things can can actually affect how health outcomes and providing this additional support may be a very cost effective answer. >> you mentioned those $500 payments over the course of five years that time period. and as you pointed out, you have to be medicaid eligible. so where would this money come from and how can this be sustainable? >> well, it come from the cms agency within the department of health and human services. it is authorized under this bill to try this pilot. and essentially states and local governments could apply for grants under this program. they would propose the parameters of it. it could be mirrored after what stockton did, or it could use a different approach, and the government would essentially require that the results be evaluated. there would be a control group that wouldn't get the additional support. we would track health outcomes in those families as well as those who are in the pilot. it's a way of determining is this a good, cost effective

way to deal with a lot of health crises that people on the average edge of poverty are facing? >> and speaking of that, critics say there's no guarantee the money won't be used for non necessities. how do you answer that? >> well, this has been tried in other places. this won't be the first pilot project and that really has not been the case. it hasn't been borne out by these other studies in fact it's used for, you know, kind of necessities of life like transport costs, like buying diapers, like buying things that are really necessary for families. and, you know, the other worry people have is, well, will this discourage work? but in fact, the studies that have already been done demonstrate it doesn't discourage work. in fact, it makes work more likely because, you know, many people, if their car breaks down, can't afford to fix their car. if they need child care and have an emergency, they can't afford child care. it keeps them out of the workplace not to have this basic financial security. so it is you know, our experiences so

far told us these funds are not used, you know, for buying drugs or these other things uh. and they do actually increase employment, not decrease it, decrease it. >> let's stay on that for a moment. economists ask, if done broadly, couldn't it drive up inflation without it raising productivity? >> well, i think before we worry about whether this should be done on a national basis, we should test it out, try it. let let ten different states or local governments test it and see what the results are. and if it pencils out, it pencils out. that's great. if it doesn't, it doesn't. but let's not be afraid of the results because, you know, this did work very well in stockton and it has worked in other environments as well. and i think it could be a very useful tool. and then we can decide should this be expanded into more than a pilot, what are the chances this passes in a republican controlled house? >> a reality check here.

>> well, you know, it uses existing funds, so there shouldn't be a objection on that basis. but you know, i would expect that there were going to be many republicans that just don't like the idea of providing assistance to people unless, frankly, they're very wealthy people. and you provide it in the form of tax, special tax benefits. so this doesn't really meet that, that criteria, so i, you know, i don't think it'll have widespread support among gop members, but i hope we get some, enough to get it passed, if not in this congress, then in the next turning to your run for the u.s. senate seat. >> now, there's some critical reports out that suggest, garvey isn't running much of a campaign. i want to talk about a problem plaguing all the big cities in california. homelessness. if elected, what are you going to do from the federal level to provide assistance? >> well, you know, i was watching the teaser for your segment on san francisco. i have every confidence there's going

to be a headline down the road that san francisco is back. and the question is how do we get san francisco to that point quicker? and i think a lot of that involves, you know, how do we deal with these vacant buildings? how do we deal with the problem of homelessness and housing? unaffordability, i think one of the things the federal government can do that's most cost effective is dramatically increase the low income housing tax credit to incentivize the creation of new housing, or to convert housing to residential, to make it possible to help people off the street and, frankly, make housing affordable for a lot of people who are very gainfully employed but can't afford to live in san francisco or other high cost cities, we're also going to have to do what we can to attract people to come back to the city. since people can commute, you know, can can commute virtually and don't need to physically be there. so these are going to have to do more to attract people to come back. i'm looking forward to working closely with san francisco, elected officials, brainstorming what can we do? how can i bring

back resources so that we can bring the city back even quicker? >> okay, congressman, quickly. now we have 30s left. if trump gets elected president, he appears to be focused on going after those he sees have done him wrong since you were one of the impeachment managers and served on the impeachment committee, are you concerned he will direct the justice department and file criminal action against you? >> you know, i think all of us that are on his enemies list are number one proud we're on his enemies list. but yeah, we have to be concerned about him weaponizing the federal government. he tried to do that last time he was in office, now i'm confident joe biden is going to beat him. but anyone who tells you they want to be a dictator on day one, anyone tells you they want to go after their enemies and misuse the justice department. you need to take them at their word. and that means, frankly, never let them near the levers of power. >> yeah, we will see. well, congressman, thank you for your time with us today. >>

impacting our lives. so how long will it take the financial district's ghost town to fully recover? well, new data shows a grim outlook. joining us live now is san francisco chronicle reporter laura waxman. laura, thanks for being with us. >> hi, stephanie. thank you. >> so we know the progression wouldn't happen overnight, but the latest data shows it could take nearly two decades. >> yeah. so as you mentioned, this is the question that we always get right. how long is the recovery going to take. and so this brokerage sun-young put out some new data based on past leasing trends for the city for the ten years leading up to covid and that way, they've

calculated how long it might take. and they're saying it could be up to 18 years. >> wow. and to put that in context, your reporting highlighted the gravity of that time frame. 18 years ago, steve jobs was still a year away from announcing the first iphone. uber wasn't even here yet. let that sink in for our viewers. so how was that figure calculated? >> right. so that's hard to believe, right? 18 years. it's a long time. and that is the caveat is that's the worst case scenario. so that would be taking the average leasing volume that we've seen over the past ten years before the pandemic. that's about 1,000,000ft■!s a year of office space that companies took off the market because they signed new leases. so that average and trying to get down below 10% of vacancy, which is where we were prior to the pandemic, is how they calculated the 18 years. there are also other scenarios that are better case based on some of the higher leasing years that we've seen in the last 20 years. yeah.

>> speaking of that, what's the best case scenario? >> the best case scenario is six years for this office vacancy, which is currently at 30% to drop below 10. so a healthy kind of equilibrium, and that is calculating using almost 4,000,000ft■!s per year, right.o get to that, to that number. yeah >> six years sounds a lot better, given what we know now about the ai boom, we look at openai ai, as you pointed out, leasing out more than 400,000fts of space. how much of an impact do you think our silicon valley routes could have in speeding up recovery to be within a decade from now? >> well, i think everyone's hoping that it will have a huge impact, right. and we've seen already that take shape in san francisco, openai, which is kind of the fast growing ai firm that we have here, is gobbling up a lot of space. they've taken over 400,000ft■!s in mission bay. they're on the hunt for more space so that technology is developing so quickly. and it's

going to inspire other companies and funding. right to be funneled into san francisco. so there is some hope, but of course, no one can really predict how that's going to go when vacancy rates fall below 10. >> that's supposedly the magic number, right? rents rise, market tightens up. but we're not even close to that. now. where does the city's deficit stand currently? >> right. so we are at 30% roughly. depending on who you ask. and that number is increasing. so we have not seen a drop in vacancy yet. that would mean that we would need some significant leases. more openai. right. taking spaces, more ai companies to see vacancy start to drop. we're actually in a deficit right now. last year we had 6,000,000ft■!s of space t the market right. and virtually no space was being leased. so that's kind of where we're at right now. >> wow. and as you pointed out, san francisco had the highest office vacancy rate out of any us market, roughly 30. you just pointed out to put that in

context, that figure was 17.7% at the peak of the great recession in 2008. but we look at other cities that have been able to rebound faster, including new york city. why do you think that's a that's a great question. >> i'm certainly not the expert on that. but i would say, you know, there are a lot of reasons why, san francisco is trailing behind predominantly work from home. right. we are a tech hub. our downtown was 70% tech companies that were taking up space there. and many of those companies don't need their offices anymore because they're working from home. so that is a huge blow to the downtown of san francisco. >> now we're seeing more and more tech companies require that hybrid schedule to get back into the office. but according to workflow platform lark, 87% of employees surveyed say they'd be more productive if they get to choose where they work. they want that flexibility. how do you think this work from home culture will impact recovery long term?

>> i think there is a consensus, right, that we do need some people downtown in order to make that economic engine run. so, you know, i think a lot of companies have adopted the hybrid work schedule where they require their employees to be in the office three days a week or two days a week. and i believe that's going to be the norm moving forward. i have not seen that many companies here require five days a week, which we're used to. obviously, before the pandemic. >> what else stood out to you in this report? >> i just think, you know, it's hard to make that call. and i think a lot of people, you know, that i interviewed in the beginning of the pandemic told me it would be ridiculous to think that office buildings would stand empty in san francisco. and look at us now. we have complete vacancy in some buildings. so i think it's really hard to make that prediction. we can look at past trends. we can see what leasing is like. we can hope that ai will come in and give us a boost, but it's really hard to make that call. >> yeah, certainly a grim reality that we're living with. and the local businesses are

suffering as a result of it. laura, thanks so much for your time with us today. >> thank you. >> still ahead, voters in solano county could soon decide on a plan to create a new city, and we'll be joined by the ceo of california forever as his initiative gains enough atures to qualify for the

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rivers initiative qualified for the november ballot. joining us live now is the company's ceo, jan sramek. jan, thanks for being with us. >> it's great to be here. >> i see you have the city backdrop behind you. >> yeah, exactly. coming soon in a few years. that's right. >> so i have a lot to get to. but first, congratulations. you have enough signatures, but there's still a couple of steps before the initiative is actually on the ballot. right? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, it's a it's a big and exciting milestone for us, we have been,

busy at work for the last six weeks since we, submitted the signatures to the county, and we've gotten a lot done in those six weeks. we've announced 12 major employers. we've announced 1500 jobs in the building of the solar farm, we've announced a major new sports complex that we're bringing here to solano county, and so this is a great milestone to mark the last six weeks and, continue with the process. so some local electeds who've been outspokenly critical of this project still question whether you have enough water to support a city the size of 400,000 people, where do those plans stand today? you know, i'm glad to ask. we have we have some really exciting news to share, next week. but i'll i'll give you a little preview, we have, engaged a world class team of world, water experts to analyze the water situation on our properties right now, and we have confirmed that just from the existing water uses on the current properties that california forever controls, there is enough water there to

support over 100,000 residents to repeat, just the water that we use right now will be able to support over 100,000 residents. so that's the next 20 years of build out. we have a lot more to share on that next week and so stay tuned. >> so that's the first phase, right? but as of right now, there's not enough to support a city of 400,000. >> absolutely. and we'll be combining the water we have right now, which is going to cover the next 20 years with, recycled water, which will be used for agricultural and landscaping and industrial uses, as well as with importing, water from outside of solano county, we will have more to share on that front in the in the update next week, but again, it's, enough water already for more than 100,000 people, which is the next 20 years of the build out. >> all right. we look forward to learning more about that. let's talk about traffic congestion. another big concern for highway 12, paired with of course, the cost of fixing it. six months ago, you talked about expanding

highway 12 and 113 and what's called the transportation guarantee. that's in your initiative. but congressman john garamendi and others are still concerned taxpayers will be picking up the tab here. is that true? >> i mean, we know that congestion is a huge issue. traffic is a huge issue in solano county. i know it personally. i live here with my wife and two little kids, and so we experience it daily, we are fortunate to have a short commute. that's not the case for most residents in solano county, and the traffic has been getting worse every year for the last 20 years. and this plan is by far the best opportunity to bring jobs to where they are needed, right here to solano county and we have announced exciting news on that front. we've committed to bring 15,000 jobs here that pay way more than the jobs that are here right now. and those jobs would be a ten, 15, 20 minute commute for people living in fairfield, in vacaville, in dixon and rio vista and suisun city, and just a little bit longer for people living in benicia and vallejo. and so we

would be able to take so much traffic off the i-80, and actually make the situation better here. that's why we announced 12 major employers and 1400 jobs in the in the solar farm. >> but will the company be picking up the tab here or will taxpayers be partially responsible, no. taxpayers in solano county other than the people living in the new community, would be contributing any money towards improving, the highways, we have already committed to provide right of way and to provide a significant share of the funding, which will be determined by caltrans, that money can then be combined with state and federal funds to help pay for the improvements, as well as with innovative, methods for financing the construction, that are built on the idea that we'll be able to keep many, many more jobs in california instead of sending them off to texas and florida, but, none of that contribution will be coming from anyone in solano county. it's really building a new economic engine here in solano county, so

that solano county can start getting its fair share of transportation dollars from the state and the federal level, which historically it has not received since day one. >> a big part of your focus has been on affordable housing. what do you see as the ideal price point for a single family home in this new city? >> you know, i don't know that there's such a thing as an ideal price point. we are really committed to building deeply integrated neighborhoods, where people from all walks of life, all professions, can all live in the same neighborhood right next to each other. and so unlike many other, new developments, we are not going to have the starter home neighborhood and then the expensive neighborhood and then the affordable housing on the on the corner by the highway. we're going to have these wonderful integrated neighborhoods where people can, all live together in terms of price points. we're going to have homes starting somewhere in the $450,000 range in today's dollars. that's about 150 to $200,000 less than other homes and other new homes in solano

county. and it will go up from there, as the size of the homes increase. and we are really committed to having the entire range. most importantly, we have a $400 million down payment assistance program in place. that program is bigger than the program that california state has. there's a state program that is $300 million for the entire state, funded by taxpayers. this is a case of a private developer making an unprecedented commitment to housing affordability and providing $400 million, all from private funds, for just solano county, 1% of the state's population. and so i am very confident that in 20 years, we're going to have tens of thousands of families in solano county who said, the way that we got on the housing ladder, the way that we got into homeownership, was this california affordable project, the solano plan, and it was this wonderful innovation in how we can bring back the california dream to working families right here. >> let's turn to jobs. now. you've talked about bringing employers to the area in an

effort to create more good paying jobs. how many are committed so far and for which industries? >> so we've committed to create at least 15,000 new jobs in the new community that pay at least $88,000 a year. that's 125% of the current average salary in solano county, we have announced 12 companies, that are interested in coming here. i believe they collectively employ tens of thousands of people, and we have announced 1300 jobs in the construction of the solar farm. we are going to have more announcements coming in throughout the summer and into the fall, and so stay tuned. >> it's been almost a year now since news broke of your plan. yan and the feedback from your critics suggest trust is still an issue. looking back, do you have any regret in how the early acquisitions were handled and communicated? >> no. i mean, i think we needed to acquire the property and we've been very direct about the fact that, we were buying it and

we were not disclosing who it is or why are we buying it, but we've been super, super transparent with the community since the day we announced. and i think people have seen that. i think there were a lot of skeptics, in the beginning of the process, who, who said you know, i don't know whether this is going to work or how it could work, but what people have seen over the last eight months is that we are very serious. we take this extremely seriously. we are committed to building something really special and wonderful here in solano county. and we have assembled an extraordinary team of the best urban designers and engineers and water experts and transportation planners, as well as a business development team that has been able to bring more employers here in the last six months than anyone else. anyone else has been able to bring to solano county in the last 20 years, and i think people and voters in solano county have recognized it. that's why over 20,000 people have signed the petition to put this on the ballot. and that's why over 70 solano businesses have now endorsed the plan. 70 local businesses have now endorsed the

plan. there is not a single local business that has come out against

of the nba finals. and tonight we have game three as the mavs look for their first win of the series. coverage begins at 5:00. that will be immediately followed by after the game. and our sports director, larry beil, will be joined by valkyrie's team president jess smith. then at nine, it's wheel tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. the flash flood emergency in florida at this hour. a wall of water coming down. up to 20 inches of rain.

also, just 100 miles off florida, russian warships, including a nuclear submarine. and here in the u.s., the deadly bus hijacking, we now know what happened inside that bus. first tonight, the torrential rain emergency in florida. miami to fort lauderdale to sarasota, under water