tv ABC7 News Getting Answers ABC January 19, 2021 3:00pm-3:31pm PST
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building a better bay area, for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. >> hi, welcome to our daily program called getting ansss. we will get answers for new real time. we have a busy show today. we will talk to london breed about how they are handling the vaccine and a new alert system for it. and we we will talk if elizabeth goldsmith. professor, thanks for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> tomorrow will be a big day
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and what is the plan? >> normally, there are 20 activities. the main thing is the swearing in at noon. first the vice president and then the president and then he gives a speech, and back to the white house which is about a mile away. >> that is noon eastern time. so we he will be watching the west coast. are there going to be crowds there? what is the situation going to be like? >> they are encouraging american citizens to watch it virtually, and that was two months ago. it's even more that way, but with 25,000 troops, national guard, it's a big perimeter and fence around a great deal of washington, d.c. >> right. we're certainly seeing a break from a lot of traditions because of the pandemic.
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the current president hasn't really conceded. talk about the breaks from tradition. i think melania trump hasn't invited jill biden to the white house. >> right. the good news about this, joe biden was vice president. so he's been to the inaugurals. he has been to the white house a lot. so i don't think he is too upset about a few boxes here and there and getting things organized. vice president pence said he'll go to the swearing in, so we'll watch for that, and that is a break from andrew johnson, all the way back to the 1800s, when he did not go as president to the new inaugural. >> right. absolutely. interesting. you know, as the bidens said, maybe he said he thinks it's a good idea that president trump isn't coming. but it's a significant break from tradition. and the tone will be very different.
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just hoping now, and the covid-19 memorial. >> yeah, and three days, the biden team doing things tonight, tomorrow, the next day. there's sort of a spreading it out instead of focused on one day. >> so how has the inauguration evolved? back in the 1829, it was a movie they did? >> right. the first news reel with hoover. and i'm sort of a specialist on hoover. there was a tv first time, 1949. so technology has changed the inaugural. this time, it's other things. usually it's technology, and of course this time, we can be so much more virtually than we could even four years ago. >> so much of the inauguration is also about for us watching at home, watching the fashion. what are you going to be
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watching for? we're used to seeing the balls -- the ball gowns the first ladies wore to the ball. there is no ball for joe biden. >> well, i noticed what mrs. biden is wearing to the inaugural ceremony. that is photographed a lot. and they might still try to have a little something. i'm not sure. but traditionally, her ball gown goes to the smithsonian is on display. i'm going to hold up laura bush's ball gown. which was bright red. bright red, and beautiful. i'm guessing if she has one, it will be blue. i think mrs. bind looks great in blue. we'll see, she might wear one just to twirl in front of the white house. >> she deserves it.
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it's a special moment for every first lady. >> there's a big front porch, well lit. they can just come out and twirl around. >> they could. and maybe beyonce will sing from the balcony at the white house. we'll see. >> we'll just see. >> we will see. >> we're cautious about security. >> it is political. i remember four years ago, melania trump wore ralph lawyerelawyer lauren, and i think that hillary clinton wore ralph lauren. >> and way back, we had oscar de la renta, and in recent years, they tried to have american designers. >> thank you for the insight. this is fun to talk about, and getting in the road for unity as we try to come together as a country. thanks for joining us. >> yeah, i'm hoping it all goes smooth and we move forward. >> absolutely.
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we're coming on. welcome back, vaccination alerts and vaccine sites are some of the covid-19 headlines out of san francisco. let's get started. joining us now, the mayor of san francisco, london breed. good afternoon, good to see you. >> good afternoon. good to see you virtually. >> exactly. mayor breed, you had an urgent message that the city is going to run out of vaccines by tlurs? why the authorityashortage and they get more? >> the distribution to the
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state, it comes from the department of puck liblic healt it go fos other health care providers. and the second dose we are obligated to give people we give the first dose to, and the uncertainty of what we're going to get and when we're going to get it. based on what we have now, and based on the number of people who are scheduled for either their first or second dose, we anticipate that everything in our possession will be gone by thursday, and we are hopeful that some vaccines will come in soon. >> i you a nounsed a new website that will alert san francisco residents when it's time to sign up for a vaccine. but almost right away, the site went down. and people who did sign up, were flooded with dozens of alerts. and people are pointing out. we are in the tech capitol of t the world.
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why was the roll out so messy? >> the fact is, everyone inundated the site. i want to know if there is any system that exists like this that hasn't run into problems. the fact is, we don't have the vaccines. there are plenty of times for people to sign up to get the alerts and yeah, of course, the beginning was a little shaky. but we got it fixed. it's up and running. sign up, we asked for peaople's patience as we go through the process. we are in the beginning stages of administering the vaccine. it's going to take time. >> you have seen some of matt hanie's critiques and he is saying the city is not been transparent and other cities have been doing the same thing weeks ago. do you think his frugtss are fair? >> well, i don't. i think -- i mean, he's a part of the leadership. he should be working with my
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office to address the challenges rather than being critical of the men and women, the folks who are working in the technology department, of all the people who have set up the kinds of systems in order to address the real challenge. you remember that in the beginning, testing, we had to start from scratch to set up a testing system here in san francisco. we did that. we have it on going and we're doing a great job at it. but the fact s we didn't anticipate a lot of the guidelines and the slow roll out of the number of vaccines we received in san francisco. so there are a lot of complex issues that exist here, and it's easy to stand on the sidelines and be critical of the work we do here. but at the end of the day, thursday f we don't get an additional supply, we will be out of vaccines. the fact is, we can set up all the sites we can all over san francisco. but it's out of my control.
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it's my understanding they will come, and when they come, we will be ready. >> my colleague liz pena interviewed david freeburg who said he is willing to raise plans and he has plans to have mass vaccination sites in the city. is the city considering partnering with tech ceos who are willing to exped diet the process? >> our plan is to do whatever we can. but you realize the city has its own systems and bureaucracy that can be a challenge in order to partner. but we are ready and willing to partner with those who want to work with us. >> one month from now, what do you imagine the city looks like, in terms of reopening and vaccination sites? >> if i had my dream, the city would be open a month from now. it's going to take time. i think we're going to be
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outdoor dining. i hope more schools will be open. i hope to see the city start to come alive again like we did when we first beat the virus. i think we're going to be in a much better place. and it's going to feel a little bit more like the city is reopening. so, i'm looking forward to that day and i hopedy hope is that people are patient with us and i hope the day is coming sooner rather than later. >> that is optimistic of you. that will get a lot of us excited one month from now. we could potentially be open with outdoor dining. do you envision there is a date in the books when we might open up the restaurants outside dw again? >> there is not a date in the books. we are seeing about 333 new cases a day, we have one of the highest hospital rates we've had since the beginning of the virus. we have seen our reproductive
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rate go down to 1.of. we are seeing a trend downward and if question just hold on a little bit longer, we can see things get better soon, and that's going to tyke all of us, especially tarm when this inauguration happens, the temptation to have parties to go out and celebrate, and to be around a lot of people and hug and the excitement that will happen in the country, the temptation is there. but we have to hold on and we have to hold off on that so we don't see another surge. >> it is good news that reheard the positivity rate is declining. we finally are in in a downward trajectory. which is a good thing. there is still a question, we have been in lockdown now over a month. a stricter lockdown than most states in the country. why are we still this sflas where are the majority of cases coming from now in san francisco? >> so the information that we
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have indicates that we are as i said seeing a still high average number of new cases, and number of hospitalizations. and they're coming from a lot of different places. the good news is, we're not seeing, you know, our death rate increase. the number of people whose lives are being lost to this virus. you know, sadly, los angeles is losing more people in a day than we've lost throughout the entire experience of covid here in san francisco. and in fact, tonight, we light up the city, city hall and other buildings to honor those we have lost. it's a national commemoration that is being recognized all over the country. that over 400,000 americans have lost their lives to covid-19 and we have to remember and recognize, and understand that we're still in the midst of this.
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but again, there is hope. we are seeing changes in san francisco and the vaccine is so critical to reopening and getting back on the right path. fingers crossed we will see a real change but the numbers are still coming in. >> what are the mass vaccination sites going to be. city college is one? >> city college, bay view hunter's point. miscony center. and a number of community sites. maxine hall and other community clinics will make it more accessible, one in the mission and other places where we knee the numbers are higher than in other places so our goal is to make sure that our strategy around locations is equitable geographically in the city as well as assessable to people in the communities. >> before we go, you announced new funding to help covid-19
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patients. you can talk about that? >> we have a particular fund that is collected by a number of restaurants and businesses in san francisco, and this fund is supposed to be used for health care and health related benefits for workers throughout the city, and sadly, a lot of workers have not been able to access the fund because it's campiomplicated, i restrictive so we came up with a way to provide $500 to those who qualify whose company paid in the fund and we are able to use the dollars to cover those who test positive for covid and they need to isolate and they can't collect their wages. this is an opportunity to provide them with an additional resource so they're not losing
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out on their paycheck because they tested positive and they need to quarantine because of covid. so we're just trying to make it easier for people to feel comfortable, we're getting tested and if they are positive, to make sure they have a paycheck coming in so they can take their of their expenses. just another way the city is trying to meet the need of those who are struggling. >> i'm checking in on facebook and we are getting in a question from lori. it's a question a lot of people are talk about now. safety in san francisco. two weeks ago, i covered a story of a woman in russian hill. attacked a gun point. they stole her little puppy. can you talk about how san francisco plans to fight high instances of crime in neighborhoods? many of us feel unsafe? >> i completely understand that. there are a lot of conversations going on next door. people have rings with videos and a lot of that information is being watch bid so many people in the communities and i think what we need people to do is
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report these crimes. and then as a city, some of the things that we have done, not just with our police department and patrolling neighborhoods and responding to calls, it's some what like a neighborhood watch to help provide the resources and the support so that we can work together as neighbors to keep the community safe. none of us has been immune to the challenges. i had a break in in my building and it feels like every time you turn around, there is something going on there. there is some package being stolen, some break-in, some attack and we as a city, especially with the police department, we have got to get better and step up, and ultimately, people have to be held accountable for the crimes they mitt in our city. >> absolutely. mayor breed, unfortunately, i'm getting the cue we are running
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welcome back. last year in the campaign trail, kamala harris was accused by some to be too ambitious. it was a criticism that hit a nerve with mena harris, who happens to be kamala hair's niece. she has written a new children's book and gins us to talk about it. >> ambition girl, your second children's book out. congratulations. talk about the book. when you decided to write it and why? >> so many reasons. it's my second kids book, as you said. and my first book, as well as my second book, are first and foremost inspired by family. both the family i was raised in and the family that i am now raising with my two daughters who are 2 and 4.
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and it's really a couple things. it's about passing on to my kids the values and lessons that i was taught growing up. that now as an adult and parent, me and so formative.portant for it's about recognizing the power of words and language and how not only they can be used against us and cut u cut us dow tear us down. in the case of the word am decision, a family member of mine was referred to as too ambitious. and it was amplified in the media as if it's worth amplifying. it's the idea, you can be ambitious but not too ambitious. if you have too much power i'm uncomfortable. >> that insolent lacident last the work force, i think it's
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important that we reclaim it. and even though this is a children's book, i feel like there are themes that hit home for adults as well. >> no question. you know, for me, it's like, i'm wearing my ambitious sweatshirt. you know, the message is like, i'm not hiding it. i'm not going to allow anyone to tell me who i am or how imbishs ky be. and normallyist and deep talking about it. and the culture is you're supposed to hide it or down play it in a way. and my response to that is no. i'm not going do that. >> wear it and wear it proudly. so who is this little girl? is this you? is this your daughters? you're mom? >> she is not a specific person. i mean, like, i of course had my daughters in mind and this was not on purpose at least from my perspective. the illustrator is amazing and put in a lot of surprise details
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that were so special. the little girl does kind of look like my older daughter. again, that was my my intention but i think the illustrator was very, very thoughtful. you see, just like my daughters, there is a mother figure, a grandmother, an aunt and community. and that certainly is inspired by real details. >> there is a quote in there from your grandmother, shamala. >> don't let anyone tell you who you are. you tell them who you are. and another line, it's inkorm rated. one that has been talked about. you may be the first to do many things but make sure you're not the last. that is interesting, that quote has been used a lot lately, obviously, people can interpret it in different ways but i will clarify the meaning that my brch
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intended. it's not sort of afire spiring to be the first, right? the point is, yes, be ambitious. you may be the first to do something that has never been done before. do that but the other part is more ambition, don't allow that to be the last time -- the first and last time. right? be ambitious to bring more people along with you and beside you. >> we're in a very exciting moment. how do you tuque your little girls about this moment in time? >> i really try to lead as being as honest as possible with them. i think what i have learned as a parent is one -- kids are just so smart. they -- out a very young age, they soak up everything, and the joke is on us to under estimate their ability to just understand. you know, books like that can be a building block and be tools to have the conversations and too
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continue the conversations and remind you, look at your bookshelf. what messages are you sending your kids and what the default image or what the aspirational image, just the way things still are, the likelihood of that being a white man or boy is very high. right? and so we still have a lot of work to do in terms of diversifying children's literature and content. but the point is, if you're wants to do that work and be active, you have to be active and show up and do it in all spaces. >> you can watch the entire interview at abc 7 news.com. ambitious girl is out today. you can find it on green apple books in san f
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the thanks so much for joining us on the interactive show, tonight, president-elect joe biden on the eve of his inauguration and the powerful moment that played out just moments ago. the president-elect joe biden and the vice president-elect kamala harris now in washington, pausing to reflect and to honor the american families forever changed, the more than 400,000 american lives now lost to the coronavirus. lights along the national mall honoring the victims in this worsening pandemic. president-elect biden saying, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember who we lost. he is just hours away from the presidency, with the nation in crisis like no other president in modern history has faced. the pandemic, the cratering the economy, the long overdue reckoning on race and the deadly siege at the capitol. tonight, his farewell in
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