tonight on kqed newsroom, despite concerns lawmakers are back at work in person after two months away as the state faces a massive budget deficit. and strikia balance between safety and livelihoods, some retailers are beginning to reopen as california moves to stage 2 of the pandemic recovery. plus, a long-running asian american film festival goes virtual for the first time.we will preview e lineup. hello, and welcome to kqed newsroom. it is week eight of sheltering rnin place in nort california, and statewide, some restrictions started to lift today. the california state assembly headed back to sacramto following a two month hiatus which coincided with the coronavirus pandemic. among the challenges, with

stores closed residence giat home, ators are dealing with a massive deficit from declining tax revenue. continue throughe fall, ted to expanding vote mail as a safe option for the november election. lawmakers have to addreshalong- standingenges from boosting affordable housing to fighting climate change. joining us is state assembly member david chu, and from the sutter county, james gallagher, thank you both for joining us >> thanks for having us. >> you both returned to work whthis week. is it like to legislate in the midst of a pandemic with masks and protests? >> i think the biggest difference thu notice is the capital building is not populated. it is like a ghost town walking the halls. usually the public is in the capital walking the building obviously different groups are

r wanting to petition th government. you do not see that, right? we are still able to conduct hearings and provide public the phone and conference calls and also a videoconferencing center in the capital for witnesses to testify. >> assembly member gallagher, are masks required? >> no, they're not required. masks, but thare not o wear required for members. i am practicing social distancing. i not go within six feet of other persons in the committee room we are parated out and we also have a microphone you owcovengs so all the surfaces are continually disinfected. there are a lot of safety protocols put in place. ha >>has it been like to legislate during this pandemic? >> after seven weeks of not being in sacramento i'm glad t awful lot of work to do.

it has been surreal to wear we masks everywhere go. it is not easy to talk through them as we are making seour on different issues. i have to admit that i ed disappoithat some of our colleagues across the aisle are not wearing masks all the time and i'm going to brg a sa francisco mask for james gallagher, as far as the protests, we all understand the intense economic anxiety people are experiencing. we see it diin the ricts but that said, unfortunately, too many enprotests are drby white supremacists, anti- vaccine or astroturf groups and inciting physical confrontation with the police and frkly, co- opting legitimate suffering that is happening from my perspective that is not excusable. it is counterpductive it we ze cannot politiwhat is going on. ha >> you a response? >> i do not think that is an acurate portrayal of all the people that arshowing up at

these protests. i think most people, there are people that obviously, they want to express their inion about thstay-at-home orders as they have a constitutional right to do. so, and it has not impacted us at all. we tohave continued do our legislative business and nobody has been disrupted in any way. people have idgathered ou and you know, that is their prerogative, their constitutional right. you know, chp has provided securityngat the buil and i think thathoto pigeon what these people are protesting about or what group ey are associated with, you know, it is an inaccurate portrayal. mb is mpmely gayou erheby and sutter counties, which are both district, they have allowed and other tailers to openalons this week in defiance of the states stay-at-home orders. what you say to critics who say

that decision is the wrong call and that it jeopardizing public health? >>th would ask to look into what transpired. what happened was, our public health officer, who actually issued a stay-at-home order before the governor, and that was one day before the governors s based on public health guidance as well as federal and state public health guidces and evidence-based peer-id reviewed research, ce that is out there, namely the johns hopkins rimatrix guidelines and allowed for busithsses that are under risk matrix of a low risk of spread, it lowed them open with safety protocols. it was a public health order that helps protect the public d from the continspread of covid. we have had low cases and we had 69 total ses in the six counties that i represent, 50 there are currently no one of

suspected covid-19 infection in a hospital bed in my six and assembly member chu, many in some remember -- residence are hurting, and would like to reopen. what you say to them? >> no one is excited about the fact that businesses are cli ed. ed to run a small business and i am hearing the pain every single day. we have had so many small ve businesses that been decimated. it is estimated a huge number of restaurants may have to close and weare even saying that there could be significant playoffs in tech and innovation sectors. that said, i very mu appreciate and support the data- driven approach to phasing in how we reop . really need to bring the best publichealth standard and data as we move forward. he sets atstandards for businesses can open up at different times and he is giving local jurisdictiit really, the abto, once they meet those stdards, to explain that to state health officials and the idea that we

can support different parts of the state opening up earlier, so maybe the case that in yuma city, where james represents things may be different than in dense urban areas like san francisco. i think that is appropriate.s >> letalk about the budget deficit, $54 billion, a huge budget deficit, plus it looks like there is a projected, almost 20% unployment rate coming. you both sit on the assemblies budget committee and you are the chair of the committee on housing and communit development, how will this deficit impact the affordable housing goals you have champion? >> this is going to be very challenging. the housing and homelessness coronavirus has only efore intensified during this time. we are very, very worried that in the next couple of uld sewas of evti mont hs we. and foreclosur during this time we need, during the recession, to be building as much housing as aa

fordil parle pocuy something that i am championing because we need to house folks. from a public health standpoint, but also, you know, it is important for the public. >> cuts will need to be made, do you think theywill be made within the housing segmt? >> reporter: i think we will look at deep , painful ts throughout the budget. we will have to look at potential revenue ideas we have noconsidered before and coronavirus has really shown a real bright light on the holes in the social safety net and we have to take care ofour people. >>ou sit onthe suommittee for education and 40% of the budget comes from the general fund. what cuts are g you expectto see an education? >> we just had a budget subcommittee hearing on education last weekend started to see that we are going to be faced with a stark number when it comes to budget revenue decreasing.

this was announced yesterday, $54 billion and all of us are committed on the committee to trying to keep a stable educatio. dgn aretdifferent t that will help us in doing that, one is federal funds that will be coming in an weink thsu states and our counties and education. another is our reserves, which we have been prudent and built up reserves over the last few years including the prop to reserves that was established by the voters. that is, i think going to help us get through this as well but the other big one is back where economy and doing that safely. that will do more than anything to help get revenues back going into government and david, myself and all of us working in the assembly are going to try to provide a stable as possible budget for peoplebecause we know how much people rely on it, and rely on the social

safety net and is now because this order, and the millions that are edplunny, oy maavchu, taxes to go up close th deficit? >> we will see what happens. but, we will have to make incredibly painful cuts inar al s of government and unless the federal government is able to step in anhelpwe are i don't think we can rule out anything. >> some remember gallagher, will taxes go up? >> that is the st thing should do when people are struggling during this time. add to theitax load which is s already the highest in the nation in california. i agree with david,we need to work with federal partners. they have already provided $2 trillion worth of relief and more coming in as that is debated in shington dc. we have control over the reserves which i think we need to use to help abmake a budget this yebut i think

that we need to get more and more of the economy opened up, because ngre than anytthat will help to close the gap. >> david chu in san francisco and james gallagher in yuba city, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> weeks of shelinngte pl on retailers. today, the state began io loosening restri for some of them. clothing stores and sporting goods stores can reopen with social distancing in place fo curbside pickup and delivery. nine in restaurants, shopping malls, and restaurants must remain closed for now. their region is not yet prepared to reopen. joining me now is e owner of sonoma outfitters in the santa rosa usd tina fe, the owner of an independent bookstore, face in a book and el dorado hills. thank you bo for joining me. deborah, let's start with you. you have had some lean times in

your business before. sonoma outfitters has been together for 40 years. but, youfahave never d something like this. how has the pandemic impacted your business? >> it completely closed it endo hey ordered shelter in place, because we are a retail store selling clothing, footwear, sunglasses, so we are not considered essential so we had to close our doors and d i to lay my employees off. luckily, our landlord has been working with us and my vendors have been prty good so far, but it all depends on how much longer this is ing to on. you know, and i have no idea when we finally are able to allow people in the store, are all my old customers going to come back right away? eye gotoin tog shop? be able to afford arto shop?

i don't know. it is just kind of a big question. >> there is a lot of uncertainty right now. >> yeah. >> tina, you have been able to send books out erto cust faster than amazon has been recently. how much has your online business help your bottom line? >> extremely. it has been extremely helpful. being able to service our customers online has given us the capability to continue keeping people ol the pa it has been enabling us to pay our rent and kes our vend shipping to us. having that capability has saved us definitely. >> tell me a little bit about how you are cautiously reopening now. >> we have been g dothe curbside deliveries since the shelter in place started on the unofficial way i guess but now officially we can make sure that we let ople know weare here every day 10-5 they can pick up a. it is difficult,

because they cannot browsebut if they know what they're looking for they can certainly let us know and if they're looking for recommendations, we are happy to have a phone call m or an l and help them that way. >> deborah, what does reopening look like at sonoma outfitters? ll>> people can and we have had a promotion going on for mother's day where we are selling gift cards because our type of product that we sell, people really have to see and touch or try on and with not being able to allow people in the store, it is really fficult. so, we used to have a good online presence and use to sell a couple nears ago onbut we closed that site down because amazon and our brands had started selling through their own sites so it kind of cut that business out for us. do you feel you can implement social distancing within your store?

>> very easily. our store is about, the sales floor is probably about 6500 square feet and there plenty of room to social distance. and all the departments. >> >> tina, you have applied for ao paycheck ptection loan but you have not yet received it. whsort of hardships have you experienced due to this lack of funding? >> certainly, my number one priority was my employees. they are the reason that the bookstore is what it is and so being able to do this has been tantamount so that is where my priorities have gone and now that we are reopening we are getting those employees back into the store, but even though noa oll until we are 10 0%

loan. have you been able to bring back any of your employees? do they all want to come back? >> i have been able to bring back, i believe four of my full- time employees. i have offered to rehire several otrs and they are making up their mindwhether or not they want to meback. , and i realthere are stri rules with the paycheck protection progm so i really have to know from them pretty soon whether they are coming back him otherwise i'm going to hire somewhere else. >> and, what is the hesitation about coming back? >> theceiving unemployment plus the $600 a week and i for them tonot come back, ive becausa lot of themwere part-

time employees. so, they are making more money right now on unemployment than they were when they were working. >> tina, i heard you a green. >> yes. none of mine have gone there at the end, selecting unemployment at this however, it is that catch 22 with you have to keep them on the payroll in order to have the loan forgiv but yet, you are paying them without having how do you make that work? not all of us have a strong reserve of cash cawhere we wait for the loan. >> how much longer el you you can go if business does not open up quickly and you do not get the loan? >> i can go another i would say 2-3 months. t, that is about l i can handle. before i have to close the doors for good. >> how much has been a

personal struggle in this decision to reopen, weighing the cost of public alth and risks to your own health or employees health with the need to reopen financially? >> that is where the rub is so to speak where you know that your employees want to work, they want to come back and employees want to be engaging with the customers and the customers want us to open our doors again so of course we want to be safe so we are looking at l the work space and making sure that we have things in place to keep us an them safe and then hopefully bring us all of that togeer in a way that is positive and supporve and helps us moving forward. >> is a small business owner, how would yorate the governor's handling of the pandemic response? >> i was very pleased in the beginning with the way he was n now, ndlithe hala week ortwo, i

wish you would be a little, opening us up a little more. i think there are a lot neof bues like mine that could easily follow rules to social di ance and have everybody be safe but still have them be abletoto come the store. so, i wish that would open up. a little faster thanit looks, yes. >> tina, what about you, your thoughts on the governor's response? >> i 100% agree. i think at having some real solid guidelines wod be helpful. just saying you can open and ever but he thinks we are opening our doors e people calling and it is like no, we are not open. we are just doing curbside. it idifficult to explain to people. i wish we could have people in the store again. we can only have a certai number of ople in a time. it is not like we have many

people in the store. we ould easily social distance to keep people safe. >> deborah with sonoma k outfitters, thu both so much for being with us. >> thanks. ne >> week is the start of a film festival for asian american mediacaamfest. they have helped screenings in the bay area celebrating asian american storytelling, buth because of pandemic they ift th daciy shdetoded festival onlin starting next week they will roll out more than 20 ogee digital prrams from discussions with filmmakers to live performances d watch parties, showcasing the diversity and creativity of asian american artists with a theme of herige at home and is able to experiment that may also point to a future of engaging audiences wherever they arin jome is the director of the festival. thank you for being with me. >> so, due to the virus you have had to pivot like many

others. what made you decide to hold the festival anyway online rather than canceling like some musical festivals? >> at first, we did not know. i think we were trying to figure out how the world is evolving. d, you know started to see so much isolation from the audience members and community and that need for a connection of a festival seemed so important and at the we saw all this anti-asian discrimination and we felt may important that iswe come together, even if remotely or even from our own houses and celebrate asian american heritage anthe history re in the u.s.. >> you felt like you had to bring people together particularly in the light of the anti-asian american yodiscrimination which assay has been on the rise since the pandemic began. well your festival directly address this? >> absolutely. we have 70 programs that really focus on not only tellg stories but also using the

festival as a space for discussion to talk about these isofes and all our q&a, every program that we have will have a live component whether it is a musician, filmmaker, and this is going to be lk something we about throughout the entirety of the festival. >>hat are you hearing from the asian american artists about thisconcern in this era, and this time? >> i think it is scary. i think a lot of people are not ly scared for eir own jobs, for their own personal lives, but to then go out in public and have that fear, that something might happen, meis ing that i know is really impacting the mental stability of the asian american community right now. >> let's turn to the film festival itself, and the films at you have selected. let's talk about the opening and closing night films. how did you choose them? >> for us, as i talk about wanting a festival that is in

the spirit of our normal festival and have really fun celebratorlefilms, things pean escawith and be entertained by. both the opening and closings are musicals. the opening night, i will make you mine is directed by lynn chen. what i love is it is a third in a trilogy of feature films. and for me, as someone who is er in asian an cinema, i have seen films have trilogies, that is pretty amazing. it is a really beautiful film. our closinis fruit fly, this is a film shotin san francisco 10 years ago so it is a 10 year niversary, it is sing- along. one of my favorite filmmakers, h.p. mendoza, is making this unique and the of us have talked about how we can use the online space for new ways of being te creative and cting with audiences. i'm excited for people to check that out. it >> ffly looks at what it means to be asian and gay in

the mission district. you look at politics also. you have two documentaries, what did you learn from these that could be applied to the 2020 election cycle? >> one of them, first vote, whatoui love it, it really explores asian american democrats, but also asian american republicans, and it does itin a nuanced thoughtful way, where it is not black itor this or that, it really looks at the values and goals you find these interesting parallels and also things that separate us. also with she could be next, gr what is t about it is the ly asian americans in not political office but other women of color and i think for us to be great asian americans we also want to be really connecting and collaborating with other communities of color, so that is a great project that shows you as a

movement, so many amazing things happening in politics. >> since the time you have wien involved the festival, 20 years overall, this is your 10th year as a director. the reesentation of poweof asian americans has certainly grown. do you feel that the voice of the asian american has changed in the media and in the portrayal as well during that time? and, in what ways? >> i definitely think so. if you look at the percentage of asian enamerican reprtion on tv, it is getting closer to maybe 8-10%, which you look 10 years ago was not there. and, what i love about films and stuff you see on netflix and in other spaces, is not only are there asian american in front of the camera, but also behind the camera. what that took was not only hoywood, but a lot of amazing filmmakers, behind the scenes through decades, working on their craft and coming to a point where they are directing, producing, doing those things. and you can see in a film that

has asian americans, the ones that really connect, you can tell there are also asian americans behind it beuse it feels more authentic or has more of a sense of personal. >> you think that what you are doing here, going online, is the future of film festivals? certainly, there are things that are gained and lost. ppens, that all of the s festivals including us do not go straight back to what we did in the past. i think we need to evolve. and, doing stuff online, and putting stuff in people's homes is really exciting. after the anxiety of it all, there has been fun in creating ways to okay, now we can connect this way and that way and we can have surprises here and there. so, i hope we continue to do stuff online. but, hopefully it is both, because for me, someone who love cinema, i love the future, i hope that we can get to a e point where communities can, together and celebrate stories together.

>> the caamfest director, thank you for joining us this evening. tc you can the performances, discussions and films at this year's caamfest the festival kicks off next wednes y, may 13. as always, you can find more coverage at kqed.org /kqed newsroom pretty can reach me through my social media handle. thank you for joining us. stay safe. ca

tioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, may 10: the economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis. the future of hospital design, shaped by a pandemic. and little free libraries: going beyond books to help those in need. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene scartz. ansu gad e ched the cheryl and philip milstein family. rosalind p. walter. g. barbara hope zuckerber charles rosenbluo we try tlive in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us.