group. i am here to support free transportation for students. education is a right, and getting to school should be, as well. there is an issue of safety, but each time a child does not show up due to lack of money, the school district loses so much money. multiplied that by so many students each day, and this should be the incentive to provide free transportation to all of our students in san francisco. san francisco is one of the biggest city in the united states. i am asking you to please be the voice of our children. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. next speaker.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am the member of a group, and i am here to support this. i have three children who go to school, and this resolution will really help my family in order to go to school and to the kids doctor's appointments without me having to worry about how to get

there. i am looking for a job right now, so this would really help my family. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is angela irca. i am here to speak on behalf of the three a hundred families that we help each month to get a pass from the school district. this resolution would help the families that are getting these but also the ones that are not able to. right now, the free bus passes -- the number to supplier families are limited, and some have to double up. when you're talking about some families who are not able to access that program who live south of market, so we hope that this resolution moves forward. it will really help the families not only get their children to

school, but there are so many aspects of using the muni, and they would not have to worry about getting their families to other parts of their daily lives. we hope this means forward. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. next speaker. >> i am with the youth commission. we are here to ask this to go forward and hope to the calendar tomorrow for the full board meeting. we hope that this committee and the full board tomorrow and i do the presentation from staff, it was really encouraging. we want to show the young people some love. not just the board but in part for city staff for various departments and the school

district about why the commission has been advocating for this for over a year. the initial resolution that the commission adopted actually happens february 1, 2010. last year, asking about delays, and our steadfast commitment to the fast pass, charging the board of supervisors and the mayor on behalf of our young people. this makes manifest the need for affordable fussed passes. in the 2008-2009 school year, west and 60,000 schoolchildren qualified for the reduced free lunch. there was the great recession

of 2008 that has definitely subsided. public agencies like the m.t.a. are going to be facing projected budget deficits in the years to come. families are facing the same thing going forward in the years to come. the numbers will go up. it will be higher. it is also worth noting, some of the young commissioners, some of the public comment by organizers from other community, organizers, there is a demonstrative need from young people who go to parochial schools. proportionally, more go to these types of schools. proportionally. this is not to say the all of these people are sitting pretty, so, perhaps, going for, there will be a way for the city to partner to make that happen. but i think it is worth

mentioning that in a survey we conducted of over 40 hundred 50 public high school students, the vast majority of them procure all high-school students, more selective cheaper buses and trains. they would like to improve muni other than the other options they were presented with. i would like to thank the office of supervisor camps, -- campos, is deaf, and others. we have worked really hard to make this happen, and we really hope that, in fact, on april 1, they will get a fast passes. please go ahead and urge the mta board to show the low-income young people some love. thank you. happy valentine's day. supervisor mar: thank you.

next speaker. >> hi. my name is lorielle, and i am also a member of power. i am here to ask of the resolution but. it is something we can do in april. " 12,000 kids. everything else that they have to do because they do not have the money to afford the cust -- pass. what it means to be young people who do not have 75 cents to pay the bus. you know what is going to happen, right?

$75 from your family because you do not hunt of 75 cents. they want their friends to come to the library, but they don't have 75 cents. i am hungry, and maybe i have to pay this, it and i do not have 75 cents, even the small amount of money. that would be my fair -- fare. they have this feeling many, many days of their life. they live in a city with nice views, but i don't have 7 5 cents to be there.

and i like to be in a place that is free, and there is supposed to be access for me, but i again do not of 75 cents. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. next speaker. thank you for transmitting for all of the spokes. >> sure. >> hi. i am a organizer for power. first, i want to thank you for providing us for -- with this space today. we really want you to pass this resolution to provide more fussed passes -- more fast passes. it reminded me of how difficult it is for you to not only get to school, but it was mentioned

about the fear that they have and experiences. a lot of them that have friends that have been ticketed, not once, but many times, and they have to avoid muni cops to get to school. "hopefully next time they will not catch me." it is really sad. having to do with these officers just trying to get to school. this is part of the reason we are fighting this campaign. we're working on a campaign to really focus on this and the increased enforcement that was happening on the public transit system, so a lot of our youth, as i mentioned, were not able to come today. they are just trying to get to school, but it is also an issue of criminalizing our youth, and

i was told about different treatment on different bus lines. where do the buses go? they go to the fillmore and the intermission. some people get tickets, but they never get taken off, right? it is not just the financial burden but the treatments, the different treatments, in the way people are treated, so i just wanted to highlight that and think before hearing us, and i just encourage you to pass the resolution. banks. 2 -- thanks. aysupervisor alioto-pier: -- supervisor mar: any other members of the public wish to speak? again, i went to thank you. to the many parents and children who have come out and spoken

today, and in particular, to the organizations that have been organizing around this, the amazing work of the youth commission, and then cbo's, like power, thank you all. mr. chairman? supervisor avalos: ok. thank you, supervisor campos, and i want to thank all of the members of the public who came out today, the young people and their parents. i was particularly impressed with the leadership shown today by young people, and it makes me feel we good about this, and i hope we can create a san francisco where you can continue to live your lives here in this city, and i think a resolution like this and moving towards making muni accessible fully for

all low-income young people and all young people and the school systems is part of the process of making san francisco more local it. like you have done today, -- more livable. how much of the city is represented here, chinatown, mission, all of the high schools across the city represented here today, and that just speaks highly of the work you have done in coordinating the efforts through the youth commission and working with the school system and with departments like mta and d.c. why of -- and dcyf, so i want to thank you for working to improve the lives of your peers and future generations. supervisor mar: chair avalos, i

want to acknowledge the work done by supervisor campos, but i want to say for them to make further demands for freed me passes for all youth, and i think a good point was made about the next generation having full access with public transit for the whole city for everything that those of more affluent backgrounds have, so it is about equity, and it or them -- i encourage you to keep working on this. other groups should really hear about the organizing you are doing, multiracial, a cross- class lines. this issue be -- congratulations to the great co-organizing for all the organizations that were here, as well. supervisor campos: i also want

to thank my legislative aide, sheila, who is in the audience for all of the work done on this. thank you for making all of this happen and for putting this together. it is greatly appreciated. thank you. supervisor avalos: very good. we have this before us. we can motion to move forward without objection, and it will be with the committee report, so we are taken the vote, and when i gavel down, we will pass this resolution. [applause] madam clerk, do we have any more items before us? clerk: no, mr. chairman. supervisor avalos: we are adjourned.

governor welcome to culturewire. on march 18 the san francisco arts commission hosted the 2010 mayor's artwork. the mayor's arts award was established to honor an individual artist with a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the art and civic life. this year's award is to none other than carlos santana. before the award ceremony, the director of cultural affairs had a chance to sit down with carlos to ask him a few questions. >> once a year, mayor gavin newsom gets to select one distinguished individual to receive the mayor's arts award.

in 2010,á(át that distinguished individual was none other than the legendary musician carlos santana. carlos, it is so great for the city to be able to recognize you. given all of your accomplishments already, from the awards, all of the other distinctions you have received, what does it mean for you to get the mayor's part award? >> i am very grateful, moved. i always want to be in the company of illuminaries like cesar chavez. people making a difference, but to people's hearts. giving people a sense of tangible hope.

one thing is to be famous, it is quite another for people to like you. i am grateful for this award. it is another blessing. i do not take it for granted. this is an incredible city. everywhere i go, i tell everyone that this is the atlantis of today. there is no other city in the world -- i have been everywhere. there is nothing like san francisco. in fact, to me, it is not even the united states. you can see how fox network always attacks us. we do not have an inferiority complex. we just do not follow blindly. we question authority. as i said before, a person for person, there are more artists

and con artists in the bay area. >> you are someone who has identified so strongly with the bay area. a lot of it reflects the values that you also identify with. i know that you have been promoting an idea for a work of public art that could be pretty transformative. could you talk about that? >> peace brother is something that i saw, i think in the 1980's there was this lady. she started back there and converted -- she went to the neighborhood and was collecting the guns from some of the gang members. she had it melted and turned into angels. we want to do the same thing and take it to the next level we want to build a boom box by his

feet, he will be 7 feet tall. this will be made up of military guns. the boom box will be playing some great songs. marvin gaye. john legenlennon. bob marley. sam cooke. >> songs that really touch people deeply. >> i have come to a place where i call it the sound of maternity. bob dylan calls it eternal young. i think there are certain songs that help you live without fear. when you are living in fear, you invest in violence. fear is expensive, just ask president bush.

inn love. and what marvin gaye says is true, war is not the answer, only love can conquer hate. these things are not cliches, they are truisms. if we implement them, you will see a transformation in the bay area, richmond, oakland, the mission. all places where we need to dismantle the violence, the fear, the unnecessary pain that goes on. >> you are a person that has lived a pretty miraculous life. pretty extraordinary what you have accomplished, the range of people you have been able to touch with your music. you chose a beautiful word in spanish for your foundation -- miracle.

could you talk about what the foundation has been able to do? >> we are able to empower and give young people a way for them to develop their own decisions. i started with my own vision. there are people like andre agassi who helped finance. desmond tutu. in essence, in the bay area, like on larkin street, i want to see people invest more in people. i love the giants stadium, but i want to see cumins investing in a humans, instead of expensive. expensive buildings. i love to see the mayor and governor invest more in education than in incarcerations. so i am committed with the music

and the platform that i have, if i have to, to give a little spanking to those who need to break up. we spend way too much on weapons. all the money that we spend on tv advertising, gears of war, that is stupidity. in new zealand, they passed a law that said that you could not sell it. all those games about killing people. they do not want it. to me, i'd equate that with columbine, with war. once you desensitize a human being, you cannot tell the difference between shooting someone in a video game and a real person. some people can be gentle and kind. i can be ghetto when i want to

be. i grew up with the black panthers doing peace and freedom benefits for them. so on the one hand i like the softness of spirituel the day, but i also like the energy that you need to be a warrior where you need to be. i love martin luther king, but also malcolm x, sometimes you have to really hold your ground. compassion, kindness, education. rather than more killing. >> when you graduated in 1965, it was the height of the civil- rights movement. you just alluded to the environment that you were growing up in. as a young musician, what was it like for you in san francisco at the time? >> it was heaven on earth.

we would go down to the fillmore and see these great band, the doors, and jimi hendrix, cream, and then go down to the grove to see other music. you could go to the mission district to hear mexican. everywhere i went there was this multi dimensional color and i felt like it was on necessary for me to do just one. like baskin-robbins, i want all the flavors. you cannot just be a mexican play music. there is a lot of beauty in that, but it was not for me. i was born without arms around my heart that wants to embrace everything.

palestine's, israelis. japanese, apaches. i am more concentrated with life and love than flags, nationality, religion. that stuff gets in the way. one gets in the way is me, myself, my story. for me, that is why music is liberating. when you hear "imagine" anywhere in the world, people sang the lyrics. as soon as you hear the melody -- same thing with a bob marley song. i grew up taking everything from bob dylan, curtis mayfield, the beatles, smokey robinson.

mike alma mater was the streets of san francisco. i would dare to go to school. where i really hung out was at the fillmore. that was my university, checking out be the king, and james brown, a cream. finding out how they were able to penetrate people's hearts. with their music. once you do that, something happens to their eyes. they become brighter. they start crying, they do not know why. they start dancing. it is like when a woman gives birth. =mmfirst, she cries and then she laughs. later on, she dances. and that, to me, is the beauty of what san francisco is about. >> one final question, and we are going to link it to your

music today. such a rich legacy that you are giving us. you mentioned to me that you are working on a new album. could you share what is coming up? >> i love to dream when i am awake. kand so i had this dream of working with india arie and yo- yo ma to do the george harrison saw; and "-- song. this is the definitive way to do this. we are all in it together, we do not leave anybody out. t conviction, i am one of the few

people that you can recognize by one note. god gave me that universal tone, and that is what we want to implement in all the songs. thank you. >> carlos santana, thank you for accepting the 2010 mayor's part award. >> to watch the ceremony, visit the home page of the arts commission website, sfarts commission >> i work with the department of environment and we are recycling oil. thank you. we can go into a refinery and we can use it again. they do oil