>> thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. one more round of applause. [applause] if you look around you tonight, you will see poster board. celebrating, acknowledging, the first asian americans. we have the first asian-american actress in hollywood. the first asian-american nba player. the first members of congress. these interns are the future of

our community. they are the reason why we are here today. we're also here to celebrate and recognize one of the greatest members of our community. this year it is the first year we are giving the lifetime achievement award. the lifetime achievement award this year is going to secretary norman manetta. he is a trailblazer. a man who paved the way for many of us. he was the first asian-american mayor of a major city. he was elected to congress 10 times. he was the first person to serve two presidents in a cabinet. first as secretary of commerce

to president clinton, secretary of transportation to president bush. it was on 9/11 that secretary mineta showed us what he was made of. he made the call to ground all of the planes. it was secretary mineta who instituted the policy is -- policies at tsa. it was secretary mineta who prevented the profiling of arab- americans and muslim americans in our country. tonight, we honor secretary mineta and we give them -- him this for a very special reason. i want to thank the san francisco giants for donating this bat. the reason why we are giving

this back to secretary mineta is because of what happened to him when he was a young boy. secretary mineta was forced to relocate into the internment camps. as a young boy, he was taken to the train station by military police officers. as a young boy, he was a huge baseball fan and he had his prized possession with him, his baseball bat. military police saw the young boy with his baseball bat and said you are not taking it with you. that is a weapon. what did they do? they took away his prized possession. later on in his life as a member of congress, a very generous person heard the story and offered him an autographed hank aaron bat.

as a member of congress, you are not allowed to accept a gift valued over $200. so the government took away his back again. tonight, we cannot replace the bat that was taken away from that young boy. but we do give them something that we hope will take its place. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the first ever recipient to of the lifetime achievement award for services rendered to the asian american community and services rendered to our nation. i give to you secretary mineta. [applause]

>> i cannot think of a more appropriate gift tonight than to receive this bat. i want to thank the mayor, and everyone, members of the board of supervisors, for hosting this event tonight. all of us who have had the privilege of serving in public service have gone to that point because we were standing on the shoulders of those who preceded us. i want everybody here to remember that whenever they do in the future, bring everything you are and bring everything you want to the jobs you are going to be doing. there are tremendous opportunities that are out

there. asian-pacific american heritage week is a time for all of us to be able to show the majority community what we are capable of doing. it is also a time when people in the asian pacific american community are learning about each other. many people say that the united states should be a melting pot. i did not believe in the melting pot theory. when you have a melting pot, you put all the ingredients into the bowl, stir it up, and everybody loses their identity. in the asian pacific american community, there are over 150

languages, religions, cultures, everything you can think of. we do not want to lose that identity of our own history regardless of where our forefathers have come from. i want everybody to be proud to of the language of their forbearers, the religion, the history, the culture, and the arts. again, i do not want us to lose our identity and the community in this great nation. again, thank you very much to the members of the boards for this wonderful gift bestowed upon me, and let's go ahead to continue to hit the ball park --

hit the ball at the ballpark. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, we will bring up our founder to say a few last words. we would like to ask all of the previous speakers to come up for a photograph. it is the hard work of these board members -- without their hard work, none of this would happen. thank you to everyone.

>> we would also like for the judicial officers in the audience to come up as well. if you are a sponsor, please come on up.

we will ask the founder to speak a few words. ladies and gentlemen, we will start our cultural program after words. food will be served in the four corners of the program is going on. i present you the founder.

>> thank you very much. thank you. i especially want to thank the organizers and the leaders of the event. i want to thank you for coming here to celebrate the heritage month. i especially want to thank the state leaders, some are here, and some are not. enjoy the rest of the celebration. have a good time, take care. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, i would like to give a round of applause to our emceed tonight. tonight.

[applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to the transbay transit center construction site. i am maria ayerdi-kaplan, executive director of the transbay joint powers authority. i want to welcome everyone to our future grand central station of the west. [applause] as all of you know, a transit center will serve the nine bay

area counties. will serve southern california, and it will be the northern terminus for future high-speed rail. [applause] until today, the transbay construction site in join the distinction of being the only high-speed rail project under construction, but that is no longer going to be the case, and the reason for that is we have federal, state, local and regional leaders, through their commitments and passion and vision and determination have brought high-speed route to california. and it is now a reality. especially gratifying is that by signing today's high-speed rail funding bill, we will be creating thousands of jobs, just like with transbay. since the start of construction, we have created 2000 jobs. we have been working with veterans to provide job opportunities for wounded veterans. we are providing internships and mentor should pocket --

opportunities to our youth and disadvantaged communities and women. we are proud of that accomplishment. you will be seeing that as well with high-speed rail. [applause] thank you. with that, i would like to introduce a man that requires no introduction, who is counted among the very earliest supporters of the transbay transit center and high speed rail. i can personally attest to the governors came focus on transportation's critical role in economic development and providing the foundation for california's future prosperity. having met with him when he was the mayor of oakland on the transbay project. gov. jerry brown has had a remarkable career as an elected leader in california. he has been responsible for some of the state's most innovative public policies. and because of his commitment to and leadership of high-speed rail, we know this is the right investment for the state's economy and transportation infrastructure and the right

investment for people in pursuit of a better future. let's bring a -- give a warm round of applause to our governor jerry brown. [applause] >> thank you. it is an exciting day here, it really is. i sign my first high-speed rail bill 30 years ago. it has taken that long to get things going. i was at union station earlier this morning and that station is full of people. it looks like grand central station in new york. maybe not as many, but thousands of people. people lined up around the corner to get into the restaurant. pretty significant. why? 30 years ago, nobody was in there. it was an empty cavern that you could echo your voice down the corridor, but there were no people. now there are trains locally,

and now we are connecting high- speed rail to san francisco. yes, it will take awhile. it took awhile to do anything. when bart was proposed, my father was governor, and they barely got it approved. you even had a local county here that says we do not want part -- bart. now they are getting it. a little late, but they are getting it. i know there are some people that want to put their head in a whole and hope relative changes but i do not see it that way. this is a time to invest to create thousands of jobs. the buildings that go up here did not come out of fear. they came out of bold risk- taking. the private sector, along with it, we have to invest in the public sector. golden gate bridge. [applause]

abraham lincoln started the intercontinental railroad in the middle of the depression -- rather, civil war. i was not around then. i was a run for the end of the depression. in the middle of the civil war, he did it. we had the golden gate bridge in the middle of the depression. when things are not going good, it is not a time to hunker down and hope it all blows over. you have to take the he horns and start spending and investing in things that make sense. that is why we are here. to put people to work. [applause] i am very glad that we will have something that people can come to for generations. for some, you may not be around when it is finished, but i want you to think about those that built the cathedral of europe. first it was the son and then the grandson and then the great grandson. it may have taken six

generations but they had a vision of a future. it was not about me or the self gratification of today. it was about sacrifice,, endeavor, it was about poland together the resources of a community to make sure, in years to come, the community prospered and the quality of life improves. that is what this is all about. thank you for being a part of it. [applause] >> thank you, mr. governor. he is right. it has taken us over 40 years to get to the construction of the transbay transit center but we stayed the course, we did our hard work, we never give up, we believe in the project and vision, and we made it. that is what we would do with high-speed rail. the next person i want to introduce is a native san francisco serving his -- serving his second term in the state senate representing the sixth district, including sacramento. senator steinberg has experience

at state and local levels of government, having served on the sacramento senate. his skills have earned the highest respect of his constituents and colleagues, leading to his reelection. please join me in welcoming center and president pro tem steinberg. [applause] >> thank you, maria. thank you very much. i am actually one of those guys that grew up in san mateo county. if i had been of a voting age, i have -- would have voted yes on part. it is wonderful to be here. -- on bart. i want to think the governor for his inspiring words, for not giving up on california, for not giving up on vision in difficult times. i want to acknowledge my colleagues in the legislature for doing an incredible job in

difficult circumstances, a couple of whom are represented today. the chair of the budget committee, mark leno. [applause] two members of the assembly are also here. kathleen, who was one of the inspiration behind this. norah campos, welcome. [applause] i see art pulaski here also representing organized labor. thank you for making this possible. [applause] very briefly, the people know that we can cut, and the people know that we can patch and mend, but the skeptics certainly wonder whether we have the will to build it. do we have the fortitude to see beyond the present moment in time and again something that would dramatically change the

way california moves over the next century? we have a choice. we can paint farmland with new roads and blanket skies with airplanes, but the air we breathe will be no better than tailpipes. we have got to build high-speed rail. this note is not just important in the long term. this project has transformed from high speed rail only two and a billion dollar infrastructure infusion into our existing and future transportation networks, and we are here today as evidence that this is about economic vitality , investment, not just in the central valley where the need is great, but throughout all of california. the economy is national and international in scope. a meeting of the federal reserve can affect california's unemployment more easily than most of the decisions we make in

sacramento. this decision is an exception to the rule. $8 billion worth of investment. hundreds of thousands of jobs. so on behalf of my colleagues, you have done an outstanding job in the assembly. not quite as much, as i had in the senate. 21 votes. it was a piece of cake. but we all worked together with the governor and with all of the stakeholders that care about california to do something great, great today and great in the future. thank you very much. i appreciate it. [applause] it is my honor to introduce the great mayor of the city of sacramento -- excuse me. geez.

first i was in san mateo -- the great mayor of san francisco, ed lee. sorry about that. [applause] >> that is ok. as long as you did not call me jeremy lin. thank you, everyone. a warm welcome to our grand central station of the west. i would like to begin by just personally, and on behalf of the city, thank governor brown for your leadership. it is a wonderful breath of fresh air to have clarity in the state, clarity and purpose, collaboration, willingness to listen. i worked really hard with the other mayors to articulate what our needs are in the urban cities across the state. i have been lucky to work with mayor villaraigosa, the mayor in fresno, major league, as we

begin to talk to each other about how we can contribute to the conversation happening in sacramento. we have always been welcomed to participate in that lively discussion about how we can get the whole state moving forward. yes, we have problems, but we know the high speed rail was going to be that connectivity kind of project and development that we could all share in view we can talk about the investments that we want to make in our local cities, but that is connected to our future, and it is the right thing to do. it begins with a great think you to the governor and for your leadership. i want to thank senator steinberg. and so, it is getting hot out here. of course, we know what he had

to do. in the aftermath, we are laughing at the success because we were able to do it, but in this critical hours when we had to count the votes, we had to ask ourselves, did we have the leadership and told this? daryl, you have been there, thank you. speaker progress, i want to teach -- think each member of the senate and house for suggesting to the people of california that this is a time to make the right decision. it has been so many years. we have seen a lot of battles that did not come to a conclusion. this is the right conclusion. it is so right, when we made the decision, then the federal agencies came in and complemented it. that is why john mccarthy is here, deputy of transportation. it is the same thing we are doing in our city. we are coming together with our board of supervisors, malia

cohen is here, mta board, we're coming together to make investment. you do not get the investment unless you get investor confidence. so with all the agencies, whether it is caltrans, sfmta, the fed's or regional, local authorities here, we are creating confidence, and we are not waiting. when the public, when the voters say, are you just debating? no, we have made that investment. 2000 jobs already created. and guess what? more to come in a greeley plant way. this is not only the grand central station of the west. when this is finished, you have a hub of transportation that is connected to 4000 residential units that will be built in and around the area. 11 acres of new open space. five of them above ground. these are the transit hub residential centers that we want

to build which are the future of california, and it is happening right here with private investors along with public investors. so this project means much more than just celebrating a great transit system of high-speed rail. it is a connector for our future development across the state. it is investor confidence building. it begins with these men and women on the job already who are doing a great job, on time, on budget, and they are showing you now that this can get done. investor confidence in the state of california, i want to let you know that this is a larger picture we are creating. that means more generations of people having faith. government, community, and business can work together if we have the right idea and the right leadership.

thank you very much for your time. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. now i would like to introduce the deputy secretary of transportation. john has been instrumental in ensuring americans have access to a sad -- fast, safe, and effective transportation system. john and secretary lahood have been tireless advocate for california in executing the vision of president obama for a smart transportation system across the united states. they played a critical role in securing the funding for the activity you see behind you. please join me in welcoming in and thinking deputy of transportation. [applause] >> when you see here is a great the senate, speaker of the house, who could not be here, with the local leadership, mayor lee and his