Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240712

For the next three or four years people are going to be really uncomfortable about being in close offices. Woodruff all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by life isnt a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. Fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff the formal mourning has begun for the minneapolis man whose death touched off a torrent of national outrage. At the same time, President Trump faces a torrent of criticism over his talk of using the military to quell violence. John yang begins our coverage. Yang in washington, d. C. , reporter the first of several Memorial Services for george floyd. Jake upfry kneltt at the coffin. Reverend al sharpton delivered the ewing. George floyds story has been the story of black folks because, ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on your neck. applause reporter and across the country, a Virtual Moment of silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was seen pinning his knee onto floyds neck. Chauvin has been charged with seconddegree murder. In washington become barr and Christopher Ray announced actions. We have task forces around the country to apprehend and charge violent agitators reporter blame extremist groups. We have evidence that antifa and other similar extremist groups as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions have been involved in instigating and participating in theviolent actity. Reporter but last Night Protests remained largely peaceful. In washington, hundreds marched to the capitol beside National Guard troops. At one point some demonstrators knelt and at one point, some demonstrators knelt and sang. Lean on me yang in new york city, protesters were largely peaceful as well. But as nighttime fell on the rainy city streets, police in riot gear moved in to enforce a curfew, sometimes by force. Dozens were arrested. Amid the chaos, a confrontation in brooklyleft three policeman wounded, one stabbed and two shot, and the suspected attacker shot. The officers are expected to recover; the suspect is in critical condition. In minnesota, Governor Tim Walz ordered the National Guard to the states western border, saying that violence from planned protests in north dakota could spill into his state. Leaders in 32 states and the District Of Columbiaave deployed more than 3200 members of the National Guard. President trump is prepared to use activeduty troops if necessary, according to Deputy White House press secretary hogan gildey, who used language usually reserved to describe poteial overseas military operations. Safety and security number one thing donald trump cares about. All options are on the table when the lives of the American People are at stake. Yang the idea drew new pushback last night, this time, from his former secretary of defense, james mattis. In an essay for the the atlantic, the retired marine general delivered perhaps his harshest public criticism of the president yet, accusing mr. Trump of dividing the country. And, he called the use of National Guard troops near the white house on monday to forcefully clear crowds for a pridential photoop an abuse of executive authority. The president fired back with a tweet calling mattis the worlds most overrated general reporter senator murkowski from alaska said mattis remarks were necessary and overdue and suggested she may not vote to reelek the president. When i am struggling with it, i have struggled with it for a long time. I think you know that. I didnt support the president in the initial election. Reporter meanwhile, theres new attention on Police Treatment of minorities across the country. Yang meanwhile, theres new attention on Police Treatment of minorities across the country. The Fatal Shooting an unarmed latino man early wednesday morning by vallejo, california, Police Responding to a report that a drugstore was being looted, and a video of a sarasota, florida, Police Officer pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed black man being arrested in may on dostic violence charges. That incident is now under investigation. In georgia today, a video Court Hearing for two men charged in the february killing of ahmaud arbery. A state investigator testified one of the accused men used a racial slur. After the shooting took place, before police arrival, while mr. Arbery was on the ground, he heard Travis Mcmichael make a statement. bleep ing nword. Yang tonight, demonstrators are gathering across the country for another round of protests. And mayors of cities like los angeles, San Francisco and washington, d. C. , have lfted nighttime curfews, hoping last nights calm holds. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff as john reported, yesterdays protests in new york were largely peaceful, but did include some skirmishes between protesters and police. The newshours daniel bush has been on the ground following the protests, and he joins me now. So, dan, hello. We have been reporting on Police Actions across the country. In some cases, theres been violent action taken by police. Tell us what youre seeing in new york city. Thats right, judy. Im here right now in the bay ridge section of brooklyn where weve seen protest activity for several days. More is expected later today. In the area you can see police behind me gathering as well as protesters in the park. This is the scene during the day, judy. At night, its a different story. I was covering a protest last night around trump tower in midtown manhattan. The police allowed protestors to continue marching after the 8 0. At 9 00, however, theres o very swift and sudden change, police in riot gear rushed the crowd and they began arresting people at random, seemingly, grabbing them on the ground, Police Officers tackling them on the ground and that is what we are seeing at night when people are out after the curfew. Woodruff we know, in new york city, there have been questions for a long time over the years about police, about possible pobl overuse of force, if you will. What are you hearing from the protesters about what theyre seeing . So the protestors here in the nations largest city, just like other cities around the country, are out expressing their anger, their frustration, their pain at the way theyre treated by police. Lets take a listen here at one womans comments about why shes out protesting. I want to see change. I want to see, like you know, i cant go outside at night with a hoodie on and not be profiled in the south bronx and get, you know, ran up on by six defective cops because they want to just jemp me to think, or they think im someone, a suspect for something. Its like you have a daily fear of your life for no reason. That was a young man there, judy, talking about his fear, his frustrations with the police, and thats what protestors are telling me here, they want concrete change. Woodruff just quickly, dan, what about political leaders, what are they saying about new york . Thats right, judy, President Trump has crit sited governor cuomo, mayor disabledo de blasio for not cracking down harder. The mayor says he doesnt want the National Guard here. This city has 36,000 officers, the largest Police Officer in the country. The mayor is saying he thinks he can get the nighttime protests under control in the coming days. So well see what happens. Woodruff dan bush reporting for us tonight from brooklyn. Thank you, dan. Woodruff the Nations Capital has been another site of largescale protests. Washington, d. C. s mayor Muriel Bowser wants the National Guard out of the district. And she joins us now. Mayor bowser, thank you very much for being here. We are its reported that people, protesters are gathering in the streets of washington at this hour. This would be the seventh straight day of protests. You have opted not to call impose a curfew, though. Why not . Judy, we are we situationally review what our Public Safety needs are to manager protests, and weve seen over the last two nights very peaceful protests. In fact, we have seen the number of people coming down to demonstrate in front of the white house swell quite a bit, ever since Peaceful Protesters were forcibly moved out of the way by the federal police. So people have come down to peaceably protest, and police themselves in some ways. So if they see somebody not there for a peaceful protest bent on destruction, weve seen the crowd still with them. Woodruff do you get some kind of advanced word from the organizes of these protests about what their intentions are is this how do you get information, gedges about whats going on . Well, sometimes people who organize frequently in washington, d. C. Will reach out to our metropolitan Police Department or to our Homeland Security department and give us a headsup. Other times we are listening to intelligence, monitoring social media, so we have a good gauge on how many people are coming and how many staff we need to manage traffic, close streets and make sure people are safe. We think, this saturday, we are going to have a larger crowd in d. C. , and well make some determinations about what we need in terms of staffing and if we need to reinstate our curfew on that day. Woodruff who has control, mayor bowser, of keeping the peace in washington, d. C. . Is it the d. C. Police or the National Guard, some of the troops that have come in from elsewhere . Well, youre highlighting the unique status of washington, d. C. We are the capitol city, a federal district, were 700,000 taxpaying americans, and im the mayor, governor, county executive all at once. But because we are not a state, the federal government can enroach on our autonomy and bring in federal forces torom protect federal assets, and thats what we see in d. C. I am the mayor. We have a police force of 4,000 men and women who protect d. C. Every single day, who support First Amendment nonadministratioadministration t amendment demonstrations and the police chief reports to me. Woodruff so when President Trump ordered the clearing out of the Peaceful Protesters around the white house so that the president could walk over to st. Johns church, that scene where he had his photograph taken holding the bible. And yet, it is the federal government does have control over that area, does it not . The federal government and everybody who works for it swears an oath to the constitution of the United States that allows americans to peaceably protest to exercise their First Amendment rights. What i witnessed from what i could see, from what i think the world could see is those people were peaceably protesting. In the inspector of federal police or, you know, releasing munitions to clear the way so the president could make a political statement is abhorrent. Woodruff and do you i mean, are you getting a sense right now that the administration is going to hold back in some way its being prepared to deploy federal troops . Are you getting any sort of signal through your communication with the white house, with the Justice Department . Well, let me say this we, first of all, think there is a legal question about the president s ability to call in out of state National Guard into the District Of Columbia, guard that i have not requested as mayor. And we push back very hard on that. They need to deal with that question, and we think there are some other steps that the president needs to take to do that. We dont know on Whose Authority that these troops are acting. And this is a similar question that was raised by the speaker of the house to the president in a letter today. What we know and has been announced by the secretary of the army is that the active duty litary troops, Army Personnel who were staged around washington, d. C. Are being sent back to their home base, their home stations. Woodruff and does that give you peace of mind . Are you confident they wont be called back again . We cant have peace of mind in washington, d. C. Until we have full autonomy and were just like every other american and we become the 51st state. But you ask me if that makes me feel good, if that makes me feel secure. I dont think any american can feel secure if they watch the president of the United States move on american citizens with active duty military troops. Woodruff washington, d. C. Mayor mural Muriel Bowser. Mayor bowser, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff and we would ask you to please join woodruff please join us friday night for race matters america in crisis, a pbs newshour prime time special. At the end of this difficult week, we explore this critical moment and how we move ahead. Woodruff over the past few days as protesters have taken to the streets, the president s talk about using military force on the demonstrators has generated a backlash among a number of former senior military officers. The secretary of defense and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff have also been criticized for their actions and what they have said. Nick schifrin has the story. Schifrin judy the criticism has become a chorus, and unlike the last few months, its on the record. Former secretary of defense jim mattis militarizing our response, as we witnessed in washington, d. C. , sets up a conflict false conflict between the military and civilian society. Former chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen wrote former chairman gen. Mtin dempsey criticized current secretary of defense mark espers words, writing america is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy. And recently retired commander of special Operations Command gen. Tony thomas the battle space of america . . . Not what America Needs to hear. To talk about this im joined by retired army general carter ham. Over his 38 year career, he commanded troops in iraq and served as commanding general for both u. S. Army europe, and u. S. Africa command. General ham, welcome to the newshour. Thank you very much. Why is there so much criticism and fear among retired officials but also some current officials who im talking about who im talking to about the idea of sending active duty troops into the United States . Well, thanks, nick. Its a great question, and, in our nation, we have a long tradition, going back to the founding of the nation, concern expressed even in the declaration of independence and certainly in the constitution, a concern about the employment of federal active duty armed forces within the boundaries of the United States for domestic security purposes. So i think thats what were seeing play out is that longheld tradition of concern about using the military inside the u. S. The u. S. Armed forces exist to protect the nation. Theyre not wellsuited for policing communities. Reporter theres been a lot of criticism, as judy mentioned in the introduction to this segment, of the leadership of the military. And lets go back to monday afternoon, evening, President Trump walks out of the white house, with him is secretary esper, and secretary esper ends up in a photo op in front of a burnedout church. Former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mark milley hung back while the photo op happened. Do you believe milley was concerned about the military being dragged into politics if someone like him ended up in the photo op . All the chairman of the join chiefs of staff whom ive had the privilege of serving have all worked very, very hard to keep from politicizing the armed forces to have the United States, for understandable purposes. And i think they have largely been successful in that regard. And, so, i think, when it became apparent that monday evenings events were intended for a political purpose, i think it was appropriate for the seniorranking officer of the armed forces to not participate in that. Reporter do you believe over the last threeplus years its been harder for the military to stay out and be seen to stay out of politics . Well, its always hard because the decisions regarding the employment of armed forces have an inherently political aspect to them. So that makes it quite difficult. That, to me, is very different than using the military for exclusively political purposes. So it is challenging even in the best of times and i think, certainly, as weve seen over the past few weeks, it has been difficult, particularly on monday evening, i think, difficult for the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to work hard to keep from politicizing the military. You know, that trust that america has in its armed forces is well earned and, in my opinion, richly deserved, but its fragile. So i think the leaders of the military, both civilian and military, understand that and work very, very hard to make sure that nothing interferes in that bond of trust that must exist between the nation and its armed forces. Reporter general, i want to take you back to tuesday after that photo op, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mark milley wrote this memo, send it to the Combatant Commanders and chiefs, he said we all committed our lives to the idea of america america, we will stay truth to the oath. How concerned are you the active duty military could be asked to do something against that oath . Well, there is concern. First of all, ive known mark milley for a long time, long before he became a general, and those handitten words, that comes from the heart of general mark milley. Im confident he believes that with all of his heart and soul, and he takes very seriously the oath of office that he and every other person in uniform takes. So i think he was reminding the force to be true to that oath. Thats the tie that binds us in tough times. Broadly across the force, i think there is concern, you know, that the armed forces, again, are not trained, manned, equipped, prepared for employment in domestic purposes. The National Guard is. The men and women of the National Guard of the 50 states and the district and the territories operating under legitimacy vilian control of the governors, they are the right backstop, when Law Enforcement no longer has the capacity reporter general, im sorry im sorry im sorry to interrupt, but ive only got 30 seconds. I want to ask about that point, the National Guard in the states are being led by the governors. We just heard the mayor of washington, d. C. Criticize the fact that the guard in d. C. Have gone from 1,200 to over 4,500. Do you believe that so many National Guard on the streets of d. C. Could be a problem . Well, you know, the District Of Columbia, as the mayor indicated, is a unique environment. It is a federal entity. The National Guard in the District Of Columbia opates under federal authority and, as the mayor indicated that she has questioned some of the policy, the legal authorities for the use of National Guard from other states in the city of washington, d. C. , that has yet to play out. It is not, however, uncommon for the National Guard of various stays to work very closely eporter general in emergencies. Reporter im sorry to cut you off. Were just out of time. General carter ham, thank you very much, sir. Thanks, nick. Woodruff in the days other news, amid the nationwide protests demanding racial justice, virginia is taking down a famous statue of confederate general robert e. Lee. Governor Ralph Northam announced the statue will be removed from richmonds wellknown monument avenue. He said the state can no longer showcase a cause that sought to preserve slavery. I believe in a virginia that studies its past in an honest way. I believe that when we learn more, we can do more and i believe that when we lea more when we take that honest look at our past, we must do more than just talk about the future. We must take action. Woodruff the lee statue is going into temporary storage. Business closings and cutbacks during the covid19 pandemic have claimed another 1. 9 million jobs. Todays report means more than 21 million workers in the u. S. Are receiving jobless benefits. The number peaked two weeks ago, at nearly 25 million. The head of the centers for Disease Control and prevention voiced fresh fears today that protests drawing thousands into the streets will lead to new coronavirus outbreaks. Robert redfield told a congressional hearing that demonstrators need to find out if theyre infected. Those individuals that have partaken in these peaceful protests or have been out protesting, and particularly if theyre in metropolitan areas that really havent controlled the outbreak. We really want those individuals to highly consider being evaluated and get tested. Woodruff meanwhile, the british medical journal the lancet retracted a sharply negative study on using hydroxychloroquine to fight the coronavirus. The data had come under growing criticism. And, the United Nations warned that the pandemic is disrupting vaccinations for measles and polio, and putting millions of children at risk. In hong kong, thousands of people defied a police ban to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in beijing. They held a candlelight vigil to remember hundreds, and possibly thousands, of protesters killed by the chinese military, on june 4th, 1989. Police did little to stop them. A u. S. Navy veteran headed home from iran today, in a prisoner deal. Michael white had been held since he was convicted of insulting irans Supreme Leader in 2018. In return for whites release, u. S. Officials agreed not to seek more prison time for an anianamerican doctor who violated sanctions on iran. Back in this country, the National Basketball association has agreed to restart its regular season in late july. Competition was halted in march, by the covid19 pandemic. Remaining regular season games will take place at Walt Disney World in florida. And, on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained about 12 points to close at 26,281. But, the nasdaq fell 67 points, and, the s p 500 slipped 10. Still to come on the newshour protesters defy bans on gathering in hong kong to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Social distancing and the desire to work from home create a potentially devastating effect on real estate. And much more. Woodruff we return to hong kong, where thousands turned out in defiance of a city ban today to commemorate the 31 anniversary of the brutal 1989 crackdown in beijings Tiananmen Square, which killed hundreds, but as special correspondent Divya Gopalan reports, today in hong kong they also protested against chinas moves to impose it legal will in the semi autonomous region. Reporter over the years this candlelight vigil has become a symbol of hong kongs political freedoms, setting the city apart from the rest of china where the events of june 4th are not spoken about publicly. We just want to be seen, we just want our voice to be heard. Reporter police refused permission for this years rally, due to social distancing restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Losing the candlelight on june 4 is such a great reminder for the peop that we need to safeguard our freedom. Reporter lasyear, tens of thousands of people gathered in victoria park, not just to remember, but to protest a proposed extradition l that would have allowed hong kong suspects to be tried in Mainland China. The law was shelved,ut not before it ignited six months of antigovernment and often violent protests. Its theeason the Chinese Government is now bypassing the citys legislature to rush through a strict new National Security law. When that law is passed in a few months time in beijing, we will not be able to hold that candlelight vigil, otherwise we will all be committing offenses. Reporter former Legislative Council member martin lee organized the inaugural vigil in 1990. He is one of the architects of hong kongs constitution, and known as the father of democracy here. The 81yearold is on trial for taking part in an unauthorized protest last year. But he says the worst is yet to come with beijings tightening contro hong kongs constitution states it is up to the local government to enact the law after the handover in 1997. Former justice secretary, elsie leung, oversaw the transition from a british colony to a special Administrative Region of china. Every country needs legislation to prevent, stop and punish acts which endanger National Security. For 23 years we have failed to do that, and the likelihood of hong kong passing such law is rather dim, so its only natural that the central peoples government has taken it into its own hands. Reporter beijings proposed legislation authorizes the mainland governments National Security agencies, to set up branches and enforce related laws in hong kong. Its a chilling prospect particularly for those on the frontlines of hong kongs democratic movement. In Mainland China, these agencies often silence any form of dissent or opposition. This is the end of hong kong. Reporter hong kongs government has been in turmoil over a law that will now criminalize anyone who disrespects the Chinese National anthem. That was coincidentally passed on june 4th. Legislative councilor dennis kwok says its yet another infringement on freedom of speech, and the city is under threat of becoming a policed state. The concept of endangering National Security in Mainland China is very broad. It could be economical, financial, education, it could be on the internet or things that you say to your friends on private messaging apps. Hong kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous. Reporter last friday President Trump denounced beijings move and began a process that would remove exemptions that treat hong kong differently than the mainland, a move that could diminish hong kongs standing as a Global Financial center. Among the thousands of International Firms here, there are 1300 american companies. Tara joseph is with the amican chamber of commerce there is a nagging worry that hong kong wont be the type of place to have a headquarters anymore, and the risks are definitely rising so there are back up plans being made. Reporter but probeijing legislator michael tien who voted to enact the National Security law at last months communist Party National Peoples Congress in beijing, says it will help local businesses. Everybody feels positive about this bill, because the one thing the bill guarantees, is restoring hong kong to stability, and some calmness. Reporter china accused the u. S. Of interference in its Domestic Affairs after american politicians expressed support for the hong kong protestors, and condemned beijing for its crackdown on the protests. And now beijing is turning the tables, comparing the unrest in the u. S. To the hong kong protests and democracy movent. State media is giving blanket coverage telling its audience this is what democracy looks like. What beijing labels foreign interference was one reason cited for the security law. Hong kong is getting out of control, we have our legislator going to a Foreign Government which is the United States of america, asking them to have sanctions against hong kong to put pressure on our motherland, reporter over the past few months, tensions beten china and the u. S. Have been rising, and hong kong has been caught in the middle, its a familiar place for the city which tries to uphold democratic ideals with communist china at its doorstep. The people here have defied a ban on this gathering, they have jumped over barricades to come to the same spot where the vigil is here held every year, but this year along with remembering the victims of the tiananmen massacre they are chanting protest slogans and even calling for independence. With the looming National Security law, it was a moment for those at the vigil to demonstrate their freedoms and rights. And the show of solidarity as candles illuminated memorials and commemorations across the city, stands as a reminder of the peoples determination to preserve their way of life. For the pbs newshour, im Divya Gopalan in hong kong. Woodruff Public Health Officials Say it may be another two to three weeks before well know whether theres a big spike in covid cases tied to mass which could mean a lot of us may still be working from home. Paul solman looks at the consequences for commercial real estate as fewer of us go to the office to work. Its the second of two reports for making sense. I could easily see downtown skyscrapers in the center of big cities falling in value by 60, 70 . Reporter economist nick bloom says three factors are about to devastate the office skyscrapers of the worlds megacities. One, of course the covid economy. This is really looking like being, you know, a long and incredibly painful recession, the likes of which i dont think anyone alive currently has seen before. Reporter well maybe, maybe not. But theres a second factor, says bob edelstein, who teaches real estate economics a sharp shift to working from home. Just recently we saw facebook say theyre going to have employees work remotely, forever. Other companies are considering that. Reporter bad news for, among others, shared workspace giant we work. The largest private renter of new York Office Space was already hemorrhaging money before the pandemic. Now . Do you want to go into an office space where three people have used it this day and share some facilities . Reporter now, wework says they are stepping up sanitization, but theres still a third factor anxiety about working at close quarters. Youll see people worry about social distance distancing within the Office Market and therefore theres going to be more space per employee. Reporter one glimpse of this future comes via a new video from Office Space Services giant cushman and wakefield imagine you now need twice as much space per person, probably three times as much space per person in a large skyscraper because they were packed in like sardines before. For the next three or four years, people are gonna be really uncomfortable about being in close offices, tightly packed elevators. Anything that requires an elevator is going to be very hard. Reporter dave kenny, c. E. O. Of the nielsen company, a Global Market research firm, has done the math on how long it would take his employees in Lower Manhattan to get to their desks under the new c. D. C. Office guidelines one person at a time in any elevator less than six feet across. I calculated to, to refill our, you know, floors in new york, people would be in line for over four hours to use the elevator up and use the elevator down. Reporter bottom line, then, predicts nick bloom succinctly catastrophic drops in value. Obviously, as an owneof commercial office space, i think hes wrong. Reporter douglas dursts Family Business owns or manages eight and a half million square feet of new York Office Space, including one world trade center. And the former conde nast building in times square, where tik tok, the wildly popular chineseowned video sharing app just leased seven floors. We are actively leasing space even now, the demand is not going away, so we dont think therell be any need to reduce rents. Im not declaring the death knell of offices. Reporter superbroker Mary Ann Tighe is ny c. E. O. Of the Worlds Largest Real Estate Services firm. Yay we can all get each other on the screen, but it doesnt tell us a darn thing about real life work from home. Reporter have there been no fire sales of Office Buildings from landlords who need the cash . There have been no fire sales to date, this is not a moment where you want to place a valuation on an asset simply because you may get an answer youre not going to like. And the answer may be different a month from now or six months from now. Reporter take blackrock, cbss iconic manhattan headquarters, which tighes firm had been preparing to sell for over a billion dollars. Its now off the market. Why . I think people are on pause waiting to see what the market reveals. Reporter bob edelstein, however, has evidence that uncertainty is actually killing real estate deals at the moment. Im privy to 10 recent potential transactions. Six have stopped negotiating. I dont know if theyll ever negotiate again. Three of them were negotiated and had gone hard, which means the deposit was accepted and would not be returnable if the deal was not consummated. Reporter so they put down millions of dollars as a deposit and then just walked away . Yes, because they felt, as most people do, uncertain about the future. Reporter for dramatic evidence of price drops, though, look at the stocks of companies that invest solely in Office Buildings down six times more than the s p 500 this year. But current rents have been unaffected, doug durst insists, for at least one very good reason. In the large Office Buildings, the tenants have signed long term leases at least 10 years or longer. Reporter yes, agrees bob edelstein. Its better to have 10 year leases, but they may not be as good as the paper theyre written on. Reporter in fact, Office Tenants have already tried to renege, says Mary Ann Tighe. Discussion number one was im not using my space, why am i paying rent . Reporter the response . Show us your 2019 financials and your 2020 budget. Show us where you are in terms of revenue. Show us that you dont have Business Interruption insurance and show us that youve applied for every kind of government help. Once we get all that information, were happy to sit with you. Were not. Happy as an overstatement. We will sit with you and review the situation. Any tenant who has difficulty, we are talking with and trying to make sure that theyre able to get through this period. If the return to normal is measured in years and not months, there may be an opportunity in all of this. Reporter los angeles developer matt jacobs s latest project los to live and work in, favored by artist types, selling just fine despite the pandemic. We have visual artists. We have people Editing Television programs. We have youtube stars. We had one broker ask for a coronavirus discount, but we have sold a numberf livework lofts over the past month at original market prices. No discounts. Reporter so jacobs has reframed the office space crisis. Im in california, where we have a tremendous and sustained housing crisis. Housing is expensive and its scarce. A lot of those Office Buildings that we considered class a buildings are not going to have tremendous utility right now, but they have perfect opportunity to be converted to housing. A wellbuilt steel or concrete building is a perfect environment for housing. Reporter including in cities like new york, says Mary Ann Tighe. The Downtown Manhattan market before 9 11 had 15,000 residents. Today its approaching 70,000 residents. Many of those residents are residing in Office Buildings that have been converted to residential rentals. So i do envision that older stock will go in that direction. Reporter what price that older stock will fetch anytime soon, however, is enough to worry anyone who owns commercial office space. This is paul solman. Woodruff and well be back shortly with an essay on understanding outrage. But first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. Its a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. Woodruff as curfews in many states are about to begin again tonight, we are at a place where we dont need to go searching past events and Expert Opinions in order to understand the protests around the killing of george floyd. We can analyze it firstperson. Tonight, journalist and author dawn turner shares her humble opinion on why we all need to make a connection between the pandemic and the protests. When i was a columnist for the chicago tribune, i often wrote about race and poor africanamerican communities. Many times wellmeaning white readers would ask me what can i do . I want you to know that this pandemic has afforded you a Vantage Point like none other. This is your opportunity to know what people who live in poor communities face and feel every day, long before covid. I want you to remember what it feels like to stand in long lines to enter stores. Because in poor black communities, some merchants, fearing theft from a few bad apples, have long restricted the number of people they allow in at one time. And those plexiglass dividers that protect store workers now . Well, their bulletproof cousins have been mounted in stores in black communities for ages. I want you to remember the knot of anxiety you feel wondering whether there will be enough eggs or meat or even toilet paper on store shelves. Poor People Living in food deserts face scarcity all the time. I want you to remember the unease of walking past boarded up businesses and jogging down barren streets. Because thats what poor black people who live in blighted communities experience every day. I want you to remember what it feels like to have to hole up in your house because the world beyond your door is dangerous and filled with people who could cost you your life. I want you to remember what it feels like to lose your job and not only to be stripped of vital income and all that entails, but of purpose. And those social connections that motivate and inspire us. I want you to remember how it feels to have to stand in line to ask for a handout and how you worry that people will ask you how did you get yourself in this situation . If you take away nothing else from this pandemic, i want you to remember how powerless and hopeless and disaffected this moment has rendered you. I want you to realize that for poor black people, this is not a moment. If this pandemic offers even a smidgeon of empathy, then maybe you understand why people might rise up and rage. Woodruff and thats the 9newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by the ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org lets talk potatoes. From greece to spain, hungary to San Francisco, come with me and cook a few amazing dishes with one of the most versatile vegetables the potato. On the island of syros, well make roasted greek lemon potatoes, and here in my kitchen, inspired by my travels to budapest, well cook up a recipe for modern hasselback potatoes, with three kinds of paprika and brown butter, and my personal favorite, a spanish dish called patatas bravas. Ooh theyre hot. [ chuckles ] i love to travel the globe in search of new food and wine discoveries. For me, its about more than returning home with a handful of new recipes. Its about taking the spirit of austria. Of italy