demographic, weigh on the other side of 30. i represent a significant demographic in the city as a taxpaying and civic-minded demographic that finds community inspiration and pleasure in raves. the evidence is overwhelming. just look at the data. global history and experience have shown that raves or other youth gatherings are remarkably peaceful and nonaggressive for the size of their crowds, especially compared to a call- fueled events. i think any perceived excesses should be dealt with through education and a reach rather than a blanket prohibition. i also want to remind you that san francisco is a global destination. it is in the leisure and tourist market and is competing with a lot of cities around the world that now offer far richer menus in electronic and night life

than we currently provide. san francisco is the gateway to the international electronica community and the burning and community -- burning man community. raves are an important economic development tool for our city. new york, paris, munich -- everyone loves dance music. we have to make sure we retain an electronic music scene that is transcendent in the city of st. francis. >> my name is kevin collins. i am representing students from sensible drug policy, san jose. i started raving in october 2007 with a rave down in l.a. i am here because as many people

said we find ourselves in these events. i worry, being part of the harm reduction idea of students for a sensible drug policy, that by pushing these underground what we are really going to do is fostered a -- foster an unsafe environment. there will not be emts. parents will have difficulty finding their children because we will not know where they are. we will not know how to make sure there is proper security and proper ways to keep children safe there. that is my first point. the second point is that i think we have not considered the fact that the promoters also hold a responsibility in this situation. we can go back to the promoters and say, "you are selling too many tickets. you have oversold the event.

it is too hot. water is not easily accessible, even though it may be free." other things like that. we have to remember that in l.a. last year, edc was about 160,000 people. if you consider that they are paying $100 a ticket, which is much more, we are talking $16 million. i think we can go after the promoters and ask them to provide some money to make a safer environment rather than shutting the raves down. i am from the community, so i can help any of you guys understand. thank you. >> thank you, commissioners. i am here tonight to support electronic dance music and the community. i serve on a board of the burning man collective.

we have run shows in the city for the last few years. my main role is event and communications coordinator. first of would like to read some comments from a former board member who is the owner of sunset promotions, who is traveling tonight. he says the key for everyone involved is safety. there is no way to make anything 100% safe. people get hurt at sporting events and political rallies. the giants celebrations were far more overcrowded and unsafe. curtailing a type of music for anything other than abject violence is ridiculous. these events are always peaceful and problems have always been self-inflicted damage. the promoters cannot control what the concertgoers in just before they even walk through the doors. ways to make it unsafe for have been instituted, with emts and ample water supply.

what cannot be controlled is people's access to drugs upside. people can do everything right and be blindsided by unforeseen circumstances. my role as event coordinator is one i enjoyed because i get to work with all aspects of the show -- the talent, the artists, and the venue staff. i do what i can to ensure safety and enjoyment for the audience. the role i take most to heart is being a leader in my community. i was given a compliment from a dj i work with who said the reason i am a good leader goes beyond delegating. people listen to me because they know i have the community's best interest at heart. when i think of the promoters and leaders of the electronic dance community, that sentiment could be provided to everybody here. we take care of each other. think of someone like me when you think of raves. thank you.

>> hello, everyone. i would like to think the entertainment commission and the commission, supervisor weiner, and representative from rpd. thank you to the members of the public who are here to express your concerns and views. i am the chairman of "save the rave." i am going to keep this brief because i feel the public has spoken and will continue to speak well on this issue. my personal story is not unique. i have had the opportunity to go to new wireless and help rebuild the city after katrina -- go to new orleans and help rebuild the city after katrina. i was able to go to guadalajara and build a playground in a dark patch. i have raised money for aids research and treatment. i have raised millions of dollars to buy multiple sclerosis. the most important thing in my

life and the thing that has made it possible for me to be here today is electronic dance music. i am a raver. i do not wear the bright colors or baggy pants, but it is in my heart and has informed my sense of moral and ethical responsibility to be part of this community. i love san francisco and california. i love all of you, as a matter of fact. in the future, i want young people to have the opportunity to be able to express that love to each other, to the community, and to be part of something as special as i was privy to as a youth. the idea of that going away threatens me. -- frightens me. i support supervisor weiner's proposal. >> the last speaker to speak before you -- promoters cannot control what people in just come

and get that. but that is what strikes fear into people and where the legislation comes from. how do you address that? >> as was mentioned by several people, education is key. we need to provide facilities for recreation. i think that has been demonstrated. when facilities are not available and education is not available, people will take to their own devices. as adults and taxpaying citizens, we have an ethical and moral responsibility to provide a framework for these young folks to express themselves and to do so in a safe and positive manner. >> thank you. president newlin: nick xavier, eric -- we are calling more people to go after you. nick laguara.

>> hello, everybody. i want to thank you personally for inviting this dialogue to happen. i also want to address your specific question about drug use and partying. i think a lot of the parties kind of conform people into a drug use situation. we need to have open, bigger parties, not gates around them. in san francisco, the free street parties are the best parties. a lot of times, electronic dance music festivals get caught upper and are closed -- caught up and are closed for the wrong reasons. it we have community-based promoters, looking and seeing which parties are thrown by combe, keeping an eye on what happens -- we doi mean, the maje

time, that the span of the dance floor, is hours and hours. -- that they spend on the dance floor. there was the night that lady gaga when the number one in canada, and i played with her. including castro in the 21 event that i played with her, and that just shows it. we can tell them that we wanted diversity at our events. we need five or six types of music if you what a permit to

take over the city. to do a big street party. [bell] where they want to spend their time. i appreciate this dialogue. i think we all know how important it is. have a good night. director kane: thank you. >> i am an attendee at a weekly ritual at the temple in san francisco. it is a community we are putting together in a loving way. for a very long time, in my life after finishing school, finishing college, i was finding it very difficult to immerse myself with creative people, and i found that in electronic dance music, and i am sharing that.

i am also an organic farmer, and i hope to one day be growing food for all of you. i have found opportunity to network unlike anywhere else in the bay area. this is not like the smoking section of the weekly dance party that i go to. modern-day songs. having a station, everything ibm doing, i am being reinforced, and i am fighting beautiful, beautiful people -- everything i am doing. every winter, i have been depressed. this winter, i was not depressed. i had a friend who told me he was actually thinking of committing suicide not more than one month before he found out about this weekly event. we all get together now. he is still with me. i am with him. we are very happy. these are changing lives. these are changing lives.

president newlin: thank you. i would like to ask you all to line up. [reading names] thank you. >> they he for allowing me to speak. my name is augie. i am a dj and a seven-year resident of san francisco, a long-time visitor to the city. part of the reason of coming to the city is to come to ray's so i definitely have a history here. i definitely do not want to see it go away. i witnessed firsthand what effect these events have on the youth. in santa barbara, where i threw

these events, i sought a youth that did not have anything else to do greatly affected -- i saw a youth. positively contributing " to our community in san francisco. i think there is definitely a safe way to hold these events. i think harm reduction is key to doing that. defining that is hard, and i know the move to make that happen is hard. you cannot control what people are going to in just before they walk in the door, and that obviously is scary. i know places like canada do take a harm reduction role with partygoers to make sure that they are safe and to take care of it if a problem arise. that is what i have to say. director kane: thank you.

president newlin: thank you. >> my name is george davis. i am a 65-year-old grandfather and resident of san francisco. i have always loved to dance. i wanted to address the 900- pound gorilla in the mervyn king -- in the room, drugs. when i was a high school, we had parties and drove around. we knew better. my grandmother used to tell me of stories of drinking in the proposition, that they told people that drinking would make you blind. some teenagers take stupid risks. it has never solved the stupidity problem, and it never, never will. suppressing raves in san francisco will just move them to

other places, like oakland warehouses. if we have a problem with drugs, we should have laboratories. we should work on educating youths on the risks and rest in hydration at parties. the youth has a bigger obesity problem than my generation ever had. dancing brown 600 to 800 calories per hour. i do not think we want to discourage dancing. finally, it is just not a normal to have youthful energy to dance and experiment with of of and drugs and have a good time. it is just a rite of passage. president newlin: thank you. >> hi, thank you for hearing us.

my name is -- i am what i guess everybody here would call a waver -- raver, and in the last 12 months, i have attended over 100 events. to say the least, i would say i am pretty actively involved in this scene. i have come here today because we see the this has posted a problem and posed the opportunity for our events to not happen anymore. the biggest thing that i would like to do is show you a positive this community in this group of people have been on my life. i have spent the last several years dealing with several depression issues, and those are things completely unrelated to the scene, but since i have started, the people i have met in this community that made me happier, and they have made me feel like i matter. these events change people's lives in nothing but a positive

light. i grant you what most -- bring to you these. each of these is a gift from a different person, including blood relatives of mine and people but i will spend the rest of my life being close to. each one of these pieces as a story behind it, for either a different event, a different party, or a different person where i had positively affected them, where they sat there for hours to put strain through a beats just for me to wear at these events, just so i do not forget them, and they do not forget me. there has never been a single you community and i experienced in my life that has this much positive light and gives kids something to look forward to on the weekend other than doing homework and other than cramming

for finals. please, please do not take this away from us. thank you. [applause] >> good evening, members of the entertainment and his commission. i want to thank you again for being here. i am a pro san francisco resident. i am an employee and a taxpayer, i am a musician, and i am a raver. i was not raised here. i was actually note raised in alabama. my father runs a drug program. as such, i have had a lot of people who have gone through a lot of drug problems, and i see it as very much so a health issue. since moving to california, i have had the pleasure of attending several electronic dance event.

he's even said that a strong impact on my life, and i cherish my relationships that i have developed through them. substance abuse is a larger societal issue that will not be affected by refusing to have these events. on the contrary, cutting down the few states permitted activities will likely have an adverse effect on safety. i strongly urge you to adopt a policy that will encourage this. thank you. president newlin: thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you, members of the entertainment and youth commission. my name is murphy. i am with an advocacy committee. with the recording academy. many of the things i wanted to say have been said by the people ahead of me. but two things that have not been brought for the record but i want to show with you -- share with you, the first is just last week, we had a misguided youth

jump off the golden gate bridge and fortunately survived that flesh out. -- that foolish act. this happens every year. we do not create laws just for the sake of particular dangers. there are lots of dangers that creating laws to prohibit them do not stop. this appears to be another one, and we need to be very careful about it. in 1985, note the city of seattle past a dance ordinance, tried to protect the use of their community. that ordinance did not provide much 64 people, and there were lots of protests against that. the entertainment community and the music scene come in had a very detrimental effect because

of that, and in two dozen to, that was repealed, so i just wanted to remind folks and have them learn from others but the dance and entertainment scene, electronic music, classical music, all types of music are thriving here in the city, and they need to be valued and nurtured and encouraged to grow. thank you. director kane: i would like to call these people. [reading names] >> thank you members of the board and you commissioners. my name is -- i am a resident of san francisco. i would like to see these protected. i frequent these events every week, which enables myself and other citizens and out or form of expression. as said before, it is all right

to assemble and dance in harmony with one another. electronic dance music and culture attracts all walks of life and creates pools of blood for everyone to bathe in. why not exercise the resources and provide the electronic dance music culture with necessary outlets in order to keep our cultural alive. they keep. -- thank you. >> good evening, commission. i am a production manager. during the day, i am a research engineer at a research center. i am a raver too. not everyone in this scene is as bad as is portrayed in the

media. a lot of this as gone without regulation. there is not enough water. it is 100 degrees in there. the sound levels of every event but i oversee and produce, i make sure that everything is in regulation, everything up to code. ago the office. i do the engineering issues at work. get off the work at 5:00. i drive to san francisco from san jose, get to the club, and i am there until 2. i am home by 3:00. then i go to bed by 4:00. and i am up again the next day at 8:00. it is unfair for people to judge us for education. we can get more education.

a lot more regulation can be done in terms of, well, this is a busy hallway. we can keep people from tripping. we need more heating and cooling. we need more air flow. we need a lot of sound. things like that could have a profound impact on the scene. i think we of the professionals in this industry, we can have a better community. thank you. president newlin: thank you. secretary: next speaker. >> good evening. my name is -- and i and listening to electronic dance music for 15 years of my life. it was something that i was brought into as a child. these provide me an outlook korea i am not a painter or a drawer.

this is the only way i feel that i can express myself peacefully and happily. i do not know how many strangers are willing to give a gift for free or to help them. whenever i see someone about to overdose or anything, i'd give them water. i did for them and pay for it. i get them to security or the bathroom. i have witnessed this a couple times, and i have been think many, many times in return because of the acts that i do out of my heart to care for people. if you take this away, this is like taking away my soul. i have been doing this since i was 15 years old. before i even went to one. i did not even know what i was celebrating. but i knew what the music meant to me. but i had a peace and love in my heart but i felt what i listened. there are no drugs in my system at all. people do overdosed on drugs, but that is their responsibility

and where they grew up from. actually, rate for me it provides a place where i can become something that i would be judged for on the street. i go to work, where i have to work professionally, and i cannot wear nail polish. i cannot dye my hair, i cannot do anything. and i want to do that, and this is the only place that allows me with open arms to be the person i want to be. so please, just consider this, because this is like my family. if you take this away, i do not know where else to go. this is my life. president newlin: next speaker, please. >> and good evening, my name is france's -- francis ho. i go to university.

i want to tell you about my parents immigrated note, and how they wanted to provide me had a better experience, a more diverse one. they took me to what was sf love. this was a huge part in creating a.m. and helping me to heal in my life. i was lucky to be protected, because i would like to see future generations of immigrants be able to come to san francisco and enjoy this culture. i would say that more than 90% of my friends are a part of this community. everybody in this room and downstairs, we share a passion for the culture and music and art. i do not feel like it is something of vlogger -- people should be discriminated against.

where i go to school at uc- berkeley, some people may and do not like mate because of what i do -- like me because of what i do. president newlin: i would like to call the next speaker, but also samantha, a mckinsey, .-- samantha, mckinsey, [reading names], they view. >> hi, name is stephen, and i am would save the rave. right now, i am a full-time student. i currently work in retail, and i am also the son of someone on the