conviction is somehow related to the job they are applying for. i do not want to see an employer having his decision being questioned as to whether he thinks a conviction is relevant to the position of the job that he is applying for. i think it would be more important that they have the latitude to determine whether or not the conviction is a serious enough offense to say they are not comfortable working with the person. just a comment i want to make. i think you should work on the program, and we will work more on it. >> we need to move to public comment. president o'brien: i am sorry. public comment. clerk: i have one speaker card. >> i am wearing more than one hat. i will be brief. i have been a small-business owner for over 40 years, if you include deliver the bulletin, and i do not think any of you

are old enough to remember that. my second hat is i am formerly incarcerated. i served years in federal prison for a marijuana conviction. last year, a worked with the reentry council on civil engagement, and i do not want to give you a litany of anecdotal experiences, but i am coming to truly wearing two hats as a san franciscan, because i would urge you to participate in this process. as a small-business owner, the legislation that will be proposed, i would be covered, because i have the five employees or less legislation -- it would not be covered under the human rights commission. above five employees, there is a process we are working. so i think what my main message

to the commission is the case you are the small business commission for our city, and you do have a tremendous influence among the small business community is that there is nothing to be afraid of. one of the primary concerns of any small business person is the unknown deaf ear, and i am coming to you today, and i know you were all tired, to assure you the process that is being undertaken is really for the benefit of small business -- small-business owners, not a detriment, to give them the best possible pool of not only competent but exceptional workers. that is my contribution to your consideration. president o'brien: thank you very much. next speaker. >> thank you. i did not realize how late you

guys were , so the thank you. you guys should put that in the public record or something. i am here to speak on this legislation are possible legislation because i, too, have two cats. i am the convict and a small- business owner. when i got out of prison, i could not find a job. i would work, you know, cash jobs, and sometimes i would not get paid. what are you going to do? fortunately, i had the opportunity to get a line level hospitality job. i worked my way up through management, and when i got out, i did not even know how to use a facts machine. i to though can attest as a small-business owner how hard it is for businesses in san francisco, and i definitely do not want this to be another burden to my fellows in the small business community.

i do want to of communication to assure that this action becomes an additional resources to myself and the small business community and the work force. thankfully, i was given the opportunity. if i was not given the opportunity, i may not be here right now. i might be in jail. i got a shock, and that shock has me here today. for the city of san francisco to allow a small box on a piece of paper to dictate who has a chance at their life into does not, so we're just too smart in san francisco and too compassionate to allow a little box on a piece of paper to determine whether or not you get a second chance in life, so thank you, and thank you for staying up so late tonight. president o'brien: thank you very much. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> i would suggest that we work

with your office because i do feel this is important legislation to move forward here, and i appreciate these two gentlemen coming to speak on behalf at this -- behalf of this this late-night. there are other associations in san francisco that would like to participate. >> so, commissioners, can we may be direct this to the legislation and policy committee for taking a look at it on a deeper level for the commission and and also possibly for the outreach committee vote to work on the outreach and working with hrc? >> .thank you. president o'brien: ok, next item, please. clerk: commissioners, item 10,

an update and discussion on the san francisco planning department pavement to parts program, which will be continued to a future meeting. just to note, inside the left front cover is the legislation page report that you have requested. >> commissioners, due to the late time frame, i will just submit to you the director's report in writing. clerk: commissioners, item 12, the letter is dated and policy committee report. commissioner: we have nothing new that was not discussed here tonight. clerk: item 13, the permitting committee report. commissioner: i have nothing. clerk: item number 14, the outreach committee report. commissioner: i will submit. clerk: item 15, the president's

report. president o'brien: i have nothing to report. clerk: item 16, the vice president's report. commissioner adams: we had a good event. janet. we had a great board of supervisors meeting. " i have been attending -- i went to the opening of super duper, which is a hamburger place in castro. it opened up their second location, which was fun and exciting, and i went to the 75th anniversary party a couple of weeks ago.

family unscrewing clean family, same street. that is my report. commissioners, item 17, commission report. commissioner: just one last thing. i met with people from chinatown, and there is a program for chinatown and north beach, so we are excited to get people out in visiting our local merchants. president o'brien: commissioner clyde? commissioner clyde: on may 23 with commissioner njn -- jane kim, they were meeting about the

licenses for abc and a way to clarify those conditions when conditions are met. i did find supervisor kim very responsive to the needs of both the residents in the community as well as the business owners. i also attended the mid market arts kickoff on at the 20th with mayor ed lee, and that was just a great get out in the street with music in the streets, even a a little bit of wine and beer in the streets. it was great fun. i also attended an awards party of the company on market, and i just want to note that it has grown in a year from four companies to know 160 companies that are a part of that. thank you very much.

president o'brien: thank you. next item. clerk: item number 18, general public comment. president o'brien: seeing none, next item. clerk: item number 19, new business. president o'brien: seeing none, next item. clerk: item number 20, adjournment. we are returned -- adjourned.

>> good morning, everyone. i am the director of neighborhood business development for the office of work force development. thank you for coming. this is the kickoff of small business week as well as a celebration of the accomplishments of our small business revolving loan fund, which we have been working on for about six months. i would like to start by introducing the mayor, and we will continue by hearing from supervisor wiener as well as our

administrator for the loan fund, and finally, the owner of this great new business. mr. mirkarimi -- mr. mayor. mayor lee: thank you. i cannot think of a better way to celebrate the kickoff of small business week than to be right on valencia in the small business just started that has been the recipient along with some 27 other small businesses that have worked really hard to get to a place where they can be and allow the city to contribute and help. we did not hear a lot of times -- we hear a lot of complaints about how the city has not been doing things, but thanks to our small business commission, which is here today, and they're wonderful work and their director who has been advising me on a number of fronts -- their wonderful work and their director who has been advising me on a number of fronts, and supervisor wiener, who had a

chance to open up a farmer's market in glen park with me yesterday. we never do it alone. whenever our city is working together, we have to find people who know how to communicate with small businesses, drill down to what they need, and then work with our policy makers like the small business commission and their staff, but really help in figuring out what it is that a limited amount of money -- and it is really limited when you are only talking about $680,000 in very tight economic times -- to be able to spread that around to 27 different businesses, help and make sure that a company like mission cheese, which is probably gone through a huge jury just to get here, can be directly helped to be opened and sustained success -- which has probably gone through a huge journey just to get here. we do not want to start things

that cannot be successful. the whole game is about not only surviving the economic challenge, but as we recover -- and we are recovering in our economy -- that the small businesses will be successful, and they will grow, and they will sustain themselves, and they will be at the heart of what i think is a revival of the whole of valencia. when you walk valencia and look at all the vacancies that have erupted over the past few years, and to see small business is coming back, you will know that everyone is struggling, but they want to make it happen. i really wanted to emphasize this morning how many different journeys people have had in making themselves successful and how the city has been able to get them here and the great journey and the great story we are going to hear from sarah and from family -- from emily.

i want you to listen to sarah when she talks about how she got here and how she got the milk from those cows. [laughter] whether they are california or from maine or wisconsin, how did that milk and up into this lovely artisan cheese that she is making for our residents and visitors? i think the great journey will be when sarah talks about how she found her way to establish in san francisco. the greatest journey i hear are people who take up that opportunity, when they come into san francisco and make their home here. that is a wonderful journey because it has many more stories to tell about how young entrepreneurs who start their families and then grow. that is the story about small businesses. i want to join all of you here

in celebration. we will hear about other businesses, but it begins with these very personal stories and, really, how this milk and cheese got here, but how sarah got here through all of her work and study and how she could perform something very unique and contribute to the great businesses that sustain san francisco. with that, scott, come on up. [applause] supervisor wiener: thank you, mr. mayor. i represent this district on the board of supervisors. we always talk about how important small business is in terms of creating jobs, in terms of having interesting neighborhoods where we have unique businesses and not a complete takeover by chain stores, but then, we do not always put our money where our mouth is, and we make it difficult sometimes for small businesses to succeed. in my office, at least once a

week, we learned of a new arcane regulations or permit or fee or something preventing small businesses from succeeding. so it is so nice and so productive when the city is able to take a pro-active steps to help small businesses financially -- take a pro-active steps -- take pro-active steps to help small businesses financially. we have a real diverse array of interesting small businesses, so i am proud that we have been able to do this, and especially what we have been able to do on valencia's street. so congratulations and best of luck. -- especially what we have been able to do on valencia st.. >> a quick word before emily

speaks. the money is critical, but what we have seen is the really critical things the city can do. one of the things that we like working solution so much is not just that they are able to make loans but the kind of business solutions they are able to give to owners, so i just wanted to put in that little plug. [applause] >> good morning. i am the executive director of working solutions, and i also am so excited to be here to kick off small business week this year as we celebrate the success of mr. and cheese. sarah, congratulations on all your hard work and achieving your dream. we all wish you success. sarah is the perfect example of the hard-working, tenacious, inspiring, and created under for nor -- creative and entrepreneur that has received assistance from working solutions and san francisco. two years ago, the city had the

leadership to prioritize access for capital to small businesses. at that time, credit access was at record lows, and even today, still, access to capital remains one of the single biggest challenges that a small business can face. particularly startup businesses like mission cheese. working solutions was selected to administer the loan fund, and that gave us the opportunity to do what we do best -- getting capital to entrepreneurs who need it most. working solutions uses its expertise to see the potential in an entrepreneur is like sarah -- entrepreneurs like sarah. plus, working solutions is committed to long-term -- to the long-term success of each business. what we do in addition to every loan is provide five years of

business coaching, advising, and mentoring. the san francisco loan fund has been a bright spot in a dismal economy. has been extremely successful in creating jobs and economic development. for example, in just weeks that mission cheese has been open, sarah has already created five new jobs and the loan fund overall has created 50 new jobs. working solutions, through this loan fund, has made 27 loans to businesses. the interest rate is low and fixed at 4% to 6%. we have lent out close to the entire $680,000 of the original lending capital, and 100% of those businesses are repaying their loans. as the funds revolve, they become available for additional

businesses. the funds are used for different things like marketing, hiring new employees, purchasing equipment, tenant improvements, and more. the types of businesses that have benefited from the city loan fund range from salons, cafes, retail shops -- all different types of businesses throughout the city of san francisco. these are exactly the kind of very unique businesses that make san francisco the diverse city that it is. i also wanted to point out that a few of our loan recipients in the city have also graduated and able to later on success -- access traditional bank financing. two of those have been able to move on to get traditional loans. i would like to really thank the community partners that working solutions works with. we collaborate with organizations like the small business assistance center that

-- assistance center, the san francisco small business development center, and pacific community ventures. all of these organizations and more create a network of vital support services and resources for small businesses in san francisco. i would also like to take the opportunity to thank working solutions' staff, board, supporters, and volunteers, who are really a big part of the success that we are celebrating this morning. finally, i would like to thank the city, mayor lee, supervisor wiener, and the small business commission for continuing to prioritize the needs of small businesses. it is my hope that we will be able to build on the success of this loan fund so that even more entrepreneur worst -- entrepreneurs in the future can access these funds. thank you so much. [applause]

>> i had no idea what to expect. this is my first press conference. [laughter] i have not prepared tirelessly for this, but i definitely have a lot to say about the space that we are standing in, so, welcome. producer real -- pretty surreal at the moment. i have to clarify first that i do not make all this cheese. [laughter] it comes from across the united states from dedicated cheesemakers that worked tirelessly without vacations to care for the animals and the land and create these beautiful beautiful -- create these beautiful pieces of art that are also delicious. that was my inspiration for this space, a place to highlight and celebrate what is going on in the cheese world today and how

far we have come from a place of kraft singles and block cheddar. i love when i deliver a cheese plate and tell them the names of the cheeses, where they are from, what they are made with, a few details about, you know, the rhine or the cheesemaker or the cows -- they have names. the vocationally gray's -- they rotationally graze. that is what this is about, sharing that accomplishment with a culture that has come so far away from small, handcrafted cheeses to a community that now really supports it. this is proof of that. people love cheese, and they love to know where it comes from. it is just an honor for me to curate that experience and bring

that to the mission. we have an open for a month. we celebrated our month birthday for this week -- our month birthday this week. we have been busy. we beat our projections by 12% in the first month. [applause] that is without beer and wine the first week, so an opportunity for next month. and we have gotten -- we have been welcomed with open arms by the community, local merchants, and people that live in the neighborhood. they are really excited to have a place where they can purchase these beautiful cheeses, and also people that are knowledgeable on the subject. it has been an amazing reception. i cannot really say enough. so many people to thank. i know i could talk for days, and i would probably start crying, and that would be bad.

[laughter] as a new business owner and someone who had a dream and felt so passionate about something that they quit their 9 to 5 well-paying job to make it happen, it was difficult to find bonds -- to find funds for sure. especially in this environment. i had dreams of getting loans from banks, and those dreams were shattered in conversations about revenue essentially. being a startup business is really difficult, and i was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with gabriela. she helped, through the process of refining my business plan to the point where i could ask for a micro loan micromic --

microloan. agnes helped, and i was baffled by the kindness and generosity, working with both of you through the process. it was a lovely process. i was like, "i'm asking for a loan, and it is so wonderful and nice." i was grateful for the opportunity even to present to the loan committee. my expectations were pretty low, given my other conversations with banks, and people at large being like, "good luck getting money from, you know, anyone." i was just thrilled getting this microloan. it was essential. the refrigeration you see here was paid for with that. there is a killer of an in the back. the beer dispenser.

a lot of equipment that is necessary to provide what we provide here was paid for with that microloan. i was dancing in the streets after you guys call me. [laughter] i did not know what to do with myself. i am just really grateful for this opportunity. i cannot say enough. it is serial -- surreal. thank you. [applause] >> is the key is available -- oh, i'm sorry, we are cutting the ribbon -- is the cheese available? [laughter] >> oh, we have some more

scissors. >> there we go. >> here are some more scissors. mayor lee: on the count of three, two, one. [applause] >> we are open. [applause]