outreach is good. i would like to work together, wherever you are. i want to thank our panelists. i hope that you will as well. [applause] i hope that that gave you some food for thought, the idea here about things that we will talk about in the breakouts. we have got some food and beverage out there. i know that we have drinks, cookies, even sandwiches. it should be in room a, one of our breakout sessions. take this opportunity to use the west -- the restaurant and find your own way. thank you.

-- rest room and find your own way. thank you. >> feel like it really is a community. they are not the same thing, but it really does feel like there's that kind of a five. everybody is there to enjoy a literary reading. >> the best lit in san francisco. friendly, free, and you might get fed. ♪ [applause]

>> this san francisco ryther created the radar reading series in 2003. she was inspired when she first moved to this city in the early 1990's and discover the wild west atmosphere of open mi it's ic in the mission. >> although there were these open mics every night of the week, they were super macho. people writing poems about being jerks. beatty their chest onstage. >> she was energized by the scene and proved up with other girls who wanted their voices to be heard. touring the country and sharing gen-x 7 as a. her mainstream reputation grew with her novel.

theses san francisco public library took notice and asked her if she would begin carrying a monthly reading series based on her community. >> a lot of the raiders that i work with our like underground writers. they're just coming at publishing and at being a writer from this underground way. coming in to the library is awesome. very good for the library to show this writing community that they are welcome. at first, people were like, you want me to read at the library, really? things like that. >> as a documentary, there are interviews -- [inaudible] >> radar readings are focused on clear culture.

strayed all others might write about gay authors. gay authors might write about universal experiences. the host creates a welcoming environment for everybody. there is no cultural barrier to entry. >> the demographic of people who come will match the demographic of the reader. it is very simple. if we want more people of color, you book more people of color. you want more women, your book more women. kind of like that. it gets mixed up a little bit. in general, we kind of have a core group of people who come every month. their ages and very. we definitely have some folks who are straight. >> the loyal audience has allowed michelle to take more chances with the monthly lineup. established authors bring in an

older audience. younker authors bring in their friends from the community who might be bringing in an older author. >> raider has provided a stage for more than 400 writers. it ranges from fiction to academics stories to academic stories this service the underground of queer fell, history, or culture. >> and there are so many different literary circles in san francisco. i have been programming this reading series for nine years. and i still have a huge list on my computer of people i need to carry into this. >> the supportive audience has allowed michele to try new experiment this year, the radar book club. a deep explorationer of a single work.

after the talk, she bounces on stage to jump-start the q&a. less charlie rose and more carson daly. >> san francisco is consistently ranked as one of the most literate cities in the united states. multiple reading events are happening every night of the year, competing against a big names like city arts and lectures. radar was voted the winner of these san francisco contest. after two decades of working for free, michelle is able to make radar her full-time job. >> i am a right to myself, but i feel like my work in this world is eagerly to bring writers together and to produce literary events. if i was only doing my own work, i would not be happy. it is, like throwing a party or a dinner party.

i can match that person with that person. it is really fun for me. it is nerve wracking during the actual readings. i hope everyone is good. i hope the audience likes them. i hope everybody shows up. but everything works out. at the end of the reading, everyone is happy. ♪ >> 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.

>> i am the director of community affairs. it is a great pleasure to introduce mr. john martin. >> thank you all for being here. [applause] thank you for being here for the opening of the marine response

emergency facility. i want to begin by introducing several dignitaries. the first is commission vice president mike hardeman. thank you. and commissioner steve nakaja. and i want to introduce our police department deputy chief at the airport, the guy in charge. david chen is here. from the adjacent coast guard facility, the commander. and we have staff members from our congressional delegation. we have staff members from senator feinstein's office, nancy pelosi's office, and others. thank you for joining us today. [applause] throughout our history, safety

and security has always been our priority. safety and security of our passengers, and safety of our employees. we are building on that commitment by commissioning what is the first fire rescue boat house facility on the west coast of the united states. more simply -- [airplane noise] we are at an airport. this is the first marine emergency response facility on the west coast. more simply, we can call it the first fireboat house at an airport. it is a core value for the airport team that we have worked together to provide an exceptional airport, that we are innovating, and that we work in partnership. this is a partnership between the fire department and the

airport. great project work by airport staff and the division of design and construction, who designed this building. the engineering staff support to the work. the architectural team and the design and construction staff -- i would like to recognize all the staff involved in the successful project. [applause] completed on budget, and one month ahead of schedule. we have an outstanding fire department staff at the airport. i believe we have one of the most recognized fire department staffs of any major airport in the u.s. the airport is committed to making sure staff has the latest and greatest technology and equipment to support their operation. the team is led by deputy chief mike morris, assisted by ed dale. we thank them for their great

work. [applause] it is my great pleasure to introduce major -- mayor ed lee to say a few words. >> thank you. i know that word leaked out i will be on an america's cup catamaran next week. i am sure this facility was identified as the very first fear reducer for me to be on the water. let me express my pleasure to be here with director john martin and his wonderful staff, with his airport commissioners that are here today, along with the chief and the chaplain, also here to give blessing to this wonderful facility. the chief, of course, is working closely with us. they have both upped their willingness and collaboration to work together on this very important facility.

this facility is something i point to as the new merf -- the marine emergency response facility. the airport can provide an extra level of safety for not only passengers, but for anybody that is in the bay near the airport. this facility, and equipment introduced today, will reduce the response time from what today is averaging around 25 minutes to get rescue equipment out into the boehner by --- bay nearby to something under five minutes. that is lifesaving. this is representative of every time i have come out to the airport. whether it is a new international terminal that, under the leadership of john martin, was done, the new

terminal two, the new traffic control towers about to be constructed, to a facility that is an extremely important collaboration, not only with the fire department, but also in strong collaboration with our cost card. this is essential -- with our coast guard. this is essential. this is why we have the infrastructure commitment that i have been talking about ever since i started working for the city. i have had the pleasure of working with john. his expertise and his team out here, retired as well as current, have made a strong commitment to make sure we have the modern facilities to take care of us. guess what? on the eve of america's cup, there is renewed use of our waterways for recreation, but also increase ferry services

going on because of all the alternative traffic use we have to have. it is part of our airport operation, because our airport is on the water. we are having a record number of airplanes landing. we must modernize our facilities for the future use. that is why i love the airport. it is always looking out for the next generation effort, making sure the infrastructure can respond to that. i also enjoy the fact that it is working with our fire department to really house the equipment we have to use. whether it is the mou spoke -- moose boat -- i love that name, because it was a nickname for me. from that to the ski jets, asking whether there is room in the back for my golf clubs -- i

need a faster way to get to monterey bay. all kidding aside, we have another facility that demonstrates our investment in infrastructure. it is on time. in fact, it is ahead of time and well within budget. the source of the money comes from the airlines, who are committed to making sure the have an operation that is always safe, always ready, with anything that could happen. of course, we have father green to make sure things do not happen. but it is a collaboration of people that are experts in emergency response. i want to say again we are ready for anything that occurs. but today, it is about thinking the designers that worked for the city, the airport staff, dpw, and the consultants, who

have designed something that looks simple, but houses all of the things we need to do, to manage an incident that we hope never happens. but we will train and be ready. we are going to communicate, collaborate, and practice on the water, around the airport, and with the staff. when we do, we will be that much more ready for any incident that could unfortunately happen. i want to thank everybody who has been involved. certainly, it demonstrates the airport commission, the fire commission -- their commitment in laying out the future. obviously, the leadership, with their duties and forward- thinking views on what it takes to make sure this will happen for generations. it is a new facility that is very unique to the west coast.

you will not have seen this until today. any facility along the west coast will take care of this problem. it will assure all of our federal and regional partners that we can take care of our bay, and take care of anything that will happen. i enjoy this on so many fronts, to see how our city is comparing for emergencies. that is what city should do. that is what airport should do. that is what fire departments should do as well. it is not just responding to an emergency. it is anticipating and preparing for the future. kudos to everybody on the family theme. i look forward to seeing this practice have been on a frequent basis, as we get ready for anything that could happen. thank you for your leadership. >> i am most grateful to the

fire chief for her partnership with the airport. we have an outstanding fire rescue operation here. it is now my great pleasure to recognize and introduce her. [applause] >> thank you. good morning. thanks for being here. after our remarks, we would love for you to look around this beautiful facility. john martin is truly a partner. he acknowledged his priority regarding excellent equipment, training, and infrastructure. but he sort of downplayed that. he has been, like our mayor, a huge champion of public safety. it is an honor to stand with both of you today, evidenced by this facility, which will add to an already top of the line fire department facility at the airport. what you see here will enhance

our ability to respond to water- related emergencies that much quicker. it is cutting edge, just like everything provided by the airport. the san francisco fire department operates three stations here. we are solely responsible for emergency incidents in and around the airport. many of the members of the san francisco fire department assigned to the airport are here today. i thank you for your dedication and professionalism. there are a lot of people think. we are very proud to be standing here today and cutting the ribbon. it will be a facility that we will use often. hopefully primarily for training, but we will be ready and anticipate any water-related emergencies. this will assist us in getting to the scene, assisting our partners in the coast guard more

readily. i would also like to acknowledge it architects, engineers, and builders of this fund facility. we have a five member commission. all of them have supported our efforts not only in the city, but at the international airport. thank you for being here. also, with our partners in the police department. thank you so much. we worked as a team here at the airport, with all of the members of the airport. team worked in the arena of public safety is essential. it is no different down here. we appreciate the partnership and the cooperation and support we get from the international airport. this is a huge illustration of that support. we enjoy a wonderful equipment, state of the art equipment for the airport, and i cannot thank you enough for that. i believe we will be giving tours. we will answer plenty of

questions about the moose boat. it is about a 20 minute response to this area from the point. now we will have it with other marine equipment and vessels, and we will be able to get to where we need to much sooner. i saw mayor lee looking very closely at those jet skis. we call them personal watercraft. we will make sure we get a life vest on you. john martin is an expert swimmer. in case of emergency, we can send john in. thank you very much. we appreciate you coming out. we will be prepared for any emergency, and it is an honor to serve. among to acknowledge my team. i am here with my deputy chief of operations, and deputy chief mike morris, who oversees the airport division. he is capably assisted by our

fire department chaplain, who i believe is going to bless this facility and start us off on the right foot. thank you, and have a good afternoon. >> it is my pleasure to introduce the fire department chaplain, john green. [applause] >> the real reason i was invited to date is because we are going to have a second collection to help pay for this facility. [laughter] it is a great honor to be here. this is a long-time dream that has finally been realized for the san francisco fire department here at the airport. we are grateful to all who dreamed the dream and who worked so hard to bring it about, and all who planned to build this facility. it is traditional, especially in the maritime tradition, to dedicate or to launch a new facility.

we just thank god for the gift of all the men and women who serve at the airport and are in public safety. we thank them for the many ways they have put their own lives on the line for the safety of others. we ask god to bless this building, which is the realization of a dream. to bless those who operate all of the watercraft stationed here. we ask you to give us all, and especially our country, the gift of peace. amen. thank you. [laughter] [applause] >> again, thank you all for being here. thank you all for making this project a reality, and your continuing commitment to making this unexceptional airport. we will all be available for questions. stick around for the tour.