pets and just their companionship and how they are invaluable. so everybody's having fun. >> we're the city's open door shelter. that means we take in every animal that comes through our door regardless of age, condition, species, everything in the city comes through us that is in need. >> animal care control, it is such an important agency and is very understaffed, has very few resources. but we make animals don't have a home, that we get them a home and that we don't put the animals to sleep, that we're able to adopt them out. >> we have a huge number of

volunteers who come in and they will walk our dogs, socialize our animals, play with cats, play with them, bring them to adoption events today. >> i volunteer with the animal control center and i do that every week. >> we're in an organization called friends of a.c.c. with that organization, you can donate money if you don't have time. if you do have time, you can come down to the shelter and volunteer to actually have one-on-one time with the animals. if you're like me and you don't have time to give to an animal, if you actually have one of your own, you can get your fix on the weekends, come in and pet them and love them and it's great. >> this has been pet pride 2011 brought to you by san francisco animal care and control. to find out more, visit them on the web at sfgov

>> i love teaching. it is such an exhilarating experience when people began to feel their own creativity. >> this really is a place where all people can come and take a

class and fill part of the community. this is very enriching as an artist. a lot of folks take these classes and take their digital imagery and turn it into negatives. >> there are not many black and white darkrooms available anymore. that is a really big draw. >> this is a signature piece. this is the bill largest darkroom in the u.s.. >> there are a lot of people that want to get into that dark room. >> i think it is the heart of this place. you feel it when you come in. >> the people who just started taking pictures, so this is really an intersection for many generations of photographers and

this is a great place to learn because if you need people from different areas and also everyone who works here is working in photography. >> we get to build the community here. this is different. first of all, this is a great location. it is in a less-populated area. >> of lot of people come here just so that they can participate in this program. it is a great opportunity for

people who have a little bit of photographic experience. the people have a lot, they can really come together and share a love and a passion. >> we offer everything from traditional black and white darkrooms to learning how to process your first roll of film. we offer classes and workshops in digital camera, digital printing. we offer classes basically in the shooting, ton the town at night, treasure island. there is a way for the programs exploring everyone who would like to spend the day on this program. >> hello, my name is jennifer.

>> my name is simone. we are going on a field trip to take pictures up the hill. >> c'mon, c'mon, c'mon. >> actually, i have been here a lot. i have never looked closely enough to see everything. now, i get to take pictures. >> we want to try to get them to be more creative with it. we let them to be free with them but at the same time, we give them a little bit of direction. >> you can focus in here. >> that was cool. >> if you see that? >> behind the city, behind the

houses, behind those hills. the see any more hills? >> these kids are wonderful. they get to explore, they get to see different things. >> we let them explore a little bit. they get their best. if their parents ever ask, we can learn -- they can say that they learned about the depth of field or the rule of thirds or that the shadows can give a good contrast. some of the things they come up with are fantastic. that is what we're trying to encourage. these kids can bring up the creativity and also the love for photography. >> a lot of people come into my classes and they don't feel like

they really are creative and through the process of working and showing them and giving them some tips and ideas. >> this is kind of the best kept secret. you should come on and take a class. we have orientations on most saturdays. this is a really wonderful location and is the real jewel to the community. >> ready to develop your photography skills? the harvey milk photo center focuses on adult classes. and saturday workshops expose youth and adults to photography classes. >> hello. welcome to "culturewire."

we are here today with bay area artist jody chanel, and we are here to see the plaza where your piece has just been installed. >> i have been doing large-scale paintings in the galleries and museums, and the idea that in the future, i could do something that would hang out a little bit longer than the duration of the installation the kind of appeal to me. i quickly found out about the san francisco arts commission school and realized there was a pre-qualified school you had to apply to, so i applied to the. >> how long did it take you to develop this work for the plaza? >> this was a fast track project. design development was about a month. >> let's look at the beautiful

mural. i have never seen a mural created on asphalt. >> the heat of the asphalt, a new layer of asphalt. then, these wire rope templates that were fabricated for the line work get laid down and literally stamped into the asphalt, and then everything was hand-painted. >> maybe you could talk about some of the symbolism, maybe starting in the middle and working out. >> [inaudible] the flower of industry. >> it is like a compass. there's an arrow pointing north. >> within the great bear consolation, there are two pointed stars here. they typically lead one to the northstar, otherwise known as polaris. so i thought it has a layer of

theme. >> let's talk about some of the other elements in the peace. we are walking along, and there is a weather vane. there's a sweet little bird hanging on the side. what kind of bird is that? >> [inaudible] the smallest of the gulf species, and it lives around the bay area. >> you want to talk about the types of flour patterns that you send? >> [inaudible] around 1926 or so by the dahlia society. >> what is this bird here? >> that is the california quail. >> coming up here, we had a little blustery theme. what is this area here? >> this is supposed to be the side view, the expense of the golden gate bridge.

>> there it is. >> there are really beautiful elements of architecture still around, i would say that it gives that feeling over to the work. >> what are your hopes for it? >> that in a way it just becomes part of the area. i think it is starting to have that feeling. people utilize it. they sit and, and have their lunch and play on -- they sit and, and have their lunch and play on that -- they sit and come and have their lunch and play on it. just for it to be part of the neighborhood. that is my hope. >> is such a beautiful addition to our public art in san francisco. thank you for joining us. it was nice to meet you. and thank you for telling us about your beautiful mural. thanks for watching

"culturewire." >> thank you for being here. i want to thank the young people for being here, because you are the future. there are going to be things in this building and you are going to see that are not normal in those buildings yet. they are cutting edge, but by the time it you are my age, everybody is going to have this stuff, and you will be some of the first to see it. it is great to have you here. really quickly, this is a building we are proud of, because this is really who epitomizes the value in san

francisco. it uses a third less power than a normal office building. it saves money. i want to kick it off by introducing the mayor over his career he has have so many different figures on this building from being the administrator to being the mayor, so this is a welcome thing. phyfe good morning, everybody -- >> good morning, everybody. i have got the same eyes as you today. this is the first time i have stepped into this building as well. everything you see is going to be the same as for me. i am going to last questions, --

to ask questions, and i am going to try to figure out where this water comes from. i am going to have the same questions as you have because i am excited about this building, and i am thankful to the public utilities commission, to the wonderful staff, and the others on the team. i am thankful to the commission as well that they have been guiding this process. some years ago when i was an attorney, i was working on this side. this used to be the site of the workers' comp hearing room, and i had to go to court to represent workers who were injured, and over the years the state abandoned it. it became an abandoned site. and we were a little embarrassed because we did not know how to deal with it for years, and the idea came from others.

after so much effort, why don't we stop paying rent for all the offices? why don't we consolidate but of the same time use our devolved intelligence about building the greenest building weekend, -- we can? we are one of the green is buildings in the country. this is the only building that is going to reuse its waste water. it is creating energy by wind and by solar on the roof in very large amounts that will have the design and now working with the contractors. good i want to thank n d for his wonderful construction capabilities, and because they

house accepted a design and all the challenges that go with it to build if the right way. they use special concrete. they were to make sure air flow can reduce the amount of air conditioning we see in many of buildings, and it is terrain high use of energy for the system to work, but the air flow so that 20 or 30 years down the road when we are redoing these floors, we will be able to do it in a much more efficient manner. in fact, this building saves the puc and the city's $500 million over the next 100 years. that is great because the puc exists because of ratepayers.

they want to see the smartest technology. gerd they want to see a building that not only houses 900,000 employees but also those that are smart handling a strong interest in making sure we continue maintaining a water system. not only is it a great building. this is for you. this is a building that educates you and your families for generations to come. how we take care of our water system and how we maintain the system not just for san francisco insert but for the people who depend upon a national water system and maintain it and spent a lot of money making sure it is

earthquake safe. this building is also going to be the safest building to be in in case there ever is an earthquake event, and we are doing that with our libraries, our civic buildings, and we will build new buildings, and we want to make sure it will withstand. if you are in buildings, it is going to rock a little bit, but it will be saved. i was here over a year-and-a- half ago, and we were across the street and putting on the last dream, and we were already excited to see how this would come out, and every floor has special things, and it is using all of our artwork, so you can see the ninth art work. they are displayed to make it a

good working environment. the other part and we are so proud of is working with all the subcontractors, 40% of all the work force until this building and designed its are san francisco residents commo, so we honoring our critical goal for the jobs we want. we have honored the union and labour to make sure it happened the right way, so this represents so much of the good things we have always wanted out of our public buildings and construction company, and i want to congratulate dpw, our public utilities commission and staff, contractors, community of arts programs, other agencies working in with this, and our vendors,

whether they are contractors or the other businesses that help with the video and electronics and this building to make it not only modern but technologically updated so four years you're going to be able to see the whole hetch hetchy water system displayed for our kids and future families but also to use it in every day technology for communications. this is more than just a building. it is a demonstration of what we can do when we work together to put the goals of the greenest and most modern and technology in blessing with what the public utilities commission does for a city, and that is to take care of our own water and infrastructure and waste water. congratulations for a wonderful effort, but congratulations for a building i know you were involved in every part of this,

and it is a great way to really have a wonderful legacy you have high. congratulations to you. [applause] >> thank you, merely. when you said you had not been inside this building, you could give the tour. one thing i would like to point out is david is back there. they are the designers of this building, so much of the credit also goes to david. there are two other people. we will mention a lot of names, but we have the project managers. [applause] to start the tour, you know where our water comes from? the answer is hetch hetchy.

everybody who comes into our building will not be as smart, so we have done a teaching also about when children and parents come into this tobin they can learn about the system through this teaching wall. i am asking you to turn on the walnul that shows you can see that it comes down to the central valley and produces energy on the way. it has a variety of customers in the southern part of the area. you'll notice it is interactive. you can learn as you walk around the ramp, the kind of things.

it goes from blue kite to purple plaid and that represents the waste water. we call this from snowfall to out all. do you know what happens when you flush a toilet? where does the water go? the water goes to the treatment plant. that will not be the case in this building. it would be a different experience because they would be reusing the water on site here.

>> san francisco recreation and parks department offers classes for the whole family. rec and parks has a class for everyone. discover what is available now and get ready to get out and play.

henri matisse. frida kahlo. andy warhol. discover the next great artist. get out and play and get inspired with toddler classes. experience art where making a mess is part of the process. classes and the size the artistic process rather than the product. children have the freedom to explore materials at their own pace and in their own way. talks love art, especially when they died into the creative process -- dive into the creative process. at the end of the classes, they have cleaned and washup. of.com great way to get out and play.

for more information, visit sfrecpark.org. that out and play and get into the groove. rec and parks offers dance classes for seniors. first-time beginners or lifetime enthusiasts -- all are welcome. enjoy all types of music. latins also, country and western. it is a great way to exercise while having lots of fun. seniors learn basic moves and practice a variety of routines. improve your posture, balance, and flexibility. it is easy. get up on your feet and step to

the beat. senior dance class is from sf rec and park. a great way to get out and play. >> for more information,