pg&e approval. that is what we want to get going on. that is the first thing to do. if it does, we have a potential program and we will be back to you if it shows promise about ways to initiate it. commissioner mirkarimi: no action is required, correct? public comment on this item? >> i told the journal and i would mention that one thing that would be really blood would be to carve out the ability to deliver 50% local hiring in terms of doing this project. some of the things you might think about, you can talk to any of the commission members, you can talk to the city program,

and you talk about whatever you're going to do. people would really like to be a part of that. i think definitely just think about how you can commit to doing 50% local hiring on this project, a lot of people will be even more exciting -- excited about it. folks that are really hungry to be involved in green jobs, years of all them dirty power plants, for example. i'm just thinking out loud for you. it might be good here whenever you propose to us. it would be a really good thing to hear from you. commissioner mirkarimi: nothing stopping them from killing 100% local hiring, which we

encourage, too. >> one of the great stories -- sorry, walker wright. one of the items that is really exciting about the project in new jersey is that as a qualifying project, and there is nothing that says jobs have to be created locally. obviously, they are getting delayed consistently and there will be jobs on the install side. what makes us different, we have chosen to have 100% of our assembly jobs local right next to where the project takes place. commissioner mirkarimi: you enter into a time when leadership of others trying to push for a very strict agreements on amplifying the local hiring goals. it's something that we want to

send strong signals. any other public comment? public comment is closed. we will continue this to the call of the chair as well. how can you read the next item? >> item numbe 5, executive officer's report. >> i just wanted to follow up on the comments about the senate committee meeting and the possible legislation to assist the efforts. we went over those of briefly, so i don't want to go into too much detail. i would like to suggest that we have the staff working with the consultant staff to put together some legislative language that follows up on some of those ideas. i think that given budget

problems going on, it is nice to have legislation drafted for you. that is all that i have for you today. if there isn't any objection, i will ask them to help the conceptual ideas. commissioner mirkarimi: is that ok? and did you want to share any prospective -- perspective? >> the cca programs, one is no longer in business. another is up and running but had a lot to say about the problems of the programs and given pg&e activities.

we are certainly no stranger to that. if you take away the idea that you are -- or if we are to survive, there needs to be some changes in the regulatory field about how to compete. i think that was the main idea that they took away from that hearing. commissioner mirkarimi: i am curious what you thought the cpuc might take away from that. >> when he spoke, he basically said that they understood the problems and that they welcome some regulatory clarification about the kinds of things that they can do. one of the suggestions was additional fines and penalties. he indicated that he thought they already have that power.

just letters and that sort of thing. i think the cpuc, if they have the tools, they would use those tools. they don't really have clear tools on how to develop -- deal with that kind of situation. a competition going on. commissioner mirkarimi: i hope they have the will. to be more supportive of local government against private utilities. >> that is true. part of the reason might be that they are used to investors and utilities. they will not regulate. there is a little bit inherent question among the staff people because they are not regulated. they have little bit of that.

isn't it better if we regulate the entity? i think that they understand the problems of their, and i think that they are supportive of legislative changes to give them more power. commissioner mirkarimi: any questions? seeing none? -- none. public comment? public comment is closed. we will continue this to the color of the chair. >> item 6, public comment for items not on the agenda and future agenda items. commissioner mirkarimi: with a body like to suggest future agenda items? -- would anybody like to suggest future agenda items? public comment. >> the first part of my comments, i will represent the

green party, and you will see why. i wanted to flesh out a little bit more on the electricity reliability plan. another big red flag that we saw at the stake holders meeting was that the recommendation was for san francisco to become a big test bed for renewable efficiency technologies. while it is great for us to be a test bed, i think any of you that followed the green peace or the kind of work that people like me have been doing, we will say loud and clear over and over again that we have technology ready to go for other programs like it right away. making test bed technologies, and doing the big energy rollout

is not great interaction. i have not discussed my next comments with any of the groups that i work with or coordinate with. this is just me talking, but it is important. i will put you guys on the spot by being very political. if programs have the potential for public power, the potential for good electricity resources, we can see that having stability in room 200 of this building is absolutely crucial. you will hear from many grass- roots organizers that come next week, we need to start a very open and strong public process in which be sitting board

decides to 6 in room 200 so that when we get to the rollout of the other programs that are coming out, we know that we have somebody in there that will be strong with us, and we have somebody in there that has a good chance of doing four more years. we need you to start making that decision on tuesday and make sure you give us a lot of consistencies so that we are not getting to the mid-january and having a mad rush behind the process to appoint god-knows- who. i want to put that out there. s crucial to they/ success of cca. [chime] commissioner mirkarimi: any other public comment?

>> on what he was saying, i would like to know if someone is appointed to be mayor for this one year period, how would that affect them if they wanted to run in the future? if someone sat in that seat and they held the position and did a good job, would it affect reappointment to run later? if you guys could give us the information, i would be happy to know that. commissioner mirkarimi: anyone is welcome to speak with you afterwards. public comment is more rhetorical. we appreciate that. is there any other public comment? public comment is closed. i would like to thank everybody

for their input and participation today. thank you, madame clerk, sfgtv, sfpuc, lafco staff. we will have another meeting on december 10. it looks like it will be a very substantive agenda. i don't believe that there is any other business. seeing none, everybody have a great weekend. the meeting is adjourned.

>> thanks, everyone, for being here. i will be introducing todd, joanne, and randolph in a moment. i want to thank everyone for convening, particularly after fleet week, where we had another successful celebration, weekend of reflection on the remarkable sacrifice, heroism, and leadership that is shown every day by men and women in uniform. it is something that i look forward to every year, not just as the mayor of the city, but someone who has grown up in the bay area. and of course, millions around the globe are able to experience what is arguably the most fantastic demonstration of

american pride. we thought it would be appropriate to piggyback this celebration with those who have returned from service, a recognition of those veterans that have done so much, provided us so much, that we need to do much more to serve ourselves. that reciprocal relationship needs to extend past at a time in uniform. one of the thing that i think we have fallen short on in this country is the filling our promise to be returning veterans. you see that manifested in the most acute ways in terms of those that come back that have suffered the consequences of war, literally and figuratively.

those that have come back with physical challenges, mental health challenges, those that just come back to the challenge of coming back to an economy that is not as strong as when they left. as well, getting a job, education, competing -- completing the narrative of their life. one of the things we are trying to do in san francisco is connect the dots. one of the most important thing we can do, particularly in a declining resource base, is make sure that we are leveraging existing resources, connecting doctor, and make sure that the program we are providing are working together, scaling their efforts, and building partnerships. we talk about public-private partnerships here, but we also talk about public-public partnerships. something that we are celebrating today is the

creation of a new portal, our 311 call center. that will be available 24 hours a day in 24 languages to help our returning veterans connect the dots. we will be working collaboratively with the va. i am always amazed when i go to the conference of mayors, how difficult it is to work with the va, the va saying how it was difficult to work with the city. i have never understood that conversation because we are so proud of them and we are not pointing a finger at them, but rather recognizing their important contribution. as well, programs like swords for passage.

the va is a big part of our veterans connect network, a big part of our outreach and celebration, in terms of engaging the veterans community and recognizing the contributions of our veterans and celebrating and supporting those contributions. really this is a partnership between the va, the city and county of san francisco, and a remarkable organization that has been getting a lot of attention. iraq veterans of america. todd is the deputy director and he will be talking about what they are doing across the country to conduct similar dots across the country. nancy and her team have created a new portal, 311.org.

if you call 311, everyone there has been trained to connect veterans to grant services, jobs services, grants representing schools, a wide variety of things to serve our veterans, but all in one place. all you need to know is three simple numbers. finally, we are also connecting to our community college. one thing we all need to think about is a lifelong learning, regardless of state of mind. a lot of our returning veterans want to complete their education. they have the opportunity to connect with funding and community colleges the backbone of our education system.

you all know that. we are very proud of the san francisco community college and we will be talking about how they are a big purchase and in this effort as well. with that spirit, i am proud to ask todd hours to come up. he will talk about their great work. i hope he tells you where this idea came from, because it came from him, his partners. how long ago did you come in here? about five months ago. they said we want to work with the city and create a model that we can export to other cities. they challenged us, and we hope that we have met their challenge. we thank you for your leadership and for the inspiration. >> i have a few notes. contrary to popular belief,

marines can read. mayor newsom, sincerely, thank you. you are someone who put your money where your mouth was. you saw the issues at hand, and within a few months, you really stepped up and led the charge. iava is the first and largest organization built for the returning veterans of iraq and afghanistan. our mission is very simple, one that mayor newsom understand, to improve the lives of iraq and afghanistan veterans and their families. when my unit return from war, i was overwhelmed. there were so many resources out there, different outlets, departments trying to do things for us, it became overwhelming. it was sort of like drinking from a fire hose. one of the things we realized

was there has to be a way that cities on a local level can provide these resources from all different agencies into a single place. that is where this idea came from. we know in the city of san francisco, returning veterans will no longer be drowning from that fire hose. through this program, veterans of all walks of life, regardless of their deployment, will be able to call in and find these resources at a touch of a button. that is what we need, sparred, innovative thinking to combat these issues that veterans are facing right now. one of the main things that iraq and of canada and veterans are dealing with when they come -- afghanistan veterans are dealing with when they come home our mental health issues, difficulties in integrating into society. things can be overwhelming, so where do they turn to first? other local community.

this initiative will make a difference. one of the innovative ways the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america have engaged this new generation of membership is understanding that technology will be the key to outreach to a lot of these folks. we have developed something called community of veterans which is sort of like a social networking site for veterans of iraq and afghanistan. within their we are able to provide tons of resources, and we are ecstatic to be able to provide this resource in there. one thing that we also do is reconnecting veterans. when we deploy, we find ourselves on these little fobs with people. that is the goal. reconnecting people once they come home. the reliance we have on the national guard and reserve can be overwhelming. these folks are not on military bases, not in a place where they can reach out to a neighbor.

now we know there is a community here in san francisco that will support the veterans when they return. i would also like to propose another initiative. when i was in afghanistan, there was a tremendous amount of hills and mountains on a daily basis. as i was walking through the city, i was sweating and this little trolley came rolling up the street. we need those in afghanistan. it may save us in the long run. going up and down those hills is pretty intense. i sincerely want to thank you on behalf of iava, other veterans' organizations, everyone else who has been involved, thank you for your leadership. it is an honor to be involved today. >> now i will ask joanne peters of our va to come up. it is weird to repeat this, but

there is so much of this va vs. city friction across the country. i cannot express my confusion more because of our own experience. i will ask her to say a few words as well. >> it is true, we have a good working relationship with the city and mayor. there are a number of initiatives we are working on. mainly, working with homeless veterans. we partner with hud, the public housing authority. we have 5000 doctors to help the homeless. we have the cover project, which is out of the san francisco jail. we are helping them with

different life skills so they can get back and be functional in society. we did the project homeless connect. we worked with the city college. we also worked with the mental health station out there. they can see the veteran's right there. it is an issue. going out to the va is a roadblock. we continue to work well with the city. lots of different areas. we appreciate your support. thank you. >> we estimate in san francisco -- again, this is an estimate -- and the reason we are building this collaborative. there are anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 living in san francisco. again, just estimates. we are trying to work through the technological challenges to connect people in a way where we

can get a better sense of that community. one of the real leaders in helping us with that is leon winston, the coo of swords to plowshares. he deals with the challenges, acute and not so acute, every day. we talk about exporting models, swords to plowshares is certainly one of them. >> thank you. it is true, the amount of city support that we get. the resources that the va brings to the table in concert with that, with community-based organizations. i became homeless in the early 1990's, came to san francisco, and through court -- resources given to me by the city, of

swords to plowshares, i was able to get back on my feet. san francisco gets a bit of a bum rap because we are a liberal city, but as far as support for veterans, there is no city that does a better job. this goes back to the feinstein administration, every mayor since then. everyone has done a wonderful job supporting the veterans. san francisco is the only city we know of in the country that pays for mental health care for veterans out of the city budget. we have been doing that for 25 years. we have housing on a treasure island that is a no cost police for veterans. -- lease for veterans. in the presidio, 102 units of

supportive housing. the city provides rehab funding there. veterans with disabilities. more recently, the city made available a landmark building that has revived substantial rehab funding. in 2012, 75 senior hamas veteran will be able to live out their lives in dignity. i just cannot say enough about the job the city does of stepping up to the plate. it is not just about platitudes and waving banners, it is about getting the job done. we are great -- we are very grateful. >> randy martina's is the president of the city college. randolph will explain, through the gi bill, how they are now

funding the gi bill. it is not about where you are from but where you are going to school. because of the high cost of living, they provide more than just about any other city college in the state. >> thank you. but i am also a marine, [inaudible] thank you, mayor. policy advisers. thank you for having us here. i served seven years in the marine corps. i am here as the president of veterans alliance. our mission has been to create a home where veterans can come in and have a school that can offer so many things to them. one of the things that we've pushed the last semest