making sure that our country had a big blue print, a plan for transportation. without senator boxer's leadership, this bill would never have been silent. we are grateful to senator boxer for her leadership and getting us a two-year bill, a blueprint on the big picture ahead that really allows us to put our friends and neighbors to work in construction jobs. but the celebration today about this announcement is important because it really does take us to the next generation of technology. when this tower is open, as michael will tell you, it will have the next-generation technology for guiding planes in and out of this airport and guiding people on those planes in the safest possible way. i am delighted to be here for the community, those that serve

on the board and leadership positions to say thank you for what you're doing with the people of this area. and to modernize this great airports of people can fly safely in and out of san francisco. thank you for including me today. >> it is my great pleasure to introduce the acting administrator, a longtime friend andrea leader delivering on successful partnerships not only with the control towers. also working on delay reduction as well. welcome the administrator, michael huerta. >> it is great to be back in san francisco. it was 105 degrees in washington and i can't tell you how great it was to land and hear that it was 55 degrees in san francisco.

it is great to be back and i am happy to see job and my good friend, merely. i am so proud the faa is joining with this partnership on the construction of a new air traffic control tower. the faa is contributing $70 million to of effort that will create an estimated 600 jobs, including 400 construction jobs. while it creates needed jobs here today at the airport, it is also a down payment on the bay area's future. i want to affirm what you would just a second ago. this new tower is an extremely important economic investment in the structure of this region. we support 10 million jobs across the country and over 1 million of those jobs are right here in california. and 89 billion jobs of frayed trade moves through the state by

air. when aviation succeeds, the economy succeeded in california succeeds. san francisco has always been america's gateway to asia. it is interesting that san francisco is the only american city that has a chinese name? old gold mountain, san francisco. severances go has always been a destination and a gateway to asia. it is an enormously popular destination for visitors from all around the world. managing air traffic at this airport is a challenge because of the tight environment. this is actually a very small facility, but they move a lot of traffic through this airport and they moved it very well. we have a lot of airports in the bay area, and we have the power

very he weather conditions, one of the great joys of living in the bay area. in partnership with this airport, we have done a great job in getting flights safely in and out of your -- out of here. first, the tower is going to be built according to the strictest modern seismic standards, which is important in the bay area. it will include several green creatures like solar panels, recycled materials, reflective roofing. it will provide air traffic controllers with an unobstructed 360 degree airfield view along with the most up-to-date safety equipment for managing air traffic control. the new tower is one of many efforts the faa is making in san francisco.

i want to recognize the western pacific regional administrator that has invested a lot personally, and has done tremendous work on numerous aviation projects right here in the region have right here at this airport. you are supporting an effort to enhance runway safety areas. and as the faa transitions to the satellite based air traffic system, we will have better solutions for the tough problems here like whether related delays and limitations that have occurred because of the short and enclosed space that characterize this airport. as a result, it will have a suite of new tools for this region and many other metropolitan areas across the country. it is a great day in san francisco, this will be of great power when we move into it, and i look forward to having a first-class facility.

thank you very much, and thank you. >> thank you, michael. al, my great pleasure to introduce a great leader from san francisco and a great supporter of this airport, mayor lee. >> it is my pleasure to join secretary has and acting administrator as well as our own john martin, the director of the airport to celebrate the groundbreaking. if you know this and you are a student of air control or air traffic, you should know that the first quarter of this year, we had almost 11% increase in passenger travel. compared to last year's same quarter. if you compare ourselves to the other 12 airports around the country, for the last 12 months,

we are leading the pack with a 5.6 increase in passenger travel. it is critical to not only san francisco, to the bay area and all of our neighbors around the region, i would argue the whole area of northern california to have a safe and successfully operating airport. like any infrastructure, i want to let you know that i wore my lucky guy. this is the tide of the golden gate bridge. it is one that i will proudly wear every time we have a major announcement for infrastructure efforts that we have. and certainly, secretary, with you, you head up agencies that are so critical to the infrastructure of our whole transportation system in the country. whenever you come here, i enjoy

these announcements because it is another reflection of the investment we are making, the investment the airport commission, the staff, the director, all of the partners we have investing in generations to come of the transportation systems that we need to make sure the economic and regional recovery continues. that economic success for generations continues as well. we raised the bar with this newly designed air traffic control tower. it is a win-win situation. it will obviously create the jobs that the administrator has signaled for the men and women in construction. in fact, it will not only be technologically advanced, but one of the inside jokes i have with the airport staff, we're finally going to get a tower were the elevators go all the way to the talks.

-- to the top. it will be the iconic design, and in fact, i was one of the olympic torch runners in san francisco for the beijing olympics, as your call. i want to talk to john before he wrote his article about this to see the similarities of the torch, but it is a beautiful design. it also accomplishes at the very basic function of a higher level seismic safety and technological advancements. if i may say, as a great player to all of our federal partners, senators feinstein and boxer, leader pelosi and all of our partners and congressmen, we're working hard to make sure that we take our investments and make sure that we implement those

programs for future generations. this is what being a mayor, we are grateful to be able to do. federal agencies, transportation, and if you look at how our money that we had, if you consider the department of transportation funding for the transit center for the central subway, the latest announcements about the high-speed rail commitments, we are doing the kinds of things with federal agencies that will spell out what our future needs. it will make generations of people appreciate not only san francisco, but all of our bay area partners together to make sure the investments are right. it is about investing in our future, i am very grateful to not only partners here today, but i am excited to get this

thing rolling. let's start digging as soon as we can and get our folks to work. i know they will enjoy at, and i look forward to being here in the fall of 2014. i know there is a europe where the faa has to make sure everything is safe, but i look forward to that fall when we can travel to the top and make sure that the elevator goes all the way. thank you very much. >> i want to also recognize the team members on this project, the construction team, project managers, architects, engineers, the finance staff involved in getting this project together. they may work for 15 different organizations, but they are working seamlessly as one team, and that is why this project is ultimately going to be very

successful. before we have the formal groundbreaking, i would like to open it up for questions from the media. any questions? how is the new tower going to be different from what we have now? >> it will be 50 feet taller and it will provide a 360 degree view. it will be a larger cap outfitted with modern avionics. we will be using it to control air traffic and we will provide an unobstructed view of the airfield, which is extremely important. it will be fitted with new safety technology that we are introducing at the airport and will result in a much more efficient system, a much more efficient use as well as being a green facility. >> for air travelers, the whole

reason we are making investments in technology as we are planning for the future growth of aviation. we need to be able to handle more traffic, more efficiently, without delay. using advanced procedures that reducing fuel burn, cost, and noise. what that translates to is that you have a much higher likelihood of getting to your destination on time. >> i'm sorry? one of the things we are very focused on in san francisco is doing everything we can through technology that will enable us who have the equivalent of a beautiful sunny day weather conditions and we can handle traffic in all weather. that's what these investments are all about.

>> [inaudible] >> aviation operates under a concept of sense and avoid. you want to be sure that pilots and other users, everyone operating in the environment has good situational awareness of everything that is going on. in addition to dealing with traffic in the air, you have to be sensitive to what is going on the on the ground. it is a complex operating environment and nothing substitutes for being right there when dealing with a complex facility like san francisco.

>> attendees learned about the benefits of digital literacy from various speakers. >> the things your learning, the things you're living, that we all are living, it all involves technology. >> workshops. and even a performance. >> ♪ we want to stay connected at there is a big old world out there i may be over 60, but i love those mp3's we are savvy users ♪ >> they also featured an onsite computer cafe, complete with personalized assistance. >> my organization is community technology networks, and we unite volunteers and organizations to transform literacy. folks are coming in and using the computer for anything from

kasich e-mails to facebook to skype. it is all over the place. we have prevacid settings. somebody wanted help with matching.com. travel. understanding how to use websites to book travel put all the way to, how do i find information like an internet search, and a lot of youtube watching. the headphones are out. people are watching videos. it is pretty great. our volunteers are located in 26 senior centers around the city. they're there to help with one- on-one questions. they're teaching small classes. helping seniors with whatever they need. for a senior interested in becoming computer literate, they can find a senior center near them. >> to learn more about the san francisco department of aging and adult services and the

>> good morning, everybody. welcome to the technology summit. we are looking forward to a fantastic day. we are going to start with a demonstration of the wii system. it is an interactive gaming system that allows people to play different activities and participate in different fitness activities together. a lot of wii systems, about 40, are being deployed around the city to different senior centers and residents facilities to encourage older adults to get more involved with physical activity using technology. we're going to spend the first 30 minutes or so demonstrating

the wii. not only will we demonstrate how to use it, but we will doe demonstrate adaptive devices so that it can be an inclusive activity for all adults and children. my name is dr. chris thompson from the university of san francisco. go, dons. 1855. i have not been there that long. i am in the department of exercise and sports science. i think it is a good match for me to be demonstrating the wii, which is a good physical activity. i am joined on the stage by a student, not from usf, but from san francisco state. we actually talk to each other. this is mackenna.

>> good morning. >> finally, i am joined by alicia from the independent living center in san francisco. it is great for all of you to be here today. people will be trickling in over the next half hour. we will give you a taste of what wii is like. we have set up the game. i will start by playing mackeena in a game of tennis. the interesting thing about wii is we use this little remote. just by moving our arms, we can control movement on the screen. you will be watching up on the big screen as we play a game of tennis. are you ready? all right. we will select two players.

that is me. does that look like me? it kind of those -- of does. does that look like mackenna? that is not by chance. you can make the person look like anything you want. they can even look like aliens. interesting. we are going to play some great tennis today. ok. one thing to tell you, there is a little bar on top of the television. it picks up the movement of our arms. we're going to face the television as we play. here we go. how many of you are cheering for me? how many of you are cheering for her? what is up with that?

[laughter] that is it. you are going down. we're going to play a single game of wii tennis. are you ready? all right. here we go. we're going to get intense. [applause] >> eco dash 15. -- 0-15. [applause] 0-30. >> she is currently destroying me. i will make a comeback.

[applause] >> 0-40. >> this is not good. she has triple match point on me. >> match point. >> ok, i am ready. [applause] ♪ >> i just got destroyed. there we go. i lost badly. let's hear it for mackenna. ok, we're going to demonstrate one other sport quickly. then alicia and i will play. maybe i will have them play a game of wii tennis themselves so

we can see how the adaptive equipment works. we're going to go to quit. we're going to a different sport. we're going to go to baseball. all right. we have two players for baseball. in baseball, you have a pitcher and hitter. i will be pitching. actually, i will be hitting. she will be pitching. are you ready? ok. go ahead. oh, no. [laughter] that is not good. all right. i have one strike on me. oh, no. this is horrible. the pressure.

oh, i think i struck out. this is not good. [laughter] ok. very good. she can choose different pitches to pitch. that is kind of fun. here is our team. our team is getting ready to take the field. we will be playing each other in a really tough game of baseball. it looks like a nice day over at&t park. let's do this thing. oh, i swung too late. strike one. too early. strike two. oh, no. [laughter] i'm out. this is awful. this is very embarrassing.

pitch. yes! what a catch! that was a great catch. our final out in the inning. go ahead. fouled it off. destroyed. uh oh. oh, no. i did not score that inning. i did not even get a hit. now we switch. i am attaching -- pitching. i will throw a fastball right by her. fastball coming, the heater. yes! strike. oh, my gosh. that is crushed. she is going to have an inside the park home run. this is not good.

a triple. that is not good. boo. boo. that is it. you are going down. here comes a tough pitch. strike! there we go. strike! i struck her out. one out. if she scored a run, she will win. we have to refer her to strike out two work times. -- we have to root for her to strike out two more times. use long to early. he swung too late. you are going down now. too early. this is it. this is the final. this will be a tie game. oh, no! this is awful. i made the catch.

we ended up tying the all of the innings. we both played a full inning. one of us pitching, one of us hitting. it is a fun way to engage in an activity together, get a little competition. it is always friendly competition. good game. [laughter] ok. but we also want to show is that the wii can be used with people who may have disabilities, who might not have full use of their arms or legs. we have alicia from the independent living center to help us demonstrate some adaptive equipment specific for people with disabilities to use the wii. it is great to have you with us. >> thank you. great partnership. >> you will turn yours on.

ok. notice she has a hat on that has a wii remote mounted on it. instead of using her arm to control the remote, she uses her head. we will play a couple of games. it will be me against alicia. you better root for alicia. this is the main menu screen when you start wii. the main activity is in the left corner, sports. turn yourself off. are you off?