this award. i am 56 years old. i have never gotten an award. the first time. [applause] i am really excited. thank you. i am very happy they support me. he is here on stage. [laughter] i am very -- >> nervous. [laughter] >> he is very nervous. he does not know what to say.

[laughter] [applause] >> thank you very much. [applause] this is a very happy place to me. very happy. thank you very much. [applause] >> congratulations. now it is my great pleasure to introduce our next speaker. he is at the forefront of small business in san francisco meeting overall economic development and job creation. earlier this year, he announced $1.5 million will san francisco small business revolving loan fund. it is a phone fu --nd -- it is a fund supported by low interest loans. please join me in welcoming mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you very much.

let me join in the chorus of congratulations to all of the award winners tonight and thank recology for hosting us, joining the chamber, and small business leaders tonight. as elizabeth and mark pointed out, they knew our san francisco businesses had started celebrating early. one of the reasons is because san francisco small businesses can smell a party two weeks and dance. -- in a defense -- they can smelly party two weeks in advance. [laughter] they are fun to work with. during our most economically challenging times, it was small businesses that kept coming back. they were so resilience. as i stepped up to take on this responsibility as mayor, it

clearly was on my wind -- mind to find some way to register our appreciation. small business by its name, sometimes you are thinking these are people and businesses isolated by themselves. but you are a big topic at city hall these days. you are big because we are getting more people to understand how it is that our small businesses are 50% of all the employees that are hired in our city. 50 2% of the revenue generated in our city. 52% of the revenue generated in our cities from small businesses. when you look at challenges, when you look at mid-market, then you start feeling investment confidence when small-business is started

locating theire, and their willingness to collaborate with the arts organizations and start to bring relief into the very hard core area of our city. it was not just the big companies. they are getting a lot of credit for that. who was there to start the revival? it was our small businesses. that is why as soon as i stepped forward and got elected, i looked back at who could recognize readily. it has got to be our small business community. regina and steve said we could use help. the revolving loan fund was used up. instantly would put the money in there. we that the board of supervisors to revive it. we have $1 million committed today along with wells fargo $500,000. it is there and will be used fast.

in the next budget for the next team of years, we have already got plans for the whole $5 million. as long as it is there, people will use it. we know small businesses are reviving our economy and creating the level of investor confidence we want to see. not just in mid-market. all neighborhood corridors will get the benefit. that is why we signaled these revolving loans to reach out to the neighborhoods in the city, to invest in the neighborhoods. they are going to help revive. i tell people i am sick and tired of seeing empty storefronts in different parts of the city. we assure you we will work with institutions like wells fargo and others to get the money out as they have done. let me give a shout out again to wells. not only have they loaned small

businesses and have been a great supporter in working with the city, but when the vandalism occurred on mission street, a step forward quickly to help small businesses immediately recover. they should be thanked as a city for helping out with that. [applause] you have all of our small businesses have been so wonderful to us. you have allowed us to be more creative in the city. not only will we push investment in neighborhoods and the revolving loan fund, we're also pushing local manufacturing. mark said it best. we are on a big revival of local manufacturing. it begins at home.

i will tell you this. i have a lot of international friends that come from all over the world, a special from china, japan, the philippines, and career. if they see things made in san francisco by small businesses, they will buy that up. there are international markets for sf-made products. our state has yet to recognize that. that is why they have not invested in opening up an international office. i keep nudging jerry to pay attention to this. we are already creating international presence with our locally made and designed products. there is a huge outpouring of appreciation from the market to see this. i have great interest in supporting businesses. i will be investing in their success. if they're successful, our city

is going to be successful. if they are successful, the lawyers are coming. [laughter] other sports and other entities will come. they will want to partake in the spirit of success that has always been the spirit in our small business sector. it is my pleasure t oadd to the awards ceremony by announcing my small business week honoree. this year if it goes to sunset. come on up jim. [applause] this is probably a little different than you would expect. sunset shapers is not manufacturing the biggest technology machine. they make surf boards and shape them.

now in addition to the success of selling those, they also sell a lot of fashion accessories and jewelry because it is a lifestyle. as soon as i learned how to use my ipad, then i will learn how to use a surf board. i have got my priorities straight. [laughter] they have evidenced this innovative, creative spirit. whatever you do, there is a market if you do it well. if you make fine handcrafted quality in san francisco, they will sell well. jim has been successful at it. he has brought back the entrepreneurial spirit of creating things in your own neighborhood and being a successful business. on behalf of the city and to all of your creative efforts, please keep on making things in san francisco. congratulations. [applause]

>> i want to say thank-you to mayor lee for the honor. it is an honor to be recognized for manufacturing in a city that is known for technology. also, i want to thank you for creating the environment for letting small-business drive -- thrive. the loans available, the support you have offered me, i could not have done it without it. i want to say thank you again and to everybody, thank you for coming. it is quite an honor. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. i want to thank you because

during your inaugural address you talk about small businesses and said jobs, jobs, jobs. i remember that. six months later, we're doing that. thank you for your follow-up on that. [applause] you are creating a buzz in the city. it is great. for the eighth year, our volunteer committee has the goal of honoring, educating, connecting, and inspiring thousands of small-business owners throughout the city and the impact that they have. we would like to thank our sponsors. sba, sf chamber of commerce, office of small business, council of district merchants, and the golden gate business association. >> every person in this room is building small business. you are helping small businesses through -- to thrive.

remember to shop san francisco, shot small business. -- shop small business. please stay and help congratulate the awardees, the sponsors, and each other. we're making san francisco great. thank you again, mr. mayor. [applause]

>> this is the most contemporary art show in the history of the museum. let me give you some numbers. 31 artists across the 50 nations. 60 monumental works, the largest of which is behind me. this is a gift to all the people in our beloved city of san francisco. a gift to all the visitors near and far. let me give you our honorable mayor of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you for being here today. this month is a celebration of asian-american heritage. i wanted to thank our asian art museum, all of its staff, the

director. the board of directors. not just parts in san francisco, but asian-american art throughout the world. this is another example of something that i told my friends, if you see some people walking around here, they might be looking for a red lotus. i do not think they knew what i was talking about. i want to welcome this wonderful piece of art. the artist is here today to join with us. it is a reflection of what our asian art museum is contributing to the dialogue around art itself.

a year ago, we had the three heads and the 6 armi buddha that was another example of international art. this lotus suggest to you the feeling of international modern art. it is one thing the that that our asian art museum begins this month with their exhibition of -- what is the spots going on in the rest of the world? i know the asian art museum did a great job with the historic artifacts. but they wanted to be much more than that. they want to contribute to what

is going on in the world today. what are the international artists thinking about? what message are they sending to the rest of the world? what is going on in their mind across the world that would perhaps contribute to our own thoughts and values? this is an example of what i think will be an exciting contribution for years to come. what else can we expect from the rest of the world's throughout our asian counterparts in the far east? i have been happy to help cris andhristen -- help christen this effort. activities that will happen in the month of may. the street heritage festival will happen right here on the

street beginning this saturday, along with so many other activities. the rest of the asian communities in san francisco want to help signify and reflect. this is a wonderful city. part of its beauty is inheritance of being a gateway to all the different viewpoints that happened around the world. i want to thank all of our artists for helping share that with us. through their various art forms and participate through this movement of more voices, more viewpoints, more languages, more different cultures, contributing to the diverse views that we want to have in our city. that is how we established ourselves as an international gateway of the viewpoints of innovation around the world. when you see this, and i hope you come here at night because

it is not just the beauty in the daytime, its contribution to what we want to see happen in the evenings as well as for all of our residents and neighbors. this is going to liven the discussion about the contributions of art to our daily lives. thank you for being here. thank you for helping us chr isten this beautiful piece of art. >> when the new california academy of sciences opened in 2008, it quickly became one of the top tourist magnets in the city. part of the cal academies' astronomical success is the weekly nightlife party. >> i am joined by helen, who is

here to school me on all the nocturnal activities that are getting ready to take place here. tell us a little about what we can expect to see at nightlife. >> we open up the doors every thursday night at the california academy of sciences. there are certain things you can see every week you can go to the museum, visit the planetarium, and we bring in bars and a deejay or band. it is a different feel from during the day, something different every week. tonight , we have beer and music. -- tonight we have great beer and music. it is beer week. we have a dozen local brewers in african hall. we have a deejays to set up throughout the museum and a live performance at 9:00 p.m. tonight. >> what has been your favorite part as a participant or as an observer? >> my favorite part is to walk around the aquarium in to see people with a drink in their hands, getting to know maybe

somebody new, may be looking for a day, or chatting with friends. there jellyfish. i mean, they are beautiful. >> the culmination of the animals. >> it is very impressive. we do not have this at home. >> tell us a little about some of the spider's we see here on display. >> at the california academy of sciences, there is a very large collection of preserved and live specimens, which are the evidence about evolution. we have the assassin spiders, which are spiders that exclusively kill and eat other spiders. they are under the microscope here. research done and the california academy's i rhinology lab suggests that the assassin spiders have been doing this for over 150 million years. this glassed in room is a real

scientific laboratory, and the people in that room are preparing specimens of vertebrate, that is mammals and birds. the way they do this is to remove the skin, sew it together in a relatively lifelike pose, and ensure that it does not decompose. >> i am a really big class actress fan, so i am here to see them, and beer week. >> i wanted to learn something and have fun. >> i always enjoy it. i am not all is well -- always working as i am tonight. sometimes i come to enjoy the music and to dance. ♪ >> culturewire covers the arts in san francisco, and one of my favorite culture artists is here

tonight. jason, thank you for being on culturewire. tell us about some of your posters that we have here today. >> most of the posters here are four specific shows or tours. i am hired by the bands or the venue. >> what is the inspiration behind these posters? >> no, disease of the related to the bay and, of course. music -- it is related to the band, of course the musical content or isn't related to the bed. album covers can come from anywhere. ♪ ♪

>> class actress was great. we have been having so much fun. i did not realize how beautiful the cal academy looks than that. what other events take place here? >> we do corporate events that night on a regular basis. but nightlife is your best bet to come in as a regular person pharmacy the academy at night, and visit with friends. calacademy.org/nightlife. we have details for the next few weeks. you can get tickets online in advance or at the door. >> thank you so much. thank you for watching culturewire on sf gov tv. >> good morning, everybody.

welcome to city hall. this is one of those special days that i gets a chance to not only swear in the people, but to also think so many members of our community throughout this wonderful city of barours to hep with how we run the city and what policies and values we set forward. and how all these individuals are going to help all of us make sure that we are connected to all of our constituents. a big thank you to everybody here today. thank you very much. [applause] i want to welcome supervisor wiener, the chief of police, thank you for being here.

i will miss other officials, i am sure, because my age and height are always working against me. [laughter] our district attorney, george? you are right behind the bright lights. [applause] we have members of our community -- john burton is here. i have a lot of people giving me some great advice of how the city can be run better. it can always be run better. no matter what i am doing, how hard i am working, there are always people who can help us. whether it is on a police commission, a veteran affairs, all the numerous departments, we

can always do better. that is what i will be asking you to help us do. we have 24 appointment today. they span 16 appointed bodies. 12 of them are reappointment, and 12 of them are new appointments. i want to mention a few because they are exciting. they will end up with a lot of hours of your time. it is not to say that every commission here today is as important as the other. they are extremely important to the citizenry of our city. allen, you will help us. a lot of hours doing that. there are a lot of people looking forward to open space and improvements in their communities. he will be spending a lot of hours doing that. suzy and thomas, a police

commission. public safety, it is selling pour into our city. it is -- it is so important to our city. we want a safe city. thank you for stepping up. malcolm, taxis. when is my taxi going to be here? you have already spent hours and dino you will contribute quality hours -- and i know he will contribute quality hours to our transit system. as we approach memorial day, i want to signal our contribution to the veterans affairs. you were going to use all of your expertise, not only in the employment development area and the work force area, but your

presence, your commitment to our country and for veterans, he will signal to them that we care about are returning veterans. we want them to look -- we want them to succeed. to each and every one of you, all the commissions are important to me. you are my a conduit to my constituents. everyone of you are heeding the call to be an additional voice for our citizenry. i want to thank all of you for your contributions that you are about to undertake. to just representing the diverse fabric of our city. you come from all walks of life and some of you -- come out of safety havens and coming to a

public dialogue about what is important. how do we think and act and feel about the city? you'll hear it raw and in a very nice way, e-mails, texts. can i have a word with you? this is our great city, this is why we have so many commissions. i celebrate all of that with you. if you are ready, please stand up and raise your right hand. and repeat your name in unison after the word "i." repeat in unison at the commission's you are about to join. i do