related to domestic violence. it was very popular and successful. we had everyone asking when the next one was one and -- was happening and when others could sign up. i hope that after today, you come away with a sense of the resources available to your constituents who come to you with these problems. please send them to our department or any of our partners in the project. there are quite a few resources available in san francisco. into very much. supervisor chiu: why don't we now open it up to public comment. if anyone wishes to speak to the topic, please step up to the microphone. >> good morning. i am douglas yep. i am glad this item is being brought up.

it has long been overlooked. i am sure everyone will appreciate what you have done. when i first looked at the item, i thought it was interesting there was only one supervisor as a sponsor. i thought was interesting why there were not more sponsors. i wanted to bring that item. i want to thank the commission on the status of women for their work. domestic violence happens every day, especially in these trying economic conditions. i would like to take this opportunity on the subject of the best violence. domestic violence to mention a novel that is not been put forth in a certain way like i will do now. domestic violence involves a lot of psychological violence. the reason i believe this is because during my career at san

francisco general hospital. i had to deal with many victims who when they talked about what happened at home also mentioned a concept that led me to figure out maybe they should have a term called psychological violence. the idea was for the proven in my head at general hospital -- further proven in my head at general hospital when i had two the workers of mine, both asian females, who were in my opinion and the opinion of others victims of psychological violence at work. even though both of them continued to work, i think they have been scarred for life. i think it is really a shame that the two of them have not had their stories mentioned it to anyone at all. my attempts to speak to the commission on the situation was blunted because it was not

within the jurisdiction. when i saw this item,, i think this is the proper and time to put on the public record that the concept of psychological violence even without domestic violence is something that should be checked out. the concept of psychological violence is something that i have to give credit to michael savage 4. he popularized the concept of psychological nudity. most people do not understand it. when you look into it, it is a novel idea. i think the courage to change is something that must be supported. my final comment is that the courage to change also applies to -- [tone!] thank you. >> thank you. any other speakers?

please line up. >> good morning. i am beverly upton, the executive director of the domestic violence consortium. i am also a chair on the mayor's family violence council. we're so proud of the work that has been done over the years, stemming from the tragic homicide in 2000. as i talked to my colleagues across the state, we are one of the few cities that have kept our commitment to keep domestic violence a priority. i was speaking with someone in the belly the other day. they said they have short initiatives after murder but and it goes away. i have been thinking about our mayor and supervisors. most of them have not gone through the years where we used to have the average of 10 domestic violence homicides a year. we're down to two and it could happen any day.

we never know if we will stay at around two. but we've seen significant reductions. when we see that in so many cities, we are not seeing the kind of priority that san francisco has kept with keeping domestic violence on the radar screen. it is the reason we should stay vigilant in making sure we get this mou in place. there will be a lot of shifting in leadership starting in november and over the next year or two. we want to make sure that the progress we have made over the years is left intact and that the new leadership will serve not only as a model but a springboard to move forward to increase our progress. i want to thank everybody at the city level has been involved in this. they have really done a great

job and stayed involved. we would like to see the mayor's office of criminal justice strengthened in the future. we hope to see that. the mayor, the board, the probation department, language axes, the d.a.'s office, the police department, and 911 have been instrumental in coming together in this model project. we're so pleased to see it and be a part of it. thank you. [tone!] it would be great to see justice made a part of the overall progress that the city is making. the doctor gave a great overview of how justice is going. perhaps a representative from the board of supervisors from time to time or a hearing to make public the progress might be something that could accelerate this project. thank you so much. supervisor chiu: next speaker.

>> my name is ken tyson on the audit committee. i wanted to speak to a couple of different issues. one is the justice issue. i also shared another investigation. it there were recommendations for change. the reason i bring it up is that we made progress back in. i started in 1990. from 1990 to 1994, we made some great progress. unfortunately because there was no more pressure from the top and not enough pressure from the bottom, we kind of slipped back. six years later, we have the other tragic murder. i would urge the board of supervisors to apply pressure

from the top. all too often, the city at the top levels, not just this mayor but others as well, they have dropped the ball. i was here 10 years ago in may when willie brown was the mayor at the time. he promised justice would be up and running at the end of december that year. we're now more than 10 years since then. not only do you need to keep the pressure on in whatever way you can do it, but make sure that justice is actually implemented. that was one of the recommendations we made in october of 1991. that was from the chiron investigation. we need to realize the only

languages we're talking about are not just chinese, cantonese, and a few other dialects of chinese. in this city, there are over 100 different languages spoken. my office every day takes 600 calls from clients. probably 200 of those are people who speak a language other than english. the city needs to make an effort on languages so that when those people call for help, they will get competent cultural texas as well. >> thank you for your comments. supervisor chiu: any final speakers? >> ♪ close your eyes give the city and hand do you feel it's hard beating? do you understand?

do you want good change? and my only dreaming or is this city burning the eternal kurds blame? say the women's names, sunshine through the rain city life, make a big change try to understand the one good change? and my only dreaming -- am i only dreaming or is this city heading to the courage to change? ♪ supervisor chiu: thank you. any other speakers? with that, public comments are closed. >> thank you, supervisor chiu. i want to say great work to

everybody. i am curious about how we might be able to increase the demand and pressure about zeroing in on more bilingual access. when i looked at the numbers as the hearing was taking place about the san francisco police department, only 7% of the department is certified bilingual. that is based on our own studies. 7% compared to other cities that report their bilingual numbers. that was pretty low. if there is any effort that we might be able to do to stimulate that component of this institutional frontline access, i would say that is important. on immigrant communities, especially communities where we see other nations are host to immigrant communities that have

a different cultural way of life and dealing with family and domestic crises and how women are treated, it makes me wonder if there are any languages that we're not covering? are there any languages that might be of african dialect other than french? it is usually french or english as part of the universal languages. those are the secondary languages. are there any languages that we should be trying to 0 am on? supervisor mirkarimi: are there any that might be dialects of the arab world? this is a significant increase of the population coming into the united states. there are sort of differences in how these issues are handled.

>> and the director of the department of status of women. we could not agree more. language axises one of the top recommendations from the audit. we have pursued that in a very focused way. right now, we have the language line basically. we do not have trained personnel who come to the scene and can respond in any number of different languages. that is what we want to move toward. i remember when we first announced the donation from at&t and the ability of officers to have telephonic interpretation. we said we really wanted officers who could respond in a variety of languages and not just the telephone. in response to that, we worked with the office of civic engagement to do the bridges to

freedom language training. it was very interesting. the front-line staff really got something out of it. they felt like the city was investing in them for their language. i think there are ways to work with human resources and other departments to have better incentives for language training, to really encourage people to take advantage of additional language training. i do not have an answer on which languages we are missing. i think that would be a great audit survey. that would be in terms of what languages we need to have more research -- resources in. supervisor chiu: as a final point of commons, i want to thank all of the city administrators who are here to move the set of reforms forward as well as the community advocates and representatives from the domestic violence consortium. it was not too long ago, 20 years ago, when policy makers are questioning whether the

battered women's syndrome was really a real phenomenon. where we are today in san francisco, government gets it and is working closely to ensure provision is laid out in all forms put forward. my colleagues and i are 100% committed to making sure that all of these reforms have been in short order so we can see if we can bring the number of two homicides a year down to zero. without any further comments, let me ask if there are any other items on today's calendar. >> the complete the agenda for today. supervisor chiu: at this time, the meeting is adjourned. ♪

>> welcome to "culture wire." on this episode, we visit with one of the arts commissions very special teams. >> the asia-pacific island cultural center receives help from the census but our commission. john mean today to talk about in off festival is the executive director.

welcome. i understand this is the 13th annual festival. can you tell me the name? >> the name is a celebratory name. we also celebrate what we call the asian-pacific islanders as well, in terms of culture, experience, and multidisciplinary arts. >> the festival is actually very wide-ranging. you have 16 venues, and how many different performing arts centers? >> we have over 85 artists participating, 16 venues, 21 events. there are over 15 groups that are performing.

>> there recently kicked off at the beginning of may and will continue through june 13? correct? >> that is correct. unlike in the past years, we have had to expand the festival because there has been so much activity and so many people want to be part of the celebration. we're very honored and pleased to have the festival going all the way into june. >> we're kind of coming in on one of the groups. >> francis is one of the pioneers of the asian american jazz movement and is also one of san francisco's very own. we're very honored at the cultural center that we can be part of the program. >> an addition to him, what are some of the other highlights of the festival? >> we have three gallery openings in the festival. one is called reclaim, which is

a film art. the others are receptions that are happening at four different the supervisors' offices. the other is called mining the creative source. >> think you for sharing the content with us on "culture wire." >> thank you very much. >> it is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the strikes at uc-berkeley of the study of ethnic studies. it is a celebration of that history, as well as some of the other items. >> what led to this multidisciplinary collaboration? >> i am from san francisco, and from the 1960's on, that is the aesthetics. the poets, working with the musicians, dancers, the waitresses, the jazz club,

actors, whatever. the idea is we are all a community and we share this common story. >> did you reach out to the dancers? how did it come together? did they come to you? >> the choreographer and dancer actually was a student of mine and residency in cameron house and chinatown. i developed a friendship with her over many years, and also with the spoken word artists. i met him at a benefit at one of the benefits in chinatown. it is part of that ongoing really rich relationship building that happens in our arts community. >> i got a chance to hear a little bit of your performance, and i am a big fan of john coltrane, and you play a phenomenal sax. can you tell me a little about your musical influences. >> a particular piece about john

coltrane was he reached out to asia and his global vision. as an asian american growing up and coming up in this country seeking some recognition, that was a very meaningful, making that kind of contribution. i really owe a debt to john coltrane for recognizing my culture and uplifting it as part of the music as well. >> i know that your family history is really rich and complex in terms of illustrating how the chinese has occurred over the last two centuries. it could talk about that? >> it began in the 1870's, when my great grandfather, instead of coming with everybody else to the united states to build a railroad, he went off the coast of madagascar are. -- madagascar are.

he met a woman there who is creel, african-american, french, and chinese. they married, and they had family, and i am the product of that. growing up here in the bay area, we have some influences because it is the gateway for emigration. from many countries. you walk down the street, you are participating in that mix. in my music, i really want to express and represent that kind of topic that goes on in the streets. it is the most exciting part of being here. >> francis, thank you very much for being part of "culture wire" and thank you for being one of the great artists of san francisco. >> thank you so much.

>> in this fabulously beautiful persidio national park and near golden gate and running like a scar is this ugly highway. that was built in 1936 at the same time as the bridge and at that time the presidio was an army and they didn't want civilians on their turf. and the road was built high. >> we need access and you have a 70 year-old facility that's

inadequate for today's transportation needs. and in addition to that, you have the problem that it wasn't for site extenders. >> the rating for the high viaduct is a higher rating than that collapsed. and it was sapped quite a while before used and it was rusty before installed. >> a state highway through a federal national park connecting an independently managed bridge to city streets. this is a prescription for complication. >> it became clear unless there was one catalyst organization that took it on as a challenge,

it wouldn't happen and we did that and for people to advocate. and the project has a structural rating of 2 out of 100. >> you can see the rusting reinforcing in the concrete when you look at the edges now. the deck has steel reinforcing that's corroded and lost 2/3's of its strength. >> this was accelerated in 1989 when the earthquake hit and cal came in and strengthened but can't bring to standards. to fix this road will cost more than to replace. and for the last 18 years, we have been working on a design to replace the road way, but to

do in a way that makes it appropriate to be in a national park and not army post. >> i would say it's one of the most ugly structure, and it's a barrier between the mar sh and presidio. and this is a place and i brought my dogs and grandchildren and had a picnic lunch and it was memorable to use them when we come here. what would it look like when the design and development is completed. and we are not sure we want an eight lane highway going through this town. and it's a beautiful area in a national seaport area on the planet. >> the road is going to be so

different. it's really a park way, and it's a parkway through the national park. and they make the road disapeer to the national park. >> and the road is about 20 feet lower, normally midday, you go through it in two minutes. looking back from the golden gate bridge to presidio, you are more aware of the park land and less of the roads. and the viaduct will parallel the existing one and to the south and can be built while the existing one remains in operation. and the two bridges there with open space between them and your views constantly change

and not aware of the traffic in the opposite direction and notice the views more. and the lanes of course are a foot wider than they are today. and they will be shoulders and if your car is disabled, you can pull off to the edge. and the next area, the tunnel portal will have a view centered on the palace of fine arts and as you come out, you can see alkatrez island and bay. and the next area is about 1,000 feet long. and when you come into one, you can see through the other end. it's almost like driving through a building than through a tunnel. and noise from the roadway will be sheltered. and the traffic will be out of view. >> when you come out of the

last sort tunnel and as you look forward, you see the golden dome of the palace of fine arts and what more perfect way to come to san francisco through that gateway. >> it will be an amazing transformation. now you read it as one section, the road is a major barrier and then a wonderful strip along the water. all of those things are going to mesh together. >> right now the road really cuts off this area from public access. and with the new road, we will be able to open up the opportunity in a new way. >> this bunker that we see now is out of access for the general public. we are excited