Padres’ spectacular march to the pennant ends in Philadelphia

S1: The Padres missed their chance in Philadelphia.

S2: I think that there's a lot of disappointment , which is understandable. But there should also probably be a lot of pride for this team.

S1: I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Jade Heinemann. This is KPBS midday edition. A rundown of California's one and done gubernatorial debate.

S3: California's leading the way. My opponent's consistently opposed those efforts. The policies that this governor's put forth don't work in California.

S1: We'll hear about the issues. And candidates in San Diego's sixth and eighth City Council district races and Asian story theater takes a musical look at the COVID lockdowns. That's ahead on Midday Edition. The Padres spectacular march to the pennant ended yesterday. The Phillies scored a43 win over San Diego , clinching the championship series and ending the Padres World Series dream , at least for this year , because for Padres fans , the people who nearly rocked Petco Park off its foundation last week , and the millions of others who felt united in celebrating the home team's victories. There is always a next year. Joining me is Annie Hilburn , journalist with the San Diego Union-Tribune and Padres field reporter. And Annie , welcome.

S2: Thank you so much , Maureen. It's great to be here. Appreciate you having me.

S1: So the Phillies swept the Padres over the weekend.

S2: They had a three game series against the Mets. They had a best of five against the Dodgers , and they were able to run out their best pitching for both of those. But once you got into that best of seven , you had to get a little bit more creative. I think they also ran into the Philadelphia fans and the atmosphere , which we all know what that was like at Petco Park. It was pretty raucous and the fans definitely lended an advantage in San Diego when the same thing happened in Philadelphia. And I think that you're also running up against a team in Philadelphia that was so similar to the Padres. They were both making their way into the playoffs as wild card teams. They were kind of coming into their own at the end of the season and they were riding hot streaks. So both teams were very evenly matched up. And I think that in Philadelphia they just took advantage of more opportunities and they were able to utilize their pitching staffs a little bit better on the Phillies side. And it caught up with the Padres there in the end. But they certainly did make it close.

S1: Yes , it was really close.

S2: And the word that is used with this Padres season is resilient. This team has been able to come back from being down early in the game. Late in the game. They've had their backs up against the wall all season long. It wasn't a lock for them to make the postseason or to get out of New York or to beat the Dodgers , but they were resilient in those must win games. And they did make it close in the rain in Philadelphia on Sunday. They were able to take the lead in the seventh inning , but then they're in the eighth inning. Bryce Harper , who is a superstar in the game of baseball , he also is a very good player and he was able to capitalize on Robert Suarez who was pitching for the Padres. So a lot of questioning of decisions will happen in this off season and whether they could have gone with a different picture and whatnot. But the Padres definitely battled back and that's something they've been doing all season long and it's something that's going to help them going forward.

S1: Despite the Padres disappointment from the weekend , there seems to be a good deal of optimism for next season.

S2: And so they're going to want that feeling back and they're also going to know what it took to get there and to stay there , and that you can't teach that sort of thing. You have to go through it. So that's going to be really beneficial for the Padres. Also , you're getting Bob Melvin back in his second year and this coaching staff that's going to stay pretty intact as well. And so they're going to be able to build on that. Bob Melvin was a huge asset for them this year. And then of course , you're going to get Fernando Tatis Junior back and because they were able to go as far as they did in the playoffs , he's only going to need to miss about 20 games , it looks like , at the beginning of the season. So they're going to get him back relatively early in April. And so that's going to be very helpful for them. And of course , for him , he's itching to come back. And so you definitely think about the fact that they're going to be able to build on all the positive things that they did this year and also get to get back one of their hottest players in all of baseball. So that's going to be something that should be positive for them going down the road.

S1:

S2: I mean , it wasn't necessarily a loss that they were going to make it to the postseason in general , and they were not only able to make it , but to go that far. So there is a lot to build on and really just to see San Diego come alive in these last few weeks has been absolutely incredible to see the fans and the people on the streets and just it just seemed to revive the city in so many ways. And that's been really , really fun for the players to watch the organization and really for all of San Diego to enjoy. So as much as there is disappointment , I think that there's also a lot of happiness and hope for the future.

S1: You know , Sunday was a tough day for San Diego Sports. The San Diego Wave FC lost their semifinal playoff match to two one in Portland while men. Soccer. San Diego loyal saw their season end with a playoff loss as well. But considering that they were all in the playoffs , the Padres too. Should we take heart that in a number of our teams made it as far as they did ? Absolutely.

S2: And I think that that is a funny San Diego thing , right ? It's one of those coincidental things that everybody was playing their final game there on the same day on Sunday. But it is something that San Diego can kind of try to get behind because , you know , especially after this team lost the Chargers , it was very , very difficult for San Diego sports fans for many years. And when you have teams go into the postseason like the wave , like Loyal , like the Padres , because they're able to all get there and San Diego fans can get behind them , you know , I think you're going to see more fans going from one sport to the other are going to take any game at Snapdragons Stadium or at Petco Park or to watch the Loyal. I mean , it really does lend to a better atmosphere and environment for San Diego sports in general. When your teams are able to get to the postseason and you're able to get behind them and have reason to think that the coming years are going to be even better. And you know what else ? These teams are really invested in San Diego , and you can tell the loyal on the wave that they are pretty fairly new to San Diego , but they're really trying their best to field their best players , their best teams , and to give San Diego something to be proud of. And I think that there is really that most of all that you're starting to see a sense of pride between the city and sports fans that's been missing for the last maybe few years. And that's been a lot of fun to watch.

S1: I've been speaking with Padres field reporter Annie Hilburn , journalist with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Annie , thank you so much. Maureen.

S2: Maureen. Thanks for having me.

S4: California's two gubernatorial candidates met yesterday for the first and only time ahead of next month's election. Incumbent Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican State Senator Brian Donnelly squared off on everything from inflation and high gas prices to homelessness and abortion rights. And as you might imagine , the two candidates stood in stark contrast to each other on just about every issue. Joining me now to make sense of the debate is that Kaiser , a political science professor and co-director of the Yankelovich Center at UC San Diego. Dad , welcome.

S2: Thanks for having me.

S4:

S2: Right. He gave a full throated defense of California's record , saying over and over again , California has no peers talking about what the state had accomplished under his leadership. This is a race where where really polls seem to show he has a really wide lead in the California governor's race. He's thinking ahead to defending his record and advancing his record for a presidential future. And I thought he was effective. At the same time , Senator Daschle , it became clear why she is viewed as as someone who's a bipartisan problem solver in Sacramento , someone who works well with Democrats. He wasn't taking cultural potshots on issues like immigration or or gender identity or or critical race theory. He was talking about the main potato issues of the rising cost of living in California , inflation in the economy that are so vital to voters this year. And I think he scored points against Gavin Newsom effectively with those issues.

S4: And to that point , inflation and California's high cost of living dominated the debate. Here's an exchange between the two candidates on that.

S3: You want to talk about all these national issues because you can't talk about the fact that Californians are suffering because of high inflation and the policies that you put California suffering from high inflation. And that's why we've provided $18.5 billion in tax rebates , which you opposed. You opposed $9.5 billion in rebates that are going out right now to help offset these inflationary costs. The question to you is not true. Why did you oppose that budget ? Why did you oppose appropriation ? I , I supported that. You need to look at the record. I actually supported. That's just not true.

S4:

S2: What Gavin Newsom said , I think is most effective line was he said , you keep talking about the problems. We're implementing solutions. Right. So everyone knows the California governor is not responsible for inflation. That's a nationwide and in fact , a worldwide problem that's driven by larger market forces. And so Gavin Newsom's response was , here's what we're doing to fight inflation. Here's the money that we're putting back in the pocketbook of every Californians. It's helpful to him that he's about to send checks to just about every family in California for a major , major tax rebate. And so Gavin Newsom did have a good answer to , okay , these are problems. Here are the solutions that California's implement.

S4: And as you say , the two candidates also clashed on homelessness in California. Take a listen.

S3: First thing you do to get them on the project now is get them off of drugs. Find the counties with the mental health programs that they need and the clinicians and then drive down the cost of housing in California are the three things that would need to happen for us to take care of homelessness.

S2: And then if you opposed.

S3: All these efforts , we have $11.6 billion of investments on the issue of mental health , three and a half billion dollars specifically for boarding care homes and rapid rehousing for mental health that we've just now put up and put out. And on the next four years , we're going to see the results of those efforts. You've consistently opposed them. Is too late to end. This is , for now , a state of emergency and then we're going to magically solve fentanyl. That's what my opponent just said , somehow , magically will disappear on the basis of a state of emergency.

S4:

S2: Right. Voters of both parties are very concerned about the number of people who who don't have homes , who you see all over on on the streets in our cities , really in our suburbs in every part of California. Again , Gavin Newsom had some concrete news to deliver and he talked about the over $12 billion of historic investments that California's been able to make in this. That'll be moving out to counties across the next few years. One of the things he talked in other parts of the debate were about the care courts. Right. Which are an issue that he pushed personally that allows family members , law enforcement groups or anyone to to to spotlight someone who is homeless , who has mental health or drug challenges , have them adjudicated and have them have. Services delivered to them. So again , we see problems. But Governor Gavin Newsom had some solutions to trumpet as his defense.

S4: Climate change and how it's impacting California was also a big topic of discussion.

S2: He is. But he was fighting with with his party's Republican response to this. He was pushing for things like more reservoirs , more money for water , and also allowing more oil drilling in California. Gavin Newsom was trumpeting what California has done over the last more than a decade , really , that it started with with an effort that Arnold Schwarzenegger led. And then it's really been accelerated by Democrats in the legislature and Gavin Newsom , which which is really sort of leading the nation in a set of clean air , clean water and anti greenhouse gas emissions programs.

S4: Similarly , renewable energy and the shift away from fossil fuels was a point of contention.

S2: And that's true , but it's not. You know , Gavin Newsom was talked about the need to shift to alternative forms of energy , wind and solar. Those aren't really the drivers of California's big energy costs. A lot of our big energy costs come from the utilities having to deal with wildfire , preventing wildfires , paying for the wildfires that that in some parts of the state , they're their transmission lines have caused. And so so we saw , again , two different visions for how to address energy. With Gavin Newsom making the pitch that we need to move to a renewable grid , and that will reduce these things like wildfires that are part of what's driving our electricity bills across the state.

S4: And finally , the candidates also squared off against reproductive health rights and California's role in the national debate.

S2: So clearly , he was on point with the Democratic talking points that you've seen in in political ad after political ad about defending a woman's right to choose. Brian Donnelly was very honest and clear about his position as a pro-life candidate.

S4: I've been speaking with Dad Kaiser , a political science professor at UC San Diego and co-director of the Yankelovich Center at UC San Diego. Dad , thank you.

S2: Thanks so much for having me.

S1: This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Jade Heineman. Less than three months ago , San Diego pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the next 13 years. That means the city's entire carbon footprint will have to be offset by removing the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere. But now the city wants to spend more than $20 million to expand a freeway. KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen says it would represent a major setback for the city's climate goals. State.

S5: State. Route 56 is a major thoroughfare connecting the employment hubs of Sorento Valley and University City with bedroom communities like Carmel Valley and range openness kiddos. Traffic is pretty light most of the day , but during rush hour it gets congested. That's why the City of San Diego wants to pay for 2.2 miles of new carpool lanes.

S6: It is commonly misunderstood.

S2: With the difference between general. Purpose.

S5: Purpose.

S6: Lanes and and manage. Lanes.

S2: Lanes.

S5: So Phil Traum is a program manager in the city's Sustainability and Mobility department. He says the new lanes will encourage carpooling and for that reason , they're good for the city's climate goals of cutting back on car dependence.

S2: Yeah , the research is not on their side with that claim.

S5: Amy Lee is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis. She says decades of research and data collection have made it crystal clear. Expanding freeways puts more cars on the road. Congestion might ease up for a few years , but those faster speeds entice more drivers onto the freeway and congestion quickly returns. A study from UC Berkeley last year found this phenomenon called induced demand is just as true for carpool lanes as it is for general purpose lanes. That's because the new lanes fill up with people who are already carpooling.

S2: We call that filtering. You and your carpool move over into the carpool lane. That's what is backfilled. And we all kind of know the rest there. New traffic and trips are made.

S5: So I had to ask city staffers what impact will the new carpool lanes have on traffic ? Phil Trum had to pause before answering.

S6:

S5: So just how much more driving will the new lanes induce ? UC Davis researchers developed an online calculator to answer those questions. Put in the data for the S.R. 56 widening and boom 12.8 million miles of new vehicle travel per year. Remember , the city says it wants to reduce driving. And by 2035 , it'll be legally required to offset all of the emissions from the cars and trucks that are still on the road and.

S1: That will take the vote.

S2: So by sheer luck.

S3: Over a vote , yes.

S5: On October 12th , the city council committee voted unanimously to advance the widening project to the full city council. It'll cost the city $22.5 million , and city staffers suggested any cost overruns would be absorbed by the state Transportation Department. Here's council member Joe LaCava.

S3: And it's the 25 that that the total cost of the project.

S6: The city's contribution is capped at the total.

S3: Okay , I like the word capped. That's always.

S6: A good that's a good. Thing.

S5: Thing. But this is not necessarily true. The state would oversee construction. But Caltrans North County director Alan Costa told KPBS the state won't be contributing any money. And during high inflation , the risk of cost overruns is very real.

S3: We do have contingency built in to the $22 million to cover some increase. If we went above and beyond that , we would go back to the city and ask the city if.

S6: They were willing to contribute more.

S3: If they were unable to contribute more , we would reduce the scope of the project.

S7:

S5: We meet at a gas station overlooking the freeway. She says the city is not being honest with the public about what these new Ovi lanes will actually do for traffic or the environment.

S7: Because I think when we start asking those questions and we don't get answers to them , it really is telling.

S2: About how.

S7: We're deciding to use this money , this public money.

S5: The full city council could vote on the widening of S.R. 56 as soon as November 1st.

S1: That report was by KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen , who joins me now. And Andrew , welcome.

S5: Hi , Maureen. Thank you.

S1:

S5: And the cap really depends on big reductions in driving. So getting huge numbers of cars off the road. And for those that would remain on the road , they're supposed to be used less , less often and they're supposed to be driving shorter distances. The contradiction is that this freeway expansion will put more cars on the road. The science has made that very , very clear. And it doesn't matter if these are general purpose lanes or carpool lanes. This project will increase car travel because right now the congestion that people experience during peak hours is keeping people off the road. And so when that congestion gets a little bit alleviated , however , temporarily that deterrent is gone and people end up driving more.

S1:

S5: And this is something that the city is using to bolster its own argument that the there is there are plans in the regional transportation plan to have bus services that would use the 56 freeway and connect Sabor Springs toward the east of this corridor to the western communities like Solana Beach , Del Mar and Sorrento Valley. The problem is this won't happen in the plan until 2050 , if ever. And so the city is saying , you know , maybe we can move up that timeline if we build these carpool lanes , that can also be used by buses. But how much could they move it up ? Could they move it up by 15 years while even then it wouldn't be happening in time for the city's goal of net zero emissions and this rapid bus service that would use the freeway , it would probably need a dedicated lane on the entire corridor. This project is adding an extra lane to about a quarter of the corridor at a cost of 22 and a half million dollars. So this idea that , you know , this is a transit project just does not hold water , it does not stand up to scrutiny.

S1:

S5: And it's , you know , far from clear what their strategy is , how the city alone will increase adoption of electric vehicles , whether they can even accomplish it or whether they have the money to do so. But even if they are successful at achieving this , you know , faster shift to electric vehicles , they still need an are a big reduction in driving. They've done the math on all of this. And just a few years ago , the state found that electric vehicle adoption isn't happening fast enough. And beyond that , the savings that we're getting on greenhouse gas emissions from new electric vehicles are actually canceled out because a lot of people are actually buying larger gas powered vehicles that are less fuel efficient. So for every new electric car on the road , there's another new SUV or Ford F-150 that's burning enough fossil fuels for the both of them.

S1: Why is there a disconnect between what the academics are telling you about the effect of widening freeways and what the city staffers are saying ? Yeah.

S5: So that Ph.D. candidate I spoke to in my story , Amy Lee , is actually writing her dissertation on this very subject. Now , that question , why has this research not gotten through into the heads of policymakers ? She said it's an inconvenient truth , much like the reality of climate change. It disrupts the status quo. It requires us to change priorities , change direction , and there is a short term effect of reducing congestion. That's how you end up getting more travel on the road. Is that by making traffic go faster , more people are likely to drive. So even if this reduction in congestion doesn't last longer than a few years , it typically or very often is enough to get elected officials something to brag about to their constituents and help them win re-election.

S1:

S5: And this is one of those cases. The city staff were asked a very direct question about the funding of this project. Is the our contribution 100% of construction ? Costs. And if not , you know , is Caltrans chipping in some money ? And staff made it clear they left the council with the impression that this was not all of the cost that the city was contributing. And Caltrans will be adding in some dollars. But that the Caltrans told me very clearly in no uncertain terms , they're not putting a dollar towards this project. And so I think that that is going to have to be resolved and made clear to the council as this project , you know , heads to a final vote at the full city council. I'm still looking into some more details about , you know , the strings that are attached to these dollars and how , you know , whether there's some flexibility or whether they have to be spent on this free widening project , period. So , you know , a bit more loose ends to tie up. But I think that's really what surprised me the most , is that city staff , I just don't think are being honest with the council or with the public about what this project will do.

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

S5: My pleasure , Maureen.

S1: More reporting from Andrew Bowen is next. About San Diego City Council races.

S4: Four seats on the San Diego City Council are up for election this November. And today we'll be talking about two of them , District six and eight. Joining me to unpack these races is KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen. Andrew , welcome.

S5: Hi , Jade. Happy to be here. Indeed.

S4: Indeed. Let's start with District six.

S5: District six was one of the districts that changed more than the others. So it now includes the central northern neighborhoods of inland San Diego. That means Kearny , Mesa , Mira , mesa , Miramar and University City. A big issue in that district is like pretty much everywhere else in the city. Growth and development and the city's ability to build more housing and to allow neighborhoods to change and grow in ways that also , you know , doesn't upset the people who live there. Now to much to neighborhoods in District six are going through the process of updating their community plans. Those are a university city and Mira mesa. And so these questions of , you know , how do we handle single family homes , these suburban style neighborhoods that were built in this district and , you know , where there could be a lot more opportunity to build more housing , more apartment buildings , higher density housing. Those issues are really front and center in this race.

S4: Chris Cate currently represents the area but is termed out. Tell me about the two candidates running in that race.

S5: Well , just a quick note , Jade , about the incumbent , Chris. Kate. He was first elected in 2014 and he is now the only Republican in elected office in the city of San Diego. Both of the candidates who are running to replace him are Democrats. So one of them is Tommy. How ? He's a former radio host. He's a longtime neighborhood activist. Earlier this year , there was some controversy in Mira mesa about a new design of bike lanes on Gold Coast Drive in that neighborhood and how was out there organizing folks to make some noise to tell city hall that they didn't like this new street design that many people found confusing. And , you know , he got folks to speak to the media , which he has connections in because he worked in radio. And , you know , ultimately the city decided to backtrack and switch the street design back to where it was before that new change. Kent Lee is the other candidate in the race. He is the executive director of the Pacific Arts Movement , which is the nonprofit that puts on the San Diego Asian Film Festival. He has quite a bit of background in that whole nonprofit management sector , and he says , you know , that experience of just knowing how to manage people is important to a city council member because a lot of the issues and problems that the city faces happen behind the scenes and are not necessarily , you know , things that the average voter might be aware of. Things like employment and , you know , filling vacancies , things like that. Lee also sits on the near Mesa Community Planning Group. So that's again , that neighborhood , one of the neighborhoods that is going through a community plan update or a process of rezoning. And so I think he sees himself as somebody who can speak to the concerns of residents who are perhaps fearful of change in their neighborhood , but also someone who can figure out a way to open up the neighborhoods for more growth and development and do it in a responsible way.

S4:

S5: So I wouldn't say they're really night and day. But on this issue of housing and growth and development , you can see quite a bit of a difference between the two. Tommy Howe has really seized on these anxieties in many neighborhoods about , you know , apartment buildings are going up across the street. And I don't want that to you know , I don't want my neighborhood to change. He's really kind of taken on that narrative of developers are coming into our neighborhood and making money off of this land and , you know , neighborhoods are for us. And Kent Lee , in contrast , has , I think , tried to take more of a middle of the road approach. He has not fully embraced this pro housing. Yes. In my back yard kind of camp where they just say , yes , we need to build a whole lot more housing and we need to do it and at every opportunity. I think he , you know , is however much more amenable and open to the idea of letting neighborhoods grow and change so that , you know , future generations of San Diegans will have a place to live.

S4: And let's turn to District eight.

S5: It didn't change a whole lot through the redistricting process. So it it still includes Barrio Logan , Logan Heights , Sherman Heights , and then the neighborhoods along the border. So San Isidro , Eagar , Highlands , Palm City and Otay Mesa. The district , you know , as far as the issues in the district , I think one of the biggest ones is that district seeing its fair share of city resources. District eight , like some other districts south of Interstate eight , has been historically ignored by the city. And , you know , the infrastructure and the amenities that the public amenities in that those neighborhoods just don't match what , you know , other neighborhoods that are wealthier and have more resources. So that's definitely a big issue in the race and it's something that both candidates have talked about quite a bit.

S4: The incumbent in the race is Viviane Moreno. Tell me about her.

S5: Vivian Marino was the a staffer for the previous city council member who was in District eight. Her former boss , David Alvarez , who is now in the state Assembly. She ran to replace him and was successful. She's got a degree in political science. So I think she really , you know , sees politics as a as a a passion of hers and something where , you know , people can do some real good. She is fairly young. She just had her first child just not that long ago. And she's been kind of taking a break from campaigning to take care of that little one. And as far as issues , you know , I think she's definitely been more open to growth and development in the district. She has embraced probably more so than some other candidates for council. And this yes , in my backyard movement of saying , yes , we need to build more housing. She took on this big issue of one on one ash street and the city deciding to settle a lawsuit that it had filed against the seller of that downtown high rise office building that the city immediately regretted purchasing. She was on the losing side of that argument that the settlement deal was approved by the city council. But she did try to make that kind of an issue that that she , you know , wanted to own as far as being the biggest critic of of that whole debacle and , you know , calling it basically an example of the city being defrauded.

S4: And she's being challenged by Antonio Martinez.

S5: Martinez was also , interestingly enough , the opponent to Viviane Moreno in the 2018 election so voters in District eight might recognize him for that reason. And that election was very close. He lost by only a couple of hundred votes. As far as his background. He worked for a while for a nonprofit health care provider in the South Bay. He also sits on the San Ysidro School district. So he does hold an elected office right now , although it's not in city politics.

S4:

S5: But what they're talking about and how they're framing this race is really who's the better person to bring back the the the resources that the city needs to invest in District eight. Vivi Marino says , you know , she she's running on her record , really. She helped establish the city's climate equity fund , which sets aside a portion of city revenues for underserved neighborhoods , like many of those in District eight. She has talked a lot about the San Diego Association of Governments , the regional planning agency , needing to make the San Ysidro Transit Center right along the border a priority and in redeveloping and expanding that transit hub. Antonio Martinez frankly just thinks , you know , he can do a better job than her. And he he says , you know , if folks are if folks are happy the way that things have been going in District eight , then , you know , you can vote for the incumbent. But I'm the agent of change here. But again , you know , not a whole lot of real serious policy differences between the two of them. So so , you know , candidates , I think , or voters rather , will probably be looking at the style and the leadership qualities that both of these candidates have.

S4: I've been speaking with KPBS , metro reporter Andrew Bowen. Andrew , thank you.

S5: My pleasure , Jade.

S1: This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Jane Heineman. Asian Story Theater is partnering with two other companies to present a new musical called Not Working in Three Intimate Theater Spaces. The show looks at the impact COVID and the pandemic has had on people. KPBS arts reporter Beth ACCOMANDO speaks with Asian Story Theater co-founder Kent Brisbane and performer Annabel Ramos about creating , not working.

S8: Kent Asian Story Theatre has a new production coming out. But before we go into that , give people a little background about Asian story theatre and kind of what its mission is.

S6: Well , Asian Story theatre evolved or initially was born as a reaction to some of the work that was being done in San Diego by us , among other people doing theatre for kids that traveled to schools around California and actually the Midwest. My partner , my wife is actually Asian American. She's Chinese-American , and she couldn't help noticing that the stories that we're doing were pretty white. And there's a whole another supply of of mythology and story and tradition and and culture that had no presence in the programs that we were taking. So we actually started by adapting some traditional exploring some traditional Chinese stories with the San Diego Chinese Center. And so we started doing educational theater , and this was like eight , 1989. And after five years , we wanted to diversify the programs. So we changed the name to Asian Story theater. The name of the project was made officially Asian story theater. And since then we started , we've been producing shows based on traditions and other stories and arts from throughout Asia and the Pacific.

S8: And for this new production not working. You are partnering with two other theater companies in town , so talk about that collaboration.

S6: So Bill Purchase with theater mascot of Micah and Reese Green with San Diego Black Ensemble and Ginger Lily Lowe from Asian Street Theater. One of the things that all three companies have done is produce original and develop original stories , original plays. So using contacts that we've worked with in the past for writing and developing music , we kind of hatched this idea of producing a a musical that would incorporate feedback and perspectives from all three companies , the people that we work with. So the what happened is that each of the companies reached out to those artists or composers or writers and asked about stories , particularly stories that were unique or particular to their communities , their experiences with COVID , their reactions to it , the consequences of COVID , and use that as a basis for stories , narratives and songs that were developed then. I mean , the the other reality is this is two years over two years ago , nobody knew where we're going. Everybody's in their own tunnel here at this point. So we did want to to explore putting this together into a little bit different context. We wanted a single story. So it's not just a review because we thought that collectively there's some value to providing a perspective that integrates the experiences in ways that we are , all ways that we all share , and that that is how we got from the original idea basically to the script of not working.

S2: And Belle , you are.

S8: Performing in this. So talk a little bit.

S2: About the particular role you have.

S8: I think I'm quoting verbatim what Mr. Busby wrote in the script. But Anka is a precocious 18 year old girl. She's the daughter of an immigrant. No , distinctive , I think , area of origin. I think we were trying to keep that a bit vague. But her father was deported. And so she comes into this musical with something to prove essentially that America's not that great. And she's just determined to , I think , salvage some of that lost pride that came from her father being deported. And how does it feel to be part of a project like this ? It's very exciting. It's a new experience for me. I only recently got into acting here at Southwestern and I've done a couple of productions , and my director sent me the casting call for not working. And the reason that he thought of me is because they were calling for a singer songwriter and it's not something that you could incorporate much. In theater. I think a lot of the times , a lot of the director telling the actor , do this , do that. There's not a lot of the creative outlet happening when it comes to this side of the process. So getting to be involved in also creating what we're performing , it gives you a new sense of creative freedom that I think makes you more invested in the story and offers another piece of your soul for the audience to see. It's more personable , it's more relatable , and hopefully that authenticity shines through.

S6: Bringing Belle into the project as early as we were able to. She and I talked quite a bit about this character. This character has the responsibility for integrating the audience's perspective on the the story , and Bell wrote one of the songs , actually two of the pieces that are integral to the piece.

S8: Daddy bought the band.

S2: So I.

S8: Just came out over the years that you really said they broke their Golden Girls two years ago and.

S2: They served as the door.

S8: You said You can come back. It was too much to handle. It was all he had , making and faking in some senses of a promise.

S6: That's a song that she wrote. She wrote the music for it anyway. And we worked together on the on the lyrics and belt.

S8: Is there something in particular that you identify with with this character ? There are actually quite a few aspects to her that I resonated with. She has this strong desire to prove herself , and that ambition kind of gets misdirected at certain points. But I think she does get to a point where she understands that people are not who she should be directing that anger towards or that ambition towards. And I feel that I resonate with that in my own life , in that I realize we're all just people. We're all experiencing the same things. And the best thing that we can do is identify with each other and understand each other's perspectives and work together to overcome whatever it is that we're facing.

S6: For the next few years , anyway , that's the plan. It'll be in residence at the El Sultan Theatre in San Isidro. We will do a second week at Diversionary Theatre space and the third week we are partnering with the Chula Vista Library. There's a program that the city of Chula Vista initiated called Create Chula Vista , and it's designed to subsidize bringing arts programming into the city.

S2: All right. Well , I want to thank.

S8: You both very much for talking about not. Working.

S2: Working.

S8: Thank you so much for your time.

S1: That was Beth ACCOMANDO speaking with Kent Bee and Annabel Ramos. Not Working debuts on Friday at the new El Salon Theater in San Isidro and then runs through November 13th at two additional venues.