S2: The order was lawful at the time and you decide not to follow it , then do so at your own peril.

S4: Sanders says unvaccinated troops could create a readiness problem.

S2: If we want to voluntarily send folks to other countries. There may be a requirement for them to be vaccinated. And if we can't send a whole unit that's vaccinated or we have key members in a unit that are vaccinated , mission ability , that readiness can fail.

S4: Around 90% of the armed forces have gotten the shots. But now that it's no longer mandatory , it's not clear whether that almost perfect record will hold. Austin's memo announcing the repeal of the vaccine mandate stood by the requirement , saying it left a lasting legacy and boosted the military's readiness during a public health crisis. I'm Desiree Diorio on Long Island.

S1: This story was produced by the American Homefront Project , a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans. Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Let's turn now to a big money political battle that you're going to be hearing a lot about over the rest of the year and the rest of 2024. And that's labor conditions for fast food workers. The California report , Saul Gonzalez starts at the drive thru lane.

S2: McDonald's and I get an Egg McMuffin meal , please. The number one. Oh , yeah , the number one.

S5: It's estimated that every week more than half of all Californians patronize some kind of fast food or fast casual restaurant , making it a multibillion dollar industry.

S2: All right. You total it. The first one , though. 76. Thank you.

S5: But in response to stories about worker abuse in the fast food industry , last year , the state legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed into law the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act. The FAST Act created a first of its kind ten person independent council to improve labor conditions in the fast food industry , including the power to raise wages up to $22 an hour. A living wage. So story over , right ? Well , no. You see , the fast food industry immediately struck back with companies like in and out in Chipotle , spending millions of dollars to qualify a referendum for the November 2024 ballot. If the referendum passes , it would repeal the FAST Act. And until that vote happens , more than 20 months from now , the act can't take effect. One thing that has infuriated labor groups and fast food workers who are gearing up to fight the ballot measure like at this recent demonstration in Los Angeles. Michiko Rongji , who has worked in the fast food industry for the past ten years. She says creating a council to improve pay and working conditions would be a sign of respect to the state's nearly 400,000 fast food workers , many of whom are immigrants and people of color.

S4: When you're hungry and you don't have time to eat. Where do you go ? Who do you depend on ? US. The fast food workers. That's. That's when you depend on tranquilo.

S5: Who cares for an adult daughter with autism says the FAST Act is necessary because of just how economically precarious the lives of fast food workers are.

S2: Every day I wake up.

S4: I don't know if I'm going to be able to pay off my bills. I don't know.

UU: If I'm going to be able to eat for the whole month. I don't know. But I'm just I'm just doing my.

S4: Best for me and my daughter. And we're just trying to make it.

S5: But the fast food industry says making sure California's Fast act never gets enacted has become its top priority.

S2: It has been and remains the number one threat that we see , the number one issue that we see across the country.

S5: That's Jeff Hanscom , a vice president at the International Franchise Association , a trade group representing fast food franchise owners. Hanscom argues that California already has a high minimum wage and plenty of laws on the books to protect fast food workers without the fast act. He also says implementing it would hurt both businesses and California consumers as fast food restaurants close and prices rise. Hanscom says by as much as 20%.

S2: You're looking at less restaurants , less options , less jobs , higher cost of food , all of these things to pay for the FAST Act , which in and of itself was a solution in search of a problem that never existed in the first place.

S5: Hanscom says the fast food industry is ready to spend whatever it takes to make sure the referendum targeting the FAST Act passes. But fast food workers argue labor violations and survival wages in their industry won't end until the FAST Act becomes a reality.

S6: We're not tired. We're tired of being discriminated , but we're not tired of fighting.

S5: Here's fast food worker Evelyn Barillas.

S1: We won this fair and square.

S5:

S2:

S5: Legislators in Virginia and New York are considering bills to create their own fast food councils to improve the lives of fast food workers.

S1: That was the California report. Saul Gonzalez on California's upcoming political battles over the working conditions of fast food employees. If someone , you know , stopped breathing , would you know what to do ? Being able to help in an emergency can mean the difference between life and death. Dr. Mark Greenberg , a pediatric anesthesiologist at UC San Diego Health and professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine , is highly trained to be able to help in an emergency. But when he learned that someone he loves was not prepared , he started working to create an app for that. And Dr. Mark Greenberg joins me now to talk about it. Welcome to Mid-day Edition.

S2: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

S1: So I understand your daughter had an experience at a party that led you to think about creating this CPR app.

S2: And , you know , these days , with many unprescribed pills having fentanyl in them , I was warning them of the possibility of , you know , that there might be consequences to that. And they already knew about it. The friends know about taking pills that might have fentanyl. And I asked my daughter if she had any experience. She said , well , I was you know , we had a party at our house at college , and we looked over on the couch and this one of our friends was blue , and we didn't know what to do. We Googled , we call 911 , and we managed to do something to keep them alive until paramedics got there and revived them. And it was it was very traumatic. We were just totally traumatized by this. I said , well , what would help is that I wish we had an app. And I said , I'm going to make one.

S1: It sounded like they needed something right at their fingertips in that moment. As a father and a physician.

S2: It was horrible to know that my daughter's friends worry about dying from taking a pill , and some of them even use fentanyl test strips to make sure that the pills , whatever they're taking , doesn't have fentanyl in it. And it's heartbreaking. I mean , fentanyl and just , you know , overdoses in general are killing off our youth.

S1: In that moment when your daughters say they witnessed an overdose. It got your wheels turning and made you think that there ought to be an app for that. Tell me about it.

S2: You know , I had a chance meeting with the surgeon general , Jerome Adams , and , you know , he's a pediatric intensivist. And he said that , you know , opioids are killing our youth. And what you guys , meaning the audience of which I was part of , go out and do something and I didn't really know what I was going to do. I've been involved with opioid effects on children and babies. I was originally I was a neonatologist , and I had a detox clinic where I would detox newborns who were exposed from maternal opioid exposure with fentanyl or heroin or methadone. And I knew I wanted to do something to help. And I didn't really know what. And then when I spoke to my daughters about this , it just I said , I have to do something. And I came up with the idea and we started looking around. And there are many apps that will teach CPR. But the problem is that they're overly complicated and they're very slow at getting to the actual resuscitation. And I knew in that moment exactly what I wanted , which was something that would guide someone who has no idea how to do CPR through the resuscitation in real time and immediately start the life saving as soon as you start the app. And that's what we create. Hmm.

S1: I mean , if someone is overdosing. Talk a bit about how CPR can help them until paramedics come.

S2: Well , the app will help any kind of cardiac arrest , whether you're having a heart attack or ventricular fibrillation , choking. But specifically for a drug overdose , especially opioids. What opioids do is it really numbs the brain towards the fact that it doesn't have enough oxygen or it has too much carbon dioxide. So basically makes you don't care if you don't breathe. What the app will do is it will help you assess the victim to see if they're awake and breathing. And if they're not , then it shows you how to open the airway. And then if that doesn't work and they're not breathing , it immediately shows you how to do compressions , which will ventilate the patient , give oxygen in and out of the lungs , and move blood around through the heart. So whether the heart stopped or not , it will continue to perform the ability of the lungs to provide oxygen. And that's the key. We've also have the rescue breaths , which is in the basic life support algorithm , as provided by the American Heart Association. But with COVID , most people now are doing chest compressions , only CPR. And we give the option for both while you're using the app. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. And your team ran a pilot study to figure out how helpful the app is in guiding bystanders through basic life support.

S2: Of using medical simulation. So we have very , very high tech dummies that are connected to sensors and monitors. And we tested subjects who had no experience with CPR in a focus group to see how the app actually performed. Again , there are so many apps out there , but no one has really done this where they've taken their app. And then we thought it was great until we tested it and then all of a sudden we found all these flaws. We put out another version. The flaws got better and we put out another two versions , and that's how we got to where we're at today. We have a very , very efficient app at guiding people who know nothing about getting them right to the lifesaving.

S1:

S2: And our app is better than twice as good at getting people to performing the life saving procedures. So our app basically gets people to giving the ventilation to the lungs within 45 seconds. The next fix app is nearer to 2 minutes and that's a big amount of time to lose when someone's not breathing or is no circulation.

S1:

S2: I know it is because we compare the apps and it's not even close. I mean , the system of having audio , visual and textual cues that show the resuscitate or exactly what to do with very simple yes or no buttons very quickly gets them from one part of the resuscitation to the next. And it even , you know , we even tested people who are very good at CPR , anesthesia residents who are they basically do CPR every day. They did better. They did missteps. It kept them on task for doing exactly what they need to do.

S1: You also had undergraduate students from UCSD test out the app , all of whom knew someone who died from an overdose.

S2: I mean , they called 911 , but it was too late. And I think you'd never know when you're going to be exposed , because you never know if somebody put something in your drink or , you know , someone says , Take this pill , it'll help you study. And they may just find their roommate or their brother or sister , a mother or dad or anybody not breathing and not having circulation where they'll need to do this procedure. And I highly recommend that everybody put this on their on their phone because you never know whose life you're going to be saving. And like I said , it works not just for people who take drugs , but for people having a heart attack , stroke from something , taking food. We have built in all of the steps that you would use in basic life support as put out by the American Heart Association into the app.

S1: I've been speaking with Dr. Mark Greenberg , pediatric anesthesiologist at UC San Diego Health and professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine , also creator of the free app available on Apple and Android phones called Rescue Me CPR. And Dr. Greenberg , thanks again for joining us.

S2: Thank you so much for having.

S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday edition. I'm Jade Heineman. This next story introduces us to Bay Area artist Sarah Trail , who has been a bit of a crafting marvel since she was a kid. She published a book of sewing projects when she was 14 , and on weekends she would travel around the country teaching classes. But trail began to question why there weren't more people of color in her workshops and set out to make quilting a more inclusive hobby. The California report's Amanda Stupak has more.

S4: Before she even graduated high school , Sarah Trail had accomplished what many artists never do. She was getting paid for her craft , but it was becoming clear that the companies paying her did not share her values. It all came to a head when Trayvon Martin was shot in 2012. Sarah identified with Trayvon. They were both black teenagers , their birthdays only weeks apart. And I remember entering the space , I was like , Oh , how's your weekend ? I'm like , y'all. Trayvon just got killed. What are we going to do ? Sarah showed up at a quilting class ready to take action that many of her fellow quilters didn't understand why Sarah was so affected by Trayvon's death. You know , that's really not our problem. Or we're here to. So we pay 150 for this class. Be quiet about politics. Sarasota Portrait of Trayvon Martin. Based on the now famous black and white photo of him in a hoodie. But people did not celebrate this quilt like they had Sarah's other projects. Here , Sarah speaks to a crowd gathered for the city of Sonoma's first Juneteenth celebration held in 2022. And in that moment , I felt really shunned by an industry that I had given not only so much of my youth , my childhood , but really my love to. That fall , Sara began college at UC Berkeley. She still sewed , but her focus had shifted. Instead of mastering traditional patterns. Her art took an activist bent when she taught. It was that school she visited as part of her education coursework. And I think that was a moment of like , I need to spend my time editing and if I'm going to make stuff , it needs to have a bigger message than just being beautiful. If I want to teach stuff , it needs to have a bigger message than just learn the technique.

S1: You can hear more about artist Sarah Trail on this week's episode of The California Report magazine. That story comes from the California reports. Amanda Stoops high who. Valentine's Day is tomorrow. And some of you might be thinking about ways to show your loved ones how much you care about them. Well , we have an idea for you. A fine dining experience by you at your home. Mike Minor is the executive chef of the Marine Room in La Hoya. He spoke with KPBS , his Debbie Cruz , about some easy to make restaurant style entrees , desserts and more.

S4: Chef Mike , welcome.

S2: Hey , thanks for having me. Happy Valentine's Day.

S4: Happy Valentine's Day.

S2: You know , I've been married to my wife for almost 27 years now. And I think what's important to me is the little bit of face time. So when you're planning this dinner for your loved one , you really want to make sure that you're not spending the whole entire time in the kitchen and they never see you throughout the day. You know , pick things that are easy that you can prep ahead of time. And that way you guys can have some really good quality time together while enjoying some fantastic food and some candles and a little bit of flowers and , you know , having a wonderful evening together. Absolutely.

S4: Absolutely. Great tips there. So talk to me about the recipe you brought to share with our listeners and why you chose it.

S2: Well , you know , I think for me , the first thing I think of on Valentine's Day is , you know , a little bit of steak , which is always fun and nice lay that you can panthere and kind of like rest and sit on the side. You know , you can make a quick pan sauce out of all one pan you cook this day. You add in some butter. In the end , you add a little sprig of rosemary and you create your own little saw. So it's like , you know , one stop shopping in a salty pan.

S4: Chef Mike , can you talk about any side dishes that pair ? Well , with the pan seared beef tenderloin dinner.

S2: I love asparagus. Super healthy. I love having a green vegetables , though , in a very small saute pan. It's as simple as preheating the saute pan here with a little extra virgin olive oil pop , popping your asparagus , maybe some shamed garlic finished with a little fresh , squeezed a lemon , a little bit of white wine and let back kind of reduce down a little bit. And that will create its own stock. And I like the pan sauce for the filet.

S4: Oh , that's mouthwatering. Sounds amazing. So I'm told you also have a vegan dinner option. Yes.

S2: Yes. I am really big into vegan food. At the marine room , we cook a ton of vegan food kind of off the menu. So we do this amazing tofu that's really , really fantastic at the station , seared tofu that has all kinds of green vegetables and something I think you can do fantastic at home. You want to just go and grab some medium firm tofu ? I would cut it up into about one inch by one inch squares , and then for all the vegetables , you're just going to get bok choy and red onions and red bell peppers and ginger and garlic go really great together. You're going to find yourself some this Juan peppercorns and the Sichuan peppercorns. You kind of want to bring them up a little bit to make almost like a little bit of a powder. You'll grab some soy sauce , a little fresh lime , maybe some cilantro , a little bit of man , and you're going to start paying those vegetables. You'll be glazed with the soy. You can even add a little brown sugar to that. And then what we do is make a little cornstarch slurry. So it's just a tablespoon of cornstarch , two tablespoons of water. You mix that all together to great like Sam. You pour that into your vegetables and your tofu , and it kind of creates its own sauce , again , kind of the beamers to make everything easy so that you can spend more time with your loved one on Valentine's Day. And I'll tell you that tofu is going to be a big hit. I can't wait for you guys all to try it. Hmm.

S4: Hmm. Sounds delicious. And of course , let's not forget dessert. I have a sweet tooth , so I'm really excited to learn of the dessert you can make. That's easy. And you can make it home.

S2: I think chocolate covered strawberries that are something fun. Oh , wow. And on Valentine's Day , long stemmed , chocolate covered strawberries are the way that anybody thought you can get yourself some semi-sweet chocolate chips , create kind of a steamer , if you will , in a small pot. You're going to fill up with water. Then you're going to get yourself a. Metal bowl or glass bowl and sit that right over top of the boiling water , your add your chocolate chips into that. And what happens is you're tempering that chocolate and you're stirring until the chocolate melts. Once that's melted , you just simply take that. After they eat , you grab some really giant strawberries. And I mean , when you're shopping , you're going to try to get the prettiest , the biggest strawberries you possibly can , and you're going to dip those strawberries into that chocolate , and then you're going to lay those on a small sheet pan or a plate. And you really want to either spray that down with some like olive oil or get yourself a piece of parchment paper or in the grocery store clerk call that wax paper and you lay your strawberries right down on that wax paper. You keep them room temperature , you let the chocolate harden up on those and you can just simply serve it like that. Or if you want to kick it up a little bit and have something fun , you can also get semi-sweet white chocolate and be the same thing. And then just when when that chocolate is tempered , you just take a spoon and you kind of drizzle it over the chocolate strawberries that you've already made. This is what they call a tuxedo strawberry. So you have a little semi sweet chocolate with a little white chocolate over the top and make for a very beautiful strawberry.

S4: You can't go wrong with chocolate.

S2: I love you know , it's I when I think of Valentine's Day , I again , I think about roses. We're doing this really cool Rose Martini at the Marine room , which is very , very fine. As you know , martinis are pretty easy to make. You can go buy rose water at the store pretty much anywhere with a little simple syrup , a little rose water , some ice and a little bit of bark with maybe some rose petals over the top of it. I'll tell you why that is a great way to start dinner and then to finish dinner , pop open a wonderful bottle of champagne and have strawberries and champagne to finish an amazing night.

S4: Need the bubbly on Valentine's Day ? Absolutely.

S2:

S1: That was Mike Miner , executive chef of the Marine Room in La Hoya , speaking with KPBS News now host Debbie Cruz.