>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. kristen: kristen sze.you're watching getting answers. we ask experts your questions every day at 3:00 to get answers for you in real time. today, we have san francisco sheriff paul mia moto joining us, talking about rampant real tail -- retail theft in the city. also, we get into the holiday spirit with a jewelry designer, one of many artists inviting you to shop local this holiday season. before we get to that, we are addressing the key issues impacting californians. through conversations with two of our top leaders. in a few moments, we hear from the oakland mayor. but first, i had a chance to speak to gavin newsom on

everything from crime to education to the school vaccine mandate to his new children's book. here's our conversation. thanks for coming on today. i'm a big fan of children's books, probably read more of them than grown-up books so happy to add yours to the library. before we talk about the personal journey, i want to get your take on the biggest issues facing our audience as we build a better bay area. we've seen a rash of shootings, retail theft, robberies. a lot of people don't feel safe and it's crisis level. why do you think crime has sort? -- soared? gov. newsom: there's a lot of theories about that. texas has higher violent crime and property crime than california. we grew as a state at .8%, our violent crime rate, nationwide at 5%. we are seeing pockets of crime all throughout california, not just in the bay area,

interesting the murder capital in the state is kern county, one of the more conservative parts of our state. there are a lot of theories, but this is absolute. it is unacceptable. people have the right to be angry about it. people's feelings are one thing. . -- statistics are another. we've been very aggressive with the mayor, doing whatever we can to support them, trying to increase enforcement. we've created -- a few years back, it interesting, now getting a little bit of attention. we extended it last july. and police chiefs and organized task force to go after these organized flash mob rings. and that is our priority and in my new budget, you're going to see substantial increases in investment in that space. kristen: governor newsom, i also

want to talk about education. you called for estate vaccine mandate for students. some school district have moved to start that earlier. oakland unified, for example. january 31 is the deadline. if students haven't complied, they will need to move to remote learning. i wonder if you learned about the learning laws that may result in not being in person. and especially for a district like oakland unified, that has lower vaccination rates than other districts. are there other ways to do this? gov. newsom: of course i'm worried about it, but this is important. again, facts matter. it's important to present them in this light. there is analysis across the country of school closures. it's our goal, michael, at -- my goal, absolutely as apparent, to have the support of getting our kids safely back into school. but there an episodic reality to that, not just crime, but the delta variant. we make up the state of

california, 12% of the nation's students, but less than .8% of school closures because we've leaned into vaccines, masked wearing, science and public health. i'm proud of that. i want to remind everybody that the passport, the way out of this pandemic is by getting vaccinated, getting boosted. that said, you're correct. the state of california was the first to initiate a process. once the fda has approved a vaccine, we would add it to 10 existing vaccines for our schoolkids. i've got four young kids, many of our kids need to get to go into school to safely be in school. so we believe we should add that to the list. you're right. some have moved forward sooner. los angeles, 34,000 young kids are not necessarily in complaints. we have to be accommodating and

considerate to in zaidi's and concerns and be innovative, not ideological. and i hope the district considers that as it relates to mandates in terms of deadlines and work to accommodate those concerns so we can do what we all want to do, and that's get this pandemic behind us, get our kids vaccinated, and keep us safe. kristen: you've had a lot on your plate but you managed to do something else. not every governor can say you have a children's book and you do have one now. tell us about it. why did you write it? gov. newsom: it's a personal journey about dyslexia, still with me. it's not a disease. it's a language-based learning disability. as many as one in five of us have some form of a learning disability, so it's a jaw-dropping lehigh number when you think about the tens of millions of people that have gone undiagnosed. there's a lot of supplemental support, speech therapy. you've never seen me read a

speech because i can't read a speech. i still have a very difficult time reading. i have a very difficult time spelling. the one speech i have to do every single year, it's hard. it's hard for the people watching, not just me, those teleprompter speeches, state of the state. even as mayor, i wasn't able to do that. what you find is it's not necessarily a liability. it is in certain restricts -- respects, but it's a benefit and others. to of my kids are struggling i also want to send a book out for parents because i know how heartbroken they are when they see kids struggle at the same time. kristen: the resiliency message in the book is fantastic. congrats on the book and thank you for the opportunity to chat. gov. newsom: thanks for having me. i appreciate it. kristen: and we posted our interview on our website, abc7news.com, and all of our streaming platforms. you heard the governor talking about working with mayors to address the crime epidemic.

today we're also hearing from the oakland mayor libby shaft about what she needs from the state to get rising crime under control. she talked about things like more cameras for the highways and intelligence because that something that takes coordinating. she was talking about how not all their criminal elements are within the city. their caravan in up the state. she joined us to talk about that and other issues. here's that conversation. >> when you came out of the council meeting and their funding was provided for these two extra police academies, did you also come out of their wanting something else next? what is the next step that you want to see achieved here? mayor schaaf: well, i really can't underscore the significance of the city leaders coming together and having a 6-1-1 vote to increase police staffing as quickly as possible in oakland.

this has been very welcome to me. you know i have been very persistent about the need for more policing because of our traditionally low numbers. and so this is a huge victory. and oaklanders should feel like their voices were heard. as far as next steps, i have been meeting with our district attorney. we're looking at other aspects of the whole continuum, all the way from prevention and addressing root causes to, as a less result, necessary enforcement action and removal from society. there are some issues around bail reform that i will be shedding some light on, as well as a continued push to amplify our prevention efforts. you know we tripled the number of violence and erectors that respond to crime scenes and also respond to the er. kristen: i think a lot of people

applied both the additional police academies and also the investment in agencies that would help address the root cause and help make people's lives better. but those things are ones that people say take time. what are the more immediate solutions? because the robberies, the killings are happening in the streets now. san francisco said their search in police presence since the end of november have really worked and numbers are down in terms of crime. are there more immediate solutions to oakland, may be reaching out to the state or other measures? mayor schaaf: we've been doing a lot of analysis and really feel like some suspensions of parole and probation, policies are problematic. and to go back to pre-covid policies, as well as clarify a court ruling, we believe would have a big impact. also, i am continuing to reach out to the state of california. we need more help with intelligence, whether it is

cameras on our highways and the use of their intelligence gathering systems, we see that crime is moving around. these caravans are coming from outside cities. they move on our highways. and that is a place where the state of california has a unique ability to help us. i've had three conversations with the governor's office just within the last 72 hours. >> today is kevin ishita's public tomorrow. jasper woo, the two-year-old who died in his car seat, these are still unsolved crimes. and so far, into of these cases, all we have are pictures of vehicles that appear to be involved. in the case of jasper, we don't really have anything, at least publicly that's been released. every day, i hope we are going to have some information, even a suspect description. and so far, there really isn't any. how concerned are you about

that? mayor schaaf: i am, and reggie, that's why tools like cameras on highways are important. that's why police staffing matters, because that includes the investigations professionals, who are so overwhelmed right now in oakland. that's why all of this matters, as well as these issues regarding bail and probation and parole policies. all of these are a holistic picture of how we can be safer and also bring resolution. and my heart just goes out to the family and friends of kevin ishita. he joins many other tragedies. it is just a devastating loss for our community every time anyone is harmed by violence. kristen: and that was oakland mayor libby schaff talking to us. we'll take a short break but will may come back, we keep the focus on fighting crime and creating safer streets with san

francisco sheriff paul me moto

kristen: we've been reporting a lot in recent weeks about high-profile retail crimes happening in the bay area. now, san francisco is ramping up effort to crack down on that problem by allowing sheriff's deputies to work private security at stores. joining us now to talk about this is sheriff paul miyamo thank you for joining us here today. sheriff miyamoto: thank you for having me. kristen: is this the worst you've ever seen it in terms of crime or does just feel that way

? sheriff miyamoto: there is a perceived rise in crime, especially targeting retail and commercial outlets. and i think it's our responsibility to make sure we are responsible to that no matter where that is. i've been here all my life and i've had prior experience working in retail and working in loss prevention, so i'm very aware of the impacts that these types of crimes have on business owners and the community. kristen: so this new arrangement, supervisors had to vote on this to approve deputies being hired to help deter retail crime. the off-duty police officers have been allowed to do security side jobs for years. explain the difference. sheriff miyamoto: that's right. it's actually a part of 10b legislation that allows for police officers to engage in this activity, as well. the board of supervisors by acting on this, passing the

legislation, or moving us forward where we are expanding the pool for police officers in san francisco to be able to provide this protection and this opportunity to keep stores safe by having the presence of a law enforcement officer there. people the opportunity to resource us. kristen: so any deputy can do it during their off hours, not on duty? can they carry their firearms? sheriff miyamoto: one of the benefits of having a police officer engaged in this activity is that they are in uniform. they have their safety equipment with them. and if a crime does occur, they can act in the capacity of a police officer. that's one of the major differences in one of the reassurances businesses have. you have a deputy or a police officer on the premises to deal

with the crime that may occur. kristen: ok, simply -- so hopefully it will never get to that. but if they have to use their weapons, they can. i want to ask you what you think about this, especially in the city of san francisco. a north beach restaurant asked three off-duty police officers to leave the premises, saying they are not comfortable. are you concerned about other businesses feeling that way? sheriff miyamoto: no, i'm not. one of the things that makes san francisco unique and the fact we allow people to express their feelings on things is something that we support as a law enforcement agency. people may have different feelings on our presence, but if somebody contracts with us to have is there, there an interest in keeping that establishment safe through that relationship. so i don't foresee as having any more of those issues or possible conflicts in perspective. one thing that is good, too, is as we have more deputies and police officers out there in the

public, there is more of an ability to dialogue and to discuss any perceived differences or any challenges that they might see in having somebody in uniform with safety equipment present. we look forward to talking to people and engaging with the committee on this in addition to being there to determine -- deter crime. that's the ultimate goal is to make sure the crime doesn't occur in the first place. kristen: when would this start, by the way? sheriff miyamoto: we are working on making sure we can get resources out there during the holiday season. i think you mentioned earlier in an earlier part of the broadcast about some of the temporary solutions that we've experienced in san francisco with an increased police presence that has really been successful and effective in reducing crime in that area. but some of these options are not long-term solutions. they are not sustainable over

time. we want to have this be one of the components of a more long-term strategy to keep people safe through the use of 10a and 10b through the use use law enforcement for long-term solutions as opposed to short-term solutions. kristen: are you going to need to devise specific rules for engagement when you serve in this capacity. this community has been very aware of needing to keep those interactions from turning fatal. how is that being discussed? sheriff miyamoto: i think one, in terms of the planning,w e're working in collaboration with the police department. chief and i are working on understandings and making sure our policies and our procedures are consistent in regards to the programs, both 10a and 10b. the delivery of services will become his route with having a

police officer present. all of our policies and procedures as an agency apply. emphasize de-escalation. we emphasize crisis intervention techniques. we actually have more training in regards to dealing with people since part of our duties and responsibilities have to do with being with justice involved persons who are in our jails, our courts. and we have more long-term interactions with these individuals rather than just the detention and arrest on the streets. we have a history of being able to talk to people. and having training built into that and an understanding of how to go about getting compliance, gaining a sense of de-escalating situations that can turn into more volatile or more dangerous situations that might involve the use of force. kristen: all right, san francisco sheriff paul miya moto talking about the new initiative to allow off-duty deputies to serve as security in

an effort to curtail retail crime. thank you so much for your time, really appreciate talking with you. sheriff miyamoto: thank you. take care. kristen: we'll be right back with a jewelry designer who will share some fun holiday gift

kristen: there's no better time than the holidays to shop small and shop local. if you're looking for last-minute gift ideas, we are here to help. san francisco jewelry designer peggy lee is here, representing an artist studio that having an open house this sunday. hi, peggy, good to see you. tell us about the studio. peggy: i worked out of a great building called 1890 brian. there's over 100 artists in this building. pictures, ceramic cysts, leather makers, sculptors, great artists here. as you mentioned, this sunday

they will have an open studio from 12:00 to 6:00. kristen: does that mean everyone will have their doors open with other cool stuff and people can come shop and buy local? peggy: yeah, you can meet artists right where they work. a lot of them will have their doors open, including some of the artists i brought to share with you today. kristen: please, show us some of your favorites, but your designs, as well. peggy: most of these are under $50, great gift ideas from local gift artist. let's start with these handcrafted leather goods. they're by scabby robot, artist jill carroll. these are coasters that come in a variety of colors. you can also choose something like this organize her keys, also $30. kristen: that is so cool. what else you got there? peggy: one of my favorites is a brand called friendsembly, and she makes these adorable ceramic planters. they have these cute faces and

they're only $24, and they come with a complement or air plate. kristen: how adorable is that? what about the colorful thing next you? is that a sculptor? peggy: here, you can own a handcrafted piece of art, from her line. this one is actually called fuzzy tongue. and this unique piece of art can be yours for only $40. look at how great those are. kristen: one-of-a-kind, right? do not get the gift for your loved one everyone else got. this is truly unique. i know you are really humble, but we have to talk about peggy lee jewelry designs, as well. you make really cool pieces. .show us some of them and some of them go to empowering women, asian americans, santa rosa after the fire, all good stuff. peggy: you guys have been so great in helping me get the word out. these are sterling silver fortune cookie pendants and they

start at $59, but 100% of proceeds are donated to stop asian hate campaigns like the local causes and the local chinatown community development fund. kristen: i love it. that deserves a close-up. bring it closer. by the way, folks, peggy, your work has been seen on many tv shows, "the bachelorette," just really cool pieces and very affordable. tell us about the open house. what are the times? peggy: it's from 12:00 to 6:00. and the scarf behind me is by an artist, and she does photography locally, and has it printed on 100% silk scarves. they will be open, 40% off. kristen: we only have about 30 seconds but we have to touch on this. why is it so important to support local artists, especially right now? peggy: they've been so impacted

by the pandemic and they're really taking a risk to open their doors for the open studio. they want people to come and enjoy art safely and share the joy of local art. and with so many concerns about shipping delays and supply chain, why not shop local? there's no better time, no better reason, and you can pick out a gift personally and have it ready this holiday season. kristen: peggy lee, jewelry designer, thank you so very much. peggy: thank you very much. you ca

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