♪[ music ] ♪ tonight on kqed newsroom. the stabbing death of a tech executive in san francisco raises fresh concerns about safety in the city. we discuss the fallout with our kqed politics and government team. plus we talk with lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis about the power and position in the world at our high points and struggles right here in the golden state. and tonight's look at something beautiful. this friday, april 7, 2023. hello and welcome

to the show, i'm priya david clemens. there are no answers in the investigations into the violent death of bob lee. san francisco police have yet to announce an arrest or suspected motive in the case. the tech community has expressed outrage following lee's death and has decried a lack of public safety in san francisco. while mayor breed called it a horrible tragedy. the mayor recently won $25 million to supplement the police budget to cover overtime and recruitment. the spd is currently understaffed by about 500 officers. joining me now with the response are two correspondents from our kqed politics and government team, marisa lagos and guy marzorati. thank you both for being here. >> good to be here. >> and so we have seen this week conservative pungences jump all over the story on fox news. we saw the headline, cities of despair for san francisco and saying even the safe areas of san francisco are dangerous.

you know, this is not to belie the fact that we do have public safety concerns here in the city. we have a major issue with property crime. however, in terms of really violent crime, san francisco generally doesn't crack the fbi's top ten list. marisa, what are your thoughts and response from government officials here? >> there's a couple of buckets here. like the conservative media along with the pandemic and some of the blowing up of homelessness and some of the bigger problems in california has long targets of san francisco for their hire. so that's not unusual. but it's true. and to your point, it's to any crime that was horrific and an awful murder i don't think anybody wants to undercut that. but it does seem to be used by some people for political purposes to kind of drive home a point that they already wanted to make. and to your point. i mean we see red states, dallas, houston, jacksonville, florida, fort worth, texas. like all of those things if you look amurder rates in

particular. and those states and cities, they have far higher murder rates than california. in fact in california, as the governor points out, the murder capital of the state is kern county, one of the most conservative counties here. this is not a red verses blue issue, right? i think that's the challenge for people like mayor breed and other elected officials who clearly want to solve this crime and they want people to feel safe. you mentioned property crimes. i mean that is an issue that will really touch people deeply because if you cannot feel safe in your home in your car, parking your car in your city, that's a problem, right? but i think we do a disservice when we try to overstate the problem, which people like elon musk sort of jumped to do. again, we've seen fox news and the other right wing media do for years essentially. >> can we also say though district attorney might face that treatment on this one, right? this is a case where you mentioned that we barely have an investigation, let alone an arrest. let alone a prosecution, which is what the d.a. will ultimately

deal with. but still, elon musk, he has brook jenkins. >> let's be clear, the reason why this is getting so much attention is because this is a wealthy tech entrepreneur, a white man. and it is awful, but the hundreds of murders that happen across the nation every day are mostly ignored by people in those cities and in the national media. >> yeah, i don't know if governor newsom has weighed in on this. he's been out of the state for the past several days. he's making a swing through southern states as part of his step into the culture wars to take the fight to these republican strongholds. and in fact he just announced a $10 million pack, which is really in place to fund those efforts. guy, how is that trip going? >> it has been a very political spring break for the newsom family traveling through southern state. and you mentioned them building up relationships in that state. and also this ongoing contrast that newsom has with president joe biden and how to deal with these culture wars that you're

seeing the president really take pains to avoid confrontation on these issues, focus on economics. newsom is exactly the opposite. he's going to these states. he is taking on the fights on social issues. you know, people have different views on this. some might say this is a troll-a-thon kind of egging on the competition with these governors. it is almost like when they go low, i grab my limbo stick and that is kind of how he's approaching these things. >> he's getting coverage for it. a lot of democrats want that. they want to take these fights on social issues, especially because 2024, we don't kno if the economy will be in a place where the democrats would feel comfortable to run on that. they need to have these kind of social issues going into the campaign. >> he also just took on a fight with the oil industry. this has been many years in the making. and so right before he left for his trip, he had a hearing, and he actually signed bills into law saying that oil industry executives and companies are going to have to share their

profit information and that the state could limit some of that. is this going to work, marisa? >> i mean it's interesting. the newsroom came out in the fall swinging when oil prices were over $2 a gallon, $2.50 a gallon more than the national average in california. and he said we're going to put a windfall property tax on oil companies. that's not where the legislation ended up. but after doing the reporting that i've done and listening to these hearings where experts came forward. this might be more sort of influential in terms of oil prices long term. what we heard at some of these hearings that for 40 years the state has sought a lot of the information about what the oil companies do business, specifically in california because we do have a special blend. most of our oil that we use is refined here in state for that reason. i think that, you know, newsom had to kind of like take a little bit of a loss in that he backed off the tax or penalty. they are going to create the structure that is going to give regulators far more power to get this information from the oil companies and that potentially that could, you know, whether it

is through actions of the commission or just sort of public pressure to say hey, why are oil prices, there is a mystery surcharge that experts talk about. we don't understand why the increase in prices when you clear california and the other states is far more than how much we tax oil companies. and so we're going to have to watch this rollout. the oil companies are going to have to fight it hard and go to work with their lobbyists, try to weaken that type of power that's new and the agency will have. t i think ultimately this will be a win for newsom. >> there is some precedence here in this state and when they actually have to share that information. >> natural gas industry, electrical, a lot of these big industries that we all rely on do that. and the question is did newsom kind of hurt himself by doing what he often does, which is tweeting out the call for this tax at time penalty later. and without really doing the leg work on the policy side to figure out if it

was possible before he made that huge announcement. they got a lot of attention. >> well, we saw that again this week. we had heard earlier in the month that he tweeted out we were going to stop doing business with walgreens. because walgreens, they said they were not going to provide the abortion pill in states where there were challenges against it. the republican states generally. and so he said all right, they're done. we're not going to do business with walgreens michigan specifically pulling one contract that was $54 million. and he said well, we found out this week, kaiser health reported that actually that is not going to be the case. and newsom is having to pull back on that. so the state also does $1.5 billion in business with walgreens through medicaid. and there will be problems with the federal law if we try to end those contracts. the problems with access for people to be able to get their medication. i thoug one of the most interesting elements here is that newsom spokesperson when asked about this said well tweeting isn't policies. and what exactly to your point

here? >> it sounds like trump. >> totally, but ties in with what you're talking about. for us covering newsom every day and following this. these look like losses. he sets out the lofty goals often on twitter. then ultimately what comes out in policy is a compromise like it was with the oil legislation or in this case just the fact he said we're not doing business with walgreens is not going to happen. he's going to fall short of that. but it leaves open that question of what is the public getting from this? maybe what they're getting is seeing someone who is saying i'm fighting the oil company and i'm going after and protecting the reproductive rights, taking on corporations in the meantime. that'll be the calculation. >> and they will have a history coming out. they were having a good marriage. >> right. i think with newsom, it's the opposite. we kind of understate how much rhetoric can matter. oil prices dropped after he made those statements in the fall. and walgreens, i believe they backed off of some of their threats to stop selling these in states where abortion is still legal. still think newsom has a little egg on his face, but that it

might be the actual outcome of úthe process and what he wanted to have happen. >> it's worth it. all right, one of the biggest pieces of national news this week is obviously donald trump was indicted. we have been watching that and following that. marisa, i'm curious about kevin mccarthy, our new house speaker. still getting used to knowing we have a different californian in office. his response here? >> and so yeah, we see the tweet up on the screen. and that is really him going after the district attorney in manhattan that brought this case, saying he's interfering with the democratic process. i mean really, mccarthy is responding to what we have seen from them across the board and even some of trump's potential challengers in 2024. and they, you know, mccarthy and the republicans in congress are threatening to investigate bragg himself, this d.a. i don't really know what for or how well that will go and what we have seen in the past when they would try to go after the justice department and the fbi, and they basically said we're in the middle of an active

investigation. we're not givg you any information. but clearly republicans, they want this to be a political conversation. they want this to be about the politics of the democrat prosecuting the former president, and not about the substance of these charges or the other charges that tmp could face even before the 2024 election. >> you have all been doing some reporting as well up about dominion voting systems. that county has said here in california that we're going to chuck the system altogether and maybe go to a hand count? >> yeah, i mean if you're thinking about how does the election laws, the other republicans. how does that actually affect democracy here in california? and here you go. this is a case of the county. months ago dumping the dominion voting system over conspiracies. now potentially moving ahead with a hand count of ballots. no other counties in california will do this. this is a small county as you have them saying how is that process going to work? how is the background checks for people who would ultimately be handling the ballot by ballot? we don't have the staff to do this. there are so many open questions

for that county going forward with, you know, an election that's coming up next year. and all going back to these conspiracies that led them to make this change. >> and there is one more story to turn to before i let you go. there is a story that's basically ripped from the headlines here it looks like and a police union official who has been accused of being involved in a drug smuggling ring particularly with fentanyl and for years. guys, san jose is your beat down there. what are you hearing about this? >> i think right now we're hearing the police union today moving ahead and terminating the person who is being accused of this ring basically and they are doing an internal investigation to find out what to do, and she was using the office to smuggle these drugs. other people are saying okay, that's not enough. saying the city should step in here and maybe break the ties. it does raise a lot of questions

especially as you mentioned fentanyl and the damage to have someone doing this, it's mind blowing. >> definitely a story to watch. guy marzorati, marisa lagos. thank you both for being here. this week taiwan's president, wen, visited california. the ties to taiwan are complicated. china claims taiwan does not recognize it. the president met with house speaker kevin mccarthy and other officials including california's lieutenant governor. now in her second term in the position, shes a serves as california's international affairs and trade development representative. joining us now, serving thisúwe. welcome to the show. >> thank you, priya, it's great to be with you. >> thanks for being here. so tell us about the meeting this week and your work broadly as a representative of

california to the world at large. >> well priya, it's great to be able to talk about this because i think it's important for californians to know that our state government is very engaged in what's going on in the world. and that the california brand means a lot to a lot of people. and so for us to elevate our profile in the world stage whether it's on combating climate change, where we have a lot to say, or by welcoming the president of taiwan to california. being there on behalf of our state and talking about what we're doing and what we stand for, it's really important. >> when you talk about a brand, let's expand on that. we're not just talking about a marketing term here. california has incredible economic power. if we were our own country, we would be the fourth largest economy in the world. how are we using that power in the world to move forward for ideals? >> it is really remarkable. i think it's pretty clear that what we're doing on trying to invest in

transitioning to the carbon free energy future, clean energy, whether it's our electric vehicle mandates, whether it is changing our grid. the development of lithium valley down in the sea, investing in hydrogen power, cleaning our ports. all of this will really put us in a place where we are leading in the world. and that is a very important part of it. but it's also the fact that our motto is all dreams welcomed. this is what the tourism industry really promotes in the world and it's true because whether it's entrepreneurs that are coming here to start the company or if they seek venture capital funding where california distributes 2-1 of the next highes state for venture capital funding or people coming for tourism or coming to work.

there's opportunity here, but there is also this feeling that you're welcomed in this state. that means a lot in a world right now where so many countries, people areeeling that they might not be welcomed or the kind of person they are or their choices in life. >> where would you say from your position looking out on this state as the number two elected official in the state. where would you say california is on the right track? we are doing the things we are suppose to do, and we are prospering. >> well, you know, you mentioned the size of our economy. california went in to covid-19, the fifth largest economy in the world. it appears as though we are poised to overtake germany as the fourth largest economy in the world and to improve our country. this is extraordinary. we know that our commitment to combating climate

change, our incredible ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation are extensive investments in public higher education. and the fact that we're number one for patents in the country california system and with all of the nih funding that goes into our universities and all of this will create the ecosystem for growth and advancement. and what we also know is that it is a very expensive state to live in. our cost of living is high so our efforts as well are to use the power of our economic strength to make sure that we're looking after our communities and that people can afford to put a roof on their families and the heads on the table, which is difficult in a state where our

cost of housing is much higher than anywhere else in the country. and so i would say that it is really our biggest challenge and it's one that will drive the other challenges that we see whether it is, you know, homelessness or, you know, that many other issues that are more top of mind people. >> one of those right now is crime. we just saw unfortunately violent crimes happen in san francisco with the death of a tech executive. and that is something that comes up regularly. homelessness and crime are often brought up together as twin problems within the major cities in california. what are your concerns? >> there is a real awakening about policing in the last couple of years since the murder of george floyd in california. it is very much at forefront. and at looking at police reform

and that they support that. at the same time, you can't have democracy if you don't have the rule of law and you can't have rule of law if you can't enforce those laws. right now, our police forces, they are struggling. there are fewer and fewer people that are willing to go into doing that dangerous and difficult work. and there needs to be think a more comprehensive understanding of how do we make sure that while we pursue our values and we do have clear values that would happen to george floyd is not acceptable and that we recognize that there are institutionalized ways that we have been dealing with the crime that are not necessarily in our best interest or consistent with our values. at the same time as we make those reforms, we need to make sure that it is safe for people to walk in our streets, for businesses to be

able to operate. there san adjustment that we're going through right now. >> when you look out at the landscape of california, what is top of your agenda to work on? >> there is so much. we touched upon some of those things that again whether it is dealing with the outcome of icome inequality, making sure our economy can continue to thrive. >> and just to clarify, i spent a lot of time on public higher education. you know, very often we have this idea that we can fund our way out of our challenges. we actually have to train our way forward. we have to make sure we have enough nurses, that we have enough people in law enforcement. that we have enough first responders, and firefighters, and people who can build the future and in making sure that people have the opportunity to get that training is really important. we have two and a half million

students enrolled just in public, higher education in this state between our community college system, our csu, and our uc. about 40% of the undergrads, priya, are the first in their family to go to college, which is incredible. it's a great conveyer belt of talent. as we build that work force sense of future, it is really for all aspects of the economy. from the service economy all the way up to our doctors and our researchers. but we have a lot of work to make sure that those opportunities are there a so that truly we are going to be able to go in to the future with the work force needed to be able to get us where we want to go. >> and you are on the board of regions for the board of uc, and you are also with the csu as a member of their board of trustees. next week you're going to be in southern california talking specifically about education and students needs. >> well, a big part of what we know is that the cost of going

to college is also driven by housing and basic needs whe you're at school. it's not just tuition. so we are working very hard and governor newsom and the leslature have funded now billions of dollars in order to be able to meet basic needs. a big part of that is housing. so there is a grant program to build more housing on our college campuses, and i will be going to uc irvine where there is a project underway and right here in san francisco and the ribbon cutting on the new housing dormitory there as well. and so highlighting the fact that we're working hard to bring more housing opportunities to bng down that cost is a big part of what we're doing and just in the next few days. bringing down the cost of medicine for producing our own insulin for people. tell us about that effort and other efforts in that arena.

>> i'm very proud of the fact that california has taken this on. anwe have the power to do creative things like this. insulin is a very important medicine to a lot of californians. and the fact that it costs so much is really not acceptable. so the state of california is launching into this effort that we're going to produce insulin to provide it to californians in a far more reasonable price. with a lot of creativity and a state that's willing and able to address these issues ourselves at the state level. >> turning to national news, there was certainly a lot of joy for democrats this week when they saw that president biden had been indicted. what about you? did you pour a glass of champagne? >> i don't think that it is someing to be gleeful about, priya.

but i'll tell you that we were talking about the rule of law. there has to be consequences for breaking the law and that is what is happening. but i would like to think that right now we have a president, president biden, and a vice president, our very own kamala harris, who are working hard to lead the country. you know, i think most americans, they really want to see government deliver and at federal level. there is a lot of work to do. but of course, we have major challenges in the international space. and i'm a former united states ambssador. there is a war going on in europe, there are tensions with china. it came in to focus with the visit of the president. we have a lot of work to do. i think most americans, they really want to see elected officials doing their job, solving problems, so that they can get up every day and go to work, live their lives, take care of their families, and enjoy all that our country and

our state has to offer. >> lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis, thank you for your time today. >> thank you, priya. the work of globally renown artist, wiley, is on display at san francisco's dejeong museum. including the official white house portrait of former president barack obama. his new exhibit is titled theúa. the artwork is described by the museum as transforming the senseless deaths of black men and women around the world into a pow ideology of resistance. it's this week's look at something beautiful. ♪ [ music ] ♪

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this powerful exhibit will run through october. that's the end of our show tonight. we're off next week, b join us the following week for our special earth day show. if you'd like to share your comments o questions, you can e-mail us. you can reach me on linkedin, twitter, and facebook at priya dclemens. thank you for joining us. have a great weekend.

♪ william: tonight on "pbs news weekend," the latest on the leak of documents revealing u.s. spy secrets and intelligence about the war in ukraine. then, a look at the innovative tools bangladesh is using to predict and respond to climate change. >> the attitude that i've found in bangladesh is not one of woe is me unfairness, victim, victimhood. it's one of, ok, we this is our lot. we have to deal with it and we're going to survive it. william: and how hugely popular video games e being turned into tv and movie hits. ♪ m