coronavirus cases are dropping. new vaccination centers are opening. does this say good news for governor gavin newsom's approval recommends? covid-19 has ripped through the prison system in one of the states worst outbreaks. we take you to the tiny town of tiburon to meet a horse from this week's edition of something beautiful. welcome, i am prevent david clements. governor newsom heralded the opening of multiple mass

vaccination centers this week as coronavirus case counts rapidly declined. the governor warns we are still in the severe pandemic but at least we seem to be on an upswing. meanwhile whether california schools will reopen at large remains in limbo. joining us now to discuss all things political in california senior editor, scott shafer and politics reporter katie orr. they join us from skype. katie, the governor has planned to share steps to get california schools reopen. where does that stand? >> the governor is still in negotiations with the legislature about the $6.6 billion reopening plan. the governor said they might be able to reach a deal as early as today. that has not happened. we have not heard much more about it. they would phase in learning, in person learning starting with the youngest students. that is what they're telling

us. a sticking point is whether or not teachers and staff who are required to go back to schools get prioritized for vaccinations. of course teachers unions wanted to be the case. other people say if you take proper safety precautions, you do not necessarily need to have everyone vaccinated. because supplies are still really limited. so scott, are the vaccinations looking to halt the governor's recall? >> people don't get excited when positivity rates drop to 4%. they will get excited when they have a vaccine and when they can see their parents and their grandparents. when the kids are in school. all those things that are part of normal life. i think people just have pandemic fatigue and they are not happy with the way the governor has handled this. she has hit the road this week. he was in san francisco today. and he was in fresno earlier in

the week. oakland, san diego, i think they are trying to make democrats given positive cheering. because he has been taking it from all sides. the recall is getting close to the number of signatures it needs to get on the ballot. so i think it's pretty clear he is going to be facing the recall probably later in the year like october or november. and i think for him he needs to get vaccines in as many arms as he can to make people feel better about it. katie, switching gears, there seems to be an alarming rise in hate crimes against asian americans. how are politicians looking at tackling that? >> the api legislative caucus in sacramento came out today with a pretty impassioned news conference saying that they are angry. they are not going to sit by and be the model minority anymore. they will speak out against the acts of violence. which we have been seeing throughout california and in the bay area.

we really have seen them targeting elderly asian americans. which is even more concerning. this is highlighted today by the lunar new year. at this press conference legislators were saying this to be a day we are celebrating. instead we are here asking for help. they are talking about putting forward a number of bills in the coming weeks to try and address the issue from the legislative standpoint. >> definitely troubling. scott there was a new poll that showed senator dianne feinstein's rating was at a historic low. >> she has been in the senate for 29 years. for most of those years she has a fairly, quite positive rating. but in the recent years people, democrats in particular have fallen out of love with her politics. she has maybe been to bipartisan in this area.

the hearings, the recent confirmation hearings for supreme court justices. there were questions about how well she handled that. the last one with amy coney barrett, ended with her hugging lindsey graham. who is just the devil to a lot of democrats. so i think you are just seeing voters looking, at some of the reports of her cognitive decline. seeing it for themselves. and feeling like maybe it is time for someone new. she is 87 years old. she is the oldest member of the u.s. senate. i think some people may feel it was a mistake for a run for reelection. her term goes through 2024. that's a long time to be in the senate. >> you think she will serve that out? >> it remains to be seen. a lot of people assumed she would not do that. that she would step down at some point and give governor newsom an appointment to replace her. this could become an issue in the recall actually. because of newsom were recalled and he were replaced by a republican he would not the

point most likely a democrat to take her place. so that issue could play out and could become messy. the governor refuses to say what kind of a person he would appoint but i think democrats will look at it very carefully. katie, tell us about the representatives in dc, the senate pete. trial. well california has two representatives. representative lou, made a compelling argument for why senator should vote to convict former president trump. he said if they don't and he can run again for president in the next four years, he is concerned about what would happen if donald trump ran and lost. he is worried we would see an insurrection similar to what we saw on january 6. >> very interesting. katie or and scott shafer.

things for your time and insights. thank you. it has been a year since the coronavirus began its deadly march across california. while the virus has other people of all demographics, among those is hardest hit were group settings. like prisons and nursing homes. we take a look at how covid-19 has impacted people in state prisons. >> reporter: is the coronavirus sweeps across california, it has been tearing through the prisons like wildfire. >> most of my friends caught covid-19 . and i know a few people who passed. there was kind of like no standard as far as mask use or hand sanitizer. >> reporter: can find in close and often clouded quarters. nearly half of everyone incarcerated around the state became infected. that is nearly 50,000 people.

-- was inside california's oldest prison, san quentin. at the height of the worst outbreak last summer. >> the architecture of san quentin is not suitable for social distancing. folks are in for by nine cells. double bunks. so there are two people in a very small cell. in a cellblock there are about 800 people sharing the same error. >> he couldn't of done anything worse than what they did. because the whole prison at san quentin, virtually two thirds of the prison got infected. and it traveled through the prison system at the speed of light. >> reporter: john spector is the executive director of the prison law office. he has been suing the state for years over the treatment of incarcerated people. he points to a report released this month by the office of the inspector general slamming prison officials for causing a public health disaster. >> people who are incarcerated

in the staff who work there have increased risk of getting the virus. because they cannot escape from it. and essentially prisons or incubators of the virus. because it just spreads from one place to another really quickly. >> reporter: the inspector general row, the prison failed to take actions that could have mitigated the resulting widespread outbreak. testing for the virus was inadequate. sick or potentially infected people were not immediately quarantined. and thorough contact tracing was not conducted. >> our clients want the prisons to be held accountable for managing this so poorly. >> reporter: public defender christine o'hanlon is suing the california department of corrections in rehab. she represents 249 clients inside san quentin who say conditions there amount to cruel and unusual punishment. a violation of the eighth

amendment. >> we say they should not get a pass for the egregious conduct. i think they need to be held to answer to what they were doing, why they allow this to go on. and they need to be discouraged and deterred from doing this in the future. >> reporter: hewitt san quentin, 28 people have died from covid-19. that is the largest number of deaths at any of the states prisons. in october, a state appellate court ordered the prison to cut its population in half. so that those who are inside can properly social distancing quarantine if necessary. the governor and prison system are appealing the order saying it is a very complicated decision to release. thousands of prisoners have already received shots. >> it is true these people committed crimes. to some people feel like they should not be prioritized. but not only is it the humane

thing to do, but it is also of the public's interest because the staff can catch it from the thousands of people in prison. thousands of people are released every month and go out into the community. the department said they made many improvements and remedied several of the citations to keep all of those who live and work in the states is unsafe. he says the vaccine is vital but it is not enough. >> prisons do not provide proper healthcare to folks. prisons are filled with large populations of elderly folks and people with pre-existing conditions. and they are dirty and unsafe. our next guest tonight as the towering barry icon. beloved by many across

california. he joins us after his last morning of hosting for him. kqed flagship radio talkshow. but before we get to the man of the hour is get a background. michael crosby blew up in cleveland, ohio. the son of a factory worker father and a mother who did not graduate from high school. his first love is literature. journal of them is his second. when writing his novels did not pan out he began interviewing authors and other public figures using his wealth of literary knowledge as a wealth of discussions. he came to california in 1970. he began working for kqed 28 years ago. almost to the day. over the years he has interviewed thousands of people on his morning call and talk so. they run the gamut from authors and film makers to scientists innovators and politicians. along the way he has earned the love and respect of his colleagues and listeners. he has been inducted into the radio hall of fame and in his honor san francisco declared

today michael crosby day. a feat in itself. as it turns out the fourth time he has been given his own day in the city by the bay. we now welcome to the show the longtime host of kqed form, michael crosby joining us from marin county. thank you for joining us on the show. >> thank you for having me. >> this is your last day hosting forum. how are you doing? >> it's okay. it is a little bit of a emotional roller coaster an extremely gratifying hearing from 70 people, the voices of those that i work with. friends, relatives, students of mine. it is kind of a suga me and it's kind of like when you step off the stage is i guess what it feels like. >> you are so loved and respected. the callers ever speaking to you this morning, several were literally in tears. several of the high profile guests who were on talked about

how you held up this standard for bay area intellectual discourse over the years. are you happy with what you are leaving behind? do you feel like you have left a legacy there? >> i always think the word legacy is a big weighty but certainly sometimes the labor on the radio can be intense. it can put a great deal of strain in. and doing it day after day can be grueling. but it really is a team. i am the one on the front, but the reality is i think we have done extraordinary bringing what i like to highlight what we have always been behind.

i love the journalism. it's emotionally challenging. and i have really made people think. make the citizens reach for higher powers in their own lives. and also above or make them informed. i like to think of a multi- dimensional way which touches on bases. >> you did not come up as an intellectual. you came up in a more rough-and- tumble way. how did you transition from where you were to where you are? >> it was just a conscious decision. some of the guys i ran with were pretty wild. they were certainly unpredictable. and sometimes it was fascinating. and i could speak sometimes as if i lived some type of -- youth. but i was one of those sensitive young man who liked reading poetry.

i would do it on the sly. most of the guys in my neighborhood like to look under the hoods of cars and spend their time was sports. which were very important to me as well. but certainly i developed a love for literature early on. once i went off to college there was a conscious decision that maybe i don't have to be the bad boy anymore. right could speak out in ways, better ways to cure my energies. it also help in terms of what would be a romantic life and making friendships. and liking being identified with i suppose more intelligent and acting kids. but i did certainly value the time i spent, shall we say, transgressing. >> there seems like there were transgressions against you. you write about a teacher who dumped her head in the toilet a

one point. something obviously that would not fly today. you talked about fistfights in high school. i am curious about the transition you made. you said the author -- said what is it mean to live a good life and to be a good person? has doing good come naturally to you? or has it been of a bit of a struggle? >> i don't know if it was a struggle but i certainly would like to think of kindness and concern and respect for other people as a form of goodness. as a virtue is much as one can practice. i think even at this stage in my life it's still a work in progress. every day can be a challenge. zebedee can cut you off when you are driving and people could be impolite or rude or disrespectful. and sometimes it requires rolling with the punches. there is always a challenge i think not for me but for anybody who wants to live a good life and be decent person. let's go to a question you have been asked many times. i have to ask it.

do you have a favorite interviewee? >> the answer is always the same. no. because i've done so many. but i do not say that to be evasive. i have wonderful memories of extraordinary people. i have had people and leaders of every field you can dig about but also ordinary people who are doing amazing things. we think now because of the pandemic, those were on the front lines were risking their lives and continue to risk their lives. we're mostly talking about hospice workers and talking about people, journalists were out there and doctors and journalists who have to tell stories and want to tell stories and put their lives at risk. it's very meaningful interviews for me. but of course the favorite interviews i continue to cherish. and they are just such a range it is very difficult to me. i often get this question about

third parties. it's always challenging. because there have been frankly so many and so many different fields. i don't mean to evade it but it's a tough question to answer. >> you have had many peaks and valleys in your time as a journalist. was there a peak experience you can tell us about? >> there were some things that came to mind. i said interviewing ron doss after he had a stroke. he said he wanted to be on despite having a stroke. >> and the author be here now spiritual leader? >> yes. you sound like a good journalist. aware of your audience. >> was moving. it actually reduced me to tears. there are moments like that, there was a moment when i interviewed -- it was good enough to write a forward line with books about her agent was living in palo alto and then died right before we went on the air. and i said you want to say

something about him? and she just broke down. she could even speak. one of the cardinal rules of broadcasting is no dead air under any circumstances. so that moment stands out. moments stand out like the one with betty for dan when i asked her question that she didn't like and she got up and started to leave. moments stand out like the one with billy dee williams, the famous african-american actor from star wars. he also had other important roles. i was interviewing him and i found a very challenging. it was like pulling teeth. you know you get interviews when sometimes people are like that. almost like i feel like there is something waiting on you. and he said his mom just died yesterday. and i thought, my goodness you are going to greece. so it took a whole new turn. so then i said, tell me about

your mother. >> i suppose and live radio that was one of those moments. and he spoke very movingly about his mother. those kind of moments come to mind. you when you asked a question the first thing that comes to mind is sometimes your most significant. i'm not necessarily sure i agree. but i like to reflect and think about these things to a greater degree. but those moments certainly come to mind. in moments of for one of my former producers, david -- who lives in canada now. he told me about a time when i got tangled up with headphones and he said lovely things about working professionally with me. but he also said there was a hilarious moment for us. and at the time he said the most memorable moment, that was the most memorable moment. because of the microphone. probably not many people do see from that point forward.

>> now you are coming out of this energetic world of journalism what is next? >> i have a book to finish. i hope we are not seeing, i hope we are seeing the end of the tunnel but it is something by an inspiring shakespeare scholar. he is a scholar and then i thought about honor and what does that mean and especially when we think of so much bad things like the honor killings and honor among thieves and honor and the kk k was on there. and there is toxic honor. there is dishonorable hatred to be sure. there is also honor in sports and the military. and we really went off on this and it's a book i want to finish and i want to do some more writing. and i may even go back to writing like it did many many

years ago when i did regular columns for the examiner. i have a grandchild now. my first grandchild and i am eager to spend time with her. i have my second shot yesterday. so i'm going to be ready have shots will travel. i hope to do a bit of traveling as well. certainly stay in the broadcast world. i'm not sure what that means. i'm looking into podcasts and other possibilities. possibly with other radio stations. but there is so much out there now. if you're going to be a serious journalist as you know when anybody is been there for any length of time, lyric king just died and i used to joke about larry king would say to you about this book and he would take pride in never reading the book but he followed his own curiosity and that's all i would follow because i didn't want to sound like a know it all and be all educated about

it. i've gone to the other extreme. not to sound like a know it all but certainly to be as well versed in as well prepared as i possibly can be for any program i do. that includes reading not all books but certainly reading enough of any authors book where i have on the show. and -- to the author >> michael you really wanted to be an author for a long time. and that didn't work out for you but you have written several books. and as you say you have another one coming. one of the books that you wrote was a book of jewish humor. and i would love for you to share with us a joke as we say goodbye to you here. >> i was recently teaching a story by a nobel prize writer. again this writer named -- not only won the nobel prize but a couple words. i was telling my students how a lot of jewish humor is based in a different kind of cadence and

rhythm. so for example you have had a young man, the king of the young minors. trying to get to -- cadence. i went to the doctor the doctor said you are sick. he said i'm going to get another opinion. the doctor said, okay you're ugly. are you fast forward to roddy dangerfield. the original -- who gets no respect. i saw this woman and she succumbed to my house tonight i went and nobody was there. and i think about something isaac -- said to me in a very serious interview. i said, do you believe in free will? and with the same cadence and rhythm he said, i have no choice. so there is a lot of philosophy embedded in that and it can perhaps convey a lot of wisdom as well as humor. so thank you for asking for humor to end this interview. i want your interviews to end as best as possible. >> take you for sharing your

time. and your insight and your life with kqed and with all of us here. michael crosley, kqed's foremost retiring after 28 years. thank you. >> take you. something beautiful was suggested by a michael crosley who told us one of his favorite places is black is pastor in tiburon. the serene field featuring a statue of a much love for life force that once lived there. we dedicate this week's look at something beautiful towards urinary colleague, michael crosley, happy trails michael.

i'm pretty clemens. you can find more of our information on kqed/newsroom. thank you for joining us. we're off next week so we will see you back here on friday, february 26. happy lunar you new year. and good night.

jonathan: the case against donald trump. >> donald trump surrendered his role as commander in chief and came the inciter in chief. jonathan: house managers make the case donald truffer incited a mob to storm the u.s. capitol jeopardizing the lives of his own vice president and the democratic leadership. >> where are you, nancy? we're looking for you. jonathan: and brutizing law enforcement. >> i think most republicans found the presentation offensive and absurd. jonathan: with conviction in the senate unlikely, what about the court of public opinion? >> the house democrats hate donald trump. jonathan: did trumpawyers make the case that the former president is not responsible for the