california rail high-speed eir document, we are doing that because we were noticed, and it is sort of a formality, or do we have substantive issues that we want to bring forward? >> yes, over the years, there have been a lot of substantive issues. when they come up with alternatives -- like one station that was not in the same location at all, the beale street alignment. obviously, we did a lot of engineering to show that that was not a practical solution, and high-speed rail accepted that. we are in a good position now where the engineers all know what we're doing, and the confidence level -- they are totally different companies.

progress has been very good in the last year. >> that is good to hear. years ago, they were -- they made specifications that everybody would scratch their heads at an ask what a country that high-speed rail runs in. >> that is why we have been doing that. some of the specifications were unnecessary, and we have been reaching agreements. sometimes, they are only arguing over 20 seconds difference in travel time, depending on the link of your buffer at the end of the platform for the radius you approach on, and i think common sense is now coming to the forefront. >> i also sit on the alameda county transportation commission, and every once in awhile, over my objections, up comes the ultimate pass variation and things like that. kind of tried to play that down and say that it really is not productive and we really should

not be getting involved, but it is alameda county, so i do not prevail in that. but there are issues that come up here where the alternative really needs to be addressed in some sort of -- i am just thinking that it just needs to die, but at some point, it looks like that is getting threatening, i would like to know. i know that it does not work in alameda county. it just seems to have a life of its own, i'm afraid. >> we will keep you posted. the tjpa has not taken a position. director harper: and i do not know what if it needs to. >> our main discussion has been what happens at the county line. i attend all the meetings.

parsons assist me in writing background information, cost estimates, and layouts.

motion? -- all in favor? >> item 12 is approved. we move to item 13, approving the recommend applicants to the transbay joint powers authority citizens' advisory committee. >> i just wanted to say that at the last board meeting, ortiz vice, and director -- vice chair ortiz and director kim asked that we do a little more outreach, and we did. with the further out -- it, we have some new members to recommend to the board, and bob will give more information on

that -- with the further out reach we did. >> we do have eight positions on our cac up for appointment or reappointment. we have 15 total members of our citizens advisory committee. as maria mentioned, after bringing an initial slate for recommendation to the board, we did go back and do additional outreach , including advertising to a number of different publications, and re- circulation to our partners. the solicitation resulted in an additional six applications. after reviewing all of the applications, the various constituencies that they represented, we have incorporated three of those additional applications in the group that is being brought forward for recommendation, so with the current

recommendations, we have five new members coming to the cac and three members of for reappointment. i can answer any questions you have on applications for the process. director harper: thank you. director kim: could you go over the increased diversity of these applicants? >> yes, the three additional applicants being brought forward for recommendation -- one of them is african-american. one is korean-american, and one is biracial african-american and caucasian. director harper: members of the public wish to speak on this item? >> [inaudible] director harper: ok, is there a motion for approval of the appointments as submitted? second?

any objection? all in favor? >> aye. >> item 13 is approved. director harper: that is the meeting. all right, thank you all. >> thank you very much. >> good morning, everyone. i am the president of the asian art museum foundation and vice

chair of the asian arts commission. welcome to the asian art museum. the museum's collections and programs represent more than 40 countries in asia and span more than 6000 years of history. our mission is to lead a global audience in discovering asian art and culture. so we are thrilled that san francisco will host the third apex senior's meeting in september. we hope to welcome many attendees to the museum and offer a place where they can relax and learn and feel at home. so please tell them about this wonderful museum and the wonderful programs going on at that time. we thank the city of san francisco, state of california, and other partners for bringing this event to the bay area and the bay area council for making this a success. we look forward to further strengthening our ties to asia.

it is now my pleasure to introduce san francisco mayor edwin lee. mayor li was sworn into office in january and became -- lee was sworn into office in january and became the first asian american mayor of san francisco. as a commissioner, i had the pleasure of attending a commissioners' meeting, and i have to attest, the meeting started and ended on time. so thank you, mayor. without further ado, please join me in welcoming mayor lee. [applause] >> thank you. thank you all for coming here today. it is actually quite appropriate and exciting that we are here at the asian art museum to make this announcement and let you know how excited i am, how excited the city family is to

host the preliminary meeting before the apec conference. there will be a series of meetings and a number of delegates coming to san francisco, and the most important part is the women's economic summit that will be launched here that will have gatherings of hundreds of people to advise on world economy and how we can reduce trade deficits as well as trade barriers to our partners, the 21-member apec membership. when you realize what the membership is, what it means, not only to our bay area, to the things we are producing now, but to the whole country, you realize it is so important at this conference succeed in all of its goals. when you realize the members of the apec members, the country

they represent, 55% of the global close -- global gross domestic product. 8% of our own exports are exported to these countries. literally, half of the top 15 partners in apec our major companies of the united states, and that we are trade partners with over half of them. when you realize those numbers, you understand why it is important and what the significance is that the preliminary meetings take place in san francisco. i am excited because not only do i get to be mayor during this time. i have been so fortunate to have met our president three times, but now to welcome our secretary of state as she launches one of the most important -- i have watched her career for many

years and i know how dedicated she is about the world economy and what we can do better as a country. as secretary of state, i know she will greatly benefit from the environment of san francisco and the bay area. we have met with the ambassador this morning, with the state department, in preparation with our bay area council partners. we have begun specific deliberations, in partnership with the business community and with departments. we are going to do this in a way where we are used to, and very high world-class events. make sure that the delegates now, coming to san francisco is not only a beautiful place to be in. it is also reestablishing our status as the gateway to the pacific. that has been a repeating a

theme of my tenure here as mayor. we are not only doing things better locally, we are also positioning ourselves globally. that is why we are working more closely with our business partners. most, if not everyone of them, do not want to be just a san francisco or bay area company. they want to be the global headquarters for law whole pacific rim that will lead them to other partnerships throughout the world. that is what being in san francisco is about. it leads to so many other great things. so i want to present to you today that our interests, our effort here will be top-notch. that we look at this as an addition to the biggest convention to be used to hosting, but we are also going to let people know this is the proper place for these kinds of meetings. when you look at the history of

san francisco, how we have positioned ourselves in the early 1930's and signing the united nations charter, understanding our role in the world, as well as the status of the economy today, we know we want to reposition ourselves again with a new, green economy. all the things we are doing in mission bay, all the things we're doing with businesses in silicon valley, the east bay, all is reflective of how important these meetings will be and how important the apec conference will be in november in honolulu. we look forward to working with our state department officials, all of our protocol personnel, and bay area council to raise the level of awareness. you will see me attending a lot of the events because i get excited. i know department heads will also be excited to work together to provide high level

safety, but at the same time, welcome and create an environment where attendees will submit the best ideas there are two further reductions of trade barriers and to make sure issues, including issues of women and their role in the economy, and the economy itself, as a world economy, begins to have high attention and san francisco will be a place where this can happen. it will happen in the most inviting and will come when a. i want to thank the state department for choosing san francisco. it is a unique selection for us, but one that we are ready for. i know all of you will be excited to participate and to sponsor all of the wonderful the events in september. thank you. [applause]

>> good morning, everyone. i and the u.s. ambassador to the asia-pacific economic cooperation. although i am based in washington and manage the operations, set the agenda for negotiations through apec to try to achieve our goals. but i would like to do this morning is outlined a little bit about how the u.s. views apec, the importance we put on this institution, and then plans for activities in san francisco. at the end of my briefing, we will hand out some slides that give that detailed information for you all to draw upon. asia-pacific economic forum is the premier location for discussion and negotiation and pushing the agenda for economic

integration in the asia-pacific region. this is a critical for the u.s. government. the asia-pacific is the growth center of the planet. as mayor lee out line, apec represents more than half of the global economy, almost half of the population in the world. the united states needs to link our economy more closely to the asia-pacific economy in order to experience the kind of growth we want to have in the future. in that regard, there is a very important aspect that i want you to take home and understand today. it is also the most open forum for private sector participation that exists on the planet. there are multiple opportunities throughout the discussions for private-sector people to participate directly in the dialogue that takes place within apec and also to provide ideas and have influence on the

outcomes, which we hope to achieve through the course of the year. we have outlined three themes for apec in 2011. being host of apec also means that we are the chair. that mean we set the agenda and the side what proposals are -- decide what proposals are put on the table and then tried to bring around the other economies to our point of view. they also offer their perspectives and we negotiate out, which will hopefully drive for the substantive policy agenda. the three we have outlined for the year are strengthening regional economic integration and standing trade. of course, the central purpose of a pack as an organization. green growth and regulatory cooperation. on the regional economic peace, the most important agenda for the year is deciding upon a set of next generation invest in issues.

figure out strategies for pursuing those in the future. many of you are aware that the u.s. is currently negotiating a free-trade agreement with apec economies. it is called the trans-pacific partnership. that agreement builds upon the u. s-career free trade agreement -- u.s.-korea free trade agreement. apec has adopted this next- generation trade agenda. we hope to use apec to socialize these ideas, get broader agreement about the importance of the agenda, and seek to drive the operations of regional economic operations. in the green growth area, we are also putting an emphasis on trade with specific proposals on trade and environmental goods

and services, specific issues like manufacturing, and demonstration of vehicles. we are pushing an agenda on the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, on combating illegal forestry. a rich again on the green growth fund. finally, on enhancing regulatory cooperation, we are looking for economies to establish a framework with us for identifying all opportunities for regulations to be brought closer together on monday apec economies at an earlier stage in order to avoid the trade barriers. back to the meetings themselves. we have four rounds this year. the u.s. took a strategy of squeezing everything into four rounds. japan had over one dozen last year. we found that that resulted in a lot of travel. we started in washington. tomorrow morning, i will be going too big sky, montana for

our second round. our biggest round, preliminary to the leaders meeting in november in hawaii, is the one here in san francisco. two weeks packed with a number of important meetings, high- level meetings, and the degree of private sector participation is the highest in our set of san francisco meetings. we realize the bay area, in particular, has such a rich body of u.s. companies. it is also an area of great interest to foreign companies as well. we expect strong attendance from the private sector from overseas and also hoping to get a lot of for dissipation from the bay area private-sector. to outline the offense -- and you will get a hand out with this -- on september 13 and 14, there will be an energy transport ministerial conference, cochaired by

secretary to from the energy department, secretary lahood from the department of transportation. this is a unique event. by bringing these two sets of government officials together, energy efficiency and transportation officials, we hope to set a new agenda in the region for energy-efficient transportation. we have a lot of interest in this opportunity. from september 14 through 17, the women in economies summit. this is such an important event. my boss, secretary clinton, will be chairing it. but it is also a unique opportunity for apec to set the agenda for how the economies of the region should endeavor to increase women on entrepreneurship and women's participation director region. we expect this set of meetings to result in a set of findings

which will then be in north by the leaders in hawaii to establish a new understanding throughout the region on how to pursue issues in this area. lorraine is going to give you a more detailed briefing on the meeting in a moment. another one to highlight is the health systems innovation dialogue on september 16 and 17, which will also involve senior government officials as well as private sector officials, the focus on public health challenges, as well as strengthening health systems and how they operate. the secure trade in the apec region conference will be held on the timber 18 and 19 with a focus on supply chain connectivity and making trade secure at the same time as making its move and effective. high-level meeting on innovation trade and technology will take place on timber 19 and 20. it is particularly a corporate for the bay area because of the strong