and remains with the original owner, but an entertainment permit is not a piece of real property and cannot be owned. once the business end, the permit no longer exists. is that right? >> kind of. there are a few issues that we should point out. for the viewers at home, it was public comment, but i think we have to recognize that the person bringing the question up is actually an expediter. the scope of questions were beyond the scope of the entertainment commission, but i am happy to explain in great detail. he is raising questions that he should clearly understand. the way he framed it was so beyond the scope of accuracy that it is alarming to me and

extremely misleading. certain types are an asset. you own it and it is transferable. it is also a privilege. he played by the rules and you meet the qualification, you can have it. if you disobey the rules, you can lose that privilege. if you're confused about owning the license, i am repeating what the laws are. certain types of licenses, another important part that we need to address, we have 3800 active retail liquor licenses in the city and county of san francisco. that is the highest concentration in the state is not the country.

there are a couple of issues that we have to come to, who recommendation to the state. the state makes the final determination. it is not accurate to represent the police department making determinations. it is quite accessible. it is important to recognize that the entertainment permit is a city and county permits. it has exclusive authority over the laws, and we can't even restrict. many have done moratoriums on the liquor components. it is beyond the scope of local government. to go right back to your question, there a certain types of liquor licenses because you

cannot get an original. a simple analogy is that it can be used for a simple piece of real estate. we have a fixed inventory in the city. if you close your business, your license is no longer active. it has to be attached to an address. you can select. these are private party sales or that are beyond the scope of government. once you buy it, you transfer it to your name and it is at that point that the low law enforcement has the right to review it and give recommendations. i could go on for a long time. >> i appreciate it. it is like a driver's license. you can have a if it is yours, if you abuse it, it can be

revoked. and entertainment permit ceases to exist when the business closes the transfer. it is not an asset. >> it is similar to your permit and that the business goes out of business, the liquor license is no longer active. you still own it. once you go out of business, you lose that entertainment permit indeed go back and refile again. you still on that license, but it is in limbo. even the buyer is at risk. they might not be able to get it licenced the way they wanted to. >> you can complete a sale, but

not necessarily a transfer. >> it is all about communication. these issues are best solved when we are working together. that transpires across. president newlin: any other questions foor public comment? >> can i add one more thing? president newlin: too late. [laughter] >> i wanted to share an e-mail with you guys. this is mainly for commissioner meko, because he is asking me the most questions about this. i received an e-mail this morning from a club owner that has not been a little frustrated with some of the police department's lack of decisions.

i bought my first id scanner. no one complained. it is a great deterrent for crime that. i thought i would share that. he did that on his own. president newlin: wonderful. any public comment? none? nothing? on to item number five. haring - - hearing and possible action under the entertainment commission. action item. south town arcade, mechanical amusement devices. >> this one and only permitee requested a continuance for two

weeks. i am requesting that continuance of you. >> move to continue. let me fix that. i move to honor the request of the applicant and continue the permit. >> a well-stated motion. >> seconded? [roll call vote] president newlin: i think we should have had public comment on that. is there any public comment? we will continue the vote. >> [roll call vote] okay. great. president newlin: okay. item number six.

comments and questions? >> we have a full commission and not a lot of business. >> that is why everyone is here. president newlin: i don't have the date in front of me, but the executive director and myself attended a luncheon. it was well attended, a lot of the citizens were there and it was lively conversation. i think she did a stellar job in presenting the commission, i would like to request if any of my fellow commissioners are involved in anything or have any recommendations with the commission can reach to the public on our own or you as a

guest, i think it would be a good way to outreach to the community. i can't say i enough about how well i thought it came off or how well she did. one of the concerns was out reached to the various commissions -- outreach to the various commissions for overlooked or -- any ideas dealing with the budget deficit. no date was set, but i would love to have your input. if you have any ideas you would like to bring forward in terms of resolving the budget deficit. anybody else?

>> i just want to thank the supervisor, i am sure we are ecstatic you're going to be doing this report. should we be forming an ad hoc committee to send e-mails or advice? [chime] >> not yet. based on the beginning, we are in the early stages of developing the scope of this. i certainly think that any ideas or feedback hoare information that is relevant -- or feedback or information that is relevant is welcome.

what it really is, at the base of it, the attempt to counter what we are and what it is in terms of money and jobs. and kind of been deeper and get more -- dig deeper and get more granular. again, it is counting what the value is in san francisco initially without the political charge one way or the other. it is an objective look of who are we and how are we. if you send it through staff, it will be the easiest way to do it. >> this is kind of late in the meeting to be suggesting this or asking this of staff, but there

was no discussion after your presentation. they were featured prominently at the last meeting. i was wondering if there was any prior discussion? they did not appear on the notice of violations, that is excellent. and >> and the director will speak more prominently to the issue. they have been issued an additional citations, and because it wasn't really agendized, i'm not sure how much i can speak about it. but i would expect some motion forward. why there was nothing in my report tonight, there were additional conversations from the city attorney.

but we do expect corrective action in the future. i think that is the best i can do for you. president newlin: that it? all right. yes? are you waving? [laughter] don't wan tto miss - -want to miss -- want to miss any body. any public comment? the final item is for future agenda items? do we have any? do we have any public comment on no requests? that will conclude the tuesday, february 8 meeting of the san francisco entertainment commission. thank you very much.

>> welcome to "culture wire." today we're headed to smpling f. camera works, a premiere venue for artists working in photographer, video, and digital media. the latest exhibition lists clearness as a set of political alliances and possibilities that it is behind the sphere of dominant gay and lesbian culture. the curator fills us in on the process of creating this

thoughtful exhibition. and what she would like you to take away from it. >> i co-cureated with danny, a chicago-based writer and curator. the conceptual framework is what it means to be clear and radical for our generation. clearness as a set of political alliances and possibilities, not necessarily related to institutions of gender and swam formativity. danny and i wanted the show to feel funky and to have a really tangible quality to it. so part of that was incorporated handmade objects and installations and beautifully printed photographs and videos. there is also a lot of opportunities to participate and to take postcards or to get

the photo taken or sit within a tent made out of afghan blankets to watch videos. the exhibition is organized in three distinct galleries. in gallery one, which is the gallery designated to clear activism, there is an installation by the oakland-based collaboration and it's called "unleashed power." it's all focused on one protest that happened in chicago in 1991 with the activist organization act up, which was protesting the inadequate health care for people living in aids, and specifically it focuses on an act of police violence that occurred at that protest. the thing that is really interesting for me about that piece is that it brings us back 20 years to what clear activism looked like at the height of the aids crisis.

gallery two features work that is related to intentionally communities that exist both within cities, also in rural spaces, and transient communities as well. the return features a no madic clear tribe, the people who join this tribe are often in various states of transition themselves, whether it's leaving behind previous gender assignments or corporate jobs or a life within cities. a lot of the work featured in the exhibition and a lot of the installations are handmade objects. there is a lot of do-it-yourself aesthetic and that handmade do-it-yourself feeling is something that mimics the idea and the reality of the alternative world making that we're trying to represent here as far as the self-sufficient community goes.

gallery three features work that relates to the ideas of self-determinenism, alternative world making and utopia. visits can still participate in this -- visitors can still participate in this project. during the opening, we invite visitors to come in and try on these costumes, pose in front of the backdrop. he was really inspired by comic books that he read as growing up and thinks of this space as a post-apocalyptic monster portrait gallery where people can remain genderless once they put on the costumes. we think it's important that this be happening in san francisco, which is considered an ekpe center of the queer

actual cure. the majority of the queer cultural events happen in june which has been designated as the pride month. which to me translates as the period of time in which people can be in clear arts and culture. in september, it's hashingening back to that and proving that this is something that is scon significantly happening all the time. what danny and i hope visitors take away from this exhibition is to observe the diversity within the designation of queer in terms of race, in terms of gender presentation and intergenerational perspective of what it means to be queer as well as what it means to exist and be active and work in solidarity with people whose identities may or may not look

like yours. >> welcome to "culture wire."

the director will introduce you to the man behind one of san francisco's most anticipated music festivals. ♪ >> welcome to "culture wire." with me today is the founder and financier behind the hardly strictly bluegrass festival. tell me about what inspired you to have the festival. >> i am flattered that you would want to listen to me. now you are going to have to. i had a sort of fantasy for a lot of years that it would be really fun to put on a bluegrass festival. i have a friend named jonathan

nelson. we were skiing one weekend. i told him about my fantasy. he said that i should do it. dawn holliday and sherry sternberg. the four of us had lunch. he said we would start a festival. that was the genesis. it was not anything more complicated than that. in my own defense, and was not yet playing the banjo -- i was not yet played the banjo. the ulterior motive i was accused of did not exist yet. >> i would have thought it was because of your interest in the music and the instrument of the banjo that you play with a lot of love and enthusiasm. i would have thought that would lead to the founding of the festival. >> i have loved the music. much of my life. i really love the old time

music. >> you mentioned dawn holliday. she works with you collecting the older music. >> she basically organizes the whole thing'. she decides who is going to be on. they have incredibly great bands opposite each other. i always worry about that, but she tells me not to. >> this has really grown in the number of participants. >> she kept asking what i would do about it and i kept saying nothing. i do not want to change anything. i love it the way it is. i know it creates traffic jams, but so what? there ought to be something we can do once a year where there is a little bit of suffering a lot of pleasure. >> you have a band.

>> the wronglers. i think this is our third or fourth year in the festival. the first year was spectacular. the band had played together less than a year at that point. this stage manager said he could give us 10 more minutes. i told him we did not know anything else. [laughter] so far, we have not had to audition for it. that may give them the idea. >> one thing that fascinated me is that it seems so incongruous to consider someone with your background that is ultimately the driving force behind this fabulous music festival. >> i guess this sort of shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in one generation.

i went to cal and went away for 28 years. i always wanted to come back. it turned out there was a wonderful moment in time when three of my four for children were living here. now all four do with their children. i thought there was a real opportunity. i wanted to start a new financial firm. it was a wonderful opportunity to do it in san francisco. i get to do business with people i do not the test. [laughter] >> you established your firm here. he reestablished your family roots here. -- you reestablished your family roots here. you used this festival as a way to give back to the community even more. >> the theory of that was that we would have a concert for the middle school kids. we bust in nearly all of the middle school kids from san francisco and now from around the bay area.

the kids love it. the letters i get are very endearing. school volunteers and the school districts are really into it. there is a lot of collaboration. >> i have this image in my mind of you as the biggest fan of the hardly strictly bluegrass festival. what are some of the highlights for you over the last 10 years? >> they are sort of the nostalgic highlights. every year at the end, when in the low harris -- emmylou harris closes the festival and someone else opens the festival. i always call them the heart and soul of the festival. those are wonderful must object moments. having a chance to listen up close to some of the greats. those are some of the great emotional moments.

there's always one moment that is so bizarre. 3 or four years ago i was sitting out front listening to emmylou harris. she was very stylishly dressed. i turned to her making conversation. i said there was a strong smell of pot and she asked if i wanted some. [laughter] the following year my wife said there was an elderly gentleman old banjos. he was a very nice man sitting on the ground. he said he understood that i like old benches. he said he had three that he would like to show me. he said he understood that i liked white ladies. he said i would like this one. i asked if he was trying to sell

the banjos. he said he was giving it to me. he was giving me a $3,000 musical instrument. he said he really wanted me to have it. >> that is a beautiful story. it is true. >> do you play it? >> yes. the this delta region the nostalgic, the letters, depreciation -- -- the nostalgia, the letters, the appreciation. i love the music and i love the way that people have gotten into it. it has become a part of people's lives. i wrecked my car the other night and was waiting for triple a. this man came up and said was the one who put on the bluegrass festival. he said it is the best thing that happens to him all