it is very hard. >> sometimes people get half way across the intersection. >> you have to be alert because there is always something coming up that you need to know about. >> i learned to listen to the traffic patterns. sometimes i notice the other pedestrians, they are crossing, on occasion, i have decided i'm going to cross, too. i get to the middle of the intersection, and i find out that the light has changed. >> we need to be able to work and go from one place to the other and have public transportation. the world needs to be open.

>> people on disability has the task of addressing all the disability. when we are talk about the sidewalks, ramps, we have very specific issues. for people blind and low vision, we have the issue of knowing where they are and when the cross. it can be hit or miss. >> at hulk and grove, that sound the the automatic -- it helps people cross the street safely. >> now we have a successful pedestrian signal. >> i push the button, i get an

audible message letting me know that i need to wait. when it is safe to cross, not only am i going to get an audible indicator, this button is going to vibrate. so it tells me it is safe. there is the driller sound and this trigger is vibrating. i am not relying on anything but the actual light change, the light cycle built into it.

>> it brings san francisco from one of the major cities in the u.s. to what is going to be the lead city in the country. >> city working on all sorts of things. we are trying to be new and innovative and go beyond the ada says and make life more successful for people. >> disability rights movement, the city has the overall legal obligation to manage and maintain the accessibility and right of way. with regards to the curb ramps, bounded by a groove border, 12-inch wide border.

for people with low vision to get the same information. the shape of the domes, flush transition between the bolt bottom of the ramp and gutter. >> we have a beveled transition on the change in level, tape on the surfaces, temporary asphalt to fill in level changes, flush transition to temporary wood platform and ramp down into the street under the scaffoldinging. detectable ramps. they are all detectable. nothing down below or protruding that people are going to get snagged up on.

smooth clean that nobody is going get caught up on. >> our no. 1 issue is what we see here, the uplifting and shreufting to concrete due too street tree roots. here is another problem we have with street trees. if i have i was a person blind, this would be an uncomfortable way to find out. >> we don't want to create hazards. >> sometimes vendors put sidewalk cafes where people push the chairs too far out. >> sometimes it can be impassable. so much foot traffic that there

is no room for a wheelchair or walker to go by. >> san francisco is a lively street life, it can be an issue with people with visual disabilities as well. they have these diverting barriers on other side of this tables and chairs area. if people can find thraeur way around it without getting tangled up, it is still fully accessible. >> we don't want anything special. we want people to basically adhere to the regulations and laws as they are on the books now. people can also, just be cognizant if they have stuff on

the street, they thaoed to have 48 inches so we can pass, think outside your own spectrum of yourself that there are other people you need to share the sidewalk with. we will all get along better. >> although san francisco is a hilly place for a whraoel chair user, we seem to be better at most. that doesn't mean we can't continue to improve upon ourselves. >> the public has a clear are -- of travel. we can't be every to make sure that is the place. we have to rely on the place. call 311. give them your name. that goes into a data base. >> it is difficult, still, um

to make the case that the disabled community isn't being represented. in some ways we are not. we have a long way to go. >> the city of san francisco is using the most innovative technology available. these devices allow people to remain out in their communities, doing things like shopping. it is great to be able to walk as a pedestrian in this city and cross streets safely.

the single largest expense increase has been pension expense. the annual expense will reach $500 million by 2013-2014. simply put, san francisco cannot afford to pay the pensions of the employees it already has, let alone the same program for new employees. our whole concern -- confirmed their support for pension reform, a full 2/3 of voters are in favor of changing the pension plan for new city employees moving from the guaranteed benefits model to a 401k-like defined contribution system, a change already in place at most of your own businesses. san francisco voters agree with most chamber priorities, putting jobs first, encouraging government efficiency, and investing in the city's assets. now is the time to plan for the

future. it is essential that we commit to invest and upgrading the port, airport, bridges, and transit system, and continue to support seismic retrofitting of these assets that power our local and state economies. voters are increasingly looking more like chamber members every year. 70% of voters support a payroll tax exemption for five years for businesses creating new jobs in the mid market area. this is the proposal currently being considered by the board of supervisors. the support for this measure is widespread. it includes progressives. it includes liberals. it includes the business community. it is widespread support. a full 55% support a two-year exemption for businesses creating jobs anywhere in the city, and 78% of voters oppose

congestion pricing. this scheme to charge a fee to drive downtown. 78% oppose. we should take that idea off the table. in the months ahead, we look forward to working with the mayor or president david chu and business leaders across the city to develop more fair and equitable business taxation, which will make it possible for all companies here to thrive. in summary, the 2011 agenda will focus on advancing these three priorities. putting jobs -- job creation first. number two, encouraging government efficiency, number three, avoiding any new burdens on business growth. we will continue to hold our

elected leaders accountable with our paychecks and pink slips. everyone across the country is now talking about jobs and economic development. the real test is not what they say. it is how they vote. we will continue to monitor the votes at city hall for job creation and economic development. now we will take a few minutes, enjoy the rest of your breakfast, enjoy your colleagues at your table, and we will be back with dr. warren browner and ed li in 10 minutes. thank you very much. ok. time to get down to the business of the chamber breakfast.

health care continues to be one of the nation's top-growth industries and is growing at an average rate of 6% per year, adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. the san francisco health care industry employs 58,000 people, and these are high-wage jobs. the average wage is more than jg to the local economy. they are local and our hospitals create thousands of ancillary jobs benefiting the commercial districts that surround them. california pacific medical center is the second largest private employer in this city. it is led by the chief executive officer, dr. warren browner, a physician overseeing the $2.5 billion rebuild of cpmc. here to introduce the mayor of

san francisco, please join me in welcoming dr. warren browner. [applause] >> thanks, steve. it is now a great pleasure for me to introduce our new mayor. i think everybody knows mayor lee has been a diligent worker in senior management met -- management under many mayors. he was appointed our city administrator in 2005 and then appointed again in 2010. he was unanimously selected the interim mayor by our board of supervisors on january 11 of this year. mayor lee has promised all of us to be inclusive, to tackle things head on, and to move the bar for. we are all in need of that strength of conviction at this point in time. please join me in welcoming the

43rd mayor of our fair city of san francisco, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you. good morning, everybody. thank you very much for being here this morning. it is my honor to join all of you today. i just wanted to let you know, you know, i am not known to be reading of all bunch of speeches. i really like to speak from the heart. i like to speak from what people are talking to me about, and listen carefully to what their needs are. let me say to you this morning that i really feel the city beat here in this room. it is wonderful because so many of you, not just a few moments ago, but throughout all of my time, my brief time i have been mayor, have come up to me and

wanted to wish not only need the best luck, but wish me and actually ask me how we can partner. so many of you are partnering with our city in some many different ways. this morning, just on behalf of myself, on behalf of members of the board of supervisors here today, supervisors whom i am seeing very regularly these days, but all of us, i just want to say very sincerely, thank you for working with us so much. running a city is no longer just about government. the public-private partnerships that many of you are a part of our essential to the way we run government, essential to the way we present ourselves throughout all of our community. i know many of you, whether you are with banks, with private

institutions, with small businesses, large businesses, you devote so much time in the partnering with our city. i wanted to say thank you. everytime i see you, it is not so much about us doing something for you. it is about what we can do together to improve the city. i want to thank you. every conversation i have had with all of you has always been about how we can do things together. it is in that spirit that i also kind of want to give a shout- out. when you hear about the hilton and about local two coming together and resolving something that has been going on for several years, essentially opening up another place i can actually walk into, you start saying, this is a good year. this is beginning to really feel that all of us are communicating a little better. i want to say congratulations, local two, and the hilton. let's get everything resolved quickly. [applause]

>> thank you, dr. browner, thank you, steve, for your introduction. i also want to emphasize to you what everybody has been talking to me about throughout the whole city. as i walk through the neighborhoods with individual members of the board of supervisors, as i hold town meetings, as i hold so many more meetings in room 200, everyone, to the last person, says, please, find a stops. help us with job creation. help us with getting back to work. help us with how to afford to live in this very expensive city. the only way we can do that is to create and sustain our jobs. that is why i want to say to all of you and particularly to my colleagues on the board of supervisors, please, let's all focus on jobs this year.

it is so and valuable to everyone. the dignity of people right now, their wishes to keep their families in the city, their wishes to have dignity for themselves, is reflected in their ability to find these jobs and in their hope to have jobs in the future not only for themselves, but their kids. this is a very personal objective that i have learned through thousands of meetings with people, through the handshakes i have had. i want to say to you that it cannot just be on business. it has to be on business and government working together to create jobs. that is why i spent so much time with supervisor david chu in rolling out this mid-market tax exemption. it is a new way that we have got to work together on. it is one that i think not only

will help us anchor one of the most important companies that the city has come and we have many important companies, but this one,twitter, will grow exponentially the next few years. it will have an international identity. it has got a home base in san francisco. more importantly, it will be an anchor for the mid-market, an area of the city that has been our skid row for so many years. that is why it is so important for us to establish an anchor there, to roll out a six-year payroll tax exemption, one that is calculated to not only bring in the additional 2000 jobs that we think will be afforded for this one company, but it will also attract other businesses. the economy of our city has been changing. even though we have an

unemployment rate today of about 9.5%, and that represents about 41,000 san francisco residents being unemployed, you have got to know that we have a lot of hope. the hope that we have instilled through our projects, the hope that we of gained through what we have done correctly and vigorously, with our private partners in mission bay, it simplifies what we do all over the city. that is the same thing we are doing on mid-market. we're trying to catalyze with an anchor and enroll more -- unroll more. i have had a lot of conversations. if twitter stays here, we are coming. we are coming to where they are. we can find our way to san francisco, find our way back to san francisco. we are doing the right thing. i want to let you know it is not just this, it is the spirit we

are creating, the venture, the partnerships we are creating with this business to help us alleviate a problem. that problem has been a blight along mid-market, the hopelessness that has been reflected in so many people there who don't find jobs, who cannot find their way out. we have that hope coming. having said that, because our economy is changing, as you know, we have been working hard to attract technology, green tech jobs for the city. i want to announce today yet another revelation. it is not just twitter. is zenga with their game and many other companies in the on- line game industry that is coming, that is beginning to expand their offices here in the city. it has been buying up 14 acres in mission bay because we have done the right thing in building

that infrastructure. those kinds of technologies are still coming. they're still being attracted to our city. as of today, i wanted to make sure that you know that the other company has been here a while, but they are expanding. auto desk technologies, and their online entertainment software, is expanding. today, they just told me that they're adding some 16,000 more square feet to their offices that will invite another 75 people to work in the city to add to their 575 persons already. that is another indication that people have hope in our city. as long as we are headed in the right direction, we will get those jobs going. i do want to say to you that we have a big challenge as well. while we are creating those jobs, while we are doing our best to change, to do the right

things, we have a big challenge in front of us. what is at stake with our redevelopment agency and the work that they have done to lure private investment in our city, it is at stake. we promised years ago when congresswoman pelosi was the speaker, and she allowed us to get a lot of federal funds, she helped us get a valuable funds to clean up hunters point and shipyards, and senator feinstein and our