♪ meet cathy, who's lived most verywhere, from zanzibar to barclay square. but patty's only seen the sight, a girl can see from brooklyn heights, what a crazy pair! ♪ cathy: oh my, patty. did you find all your files? patty: finally! who knew it would be this much work when richard and i decided to retire! cathy: well, what are you going to do first? patty: we're heading down to brooklyn heights and start in on that social security paperwork. cathy: why would you do that? patty: what do you mean? cathy: it's so much easier to log onto socialsecurity.gov and file online. patty: what if i need to know how much money i'll be getting? cathy: online. patty: what if our address changes? cathy: online. patty: what if i want medicare too?

cathy: online. patty: so, how did you get so darn smart anyway? cathy: online! ♪ when cousins are two of a kind! ♪ >> we all sound very excited because we have some special guests. we have nearly -- mayor lee. [applause] and we also have our very own superintendent coranza. i am sure you want to hear a few words from the superintendent, correct? from mayor lee? the spring them a warm harvey milk will come. -- let us give them a warm harvey milk will come. >> good morning, everybody.

welcome back to harvey milk academy. it is my pleasure to join all of you, the students, parents, faculty, and school administration, to kick off a wonderful year. how many students want to be mayor of san francisco? how about a mayor from the civil rights academy of harvey milk? we would be proud of that. i want to welcome everybody back. i know you had a great summer. i want you to approach this school like a sponge, soak up everything that you can learn. it is great to have knowledge about everything going on in the world, what is going on in the city. by the way, i will be supporting your parents and teachers and faculty to make this the best school in san francisco. how about that? [applause]

and you are starting out fantastic. this is what san francisco is about. all the parents involved children and faculty to make this the best school. you have a mayor that will pay attention to our school, education, make sure you get the best education, because i want you to have my job some day. how about that? welcome back, welcome to the great school of harvey milk. you have a wonderful faculty who is going to teach you and expose you to a lot of different things to keep you active. we are going to help the city make sure your after-school programs are solid. thank you and have a great year. welcome back. [applause] >> thank you, mayor lee. superintendent coranza.

[applause] >> good morning, boys and girls. we can do better than that. when i say good morning, i want to yell as loud as you can. good morning. >> good morning! >> that is beautiful. are you excited to be back in school? and one more time, good morning. >> good morning! >> we are excited to be here with the mayor who has a busy schedule. i will tell you why we wanted to be here at harvey milk. harvey milk looks like san francisco. it is the most diverse school in our district. it is a beautiful school. you know what is also great about harvey milk? we know, based on last year's assessment, we predict harvey milk will have great growth in student achievement again this

year. isn't that great? [applause] that is great because we know it does not happen without the wonderful teachers you have. so i want you to be sure to listen and pay attention to your teacher this year and do what they say. if you do, they will prepare you to be mayor one day or superintendent one day, or president one day. so listen to your teachers. you have a great principle. she fights for you every single day to make sure you have your resources to be successful. i brought some people with me that wanted to come and see harvey milk civil rights academy. these are people i work very closely with but they are so excited to be here because they heard about all the good news and all the good stuff here at harvey milk civil rights academy. first is our board member. hydra mendoza. the other person is the

assistant superintendent that supervises harvey milk's above its academy, margaret chu. [applause] i also brought with me the deputies said pete produce superintendent for so solid justice, mr. garrido. this is such a special school, i brought two deputy superintendent. the other deputy is in charge of policy and operations. myung lee. he is jumping back there. does anybody here want to be a lawyer? oh, come on, parents. this is so special, we brought the general counsel, the big lawyer in the district. his name is don davis, and he is over there. and then our director of communications is a factor as

well. -- back there as well. why do i introduce the people to you? because we are so proud of harvey milk civil-rights academy, we all wanted to be here on the first day of school. this is not the last time you will see us. we want to come back to read in the classrooms. i understand you do a school dance. maybe we get invited to do that. we want you to have a great school year. q want to thank all of you parents for all that you do. we cannot do this without you. let's have a great year. yay! [applause] >> thank you. we have traditions here at harvey milk. one of the traditions is a dance that we do. boys and girls, what do you do? tell us what we do.

>> the cuban shuffle. >> come to the middle if you are going to do the cuban shuffle. this is a dance that we do. parents, teachers, come on up. ♪

>> just a few steps away from union square is a quiet corner stone of san francisco's our community to the meridian gallery has a 20-year history of supporting visual arts. experimental music concert, and also readings. >> give us this day our daily bread at least three times a day. and lead us not into temptation to often on weekdays. [laughter] >> meridians' stands apart from the commercial galleries around union square, and it is because of their core mission, to increase social, philosophical, and spiritual change my isolated individuals and communities. >> it gives a statement, the

idea that a significant art of any kind, in any discipline, creates change. >> it is philosophy that attracted david linger to mount a show at meridian. >> you want to feel like your work this summer that it can do some good. i felt like at meridian, it could do some good. we did not even talk about price until the day before the show. of course, meridian needs to support itself and support the community. but that was not the first consideration, so that made me very happy. >> his work is printed porcelain. he transfers images onto and spoils the surface a fragile shes of clay. each one, only one-tenth of an inch thick. >> it took about two years to get it down. i would say i lose 30% of the pieces that i made. something happens to them. they cracked, the break during the process. it is very complex. they fall apart. but it is worth it to me.

there are photographs i took 1 hours 99 the former soviet union. these are blown up to a gigantic images. they lose resolution. i do not mind that, because my images are about the images, but they're also about the idea, which is why there is text all over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around union square. for the 100th anniversary of the mansion, meridian hosted a series of special events, including a world premiere reading by lawrence ferlinghetti. >> the birth of an american corporate fascism, the next to last free states radio, the next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell, the

next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own, the next to last leftie looking for obama nirvana. [laughter] the first day of the wall street occupation set forth upon this continent a new revolutionary nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning

back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen. >> after the readings, the crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪ under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and

event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming. ♪ looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪

>> everyone deserves a bank account. in san francisco, anyone can have a bank account, things to an innovative program, bank on s.f. >> everyone is welcome, even if you are not a citizen or have bad credit to qualify for a bank account is simple. just live or work in san francisco and have a form of id. >> we started bank on s.f. six years ago to reach out to folks in the city who do not have a

bank account. we wanted to make sure they know they have options which should be more low-cost, more successful to them and using chat catchers. >> check cashing stores can be found all over the city, but they're convenient locations come with a hidden price. >> these are big. >> i remember coming in to collect -- charged a fee to collect a monogram. >> people who use check catchers, particularly those who use them to cash their paychecks all year long, they can pay hundreds, even a thousand dollars a year just in fees to get access to their pay. >> i do not have that kind of money. >> i would not have to pay it if i had a bank account. >> bank accounts are essential.

they keep your money saved and that helps save for the future. most banks require information that may limit its pool of qualified applicants. encouraging to turn to costly and unsafe check captures. >> i do not feel safe carrying the money order that i get home. >> without a bank account, you are more vulnerable to loss, robbery, or theft. thankfully, the program was designed to meet the needs of every kind, so qualifying for a bank account is no longer a problem. even if you have had problems with an account in the past, have never had an account, or are not a u.s. citizen, bank on s.f. makes it easy for you to have an account. >> many people do not have a bank account because they might be in the check system, which means they had an account in the past but had problems managing it and it was closed. that gives them no option but to go to a cash -- check catcher

for up to seven years. you want to give these people second chance. >> to find account best for you, follow these three easy steps. first, find a participating bank or credit union. call 211 or call one of our partner banks or credit unions and ask about the bank on s.f. account. both -- most bridges will have a sign in their window. second, ask about opening an account through bank on s.f.. a financial partner will guide you through this process and connect you with the account that is best for you. third, bring some form of identification. the california id, for an id, or your passport is fine. >> now you have open your account. simple? that is exactly why it was designed. you can access your account online, set up direct deposit, and make transfers. it is a real bank account. >> it is very exciting.

we see people opening up second accounts. a lot of these people never had account before. people who have problems with bank accounts, people without two ids, no minimum deposit. we are excited to have these people. >> it has been a great partnership with bank on s.f. because we are able to offer checking, savings, minimarkets, certificates, and loans to people who might not be about to get accounts anywhere else. even if you have had a previous account at another financial institutions, we can still open an account for you, so you do not need to go to a check cashing place, which may turn to two percent of your monthly income. >> you can enroll in free educational services online. just as it -- visit sfsmartmoney.org. with services like financial

education classes and one-on-one meetings with advisers, asset smart money network makes it easy for you to learn all you need to know about managing, saving, investing, and protecting your money. the network offers access to hundreds of financial aid programs. to help their eruptions, fill out the quick questionnaire, and you will be steered to the program you are looking for. >> who want to make sure everyone has the chance to manage their money successfully, keep their money safe, and avoid getting ripped off. >> it sounds very good. i think people should try that one. >> to find out more, visit sfsmartmoney.org or call 211 and ask about the bank on s.f. program. >> now you can have a bank account. open one today.

>> 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. >> olympic fever hits the civic center on tuesday, august 7 at the recreation and park location complete with gourmet food, games, arts and crafts and plenty of family fun. some watched the games broadcast on the big screen while others got in on the action. carnival rides and the olympic- themed activities inspired kids of all ages to go for the gold.

the talent competition fee " -- featured local performers. winners receive cash awards and bragging rights. >> it is great. i am really excited. >> until next time, i get out