administrative draft eir in absentia, because she is off on the east coast. i want to congratulate our deputy -- and the entire staff, really -- for getting this thing ready and circulated to federal agencies and local agencies. it is a major milestone, and i expect after we incorporate comments from all these agencies, it public draft will be out sometime in april. we did have a presentation to the plans and programs committee on the outreach materials for this just last week. i joined commissioner avalos and mayor lee, and i had several of my staff and people from other agencies, and bart, on a very interesting field trip at the ballpark bart station -- the balboa park bart station where

we had a chance to see the challenges there with pedestrian safety and connectivity and so on. i thought it was actually something we should do more often. i really appreciate commissioner avalos for taking the lead in making this happen. i thought the mayor was particularly interested in the details as well. we are now already working on several things that are follow- ups to that discussion. one of them is a caltrans planning grant that should be able to give us enough funding to set up a community advisory committee that would be staffed by mta. in addition to that, we intend to conduct a full of study, essentially focused on the prioritization of potential next generation improvements. there is a lot to be done there. but that is not a justification for not doing anything.

so i'm glad we are finally moving on that. it is an area of tremendous potential. there is also the opportunity to really revitalize a lot about housing in the upper yard area, resolving the issues that india may have with utilization of the land, but getting to reshaping that area as a true, bourbon, middle density area that is a lot more than it is today. the -- true, urban, middle density area ban -- that is a lot more than it is today. we closed just a few days ago. march 10 was the deadline for publication of these projects initially, and then the public has a deadline of march 24 to submit their ideas. let me just clarify -- this is

the last shot. the first shot is potentially a multi-pronged process where mtc needs an additional amount of feedback. we need additional feedback for the planned. the mtc will continue to look back product evaluations -- look back to project evaluations. that is all to say that there will be several bites at the apple for you here, and we have been scheduling already individual meetings with you or your staff to discuss priorities in your district and so on, with the caveat that the chair gave earlier that we are not likely to see huge amounts of money, so we need to be careful about how we prioritize. nevertheless, this is the time to put those things out. the mtc has released an initial

vision scenario, which is more of the wish list that takes into account the future and an ideal sense of how the region should grow. in some places, morgan city, more connectivity with transit and so on. that does not mean is what we will wind up with, but an initial take to see what it would cost, what it would take to get to that kind of scenario. the topics that we continue to push -- and i am cognizant of the fact that share -- chair mirkarimi will be hosting another of these forums to discuss precisely these issues -- is that whether it is new growth or the growth we already have on the books in san francisco, the kind of growth we put out is so efficient and so far superior to many other examples around the region that we should be entitled to infrastructure money commensurate with that commitment we are making. the more density, the more

connectivity the transit, the transit-oriented development, and so on. we are making that point as loudly and clearly as we can. we have project analysis already going on the central freeway. we have made a call for projects for the transportation fund for clean air, and next month, i will spend time talking to you about how the program is developing and how it is relating to the new prop. aa because there has been some creative tension between the two programs. and there has been a whole lot of progress in the bicycle programs. since the november 2009 superior court order allowing the installation of a limited number of bike lanes and so on, there has been a number of projects, a

number of projects that have been completed, installed, and now, talking about sfmta's activities. over 500 bike racks. there is another 15 bike network projects on the books already to be completed before the end of the fiscal year, so this is a significant project, still playing catch-up to the couple of years we had to spend without doing much on this issue. there is more detail, but given the time, you can see that and ask questions later. the last thing i have on my report is a warm welcome to our new office manager, who is sitting to the right of our clerk. she has, before joining us -- she just joined us last week. she was a bookkeeper and

business operations manager for a small consulting firm, and she has experience as a mediator. she has a b.a. in transportation studies from washington, d.c., and an m.b.a. from san francisco state, and i'm sure this is her own contribution to the report. she rides her bike every day for transportation and for fun, and weather permitting, she tries to write 100 miles each week. she has participated in the first california climate right 340 miles from eureka in san francisco in five days. just last year. has a pretty active volunteer schedule as well. we are delighted to have her with us already, and welcome aboard. that concludes my report. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you for that very thorough report.

i just want to reiterate our appreciation to t.a. staff in our visit to washington, d.c. thank you to everybody who helped make that an effective visit. commissioner campos, you have another comment? supervisor campos: i wanted to do a follow-up to the executive director. on the point earlier about a.b. 57 and the legislation under consideration in sacramento to add two seats to the mtc, i know the board of supervisors has taken a position. supervisor wiener introduced a resolution on that. we want to continue to be active in advocating against that piece of legislation. i do not know what is coming up in sacramento, if there is a hearing that is coming up, but i

want to make sure that we are as engaged in sharing our concerns with the legislature about the significance of that legislation. >> thank you. it has been our practice to communicate positions to the legislature immediately after they are taken. that is what we did with a.b. 57, to the chairs of both transportation committees in the assembly and the senate, to our entire legislative delegation. and through our legislative advocates, to all committees, with the legislation is heard -- where the legislation is heard. so far, we have had a legislative advocate participate and give testimony at the meeting that happened last week on monday. the committee actually approved the bill on a 13-0 vote, which i

think reinforces your concern that we need to be very active to express our position. supervisor campos: i would simply urge you to be as active, as aggressive as we can be. i know that assembly member ammiano has paid a lot of attention to the issue, and the board has made it clear where we are. just a matter of making sure that our voice is heard. >> i think it is really important that this be perceived as the city and county of san francisco, not just the transportation authority. it might not hurt to have the mta take a position and express it on that as well. we will be as active as we can. supervisor mirkarimi: the needs to be amplified, obviously by others within the city government. supervisor wiener: i have been

in conversation with the mayor's office to make sure our city lobbyist is aggressively lobbying against this measure, and the city needs to speak with one voice. not just having the t.a. out there, but making sure that the city and the mayor's office is aggressively lobbying against this. supervisor mirkarimi: quite right. any other comments on either the report -- on either of the reports? seeing none, we now open up for public comment. >> my name is francisco da costa. i want to bring to your attention the third street light rail where we spend $700 million. it stops at fourth and king and lands in the middle of nowhere

in the visitation valley. the reason why i am bringing this is you can pat yourselves all you want to, but what the transit first city once is good transportation -- with the transit first city wants -- what the transit first city wants. if you look at every element of our transportation, we cannot give the city high marks. on the project like the transbay, the doyle drive. when we had certain representatives regard the money, and in the future, whether it is from the state or federal, we will not get as much as we thought we would get, and you all know

that. but what i am noticing now is having gone to the mtc meetings and other meetings is that san francisco -- this is the city and county of san francisco -- is not going to get due representation. where once we had three, we are going to get two. i want to leave you with this thought -- do not have yourselves to much on the back -- back --pat -- do not pat yourselves to much on the back. we want results. thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. any other public comments? seeing none, public comment is closed. very good. next item. >> item 5, adopted a position on state legislation. this is an action item. supervisor mirkarimi: very good.

any comments? seeing none, public comment on this item please? public comment is closed. we will take this without objection. so move. very good. >> item 6, appoint joseph flanagan, jr. to the citizens' advisory committee. this is an action item. supervisor mirkarimi: very good. comments? >> for a long time, i would go to the meetings -- supervisor mirkarimi: your name, please. >> i am well known in the city. supervisor mirkarimi: for the record, please. >> i do not have to double my name. you can read the brown act. -- i do not have to divulg my name. supervisor mirkarimi: as you wish. >> for a long time, i would go to the cac meetings. we had some very astute people,

candidates, that wanted to represent the citizens advisory committee to the san francisco county transportation authority, and somehow, we deprive them from representing. what we did was we continued to put in place candidates who were yes candidates and who were not very astute. i am here to tell you i do not know the gentleman who you approve because i was away from the country for quite some time. but in these given times, we need as to candidates, a state representatives -- astute candidates and representatives who can really understand transportation issues. we also need candidates that

represent the diversity of this city. we also need candidates that represent those districts that transportation is not available. you all want to build 10,500 homes in some areas, but we do not have good transportation. if you get new candidates, that is fine. take them around the city, and showed them how the transportation system is. thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you, mr. da costa. may we take this without objection? so move. but >> item 7, up from the authorities funding commitment to the presidio parkway project and approve a bond swap of $19,722,000. this is an action item. supervisor mirkarimi: discussion on this item?

seeing none, public comment is closed. -- seeing none, discussion is close. public comment on this item. >> i am glad that the project manager is who he is. i know him very well. i was fortunate that i worked at the presidio and established an infrastructure group. prior to this meeting, i did have a small talk with him. i read some comments about union workers having some conflict, but he explained to me the issue. some creative financing that could help the united states,

its prevalence in europe, in canada. some of my partners are involved in that type of creative financing. but what i am concerned is that dole will drive -- doyle drive is built on time, hopefully in two years. that should be good. i wanted to wish you all the best. i followed you on this project for a long time. you are one of the better project managers. something that has to be emulated by the rest. you can see you walk the walk. next, talk the talk. we need people that are good leaders. we have little money. we cannot waste money. every dollar counts, and i am

looking forward to seeing doyle drive completed in less than three years. thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you, sir. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. maybe take this without objection? very good. >> item 8, introduction of new items. supervisor mirkarimi: any discussion on introduction of new items? seeing none, any public comment? on introduction of new items? >> one of the items that should be put on the agenda is true representation of constituents from our district. oftentimes, when you watch the tv, even in your subcommittee meetings, you look at your audience and ask if there is any public comment, as if, you

know, you what some people who are there to speak of, but over the years, people are not coming to get public comment because first, you are deprived -- you deprive people from speaking. especially the ones who are informed. for three minutes. give them one and two minutes. second, the talk has to be kept simple. the outreach, whether they are blogs or on the internet, or whether you have some heart and give the material to all the seniors, the constituency falls into that bracket. something must be put on the agenda item. something must be done to bring

the segments of the population so that they become an element in our transportation system to improve it. something has to be done. they cannot be done in a vacuum. just like you had an agenda item and a hearing on the bedbugs. the topic was not very important, but it is very important, and adversely affect a lot. have some compassion. this is a city of st. francis. thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. that will be considered for introduction of new items. next item. >> item 9, public comment. supervisor mirkarimi: public

comment on public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. before the next item, i just want to say because i did not before, thank you to sfgtv for their ongoing excellent coverage of these proceedings. next item please. >> item 10, adjournment. supervisor mirkarimi: have a great day. thank you.

>> welcome to "culture wire." i'm here with james lee, and exhibiting artist, and we will have a chat today about the body of work you are presenting. after you left the military, what prompted you to go back to a place where the u.s. is engaged in military action? >> it is interesting. the population of afghanistan is around 29 million, and there's probably no more than 80,000 u.s. soldiers serving in afghanistan right now, but if you look at the stories that come out, you think the numbers are completely reversed. all the stories are about americans, and you see almost no

images of stories about the afghan people themselves, so if you look at the dominant representational paradigm uc today, it is all about foreign soldiers. my idea was to try incurred counted to that a popularized narrative and focus on images and stories that really reflect that lived experience of conflict through the eyes of the afghan people. >> you are exhibiting with three other photographers. it is true all three of them have really focused in the areas where a lot of u.s. and allied forces are seeing action, are actually involved in combat, so your story is different than theirs. what does it mean to show your body of work along side of the stories that probably are more familiar? what kind of juxtaposition does that create for you as an artist? >> i think the strength of bringing the two different stories together is i think there is a real danger in

focusing only on surface similarities between conflicts. when people look at a body of work and say that they see in this conflict photography, and it reminds them of somalia or iraq, i think that is dangerous because i think there are very unique elements to each conflict, and if you do not focus on the distinctions, you start to create a broader, watered-down topic, which is armed conflict, so i think it is important that when we focus on conflict, we make sure we do not just generalize, but we allow specific places and voices and people to be heard and we do not make these generalized assumptions about what conflict is like. >> the other photographers in the show, what is local, and the others are from new york and new delhi. what do you like about some of their work? >> in a big fan of the fact that he approaches photography from a non-traditional point of view.

he also cunner has a mixed view of cameras themselves. he calls them toys. >> he uses these cameras that one might assume our toys, but he also says all the toy cameras are cameras, so it does not really matter to him what he is using to take the images as long as he is getting the images he wants. and because they are taken with these film cameras, they have a very different feel than the other pictures in the show. one of the things i want to talk about is that lindsey's body of work is running down one side of the hall, and it is all about women in afghanistan and how they serve and their special interactions with civilian women and communities, which is the special role that women soldiers play in afghanistan. across from eric copeland's work, which is extremely masculine and black and white and very aggressive -- what do you think about that juxtaposition between their two

bodies of work? >> i like lindsey's contribution to the exhibit. she shoots in color, like i do, so it is great to see more color. she has a gift for capturing distinct moments that balance the conflict that these women are facing did today, but also very intimate, very feminine moments. she has one where a female soldier is shaving her legs at the beginning of her day, and it is kind of an odd thing to consider, but, obviously, it happens every day, but most people do not think about the challenges that face women in these types of environments where they continue to be feminine, continue to be women, but they also serve a vital role in afghanistan. she allows viewers to come in and see those kinds of intimate moments you might not normally think about. >> to our viewers, and actually the curator of the show. one of the things i was interested in with your work and with the other bodies of work i selected was that you are

presenting a real human perspective. each of you zeroes in on individuals, and the kind of sensitive, intimate, or private moments. >> if you look at most people's lives today and the way they spend their lives, it is probably not that different from what goes on on some of these larger for an operating basis. they have cafeterias. they have internet cafes. they have laundromats. they have their own spaces where they read, play video games. it is really like a small, microcosm of what they might find back in the united states. >> what do you hope that viewers take away from seeing your body of work or the exhibition as a whole? >> i think it is important for people to question how much we do or do not know about afghanistan, but conflict in general. too often today, i think we see one or two images and we think we understand what is going on in a part of the world, and we should try to get away from that.

we should question what we know about a conflict, where we got the information, and always look for new perspectives and new focus is on topics that we think we already understand. >> james, thank you for spending time with us, and congratulations on the exhibition and letting san francisco see this big body of work of yours. >> thanks. so are you going out tonight? i can't. my parents say i have to be home right after work. ugh. that's so gay. totally gay. ugh. that is so emma and julia. why are you saying, "that's so emma and julia"? well, you know, when something is dumb or stupid, you say, "that's so emma and julia." who says that? everyone. announcer: imagine if who you are were used as an insult.