look at for housing. >> tell us about the transportation situation in your district. is there adequate muni service? is there parking and traffic? >> -- supervisor chu: traffic issues are always big ones. pedestrian safety issues. it is not any different. we as a district have 19th avenue cutting right through our residential areas. that is a state highway. we have 80,000 cars that go by every single day. traffic issues are always a big concern for us in the district. aside from that, we also know that there really does need to be more improvements in the muni system. we are served primarily by a few rail lines and bus lines, and much like other districts who have been impacted by different service changes across the years, we have seen, for example, early turn back in our district, and we are working to resolve that issue.

for many people, being let out at sunset boulevard is simply not acceptable when you have many more blocks to go before the end of the line. there is definitely big rooms for improvement with transportation in our district. >> what about crime in your district? how do you think the police department is doing, and how do you think the city is doing in general with respect to crime? supervisor chu: i know we have been acting chief at this moment and the police commission is working to try to find an individual who can step in and lead the department. we know there are many things going in the right direction with the police department, but there is a lot of things to work on. technology is something we really need to focus on and make investments in in order to allow our police forces to be more effective, to be able to communicate more clearly with other law-enforcement agencies. that is something that we do need to work on. with regards to crime in the

district, i would say that our district is more impacted by a lot of property crime. we see many cars being broken into. many quality of life issues -- graffiti. we see cars being stolen, those kinds of issues. we do have other kinds of incidences. shootings that might have occurred, but they are not as frequent. our quality of life issues and burglary issues are more prevalent. with some of the recent changes with the police department to get investigators out to the district stations, i think that has been a big improvement and will help focus some of the investigators' time to deal with crimes that people might not think our high impact, but have a big footprint in terms of our district's crime rates. but governor brown has proposed -- >> governor brown has

proposed redevelopment agencies. hawhat are your thoughts on tha? supervisor chu: we currently have plans that really are dependent on having the development agencies and the financing mechanisms that helped it. i think that the redevelopment agency plays a very strong role in the development in some of our more blighted areas. to completely do away with the redevelopment agency would be a significant shock and change to the system, and i think we really need to understand what that will be before it should happen. i am a strong believer that the redevelopment agency played a strong will also in the creation of affordable housing in this city. to the extent that that money is taken away and we are not able to accomplish some of those goals with the financing mechanism, it would be a big step back for the city. >> what are your thoughts on the

city's economic development? are we on the right track? what would you like to change about the city's approach to developing the economy? supervisor chu: in some aspects, our economic development is on the right track. if you take a look at some of the successes -- mission bay, for example, has been a success where we have been able to attract biotech corporations to come and headquartere in the city. we are currently building a hospital, and there are a lot of research institutions, and i think that will be a great anchor for the city. the city has worked closely with contractors to figure out how we can do hiring locally. this is through our citybuild program where we help individuals gain the skills needed to work in construction jobs. we have a number of big projects that are really generating the

job growth and place for people to be working. so i think that in terms of the pace and number of projects that we have, in terms of identifying some key sectors to attract, in terms of providing rebates for films to come and fill in san francisco and generate additional moneys -- that is something that is a movement in the right direction. we need to work on how we do a job training in san francisco. there are many different departments and many different players, and how it is where we train our work force, whether it is youth as a community, people preparing to train for different jobs -- we have a lot of folks involved, and we did not yet have a centralized way of doing it and making sure we are targeting the right sectors. so i think we have got some work to do in that area. >> talk about the role of sports in the city's economic future. are you happy with plans for the

america's cup? do you think the city should spend money to keep the 49ers? supervisor chu: america's cup has the potential to serve as an economic engine for us. we knew that going in, and that is why it was such an important effort on the city's part, to bring that activity to san francisco. not only would it result in improvements on the pier that we were not able to afford any other way, but it helps to bring about jobs, people coming to visit, helping with our tourism industry, everything else associated with having a major event in the city. that is something that helps bring up the economic opportunities of a community, and that is very important. if you think about the role of sports in san francisco, we have to think about the giants and how amazing that whole experience was for us in terms of the world series. we had people in my district as

we were coming in for the parade on muni. everybody was dressed in giants colors. everybody was in such an elated mood. everybody was brought together, no matter what ethnicity, what community, what neighborhood, what socio-economic place you were from. people were excited and happy. that is something that is very unique to sports, that sports can pull people together. very much in the same way, the 49ers are an important part of the community and san francisco 's identity, and i would love to do what we can to help them today. >> if you have a lot of projects in your district that you are excited about. can you share any information about the goings on in your district? supervisor chu: our district again has so many families, and we think about how we plan for the future and make sure that the next generation has the amenities that we do not have right now, and we have got a new

poll that has recently opened up that we are so happy about -- we have a new pool that has recently opened up that we are so happy about. it is already well utilize. we have two playgrounds currently in the process of being remodeled in addition to a brand-new library that is opening up. we are very excited about what this means for the many kids and families who use the library, go to the parks and plate, and who really just utilize those public services. there are many exciting changes, and we are happy to see them open up. >> what is the playground remodel? what does that look like? supervisor chu: we have playgrounds that were built so many years ago that had our senate in the wood, if you can imagine that. some of the swing sets were breaking apart. we have stand still, some people would find broken glass and other things in the sand, so

with the remodel, we are seeing completely new equipment being placed on the playgrounds. the new rubberized services, which gets away at the broken glass and other things people might find in the sand. there are so many kids in the district that i think everyone will benefit and see the changes as a positive. >> are there any other issues that concern you that we have not discussed? for a specific interest you plan to concentrate on through your term as supervisor -- or a specific interest you plan to concentrate on? supervisor chu: this year is going to be budget, budget, budget, and i think that will keep us pretty full. >> we have to wrap up, and we thank you for joining us on "meet your district supervisor." watch for the next episode of "meet your district supervisor" when we will be back with another of our 11 city supervisors.

>> good morning, everyone. i am the director of neighborhood business development for the office of work force development. thank you for coming. this is the kickoff of small business week as well as a celebration of the accomplishments of our small business revolving loan fund, which we have been working on for about six months.

i would like to start by introducing the mayor, and we will continue by hearing from supervisor wiener as well as our administrator for the loan fund, and finally, the owner of this great new business. mr. mirkarimi -- mr. mayor. mayor lee: thank you. i cannot think of a better way to celebrate the kickoff of small business week than to be right on valencia in the small business just started that has been the recipient along with some 27 other small businesses that have worked really hard to get to a place where they can be and allow the city to contribute and help. we did not hear a lot of times -- we hear a lot of complaints about how the city has not been doing things, but thanks to our small business commission, which is here today, and they're wonderful work and their director who has been advising me on a number of fronts -- their wonderful work and their

director who has been advising me on a number of fronts, and supervisor wiener, who had a chance to open up a farmer's market in glen park with me yesterday. we never do it alone. whenever our city is working together, we have to find people who know how to communicate with small businesses, drill down to what they need, and then work with our policy makers like the small business commission and their staff, but really help in figuring out what it is that a limited amount of money -- and it is really limited when you are only talking about $680,000 in very tight economic times -- to be able to spread that around to 27 different businesses, help and make sure that a company like mission cheese, which is probably gone through a huge jury just to get here, can be directly helped to be opened and

sustained success -- which has probably gone through a huge journey just to get here. we do not want to start things that cannot be successful. the whole game is about not only surviving the economic challenge, but as we recover -- and we are recovering in our economy -- that the small businesses will be successful, and they will grow, and they will sustain themselves, and they will be at the heart of what i think is a revival of the whole of valencia. when you walk valencia and look at all the vacancies that have erupted over the past few years, and to see small business is coming back, you will know that everyone is struggling, but they want to make it happen. i really wanted to emphasize this morning how many different journeys people have had in making themselves successful and how the city has been able to get them here and the great

journey and the great story we are going to hear from sarah and from family -- from emily. i want you to listen to sarah when she talks about how she got here and how she got the milk from those cows. [laughter] whether they are california or from maine or wisconsin, how did that milk and up into this lovely artisan cheese that she is making for our residents and visitors? i think the great journey will be when sarah talks about how she found her way to establish in san francisco. the greatest journey i hear are people who take up that opportunity, when they come into san francisco and make their home here. that is a wonderful journey because it has many more stories to tell about how young entrepreneurs who start their families and then grow.

that is the story about small businesses. i want to join all of you here in celebration. we will hear about other businesses, but it begins with these very personal stories and, really, how this milk and cheese got here, but how sarah got here through all of her work and study and how she could perform something very unique and contribute to the great businesses that sustain san francisco. with that, scott, come on up. [applause] supervisor wiener: thank you, mr. mayor. i represent this district on the board of supervisors. we always talk about how important small business is in terms of creating jobs, in terms of having interesting neighborhoods where we have unique businesses and not a complete takeover by chain stores, but then, we do not always put our money where our mouth is, and we make it

difficult sometimes for small businesses to succeed. in my office, at least once a week, we learned of a new arcane regulations or permit or fee or something preventing small businesses from succeeding. so it is so nice and so productive when the city is able to take a pro-active steps to help small businesses financially -- take a pro-active steps -- take pro-active steps to help small businesses financially. we have a real diverse array of interesting small businesses, so i am proud that we have been able to do this, and especially what we have been able to do on valencia's street. so congratulations and best of luck. -- especially what we have been able to do on valencia st..

>> a quick word before emily speaks. the money is critical, but what we have seen is the really critical things the city can do. one of the things that we like working solution so much is not just that they are able to make loans but the kind of business solutions they are able to give to owners, so i just wanted to put in that little plug. [applause] >> good morning. i am the executive director of working solutions, and i also am so excited to be here to kick off small business week this year as we celebrate the success of mr. and cheese. sarah, congratulations on all your hard work and achieving your dream. we all wish you success. sarah is the perfect example of the hard-working, tenacious, inspiring, and created under for nor -- creative and entrepreneur

that has received assistance from working solutions and san francisco. two years ago, the city had the leadership to prioritize access for capital to small businesses. at that time, credit access was at record lows, and even today, still, access to capital remains one of the single biggest challenges that a small business can face. particularly startup businesses like mission cheese. working solutions was selected to administer the loan fund, and that gave us the opportunity to do what we do best -- getting capital to entrepreneurs who need it most. working solutions uses its expertise to see the potential in an entrepreneur is like sarah -- entrepreneurs like sarah. plus, working solutions is committed to long-term -- to the

long-term success of each business. what we do in addition to every loan is provide five years of business coaching, advising, and mentoring. the san francisco loan fund has been a bright spot in a dismal economy. has been extremely successful in creating jobs and economic development. for example, in just weeks that mission cheese has been open, sarah has already created five new jobs and the loan fund overall has created 50 new jobs. working solutions, through this loan fund, has made 27 loans to businesses. the interest rate is low and fixed at 4% to 6%. we have lent out close to the entire $680,000 of the original lending capital, and 100% of

those businesses are repaying their loans. as the funds revolve, they become available for additional businesses. the funds are used for different things like marketing, hiring new employees, purchasing equipment, tenant improvements, and more. the types of businesses that have benefited from the city loan fund range from salons, cafes, retail shops -- all different types of businesses throughout the city of san francisco. these are exactly the kind of very unique businesses that make san francisco the diverse city that it is. i also wanted to point out that a few of our loan recipients in the city have also graduated and able to later on success -- access traditional bank financing. two of those have been able to move on to get traditional loans. i would like to really thank the community partners that working

solutions works with. we collaborate with organizations like the small business assistance center that -- assistance center, the san francisco small business development center, and pacific community ventures. all of these organizations and more create a network of vital support services and resources for small businesses in san francisco. i would also like to take the opportunity to thank working solutions' staff, board, supporters, and volunteers, who are really a big part of the success that we are celebrating this morning. finally, i would like to thank the city, mayor lee, supervisor wiener, and the small business commission for continuing to prioritize the needs of small businesses. it is my hope that we will be able to build on the success of this loan fund so that even more entrepreneur worst -- entrepreneurs in the future can

access these funds. thank you so much. [applause] >> i had no idea what to expect. this is my first press conference. [laughter] i have not prepared tirelessly for this, but i definitely have a lot to say about the space that we are standing in, so, welcome. producer real -- pretty surreal at the moment. i have to clarify first that i do not make all this cheese. [laughter] it comes from across the united states from dedicated cheesemakers that worked tirelessly without vacations to care for the animals and the land and create these beautiful beautiful -- create these beautiful pieces of art that are also delicious. that was my inspiration for this

space, a place to highlight and celebrate what is going on in the cheese world today and how far we have come from a place of kraft singles and block cheddar. i love when i deliver a cheese plate and tell them the names of the cheeses, where they are from, what they are made with, a few details about, you know, the rhine or the cheesemaker or the cows -- they have names. the vocationally gray's -- they rotationally graze. that is what this is about, sharing that accomplishment with a culture that has come so far away from small, handcrafted cheeses to a community that now really supports it. this is proof of that. people love cheese, and they love to know where it comes from.

it is just an honor for me to curate that experience and bring that to the mission. we have an open for a month. we celebrated our month birthday for this week -- our month birthday this week. we have been busy. we beat our projections by 12% in the first month. [applause] that is without beer and wine the first week, so an opportunity for next month. and we have gotten -- we have been welcomed with open arms by the community, local merchants, and people that live in the neighborhood. they are really excited to have a place where they can purchase these beautiful cheeses, and also people that are knowledgeable on the subject. knowledgeable on the subject. it has been an amazing