beautifully designed building. there is just going to be such a transformation of the whole downtown and community because of this project. but it is also because of a transit center to replace what was here was the center, and their times, a transportation hub for the bay area when the old terminal was here. and so, in the vision of our city, and when maria took this up, she knew, because she had worked for a number of different mayors throughout the process, envisioning what this would mean to the future of our city, that we do need a brand new transit center that is not only modern, not only has all the amenities that you heard, whether it is housing, office, so forth. that it represents the future of our city. because at the center of it, the box for the high-speed rail.

that is where we ultimately want to land. i want to make sure that this is the center hub for all of northern california. that is where the high-speed rail will end. it will also represent, as supervisor kim said, 145,000 jobs. take a look at the covers and mason workers behind me. they know they have a job for a long time and they cannot afford to live in the city without a good paying jobs. and we have more jobs to come as a result of this. this is part of our economic engine. it is also the story we will tell as to why the federal government has to -- they just have to pass the transportation authorization extension plan. without that, this would be challenged, and doral drive would be challenged. every major transportation mode of any significance in the bay area would be challenged.

we're already hearing from caltrans about the nervousness they have if that transportation reauthorization is not done quickly. so we need that on the national level. that is why we're continuing to use this as an example of how we as the city can work together with city agencies, community- based agencies, our friends in labor and business, to promote one of the most beautiful, very challenging complex, but it will be a beautiful addition to the old downtown skyline and functionality. so today we are celebrating this milestone where all of the demolition has been completed. that is the finished phase one. it has been remarkable. not one word-related accident has happened in all of these thousands of hours put together. by the way, of all the work our that were mentioned, over 80% of

those jobs went to nine county residents in the bay area for these jobs. all the demolition, carpentry work, removal of terror. now we begin these pilings, these five games. there will be 500 of these going in. so this is more than just a beautiful project. it is job producing. it is the most important thing we can be doing while we look at and shake our heads as to why other cities cannot do this or why the state is not promoting more of these types of transit- related projects. that is our future of the city. that is also why we need to continue talking about and making sure we make sure that not only does the high-speed rail and appear, but we promote the completion of the central subway. despite some political shenanigans, as i call it, for creating more doubt, we do not have out in the city family, nor

in the state family of agencies. time and again, they have approved the central subway as part of our future that links north and south. you have to ask one simple question. where is all the new housing being developed in our city? it is in visitation valley, hunter's point shipyard, mission bay. how do you connect everyone through the city? from the subway. and in and around this transit hub. so we have to connect everybody. we have to make sure it is done right. we would so be regretting any doubts that we cannot complete the central subway. there is no doubt in my mind and we will get that, grant agreement going by the end of the year. so for anyone to challenge that at this time, i think it is political shenanigans and really ticks on kind of a challenge to our future that i would think would be disastrous. so with that, i want to congratulate everyone here for

finishing this space, and also to announce that we have for your handouts today, the district plans -- transit plan, the plan that will detail something that i know john ram and the whole team has been working really hard on in detail, is to present this plan, and for you to see all the buildings, all the 300 acres of open space and parks presented here. the difference basis both privately and publicly invested in. again, this has been part of the redevelopment approach to this using tax increment to provide investment funding and using our public dollars in the most maximum way to make sure there is private dollars invested in the buildings, not only in the district, but surrounding it. you will have thousands of new homes that will be built right here along with the open space. it is a wonderful design. i invite you to get a copy of

this. i hope there are enough copies to go around. it is the transit district plan that you should focus on. that is the design that we are building right here. i look for to put my initials of immortality on to this beam in a few minutes. [applause] >> again, we do have copies of the district rent-a-center plan. -- center plan. we will be releasing the plan which will allow the development of many high rises in the neighborhood, both in the transbay and in surrounding neighborhoods, that will bring funding to the tjpa to continue funding which will bring railroads in, infrastructure that is badly needed in the neighborhood, funding for parks and many other amenities. i invite you to look at this

transit district plan brochure that was put together by the planning department. now i want to invite mayor lee to sign the eye beam that will be coming in as part of the shoring wall. mayor lee. >> should i leave room for anybody else? what is today's date? how about that. all right.

>> san francisco and the league of california cities 113th annual conference. i'm mike casperzack, vice mayor of the city of mountain view and your league's first vice president. your league president, jim rightenour, mayor of modesto, who we see on the screen here, could not be with us today. so they called in the second string. jim had some recent health issues, but by all accounts he's doing very well. he's back at home and i'm waiting for him to pick up his blackberry so we can start texting again. let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers, though, as we work together during the next three days. now, won't you please join me again in thanking today's opening ceremony's participants

including the san francisco police department color guard and byron pope from beverly hills. we have a great city clerk from mountain view but she doesn't sing like birom. let's give it up for them both. your annual conference is a critical time for our entire league to come together, learn, and celebrate this year's accomplishments as we plan ahead for the coming year. cities are the cornerstone of our great state, and this year's conference theme is, cities standing strong for cities. we are stronger individually when we are strong collectively, and that is precisely why your league of california cities exists. we are 482 separate cities, but the league's efforts for all california cities ensure that each city is stronger. it's our strength together that

has been instrumental in the league's advocacy this year. last year, we successfully passed proposition 22 which provided strong protections for local revenues. did you know that this was our fourth, or depending on how you count, if you include 1998 and 1999 at one and two, fourth or fifth straight victory at the ballot box. your league has truly become a powerful force in the state political arena. [applause] but who would have guessed that just a few months later, in january of this year, our newly elected governor would announce his intention to eliminate redevelopment agencies throughout california in a way that clearly violates the new california constitution. in the process, his proposal would have killed 300,000 private sector jobs that

redevelopment finances each year. the governor's proposal sparked an outcry not only by city officials, but by many others concerned about the devastating economic impact such an action would have on local communities and the state as a whole. despite our collective efforts, the governor's proposal was modified, in part, and married with another unconstitutional bill to extort huge ransoms from the state if we want to avoid ex extinction of our r.d.a.'s. the league hasn't taken that action lying down, either. but i wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your efforts in passing proposition 22 and for our efforts to save redevelopment and let's give ourselves a round of applause for that work. [applause] now, you'll notice in your program that we were supposed to

be joined today by james mitchell, the president of the flacial league of cities, but for reasons of business, he was not able to get out to california from charlotte where he serves as a council member. james is a great guy, a strong proponent of california cities, and i know he passes on his best wishes for us all. now, turning our attention to the annual conference, the reason why we're all here in this great city. let's focus on what's ahead for the conference this week. the program is designed to provide you with information and resources that you can take back to your cities and put directly into action. we are here in san francisco to learn from the experts and each other over the course of the conference. both the on-site program and the

conference-at-a-glance page you received at registration will help you navigate the sessions, meetings and events. look for an expo map to identify the 240 companies exhibiting in this year's expo. i know you won't want to miss the expo tomorrow and friday where you'll find many products and services that can help your city. if you'll permit me to to make a shameless commercial plug, please look at page 34 in your conference program and circle booth 908. here's the reason for that. we're plugging this booth because it's ours and all of yours. it's california communities and u.s. communities. these organizations provide important products and services to cities at a great discount and both are an important part of the league and help keep your league dues as low as possible. when you visit the expo tomorrow, stop by booth 908 to

learn more about how your city can access tax-exempt financing and pooled purchasing power. the expo opens at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and closes at 5:00 p.m. also, don't forget to enter your city for one of three grand prizes being given on friday afternoon at the closing session. cardiac sciences is giving away two automated external defibrillators or a.e.d.'s, to two lucky cities. cool 'em technologies, whose founder is richard lowenthal, is giving one lucky city an electric vehicle charging station plus $1,000 towards its installation, and for those people starting to get electric cars, maybe a volt or a leaf, what's going to come in really handy. enter your city in the bin just inside the entrance to the expo

hall. it goes without saying that your league staff is here to help with any information or questions you may have about the conference. today, they're wearing black shirts, and tomorrow, they'll be in red shirts. let's give a big thank you to our league partners, the sponsors of this year's prestigious helen putnam awards and the partner's speaker's theater located on the expo floor. the partners are doing an hourly raffle at the partners village and will be giving away five kindles and five samsung galaxy tablets. you'll want to make sure you're compliant with all of the state gift rules. one item will be drawn every hour starting at noon tomorrow. the league partners village features the companies and organizations that work closely with the league on behalf of cities. your partners provide expert information and help frame

issues, develop programs for cities and help influence policy making in the interests of cities. be sure to say hello to the league partners who are here for this annual conference. they're wearing white ribbons identifying them as league partners. so please give them a special thank you as you go around and visit them at the expo and thank them for being league partners because they do help make your league a better organization so that it can help all of california's cities stand strong for cities. now, before i introduce our host, san francisco mayor ed lee, i want to highlight tonight's activities. first, from 6:00 to 7:00, we have the host city reception conveniently located right outside the hall here on the third level foyer as you exit the session. at 7:15, head north up mission street one block to the saint

regis hotel for the sixth annual leadership gala casino night which helps support city pack and without city pack, we wouldn't have had proposition 22. so, enough of the public service announcements. we are excited and honored to be in san francisco, consistently rated as one of the most popular cities in the world, for this year's 113th annual conference. the state's fourth largest city has hosted our conference several times and we are thrilled to be back. please help me in welcoming san francisco mayor ed lee. [applause] mayor lee: good afternoon. and welcome. welcome to the world series

champion city and county of san francisco. i may not be much of a politician, but i certainly know how to trash talk. and i want you to know that that's how i introduce myself when i'm at the u.s. conference of mayors. i kind of say, hey, i'm ed lee, i'm the mayor of the world champion city of san francisco, what are you mayor of? i wanted to welcome all of you here to moscone center, our center of conventions and also to san francisco. and i hope you are enjoying the weather. as mayor of san francisco, i like to welcome you to our city. it's a small city that dares to dream big, bound only by our capacity to imagine. and i would also like to welcome you to the greenest city in north america. i'm so pleased that i'm able to welcome you here today and many of you know, i used to be the city's administrator before i

became mayor. and as a result, i've seen things from both sides. as a long time public servant, and now as mayor. so i have a pretty good idea on how and what it takes to make a city run so i want to thank each and every one of you for all of your good work because your commitment to your communities and your maintaining the citizens' trust in government, that's what we have to do as cities today. whether you've been in government for just a few days, a few months, or for many years, it's always nice ton that your work is appreciated and i do appreciate all the members of the california league and everyone that works in our cities. and we'll be celebrating some of that good work here today when the winners of the helen putnam awards are honored. in these challenging economic

times, we're all faced with unacceptably high unemployment, the demands of a shrinking budget and the potential for tough choices in making public sector layoffs. despite all of this, we are working hard to maintain the quality of services and programs our residents deserve while balancing the economic constraints that we're all facing. san francisco, like most cities, has significantly been affected by the state's budgetary crisis. i continue to be very concerned about redevelopment, public safety realignment and the programmatic reductions that have been enacted, all of which will harm our ability to create jobs, building the housing and infrastructure we need, and hurt the residents of our communities. on redevelopment, i, like many of you, have been focused on protecting important development

projects that are working to create jobs, invest in our infrastructure and affordable housing and rebuild our communities. the league of california cities has played a leadership role in the fight against the unwise elimination of redevelopment, and i want to thank all of you for that. in san francisco, we are focused on transformational projects which will have a major impact on san francisco, as well as the entire region, projects that will connect our communities, connect our cities, connect our regions, and connect our states, projects like the transbay terminal which will be the northern terminus of our california high-speed rail, or the central subway project, which will help san franciscans create a world class 21st century transportation system that realizes our transit first policy, or projects like

treasure island, a base reuse project that will create thousands of new housing units and an entirely new neighborhood in san francisco, or projects like our hunters point shipyard project that will be transforming communities, revitalizing neighborhoods, keeping our families in our cities with thousands of units of housing, parklands, and allow us to build a world class stadium to keep the san francisco 49ers right here in our city, projects like these throughout the state will make a big difference in our economic recovery. as you may also know, i'm a big supporter of high-speed rail. i believe it really needs to be part of our transportation future. this issue is critical to me as a mayor because our economic future depends upon people being able to move throughout our state with ease on roads, rails and in the skies.

currently, nearly one-third of all of our air traffic from san francisco international airport is for flights from san francisco to the los angeles area. for those of you who have flown into s.f.o., you have noticed that our airport has no room to expand. what this means is that we have to find ways to shift the san francisco-to-los angeles air draft out of the skies and on to the rails. by moving towards high-speed rail, we not only improve the transportation system in the state, but we also improve our local economy by providing more opportunities for commerce and tourism. i hope that, as leaders in our communities, we can work together to ensure that the promise of high-speed rail is delivered to all californians. finally, i'd just like to thank you for coming here to san francisco and to invite you back.

as many of you know, we are hosting the 34th america's cup, the third largest international sporting event in the world. thank you. [applause] america's cup will be a spectacular event and i hope that you will come back to san francisco and to the other communities around the bay area to enjoy world class sailing on our bay. by the way, if you're from southern california, there will be preliminary races this november in san diego, so you can get a taste of what these competitors can do. and i also want to welcome my good friend who's going to be speaking this afternoon on your keynote. that's chris vene who used to be our chief information officer, and now he's working at the white house as the deputy information officer, technology officer for the white house. i welcome him in, as well. again, thank you for being here. the league of california cities,

thank you for enjoying our weather, our convention center. and i wish you well in all of the subjects you cover today and again, thank you for every contribution you make to improving the quality of life for everybody in our state. thank you for coming here. [applause] >> the public wants to access particular information about your house or neighborhood we point them to gis. gis is a combination of maps and data. not a graphic you see on a

screen. you get the traffic for the streets the number of crimes for a police district in a period of time. if the idea of combining the different layerce of information and stacking them on top of each other to present to the public. >> other types of gis are web based mapping systems. like google earth, yahoo maps. microsoft. those are examples of on line mapping systems that can be used to find businesses or get driving directions or check on traffic conditions. all digital maps. >> gis is used in the city of san francisco to better support what departments do. >> you imagine all the various elements of a city including parcels and the critical

infrastructure where the storm drains are. the city access like the traffic lights and fire hydrants. anything you is represent in a geo graphic space with be stored for retrieval and analysis. >> the department of public works they maintain what goes on in the right-of-way, looking to dig up the streets to put in a pipe. with the permit. with mapping you click on the map, click on the street and up will come up the nchgz that will help them make a decision. currently available is sf parcel the assessor's application. you can go to the assessor's website and bring up a map of

san francisco you can search by address and get information about any place in san francisco. you can search by address and find incidents of crime in san francisco in the last 90 days. we have [inaudible] which allows you to click on a map and get nchldz like your supervisor or who your supervisor is. the nearest public facility. and through the sf applications we support from the mayor's office of neighborhood services. you can drill down in the neighborhood and get where the newest hospital or police or fire station. >> we are positive about gis not only people access it in the office but from home because we use the internet.