the new brandon street wharf. thanks for the port of san francisco and the san francisco bacon certification and development commission for their vision in preserving and enhancing our magnificent and historic waterfront. while congressional business keeps me in washington today, i join you in spirit to celebrate the transformation of a once dilapidated pier into an exciting new space for out door recreation. ~ i wish i could be with you on this special day to enjoy otis redding's rendition of his father's dock of the bay. pier 36 was condemned due to deterioration. democrat laytion not only removed environmental hazards in san francisco bay, but opened the door for enhancing the connections between san franciscans and our beautiful waterfront. i have been proud to fight for federal resources to fill fa* sill tate for the south beach neighbors and all of san francisco. today the brannon street wharf with its public space is new park has become another jewel

along san francisco's magnificent embarcadaro. the open spaces and plazas will provide a safe and healthy environment for san francisco's families and children to gather and the interpretive exhibits including the beautiful portrait of wong fu yen will help visitors and residents learn about san francisco's rich labor and maritime history and vibrant immigrant communities. thank you again to mayor lee and mayors newsom and brown before him for making this possible and best wishes for memorable celebration. best regards, nancy pelosi, democratic leader. thank you. (applause) >> thank you, dan, very much. and please take our best and most gracious respects back to congresswoman pelosi, your colleagues in your san francisco office and of course in the capital. they are just fabulous for all of us. another group that needs recognition is the port commissioners themselves, present and past. they have been with us for this

project along the way. they have worked hard to marshal scarce resources to make this project possible as the budget kept rising and the need to do more work kept rising with it. and to say a few words of gratitude on all of our behalf, please welcome port commission president doreen wuho. (applause) >> thank you, monique. and i will try to be brief. you've had a lot of speeches. but i'm just as excited to be here and having heard that song, it really brought back memories as well. just two years ago as you heard, this newly constructed wharf and beautiful space was a thousand feet of closed waterfront. you've heard all the obstructions we had, and had a chain link fence and red tag as we call and was not usable. now it's the center piece of the waterfront. a new public space that welcomes the city to the bay. and thanks to the hard work and diligence of many people. i just want to reiterate, open space is a very important component of the port's planning process for the

development of the waterfront and the commission works very hard with the port staff. in the port's waterfront land use plan, our blueprint for the 7-1/2 miles of waterfront, we make a conscious effort to plan and maintain open access for the benefit of our residents and our visitors. and the port now has 86 acres of open space which is about 10% of the port property. and our ongoing plan can youxv for increasing this amount to 28 acres within the next eight years. so, this is not the beginning or the end, but we're in the midst of what we're trying to do. but as you know, you heard from all the other speakers, providing open space is a very expensive undertaking. in the past 13 years, the port has spent approximately 109 million on public spaces. and we've been able to do this, as you heard various sources of funding, but we want to acknowledge in particular today the tax payers of san francisco that have passed the two general obligation bonds in 2008 and 2012 that have made our open space programs

possible. and our partnership, as i said earlier, with our local, state, and federal agencies. this important project is also about our bay and everybody mentioned the important part in terms of addressing the seawall and addressing the sea level rise in the future. so, we hope to use this park to educate people about how active our bay and tides are with tidal columns that illustrate tidal change we experience each day. the change that can go up as high as eight feet. so, the port's open space is a reason for many people, both local as well as tourists to visit the waterfront in san francisco and we have become one of the most visible and loved waterfronts, i think, in the world. and all of us at the port commission are extremely proud of that. but i also want to mention as i have mentioned earlier, this is not really the work of just the current commission and i want to thank again mayor ed lee, the board of supervisors, bcdc, and the port commission. and our current port commissioner which leslie is

here today, my other fellow commissioners, commissioner kim lee brandon, commissioner willie adams, and commissioner murphy. and our former port commissioners. (applause) >> fx crowley, rodney fong who is here, mike halstead [speaker not understood], and dennis mccarthy and brian williams. they worked hard to make this day possible. and i have to recognize you again, mimi, for all the work that you have done. monique moyer and her staff have been very active in development of the brannan street wharf and i want to especially mention again on behalf of the commission the work of dan hodaf and stephen reid, and our neighbors and friends here in south beach. and as i like to say and in closing, one of the things i'd love to talk about in the waterfront when people ask me about it is we do have a conscious policy that every five to seven minutes you're going to come across an open space so you can enjoy the beauty of this bay. thank you. (applause) >> thank you very much,

president wuho. it means a lot to us you're here with commissioner katz and former commissioners. it's been a very long haul. the inspiration and vision for this open space and open space of the san francisco waterfront goes back at least 20 years, maybe 40 years, maybe 45 years. and the inspiration behind that has already been mentioned, but it is our colleagues at the san francisco bay conservation and development commission and many bay advocates including save the bay, san franciscans for a better tomorrow, all kinds of friends,san francisco beautiful, et cetera. and i want to say a special thanks to brad mcray and mindy young and travis before him at the bay conservation and development commission for advocating for open space, demanding it, penalizing us when we didn't do it as fatv as they like, and being very patient as well when it took longer and more money than anybody envisioned. so, please join me in thanking

bcdc and welcoming larry gold span, the executive director of bcdc. (applause) >> thank you, monique. and i want to recognize all the elected and appointed officials here today. and i especially want to thank supervisor chiu for his leadership on bcdc. and for all of their hard work on developing the great brannan street wharf. together, bcdc and the port of san francisco always seem to figure out how to make something get done for the waterfront. and we really do that in the spirit of cooperation and we try to do that in the spirit of creativity. and as you look around this marvelous space, i think you see both. plainly evident before you. let me say the only person between you and actually enjoying the space, i'll be very short. we all recognize that the bay is a regional resource that's protected by the state. and the brannan street wharf is

a project that is a major success of bcdc's and the port's shared vision of the san francisco shoreline. because the wharf is one of the key public benefits arising from the special area plan for the waterfront, a plan that was developed well over a decade ago by bcdc and the port to bring into alignment the needs and hopes of a wide variety of community groups, individuals and other stakeholders who are also interested in conserving and developing the bay and its resources. and conserving and promoting open spaces along the waterfront is increasingly important as the region grows. so, though the bay is 550 square miles and it goes from san jose to napa and solano county, as we look out it seems we can see so much of it. along with the bridge that carries its name, and we want to congratulate the city and county of san francisco and the

port of san francisco for creating this magnificent, magnificent piece of space that we can all enjoy. we have worked collaboratively with the community stakeholders who helped design it and we have created a public space that meets the needs of the people who both live around here and who visit san francisco. so, i'll get out of your way and let's now enjoy it. thank you very much. (applause) >> one more group to thank and it's the most important one. i would very much like to thank the men and the women who have worked tirelessly in the water and out, to demolish pier 36, rebuild our seawall, and create this great park for all of us led by [speaker not understood], i won't say everybody's name. but thanks to them, leslie builders, [speaker not understood] detrick construction, well man landscape, and many, many more, we now all have this park today

and for many generations to come. so, it is with great pleasure that i would like to invite the mayor, the members of the board, members of congresswoman pelosi's office, the port commissioner staff and president and my fellow department heads to cut the ribbon. [cheering and applauding] >> yeah, let's hear it. come on, pride the dock. [cheering and applauding] >> and when we are done, we invite you for some refreshments. please explore the park. there are interpretive panels. as you've seen, there are docents to talk you through the panels on labor on chinese immigration, or many other topics. ~ labor or please check out the title columns. all kind of great things for to you explore. so, thank you all for coming today and let's cut the ribbon. >> 4, 3, 2, 1. [cheering and applauding]

... >> 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? keep yourself off. we choose on the menu. hit a for you. on the main menu, on the upper left-hand corner we see sports. that is the activity we loaded in the console. using her head, she is choosing wii sports. it will be the two of you against each other. what is interesting is we have

buttons. instead of buttons on the remote, there are buttons she can use her hands with allowed to be an adaptive devices for someone with a disability. turn on your remote. he will play against each other. i will narrate. it will be mackenna versus alicia in a game of tennis. winner takes all. hit no for save file. these are the introductory menu screen for wii, very simple to navigate through. we will choose tennis at the top of the screen. they will choose two players. we have created a character that looks a lot like alicia and another character that looks like mackenna.

they will be playing against each other in a game of tennis. all right. all they do is simply stand facing the television. you will push a. hit ok. hit a. hit a and b together. here we go. single game start. alicia will be serving. mackenna will be receiving the surf. we will see what happens. by using her head, she is able to serve. nice shot. mackenna gets the first point. watch how alicia turns her head

to control the swinging of the racket. interesting stuff. she is serving again. mackenna hits out of bounds. you are tied. very well done. here comes another serve. boom. great serve. good enough. alicia scores another point just by turning her head. good try, mackenna, but you did not get anything. tie ball game. a great return by mackenna. alicia could not quite get to that one. she swung too late. 30-30. nice work. 40-30. one more point and alicia wins

the game. mackenna missed it. alicia wins. let's hear it for alicia. that is a quick overview of how we use the wii. questions? the question is, do you have to have a special computer to connect the wii to a television? the answer is no. this box is the council. you plug the cd into it and plug into the tv. any television will work with the wii. it works well with a big flat screen tv because you can see the action better. good question. one more question. allen?

the average cost? if you are one of the contract in city senior centers, this is part of our broadband technology grant, the average cost is zero. [laughter] if you were to buy this for your home, it costs a couple of hundred dollars. the games cost between $20.40 dollars. they have hundreds of different games to play. to the games cost between $20.40 dollars. and hundreds of different games to play. we have other adaptive devices that can be used with the wii. this is a foot pedal. -- this is a foot pedal. along with the buttons on the hand device connected to alicia's remote, we can use foot pedals if there are games the require numerous controls.

it is very adaptive. then, really interesting. what about someone who may be a quadriplegic and does not have the ability to use arms or legs? there is a sip and tug adapter that allows someone to control the wii with his or her mouth. you can still engaged the wii by puffing into the tube. this company has made the wii completely accessible for anyone to play. it is a great option. if you want more information about the adaptive equipment for the wii, visit alicia's booth. >> i work for the independent living center in san francisco.

i manage a program for people with disabilities that need assistance devices. there is a great program with the at&t network. a co-worker and i work with it. if anyone is interested in borrowing the equipment, you can call our office. we can help you to register. it has no cost. you can keep it up to 30 days. you can borrow a lot of things that will help people with different needs to play wii or do anything else. even simple things. let's say someone wants to buy a walker but you are not sure what kind. if the center happens to have different ones, you can try different walkers before you make a final decision of what you want to buy. >> fantastic. they will