hello and welcome, i'm twee boo. today we bring you another special edition of kqed newsroom on the road. later as part of the san francisco homeless reporting project, we'll talk about the challenges of finding a joble and working while homeless, first we begin at uc hastings college of the law to talk about the week's big political and legal news. portions of president trump's so-called travel ban just took effect, the u.s. supreme court won't hear the case until october, but the fallout has already begun. and it's been a week of political maneuvering over the republican plan to repeal and replace obamacare. also some significant developments this week in california politics, on climate change, and other issues. and joining me are you political senior writer, karla marinucci.

kqed politics and government senior editor, scott schaeffer and uc hastings law professor rory little. the republicans control the house, white house and the senate and yet they still can't seem to get repeal done. why? >> well i mean look at, this week you had an unusual situation where jerry brown, diane feinstein and camella harris said who does the bill hurt? seniors, harris called it an age tax. premiums may be five times more for a 60-year-old man in los angeles making $50,000 a year this goes to the heart of the argument that this is basically a gift to the wealthiest people in the form of a tax cut and a huge blow to middle americans. >> and the cbo, with this estimate came back and said 22 million americans would lose their coverage. >> and there's other impacts,

too, like kqed had a story, we sent somebody up to shasta county, a very red county and found about 900 jobs were added because of the affordable care act, hospitals, clinics and local businesses. suddenly folks have health insurance, spending on things related to health care. i think what they're finding shasta is not a place that voted for obama, they don't like obama, but they kind of like obamacare. they wouldn't call it that. >> what's happening here is really very political. the republican bill now looks like it's going to preserve many of the things that obamacare did. but we're not going to call it obamacare. we're going to call it trump care. >> they're saying they're going to repeal obamacare. >> the base will say you fulfilled my promise, and i didn't lose my protections. >> mitch mcconnell has suggested, maybe i'll go to the democrats if i can't get it done on the republican side.

you're saying no way. >> not going to happen when the democrats are saying when you're talking about children here in california, diane feinstein said this week, the majority, 40 to 80% of the children who end up in children's hospitals in california are, on medical. this kind of action gives democrats no room to support the plan. and mcconnell has push themd to the side so long, i think that's an impossibility. >> the democrats are saying we're going to work with you, but we're not going to work on anything you call repealing obamacare. they want to protect his legacy. maybe they'll get the republican votes, we'll see. soon. i think. >> they're going to have to get the votes. don't need the democrats, so long as they can keep their 50. >> but there are issues, women's health care is a big one and you've seen some of the gop women senators say -- we cannot support a bill that cuts planned parenthood, that provides health care for so many women in rural areas. there's a lot of issues still to be worked out. >> in california we had a

proposal for a single payer health care bill. last week it got pulled. why? >> a speaker in the assembly said this bill is an empty shell. it doesn't say how we're going to pay for this $400 billion program. the governor was lukewarm, so it wasn't going anywhere. so the speaker pulled it. >> did he get little heat for this to the point where the california nurses association has put out sort of a tweet showing california being stabbed in the back by anthony rendit. some calls for his recall. this is created issues between unions in california. it shows this single-payer issue is passionate. for a lot of folks in california but how to pay for it, rendit made the hard call and said the money is not there. it's going to be require a tax. >> rory, the supreme court allowed the travel ban to take effect for now. but gave exceptions for people from the six muslim-majority

nations for bona fide relationships. >> the supreme court opinion actually said anyone with a credible claim to a bona fide relationship. now the state department said, certain relationships are bona fide, but grandparents don't count. fiancees don't count. i don't think that's consistent with the supreme court's order. i think you're going to see lawsuits very quickly. and a lot of litigation over the next few months. >> like if you say i'm twee's grandparent can the state department say sorry, you can't come in? are they saying that's illegal? >> i think it could be illegal. because the supreme court opinion certainly doesn't say no grandparents, it doesn't say no fiancees, so the state department has some discretion. but it's got to be consistent with this order. which was agreed to, now the aslu is looking for plaintiffs, i think you're going to see a lot of litigation. >> what does it mean for silicon valley. where the last travel ban created chaos. you had engineers, folks who didn't have family connections.

unless they have a job now. is that the guideline? >> well i think it's clear that if they do have a job lined up, the travel ban can't be applied to them if they're from these six countries. but i think it's also clear that if you're in the process and create a bona fide relationship. they can still apply the normal rules to you. they can still assess if you're a security threat but they can't apply the travel ban. again you're likely to see people filing -- >> in their dissent, clarence thomas who wrote it and gorsuch joined it, they wanted the whole travel ban put in place for this reason. they said there's going to be lot of litigation. you've got attorneys from immigration groups placed at airports, trying to help people get in. but i would imagine looking for potential plaintiffs in cases. >> remember the chaos when the travel ban one went in and the airports were full of lawyers trying to help people get in and homeland security people who

didn't know what to do. i think you're going to see the same sort of thing. >> that one went into effect without any warning. at least there's been some ramp-up time for this. >> homeland security folks, let's say, they've got an order that says no grandparents. but i don't know that the grandparents in the world are going to abide by that. >> try to enforce that at thanksgiving dinner. >> in october, the other question is political activism are we going to see the same kind of? >> it's a very good chance, by the time we get to october, the 90-day period will have passed. they will have done their study. they will have reported out who is a threat and who isn't and they'll have more evidence. >> should they have done that a long time ago? >> they should have. >> i think we should remember this isn't just about the travel ban, it's about executive authority. presidential power. and there are a lot of people on the supreme court who feel very strongly, irrespective of how they feel about the travel ban specifically that maybe you know, in fact the president does, should be granted a lot of deference on these sorts of -- >> i think that's true. but if you really care about executive power, you want a

better vehicle. remember, this vehicle is really muddied up by the tweets. that say things like we all know what this means. the fourth circuit found it dripped with religious animus. they don't want that as their vehicle. because it's likely this president is going to do a lot of other things that are going to be challenged. >> is there a chance we may see yet another executive order, a third version of the travel ban sometime this summer? >> i think you're going to see that as soon as they finish their 90-day review. which i think they must have started this week. and if they didn't start it, then they're going to be in big trouble. and then you'll see another order and there may be challenges to that order. but that order will be crisper and cleaner. >> to me it seems like this is really part of an effort to discourage immigrants from coming to this country. we've seen border crossings have dropped. international applications to uc and other schools in california, dropped. and i think i'm just guessing that that's really what steve bannon wants. they want to just reduce, they feel that the influx of

immigrants has been really bad for the country. >> and the climate is not good right now. >> for california particularly. here in silicon valley, up and down agriculture and so forth. we still don't know the real impact. >> the state recently expanded its own ban for state-funded travel to certain states which states have been added? and why, scott? >> it's kind of ironic. you've got the attorney general here, fighting trump's travel ban. but california, i believe last year instituted its own travel ban. not saying that state workers can't go to states with public money that are discriminatory towards lgbt people and others. so this week javier basera came to san francisco and announced that kentucky, alabama, south dakota and texas were going to be added to that list. now those are not necessarily places that are big convention states shall we say. although texas is. and in fact there's a convention of latino lawmakers that ricardo lara, the senator from l.a. is paying his his own way to in

texas because he feels is strongly about being there. >> does california seem hypocritical. at a time that they're challenging the trump travel ban, we have a travel ban of our own. >> some red states have just come back and criticized california saying excuse me, jerry brown is going to china, not exactly a basket of lgbt rights. and yet this travel ban now in eight states. i think they're trying to make a statement here in california. >> i think to me the lawsuit is you got to pick and choose. north carolina when they passed their so-called bathroom bill became the focus of attention from the nba, the ncaa, states like california and they changed their policy a little. not entirely. so i think when you begin to add four states here and three states there -- you know i think it loses its impact. >> another big case out of this supreme court this week, and that is that so-called cake case. scott, take us through that. it's based in colorado, but has huge implications for same-sex couples everywhere. >> a few years ago the supreme

court issued a decision that basically legalized gay marriage, same-sex marriage throughout the country. and you saw different cases pop up. this one as you mentioned the the cake maker is a masterpiece cake maker. the company had a religious objection, he said look i'll sell cakes and cupcakes and anything to customers, but i don't want to be forced to participate in a ceremony that i disagree with based on my religious feelings. by the way, the cake maker also won't make cakes for halloween, based on the same premise this is a religious liberties question it applies to a cake maker, but it could be florists, cl ka l calligraphers. >> let me add a wrinkle to this. which is this is not does the cake maker have to do this? this is does colorado have the power to enforce an anti-discrimination law?

colorado has made it their business to try to discourage this kind of discrimination. it's not a straight you can make people make cakes or not. it's got the state action component which i think raises some federalism issues. >> neil gorsuch comes from the 10th circuit court, which is based in denver and karla. what was his reputation on that court? especially around cases that involved religious beliefs? >> i think it's his whole issue of religious freedom this is where conservatives i think are celebrating the neil gorsuch being on the court. when you saw the trinity case decided recently, in which a religious school basically given access to public funding. i don't know what we can glean from where this is going to go. but gorsuch's presence on the court certainly is the game-changer. >> and this is a case that had languished for a while, presumably because there were a 4-4 deadlock. perhaps now they think the four conservatives think with gorsuch added they'll now have a fifth vote to side with the

cake-maker. but who knows what anthony kennedy is going to do. >> the cases very similar to this hobby lobby case, which is three years ago now. >> birth control. >> and a religious objection to having to do a health insurance plan that had birth control included in that one, justice kennedy voted with the religious objection. here you have the clash, religious objection, kennedy was there. same-sex marriage, he wrote the opinion. constitutionalizing that institution. when you put those two together, i don't think it's clear where he's going to be. >> this week the california supreme court had a major announcement of its own, karla, it refused to consider a challenge by business groups against the state's cap and trade program. take us through that case. it's a big victory for governor engineer judge brown. >> this is a sort of a legacy thing for governor jerry brown. >> i was with former governor

schwarzenegger. laying down to the law on donald trump saying we're going to continue to stand for things like cap and trade. this policy was fought by business as a tax. essentially. the fact is, that right now, it's been given the green light. this is a big deal. and once again, it advances the notion that california is going to be the center of resistance on climate change issues. and not only jerry brown, but when you have people like schwarzenegger and gar seti going around the world and pushing this. >> is tht end of the road for legal challenges? >> it's the end of the road for this particular legislation. and the court of appeals' opinion becomes the governing law of the state that was only 2-1, so it was a close decision there. it's because it's temporary. i think they've denied reviews, saying we're going to see this again and the legislature may do things differently, may improve things this allows trade

greenhouse gas credits, they said it was a tax and the lower court said it's not a tax, it's a regulatory fee structure which is well accepted in other places, not federally. >> talk about jerry brown's legacy. a lot of the money from that system is going to fund high-speed rail. in the central valley. >> and on that legacy note we have to end it ourselves. rory little, scott schaeffer and karla mayor nuchi. turning to our ongoing coverage of homelessness in the bay area. the barriers and the ins perceptions. i talked with kevin mccracken who was previously homeless and addicted to drugs, he now runs his own company. and andrew jackson, who recently found housing after living for several months in an abandoned car in richmond. also, dominick griffin, a homeless single father of two. currently looking for work. welcome to you all. thanks for being here. dominick let me begin with you, you are a father of two sons.

ages four and seven. >> yes. >> where do you and your boys sleep at night? >> at this moment in time, if not a hotel, we resort to shelters. if not a shelter, have any beds left. we resort to our car. >> how long have you been homeless? >> since march 12th, 2017. at 6:44 in the morning. a certain day, a certain time thaw just don't forget. >> what happened. >> we were evicted from our home because i couldn't sustain the job. the jobs that i had at that moment in time. based on the fact of child care issues, it seemed i was making too much money at the point in time on paper to where i couldn't get the child care assistance that i needed. so i had to make the hard choice of going to work or watching my children. i didn't have the stability of family members to help me out as much as they said that they would. so the word commitment means something to me, but to a lot of other people it probably doesn't. >> andrew, you just found

housing at covenant house in oakland. it helps homeless youth and before that, you lived in an abandoned car in richmond. did you work while you were homeless? >> yes, i did. previously to going to the civil court academy program in february i was working at cafe soleil and a transmission shop in north richmond, california and i was working there for the last four years. previous to that in the cafe soleil i was working there since about november. >> kevin, you were once homeless and a drug addict and now you run a successful screen printing company. you recruit formerly homeless people and people who have been incarcerated or suffered from substance abuse. why is that so important to you? >> it was an opportunity really for us to give back to our community. and you know i'm not a believer in that you can just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you need a lot of support. and the ability of social imprints to give that support is key to our success. we support our employees that

come in. generally speaking they come from a varied background to barriers to employment. formerly incarcerated, recovering from substance abuse. and homelessness is often contributed to by mental illness and substance abuse and the inability to get a job because you've got a criminal record. so you know -- >> what you touched on is so important, right. at the root of all this is you have to have some level of stability in order to find work. and so dominick, what has your experience been like, trying to find work, while not having a home? and especially as a single father with all the child care responsibilities that you have. >> well definitely been a difficult road. and a difficult task to handle. a big pill to swallow, considering the fact that i have two children that i'm definitely the sole provider for. so it's bell a little bit rough. little bit hard. looking for a job and finding a job isn't necessarily hard for me. it's getting the proper child

care and stability housingwise to be able to go forth with that. >> do you and your sons talk about this? do you explain to them the situation? and how do they respond? >> well my oldest is seven, so i explain to him as much as i can. but he has seen, he's experienced and seen things that a 7-year-old doesn't normally see or go through. so he understands to an extent and he breaks it down to me as well. like daddy, i know we're going to be fine. we're going to do this. i stanley c i understand it. >> when you're out looking for a job, andrew, did you tell potential employers about your homeless situation? before you landed at covenant house? >> i always felt it was the best thing to do was to be honest with my potential employers, to let them know that hey, i'm in this situation, but i would come professional and i would let them know that it's not going to hinder me from my job duties or my punctuality, so they would appreciate that. i need these hours, i'm trying to get to the next better place.

so i felt like it was always beneficial. >> dominick, are you honest about your homeless situation when you're out there talking to a potential employer? >> i would say yes and no. sometimes i have been. but there is this thought in their brain, when you are being brutally honest, completely honest about your situation, that you might not be able to come to work one day or you might not be able to fulfill their needs. so sometimes i have been on the line of not letting them know. just trying to get to work and do what i need to do. with the job. >> kevin, you've been in this situation. i know that you're listening to their stories and it resonates with you. how are you able to go from being homeless to starting your own company? >> so i was actually arrested in san francisco. and at the time san francisco was really starting to push the rehab versus jail time. so i took the deal that i was offered and went to a rehab facility here. san francisco, they had a whole

re-entry program. >> what year was this, by the way? >> 1997-98, yeah. a while ago. so i'll have 19 years clean and sober in november. so -- thank you. [ applause ] >> i can say when i was on the street. i commend both of these guys, it's so difficult to show up to work on time with a house. and kids. when you've got things pulling at you. and i've you know, i have a daughter with an ex-wife and was, we shared custody of her and still do. and just showing up on the days that i had her in the morning was difficult enough. having stability. so watching these two work the way they are right now, i completely commend them. >> how did you go from that to having your own business? >> so a lot of hard work. you know i worked at the company that i was hired at, and learned the business. >> learned the screen printing business? >> yes. i learned how to run the press, order product, i learned how to

do sales. >> now you have 35 employees? >> we do, 35 full-time employees. >> i know, andrew, that you're at civic corps and you're going to a job training what do you want to be? and why are you in that program? what do you hope to accomplish? >> my first son was born may 3rd. that was the whole reason behind me sticking to this program and making it out from richmond to oakland and all that. my goal is to obtain my high school diploma and go to college for civil engineering and psychology. civil engineering because i would like to, i'd like to challenge myself and then apply what i'm trying to construct or improve. and then psychology, because i'd like to understand the motivations behind people's actions and why we do what we do. why we feel the way we feel. >> and dominick, you're still out there looking for work. what are some of the main challenges you're encountering as you're doing your job search? >> well the main thing is, the proper child care. because the jobs that i go for, they definitely not minimum wage

jobs and i can't afford to not have a minimum wage job, i need to have more than that. so that's been the complication. with trying to get child care. because once they see you're going to be making this amount of money, you might not need child care. well, i kind of do because i'm a single parent of two and my money doesn't just go in the air, it goes to my kids, my household, everything that we need. that's been the biggest obstacle lately. >> what's that experience like in terms of your psyche? >> definitely have to keep yourself mentally grounded. that's what i would tell anybody to stay close to yourself. most importantly. don't let yourself go. it's so easy to lay down and say, i give up. the hardest thing is getting yourself going and keep striving, every time life wants to punch you and lock you down. >> what would you like to see done in terms of is there a way that society or local governments or people can help you? on that front? >> i think the window should be a little bit liger for single fathers with children. it's a lot of resources that are out there that are willing to help. but if you're not a substance abuser or a female or domestic

violence or just a woman with children, it's a little bit harder. the windows are awfully small for those single parents that are fathers that are taking care of their kids by themselves. >> san francisco and oakland and other cities around the bay area spend millions of dollars on programs to help the homeless. do you is there something else that you think should be done with that money that is not being done? >> i would say we need to audit the whole funding system to, everything involved, when it comes to those programs. the money being received, i just don't see it being put to a correct use. there's a lot more resources out there, we just need to rethink how we distribute them. >> i mean, really put forth effort and have the commitment to really do what you say. because a lot of government, a lot of companies and big corporations, they say that they will do certain things and yeah, i'm going to fund this and so forth. but their heart is not really into it. with your heart not being into it, it's kind of difficult for

to you do the job you said you wanted to do. you got to really be committed to what you say. >> what are some of the common misperceptions that you encounter while looking for work? >> i would say professionalism is the biggest misconception. because a lot of employers especially wouldn't believe that you would be in this situation, and be able to maintain, even a positive atmosphere or a positive attitude. >> i think there's two a misunderstanding of how many people are actually working homeless. for myself, the reason i couldn't work was because i was also a substance abuser. it had nothing to do really about the fact i was homeless and unable to work, but it is really difficult, too, again, going back to getting to work on time. the people that we've hired over the years, especially when i was at ashbury images, some of the best employees i've ever had. >> what would you tell other employers about hiring homeless people? >> hire something difficult,

it's a hard process, we have an hr person because my partner and i can't handle it. so i would say you know, the biggest thing is making an attempt. give someone a chance that might need a second chance, a third chance. you'll be amazed at the loyalty, the hard work and what you get back, it will be well worth the investment. >> on that note we'll end it. i thank you so much for your time. dominick griffin, andrew jackson and kevin mccracken, it's been such a pleasure to talk to all three of you. that does it for us, from uc hastings college of the law this has been a special edition of kqed newsroom, "on the road." for more go, to kqed.org/newsroom. i'm twee boo, thank you for joining us.

robert: no holiday for healthcare. the senate bill is stalled. the affordable care act, under siege. many americans just want to know, where does that leave me and my family? we have some answers tonight on "washington week." >> we know that we cannot afford to delay on this issue. we have to get this done for the american people. robert: but delay they did. senate republicans punt the replacement healthcare bill past the july 4 recess as the divide continues between conservatives and moderates. among sticking points, medicaid policies, tax relief for the wealthy and assistance for low and moderate income americans. >> the central focus needs to be on lowering premiums. the current draft doesn't do nearly enough to fix that problem. >> it's difficult for me