shows up. >> 0, the mayor. >> good to see you. >> before we had a moment of silence, we might have a moment of talk from willie brown. good morning. >> good morning to you. this is always such a great occasion. we have someone who is 105 here, their family has contributed so much to san francisco, and to have the two people who slept in, it makes it even more interesting. the governor is right. after you finish your, you really ought to go out and see the fire plug on what is it? 20th and church. and then sashay on over to fine arts. he will do the complete san francisco trip. >> thank you. a nice hand for mayor willie

brown, everybody. let's have a minute of silence. is that right, dave? right now. a minute of silence. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. and now, it is time to do some singing. don't you think? i will give you a view. remember that you? -- the cue? bells up. 3, 2, 1.

♪ this big world to make a place you love my home upon the hill i find i love you still i've been away, but now i'm back to tell you, san francisco here is your wondering one saying i will wonder no more other places only make me love you best tell me you are the heart above the golden west san francisco, up welcome me home again i'm coming home to run no more ♪

and i stand for all our great dignitaries on stage and for you to be here at this hour. and do not forget -- the painting goes up on 120th and church, and then go over to lefties. that is right. i am looking forward to the bloody mary and breakfast. at $20 donation. that goes to keep this celebration going so we can do it year after year. thank you, everybody. have a great san francisco morning.

>> welcome. thank you so much for being here today. this is an exciting day for us and this community. we have a wonderful turnout. we appreciate your being here. i want to introduce my partners in this. this thing -- preparedness thing in northern california. the chapter executive from the central valley chapter is ellen

knapp. please join me in welcoming them to the bay area. [applause] we are very honored to have such a distinguished crowd here today. we have gathered to discuss the topic of the utmost importance. that is the disaster readiness for northern california. it is so important. we have seen what can happen in communities. we want to make sure we are the most prepared community anywhere in the world. it is hard to think about a place like japan suffering the way that is currently. back in 2009, in january, i had the privilege of being a speaker at the kobe earthquake symposium. the progress they have made since the earthquake was stunning. it was amazing to see how

organized and prepared they were as a community. with all of their preparedness, no community can withstand the horrific series of disasters they had to face. 1st the earthquake, then the tsunami, followed by the radiation attacking the community as we speak. that is why we're here today, to figure out ways to make the bay area the most prepared community anywhere. this is a mission that we started with support from p g -- pg &e. they were wonderful enough to provide this funding to do a program note called "prepare a bay area." the goal was to prepare one person in every courtroom, one

person in each household -- the goal was to repair one person in each household to know how to respond in the aftermath of disaster. it was a very successful program. it took us quite true years to do it, but we did it. we are very proud of that. that made it clear to us that this is not a job that is ever done. we've just begun the journey to prepare. we know we have much more to do. we are hoping to focus on communities that are considered to be the most vulnerable. those that have a high level of poverty, a lot of people that only speak one language. those dealing with challenges that make them less able to take care of themselves. that is where the notion of

neighbors helping neighbors is going to be so important. we're going to spend the time to prepare the most vulnerable communities. we will make the information available for the larger community so that when something happens here, we will be able to take care of ourselves and then reach out to take care of our neighbors. that will be so important. the ready neighborhood program is a collaboration of many partners. there is no way the red cross or any organization can do it by itself. we have to figure out ways to support one another. we are fortunate in the bay area. we have community leaders like san francisco cart, nert, the neighborhood empowerment network, and of course our dear friends of the department of emergency management.

they are represented by rob in the first row. [applause] it is so important that we know how to work together and figure out ways to do that. when something bad happens, it will come naturally and easy to assault. pg&e has pledged $1 million to kick off the campaign in northern california. that includes the central valley and central coast. we're so thankful for their support. i would like to invite the president of pg&e to the microphone to share more about pg&e's role in supporting disaster readiness in northern and central california. please join me in welcoming chris johns. [applause] >> thank you, harold. thank you for being here today. we're pleased and proud to be

able to play a role in this new program and be supportive of such a great effort, to be ready for any kind of natural disaster. i want to thank mayor lee and chief hayes-white for being an integral part of driving the process forward and looking out for the folks in northern california. the red cross deserves a lot of praise for its commitment to making sure that the citizens in northern and central california and throughout the united states are looking at ways to make sure they are prepared. it is important to be able to react to an emergency and do what you can to make sure that everybody is ready, they have the equipment needed, they have the resources and knowledge required to make sure they know what to do when a disaster occurs or an emergency occurs.

this program will go a long way to play an important role in seeing that through. we're thrilled to be part of that. when we look of the initial investment, we see it as an opportunity to make a difference immediately in 50 different communities in our service territory. that is making sure that our customers, neighbors, and friends have the resources available to be ready to react and be prepared for any kind of disaster that would come along. it is gratifying to play even a small role in the clever to the effort to move this forward. the interesting part that is different about this program is that it starts of the grass- roots level. it is going out to each individual community. it is working with the local people in those communities to design a program specific to their needs. one size does not fit all when we're looking at being prepared

for disaster. it has got to be looking at the unique needs of each community. that is exactly what this program will do. we want to thank the red cross for their extraordinary leadership in pulling this together and starting the program. i would like to present to them a check to help kick off the campaign. [applause] >> chris tells me i cannot cash that check. [laughter]

in addition to the support of pg&e, the red cross is also fortunate to work with a multitude of partners. one that in addition to being a partner is also a member of our board of directors and the most fabulous fire chief on the planet -- [applause] please join me in saying hello and welcome to joanne hayes- white. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. thank you for being here. we are about three days away from the 105th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire. it is fitting we're gathered here today to talk about preparedness. after 21 years in the department, i am proud of the community we serve.

everyone is a vital member of the preparedness piece of the puzzle. that is what we are here to talk about. i am proud to be a member of the board of directors for the red cross bay area. we often hear about firefighters being called years. that may be true, but i have so much pride when i see volunteers in the middle of the night assisting people who had been burned out of their residences. it is about the partnership and cooperation. think of the heroism we sought and witnessed in the tragedy resulting from the japan earthquake. people were fighting for survival in their own community. seen the footage of everyday people helping out reminds me of how important it is to think about preparedness and resiliency in our own committee.

i talked about the fires last week and help red cross steps up and is therefore the community. one thing with the initiative they launched about five years ago, this is going to build on the neighborhood program. it is an important program. it builds upon preparedness in our committee. there are avenues for people concerned about the workplace and homes to take advantage of it and get involved. after we saw of the the 1989 earthquake is we had many people willing to step of the help they needed essential education. we're proud of the fire department who trained thousands of people in san francisco through the neighborhood emergency response team training. this concept of ready neighborhoods by the red cross is a nice support to the response teams and it's in very well. we could not do these programs without support and having

public and private partnerships. i would also like to acknowledge mr. chris johns and pg&e. we rely heavily on them as it relates to gas and electrical emergencies. we have a very good working relationship with pg&e. they have been supportive of our nert program as evidenced by their $1 million donation. they are assisting us in getting the message out about how important it is to be prepared. the other thing i am excited about is that we know and feel badly about what happened in san bruno. we worked even more collaborative lead with pg&e -- collaboratively with pg&e. san bruno will be receiving updated technology. that will help our first

responders. it will provide us with gis mapping. when we respond to emergencies, we will know where their infrastructure underground is located. this is another example of pg&e partnering with 1st responders so that we can be as efficient as possible in emergencies. is all about collaboration and partnerships. the more prepared are today, the better off we will all be in the event of an emergency when it happens and in the recovery stage. that is very important. i would like to thank all of you for being here today. your support of the red cross, acknowledging pg&e for their great work, and recognizing the importance of partnering with public safety. the person i would like to introduce now is someone who has been a champion for years for readiness and preparedness. we started our careers about the

same time in the early 1990's in the city. i have worked with the mayor, he is now my boss. i can call him a friend. the city is in very capable hands with mayor ed lee. i would like to share a personal story. i have boys admired and respected you. about -- i have always admired and respected you. about six months ago, i was of the sporting goods store in my boys. i ran into my buddy ed, now my boss, mayor lee. he was purchasing radios and batteries for himself and his loved ones. he will be prepared. i am very proud to be working for mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you, everybody. what she did not tell you was that i was looking for a hat with a light in front to find my

golf balls. [laughter] this month began with a very serious event in japan. we all know that. the lesson we have learned is to make sure we are more ready. a lot of you are here. i know you personally. you have seen me, david chu, the fire chief, and others during or after a fire. you have seen us show that we really care. we care about the victims and what happens. we're always thinking about how we can be better prepared. that is why we entrust so much and thank the red cross so much. you have a wonderful organization. i am so glad you are so strong in the bay area.

thank you, harold. [applause] the american red cross is there. they are there at midnight, the early hours of the morning. they help to look for housing. there are so many community agencies. the community always wants to be better prepared. they have wanted to be involved for so many years. that is why i am also thankful to pg&e and the red cross for unveiling today they're ready neighborhoods program. this money, thanks to pg&e, to begin this is targeting the most believable neighborhoods. we have chinatown. people have immigrated here. they did not carry the immediate language, but they're just as valuable to everybody here in

the whole city. they live in vulnerable buildings and neighborhoods. i thank god we have a great fire chief and fire department. i have been working with them all hours of the day and night. we use these disasters as tools for ourselves. we ask ourselves what we have forgotten and what we can do better. we know the biggest gap is that our population changes dramatically every five years in the city. we have a host of new people that come in to occupy our buildings, to become residents. they do not have what we did five years ago. some of them do not know what we have just trained ourselves on a year ago. they do not have the. -- they do not have it. they are not ready. reminding ourselves every year, every few months, go through those drills. make sure we are accessing 72.

org, we have the culturally competent sirens going in every neighborhood. i just left our newest director of dem in my office working on an interoperability system with nine other bay area's cities so that we can operate together on a system the federal government is helping to fund. they are still meeting in my office. ultimately, it is the strength of our neighborhoods that will be the key to our recovery. as a city administrator in the past, i spent a lot of time with the neighborhood empowerment network, trying to reach out to every single neighborhood to make sure we're better prepared. working with merchants, native leaders, as well as our dem, fire department, and other lifesaving departments to make sure we have strong

neighborhoods. to build capacity and trust to the neighborhood level. that is what i have been represented as a mayor. i want our neighborhoods to be strong. i want the capacity to be there. a one the culturally competent capacity to be there. ready neighborhoods is a natural thing for me to support. i thank all of the agencies for coming together with the great american red cross leading the effort to make sure the neighborhoods are strong. that is where it is going to be. survival and recovery of every disaster will be those solidly in the neighborhood as the infrastructure gets together. with all the fires and events where we are helping the victims, i want to stress that we a very good corporate partners. not only is pg&e doing this today -- i could use about 306

of those checks to help with the budget. [laughter] let me know if you have any to spare. pg&e is part of something no other city has done in this country. that is to form the first lifelines' council in the city's history. all of our utilities, ports, and infrastructure departments are working together to share information that ordinarily they would not have shared if we have not called this council. how can pg&e staff get over here to the east bay to restore our power without us paying attention to transportation? how can transportation work without us knowing how the information will be shared with our police and fire to clear the roads? all of this is integrated. we have to have a lifelines'

council working together so that all of the integration and silos have to be broken down to improve our delivery of emergency services. the lifeline council has been part of what we're doing. the fire department is part of that. that is how we started getting better information shared by everybody. those gas lineups that the chief mentioned are essential for us to know what is underground so that we can better prepare and better planning. it comes back to neighborhoods. it comes back to our promise. it is a promise that we would make sure all our neighborhoods are safe. it should be no surprise that we have strong neighborhood leaders. there is the chinatown community development center. the chinese community health

corporation, a health care association, the chinatown help coalition, and the chinese chamber. working with all of them and all of us is someone high-value very much. we have been out to the same fires. we have been there on a daily basis when we are working with fire victims in chinatown. we have had times when we are asking ourselves how we can be better prepared to of the city. now that he is board president and i am mayor, those discussions are hopping on a policy level. i want to welcome a good friend that i am working closely with. that is our board president, david chu. [applause] >> thank you, mayor lee. the fire chief started with a story about mayor lee. let me continue with a second

story. about six months into my first term, we have a major fire in the heart of chinatown. it was played on a friday night. i had just gotten a call while i was at a dinner for the chinatown development committecd about how we have people who did not have supplies they needed. these were low income, monolingual, mostly seniors. i started calling around at 11:00 at night. i could not reach anyone. i called our city administrator, then ed lee. he met me in my district in chinatown. he had one of those hats on with the little lights. we toured the fire site late on friday night. to me, that was one of the reasons why when we were debating of the board of supervisors who should be our interim mayor that i had so much

faith in this man. please give him a hand. [applause] my apologies for being late. it seems like to date is disaster. preparedness day. at city hall today, we recognized two schoolchildren who saved lives by calling 911. at 1:00, our city department heads including the mayor will be meeting at our regular disaster council to talk about how we remain prepared. in about 20 hours in north beach tomorrow, there will be a neighborhood associations and merchant groups from the northern part of the city led by jerry crowley. please give him a hand. [applause] jerry has been leading an effort in the northeast part of the

city to bring neighborhood associations together. we have found the best way to be prepared for a disaster is to start preparing today. the best way for us to know we will survive the next earthquake, fire, or tsunami is for residents and merchants to talk together about the problems we can solve in our neighborhoods before and after. i want to thank the american red cross for all the work they have been doing. in my time in office, i have been part of tftermath of six major residential fires. this is just in district 3. every single time after those fires, the red cross has been there. your volunteers, staff, and management came. your donors to make sure that san francisco can rebuild. this is the type of spirit we're talking about today. i am so pleased the american red cross and