>> tonight on kqed newsroom , 2020 reps up and we looked back at stories that had us talking this year. special guest, amy low tells us how she's building the world's largest telescope and launching in outer space. plus a town that you might not know about were celebrities dying. and something beautiful. coming to you from kqed headquarters in san francisco, this iday, december 17th,

2021. hello, welcome to the show. this is kqed newsroom. and i'm belva davis. the pandemic is top of mind for so many of us. californians returned to indoor masking. case rates rose sharply in weeks. weird joined by the chair of medicine, dr. bob walker. thank you for joining us. the first case of the omicron variant was reported and it's far more contagious than other strains of the virus with cases doubling every few days. what your prediction of the variant in the golden ste? >> it's likely to go up very fast and high. i say that sadly.

not any of us wanted that. up until a week or two, i thought we had a little time that we would not see a lot of it until january but you see cases spiking in new york and miami, more likely we will begin tosee significant spikes in cases even over the christmas week. >> question about how much protection vaccination really confers. l.a. times reported yesterday, the health department there new of 30 people in los angeles that had the omicron variant. a 24 were vaccinated and four have their booster shot . what does that tell you? >> it's clear that one of the superpowers of the new variant is it evades the immune system first some degree. that means you have to have the highest possible level of immunity. if you've had three shots, you had your booster, you are in the best possible shape. if you only had two shots, you

are no longer fully vaccinated, you are less well protected. your only infection comes from prior protection and you only had one shot, almost not protected, at all. may be thlevel of illness is a little lower than delta. but not that much lawyer lower. maybe 30% less chance of hospitalization if you get the omicron than delta. if we're gonna see 2 to 5 more times the cases, the math works out then the toll would be greater for omicron. i'm scared about it. you need the most immunity that you can have and that's getting your boosters. >> we are fatigued by social distancing and wearing masks . are you suggesting we continue to do that over the holiday season. >> we let our guard down a little bit it's too dumb years

and we are human and we are sick of this ing. that wasn't a bad idea when the case rates were low. of this is now a potential tsunami. this will hit us in the next week or two and peaking in january and february. early evidence in south africa that it piques a couple months and stabilizes and comes down. we have a tough couple of months ahead of us. >> thank you dr., for your time. california's political scene has been a wild ride. the biggest story was a recall election of gavin newsom. he remains in office but others are leaving the limelight. congresswoman, jackie speier announce her retirement last month. walking as down the memory lane is government expert scott shafer and marie sup. the recall of governor newsom

was the big story. >> last year this time everyone was mad at him. they were mad about lock down san covid. they might still be a little bit , especially on the right. about him coming out of the recall. looks like what he went at in 2018. the schisms among candidates including larry elder, who got not the best attention. it wouldn't be surprising if there was a challenge. >> let's round out recalls. governor newsom was not the only target. >> san francisco school board members are facing recall. parents are upset with them on renaming schools when schools

were closed and other issues. and in june, attorney general bo dean is facing recall. there's a bit of a line. covid has put people in a mood, i think. is certainly true with the governor and school board members. and there's been an uptick in crime. a conservative trump republican is facing a recall. that was led by a militia member. that's how far right they are up there. >> let's talk about a california in the national limelight. kamala harris. she's been in vp. not easiest start to the position. what strikes you about her work. >> she is always held to a higher standard than a lot of people in her position. the first of many things. female vice president, first

black and asian vice president. a lot of what she's doing is behind the scenes. of book. working on voting rights. in taken trips. of theirs? is whether she should be more out front. whether she has power over that . maybe biden doesn't want her to be. and where we are with the challenges given the biden administration coming up. >> you mentioned in the pass, there is runway there. don't count her out is that fair to say? >> a lot of the criticisms and her staff and the way she's operating. are similar to the pass. she's been able to overcome those. there is a moment happening right now and democrats are freaking out about next year and

24. i think we need to see how next year plays out before seeing what her prospects are beyond that. >> when she left office, she triggered political mood. we have new players in state office. we have a new senator taking her seat. and attorney general. tell us about policy changes. >> the thing they have to do most is get known. and padilla did run statewide. but bob is not known statewide. they are traveling the state, putting their name on legislation. and i think padilla has done a good job of keeping his name out there and clearing the field. he's got endorsements from every member of the california delegation. means he's not gonna have a serious challenge from a democrat which is important for him. bob has work to do, especially with crime. he's going to face interesting challenges for come november including district attorney in

sacramento. he is appearing today. he's with newsom talking about a package of bills and funding and crackdown on crime. local governments do that. he has the tougher road but they've both done a good job putting their names out there. >> we saw them come hard on this. that's police reform and oversight. he released data around gun violence. he's annoced investigations of police departments including the late help. that's an area where there is slight change of policy. talking about crime going into the new year. let's talk about fraud. huge fraud at the employment development department this year with edd. $11 billion that one out in fraudulent payment.

we saw hearings. there's been talk of reform. you all just spoke with the leader of that agency. tell us about where that situation stands as we close out the year. >> it could be between 20 and $30 billion in fraudulent checks. there was legislation passed and taking effect to reform the department. we are also seeing criminal investigations about the fraud moving forward and we've seen indictments. elaine howell, she said how outdated their technology is. even with reforms enacted by the legislature around staffing and procedures that were prompted come in part, about her audit. it will take time for changes in the system. it will continue to be a story

in 2022. >> scott one more last question. housing and homelessness. that's been top of mind for many of us. what is happening with the housing initiatives past this year. do they have teeth? >> we will find out. of the governor signed a package of bills that will make it easier for local government set to rezone a duplex. we are now with just a single family home is allowed. the problem is voluntary. it gives local officials the right to do it. the question is will they. they like their single-family homes and that's y we have a huge deficit in california and why prices are so high. we hope it'll make a difference. it probably will. we will see. >> have a wonderful holiday. we will see you back here in the new year. >> happy new year. for for two decades, thousands of people across 14 countries have been working to build a massive new telescope. the james webb space telescope will be the largest of its

kind. it will see distance of the universe almost 14 billion years ago. it will be near brazil. are joining me now to discuss how the telescope was built is northrop grumman's deputy director, amy low. >> is great to be talking with you. i'm excited about this launch. some has described it as they space super bowl. hasn't been anything like this since the hubble telescope in the 1990s. tell us what this will do. >> the we telescope is designed to look at the very

first stars and galaxy formed in the universe. it will take the baby pictures of the universe. >> tell us about looking at the baby pictures of the universe. another phrase i've heard is first light. what will this do with understanding of our beginnings? >> previous missions have looked at the universe when it was beginning early times before there were stars and galaxies. capability things like the hubble telescope and large telescope on ground looked far back in time, as well. never have we take an actual pictures of data and information about the very first stars and galaxies that have formed. what that will tell us is how it exactly that formed in the circumstances under which they formed and the distribution of matter in the universe at that time. we have a big chunk of our understanding of the universe and that's what we will fill in with the telescope.

>> why does that matter? why do we need to know this information? >> i don't have a very good answer for that. but we start by asking why do we create anything? why do we look up at night. why do we explore. there's a human drive to understand and gain knowledge. it will certainly do that, understand and gain knowledge. there is also something about doing something like webb it will fill us with wonder for exploration. we want to know what's out there. what out there is the very first star and galaxy. >> you work with northrop grumman. that's the lead with nasa. you, as a team have had to come up with 10 innovations to make

this happen. you can't just get pieces off the shelf. this is created and a brand-new and technology has not always existed prior to this. you are making it as you go. >> any kind of endeavors where you push the boundaries require that you invent. webb is the culmination of that. my husband likes to say the webb is the most complexed thing that human beings have ever built. i don't know if that's true or not but it feels like it some days. pulling together something this complex and challenging is an enormous endeavor and involves a lot of work and innovation. >> there's been interest in space lately. especially some of our billionaires have left earth's orbit.

richard branson and elon musk has sent up rockets and maybe going himself. what do you think about billionaires in space? >> i don't know much about billionaires. i would love to go, too. as soon as it's widely available like an airline trip, sign me up. >> when you think that will happen as we start moving into space exploration and has technology advances rapidly, when will we, as humans, be able to afford a spaceship like an airplane. >> i'm 46. i'm hope been to make that trip in my lifetime when i'm not too old and can deal with the stresses of going in space. i think i have about 20 years.

it took 20 30 years for playing flights to become common. or fairly common, anyway. i'm hoping in the next 20 years one can goad to a counter and buy a ticket and take a trip out to space. i'd love to go. >> i'm the same age so maybe we will be on that plane together. spaceship, i'm not used to saying that. do you think we will find life outside of planet earth? >> i don't know? but i hope so. i think the web telescope has some good opportunities to look at atmosphere and planets. if we find a lucky planet in a habitable zone around the stars and if it has an atmosphere close enough to earth. the

telescope may be able to pick up signatures and who knows what we will find. personally that's an exciting area that we will look forward to. >> the last few seconds we have útogether. what are the obstacles that we need to overcome in order to keep going with future space exploration and research? >> we need more scientists and engineers. i really hope that things like excitement around what the telescope inspires. they will be interested in science and engineering. and choose the boundary. makes science fiction a reality. a big's dart track fan. i really want to make that a reality. make that our future.

that would be so often. >> lead engineer on the webspace tell telescope program. we wish you the best this month . >> san francisco's chinatown has been a long popular tourist destination. back in the 1950s, it had a very different look and field from today. performances on supper clubs. reporter takes us back to that time and the visit to the show girl match museum. we used to have five busloads of gray line tours that was chinatown by night tour. it finishes up at forbidden city

. >> chinatown's nightclubs seeing boom to between the 1930s and 1960s. tells the stories of an agency that drew audiences around the world. >> what made you start the music . >> i was a dancer during the 60s. it only made sense to me that i would bring back the history and retain the history of nightclubs and entertainment and have all the memorabilia. >> this is me here with jimmy. he was a very famous singer in a hollow lulu after he left the china town nightclubs. i traveled with jimmy in the 1960s. >> discrimination against asian people was rampant. there were

few opportunities for women. this offered some measure of independence with the touch of drama. >> no experience necessary. the chinese dancers wanted. >> many performed at the clubs against the wishes of their families. >> keep it for a long time. >> the on stage talent and club owners were mostly chinese. the audience and band members kept musicians out. >> the asians come and they are usually the businessmen taking client out for dinner or drinks. the performers worked hard. they did three shows at night. they mingled with plenty of celebrities like franks and oscar. >> that was taken outside of

san francisco. >> he helped me off the stage. and the did a lot of small talk. he was a complete gentleman. >> the chinese nightclubs fell out of fashion. >> playboy clubs and topless bars came into play on broadway. it killed a lot of the business for dinner theaters here in china town. >> former show girl. i was curious to find out how the nightlife scene is involved since the likes of frank sinatra was in the city. let's see what it starts up with today's crowd.

>> great to meet you. >> local entrepreneur are open the lion's den bar and lounge in march. it's a way to kick the nightlife. is to have another way to help try and find a different way than just door selling back scratchers. >> they existed on this very's got. entrances were placed here today . >> this was the restaurant upstairs. >> running a nightclub today is different back in the 1950s. parking issues and car break- ins are on the rise. the recent attacks against the

agent population makes people fearful going out tonight. >> as soon as they announced delta was coming. table some bands were canceling because we are requiring vaccine cards. >> shows and big bands of yesteryear are long gone. but this is not forgotten. >> tell me abt this one here. charlie owned a a bit of the city and andy owned of the chinese sky. >> these were all the celebrities that came. like bob hope, lauren mccall and bing crosby. >> remembering the glorious past to the nightlife, gives

them hope for what's ahead. >> the future is good after this whole pandemic thing. people love chinatown. the new generation wants to support them. for kqed newsroom . this will be our last in studio show of the year. before we let you go, something beautiful is a look back in the year of photos taken by our photographer. there have been difficult moments this year, as we all know. but many things to celebrate, as well. enjoyed. no [ music playing ]

>> that's the end of our show for tonight. thank you for joining us. if you want to get a look behind the scenes, hang out with us. you can email us at kqed .org.

we will see you back here on january 7th, 2022. happy holidays.

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, december 19: omicron variant infections spread and restrictions and warnings expand. sticker shock takes on new meaning as car and truck prices soar just in time for the holidays. and a non-profit group reaches out with a guaranteed inco for people without a place to call home. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the j.p.b. foundation.