[applause] [laughter] >> uh-oh, over capacity. as we are gathering, everybody, thank you very much for coming. this is one of the moments where i have been looking forward to, with all the members of our board of supervisors, and i continually want to thank the board for working so well with

our office in passing a balanced budget this year. there are a lot of people to thank. but the first thing i want to make sure you all understand is the budgets of cities is the most important thing we can possibly do as urban settings for the whole country. you are reading about it every single day with the president and his deficit ceiling challenge or whether it is our governor. our cities have to survive, and i have to be financially strong. that will be a theme throughout the rest of this year and forthcoming, because we have to keep our city strong. we have done that with this balanced budget. a lot of people to thank. i want to first and foremost thank this year's budget share, carmen chu. supervisor chu, thank you very much. [applause] she did a really terrific job. you're great leadership really helped through all of the

negotiations and discussions. of course, want to recognize the other budget members. board president david chiu. thank you very much, david. [applause] supervisor jane kim, thank you very much. supervisor ross mirkarimi, thank you. and supervisor scott wiener, thank you very much. [applause] they were all the members of the budget committee. but again, i want to thank each and every one of the members of the board, because we worked really hard. at the beginning, in january of this year, we all faced a $380 million deficit, and we all went to work. particularly, our office had to lead. like i say, we were on first base. and i wanted to thank so many other parties in this great city of ours for coming together. because the board of supervisors

and the mayor's office, we knew we could not do this alone. the city budget reflects so many values of our great city. whether it is departments or community-based agencies or whether it is neighborhood groups, we all had to put our focus on and make sure that this budget would be balanced in the right way. so i want to especially thank all of our labor unions in the city for coming together this year. they were fantastic, and they were obviously very forthright in the things that they represented. particularly, i want to think, especially, the police officers and the police officer association and the head of that. as well as tom o'connor and the local 798 and the firefighters. the public safety contributions from we have some $31 million of savings over the next two years. [applause] and that represents a huge

sacrifice. [applause] the public safety officers were part of a larger group of all of the labor unions that we have worked well with in the city. i want to thank all the labor unions for coming together, not only on the budget, but also on our pension reform package as well. to the community-based leaders, one, very personal thought i have here is a wanted to approach this budget in a very different way, and that is working with our community groups. because i have seen so many years that they were dragged out at the end of the month of june, towards the month of june, and had to march out with so many of their constituents to plead and beg, what might be viewed as crumbs. some of the big decisions -- the decisions they felt were already made. it helped the board of

supervisors and the labor unions. we went to work with our budget step and with the department heads to go added a different way and to solve problems with our community groups ahead of time. so that you did not see the last hour that we went a little bit past midnight on a few things. but i think it was a very, very qualitatively different feeling that we had this year. i want to thank the department heads. i particularly want to thank the cbo's and especially those that had to hear my speech 25,000 times. they got its embedded in there, but all of you know that i felt that personally, that if we do not have a safe city, we do not have a solvent city, we will not have a successful city. that has been reflective of everything we have done. to the community-based organizations, thank you very much for working very closely with us and the board of supervisors. the controller's office, of course -- [applause]

of course, we worked very hard with our controller's office did not want to thank ben and moni que and the budget analysis division staff for constantly working with this. they obviously were working over ours as well to make sure they understood and analyzed everything we did and the outcomes. i also wanted to thank the department of human-resources. mickey and martin. we call them the mickey and martin show. they were there, too, at the 10 community-based meetings that we had. they showed up there with departments, and there were always there to help me explain the repercussions of everything that we did. i really want to thank them. i also want to think harvey rose. i have been on all sides with harvey on the budgets for over 21 years. but i think he did a really job -- a really good job.

he is not here, but i want to thank him as well. you know, the mayor's office, i inherited a great staff. i really have to say that i have been blessed with a very, very talented staff. so with that kind of talent, i want to make sure that i mentioned them by name. with that kind of talent, people do not stay long in one place. i know that there are already things happening with people changing. maybe they're stressed out or maybe they're going to better things. i want to say thank you to steve for helping me head this whole thing up. appreciate that. [applause] and then to the budget staff, headed up by the great bragg wagner, thank you very much. -- greg wagner. [cheers and applause]

greg, you had a wonderful staff did you assemble them and focused on them. i want to name them all, because i know they're going places. that includes rick wilson, monice, megan, rebecca, liel, renee, alessa, jonathan, eash, star, and kate. thank you very much, all of you. [applause] and i want to again give a shout out to all of the department heads. they have been so patient. and even though i have not held to many department head meetings, i think i have relieve you of a lot of that. but all of you department heads, and i do not have to go through all of you, but i want to signal again that it has been wonderful to work with you in different capacities with such a difficult budget this year, you all came

through to you did really get jobs in farming and advising members of the board of supervisors as well and really contributing to this whole budget process. as i said, we started out with the huge deficit, and we tried as a new kind of discipline and new processes in, and i think it worked. i think, also, that the board of supervisors and i know for a fact that our city will continue to be victimized if we do not have our own financial house in strong order. that is why we put together a two-year budget this year for the first time. that is why we're focused on a five-year financial plan for the city. because we will have to react to what the state is going to continue doing to us. we are about to receive the first package of realignment. that is not enough money to inherit. over 700 people that are incarcerated from our state. while we have got some money is in place, we have to be ready

for more of the realignment. we do not know what else is coming, but they're getting ready to push everything down in the county. then we have to forewarned. that is why have been such a preacher, if you will, of making sure we have enough reserves. because the sole national but -- national debate -- and as you know, i just came back from washington, d.c., and even though we celebrated the giant'' win, you could see happens of the president was. we do not know what will happen next tuesday, but we have to be financially ready for it. with the disciplines we have had in place, i want to say to you, to the board of supervisors, to each and every one of you, i personally want to thank you for such a great relationship we have had with this mayor's office, and we're going to have to keep the relationship right. because we do not know what is going to occur. yeah, i kind of feel that the pressure will be put on cities like san francisco all over the country. we are going to have to react.

we're going to have to come up with our own funding and resources to protect against those cuts are against possibly some dramatic increases in borrowing abilities, or more disastrous federal programs being cut that we rely on very heavily. with the spirit that i am signalling today, please, supervisors, let's continue working very, very closely. we have that mission to protect all of the residents of this great city. with that, i want to signal my appreciation for the unity that we have had throughout all the aspects of our city family. going forward, we have a lot of things to continue doing to keep our economic foundation strong. and i'd like to maybe take the time and invite board president david chiu -- she has been a fantastic leader in helping us make sure this relationship is strong. after that, maybe a few remarks from carbon to as well. so, board president david chiu. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor.

i am just going to say a few brief remarks. at the end of last year, i was, like many of my colleagues, a bit nervous about how we were going to tackle this year's budget. this is my third budget. and all told, i think, over the past couple of years, including this year, we will have cut close to $1.4 billion from budgets. and what was so unique about this year was the circumstances under which we were able to come together, and i want to thank mayor lee. i want to thank our budget office and the department heads for the spirit of openness with which you worked not only with us but with all of the community stakeholders who were here. i also want to thank my colleagues, not only for all the long budget meetings and some of the late nights, but for pulling together to ensure that we are balancing this budget across all areas of government, it across all services. everyone came to this budget

with the spirit of cooperation, which is what we dearly needed this time. i do want to single out one person in particular. carmen chu is not -- not only is the chu family extremely proud of you today, but i want to thank you for having taken on the work that you to go to the last few months to really bring us forward, working with the mayor and everyone here. it takes all of us to mention that our city is taking care of during these tough times, and we look for to continuing to do this in the years to come. with that, supervisor chu. [applause] >> thank you, everybody, for being here today. i was just reflecting back on the time when i started to work on the city's budget. and my first budget that were done was actually in 2004. so if you can imagine having worked in the budget office, been a committee member, and now

a chair. i think as i finally done. [laughter] and so, again, i just want to thank everybody. there are a lot of thanks that i do want to say. a lot of times people feel that the banks have already gone around, but i do not think we can never think the people in the for the work they put in. first, i want to recognize and thank my colleagues, not only supervisor i to -- chiu, the whole board. it takes all the cooperation and input from every betty. i do want to thank all of my colleagues. antilife for the unanimous vote today. it is something that signals the cooperation and level of the conversations we have had over the course of the year. i do want to thank mayor lee. to be honest, a lot of people give me credit for the smooth process, but i will not take credit for that. truly, the ability to set the tone for the budget conversations really started with the mayor, his willingness

to talk to the community, to be in public meetings, to continue to meet with labor leaders are committed the advocates, residents, supervisors related help to set the process and that smooth path we took. i do want to thank mayor lee. i want to thank his staff, in particular, greg. i remember when we hired greg. that was probably one of the best decisions we ever made. i just wanted to say congratulations on really running a fine, fine process and really leading your team. of course, judy controllers -- to the controllers office, i cannot imagine doing this without you and your staff. to all of our labopeople did say from their own pockets that really goes to support their own families. to the firefighters, police officers, thank you for helping us keep our budget hole. we wholeheartedly thank you for

that. of course, i cannot get through this process without my wonderful staff. katie and cammie been tremendous in supporting the opposite is supporting me and communicating. i do want to thank everybody for that. so that will be it. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, carmine vdot want to give a shout to our business community, because they have been very strong with us. we had a lot of big decisions to make, even during the six months, that will serve as great foundations to our businesses into a great note to them that we want to make sure that as we approach a financially sound city goal, that business and labor and community groups are all part of that magic, the board of supervisors worked so closely with me. with this, something that charlotte schulz always reminds

me, when you're happy, when you have unity in the city, you wear your best time. [laughter] so i have not taken is off since yesterday at the white house, so i wanted to celebrate with our board of supervisors. so at this time, we signed the final budget. there you go. [applause] >> all right, this is one pen down. [laughter] >> there you go. there you go.

and greg. [cheers and applause] >> and with that, the budget is done. [applause] >> thank you, everybody.

>> the san francisco cons tri of flowers in golden gate park is now showing a new exhibit that changes the way we see the plants around us. amy stewart's best-selling book, "wicked plants" is the inspiration behind the new exhibit that takes us to the dark side of the plant world. >> i am amy stewart. i am the arthur of "wicked plants," the weeds that killed lincoln's mother and other botanical atrocities. with the screens fly trap, that is kind of where everybody went initially, you mean like that? i kind of thought, well, all it does is eat up bugs.

that is not very wicked. so what? by wicked, what i mean is that they are poisonous, dangerous, deadly or immoral or maybe illegal or offensive or awful in some way. i am in the profession of going around and interviewing botanists, horticulturalists and plant scientists. they all seem to have some little plant tucked away in the corner of a greenhouse that maybe they weren't supposed to have. i got interested in this idea that maybe there was a dark side to plants. >> the white snake root. people who consumed milk or meat from a cow that fed on white snake root faced severe pain. milk sickness, as it was culled, resulted in vomiting, tremors, delirium and death. one of the most famous victims

of milk sickness was nancy hangs lincoln. she died at the age of 34, leaving behind 9-year-old abraham lincoln. he helped build his mother's casket by carving the woodallen petition douche the wooden petition himself. >> we transformed the gallery to and eerie victorian garden. my name is lowe hodges, and i am the director of operations and exhibitions at the conls tore of -- cons tore of flowers. we decided it needed context. so we needed a house or a building. the story behind the couple in the window, you can see his wife has just served him a

glass of wine, and he is slumped over the table as the poison takes affect. a neat little factold dominion about that house is actually built out of three panels from old james bond movie. we wanted people to feel like i am not supposed to be in this room. this is the one that is supposed to be barred off and locked up. >> the ole andersonner -- oleander. this popular shrub is popular in warm climates. it has been implicated in a surprising number of murders and accidental deaths. children are at risk because it takes only a few leaves to kill them. a southern california woman tried to collect on her husband's life insurance by putting the leaves in his food. she is now one of 15 women on california's death rowan the only one who attempted to murder with a plant.

>> people who may haven't been to their cons tore or been to -- do serve tore or their botanical garden, it gives them a reason to come back. you think let's go and look at the pretty flowers. these are pretty flowers, but they are flowers with weird and fascinating stories behind them. that is really fun and really not what people normally think of when they come to a horticultural institution. >> "wicked plants" is now showing at the san francisco conserve tore of flowers. unless next time, get out and play.

>> welcome to culture wire. we're going to take a look at one of the biggest and most significant public art projects today. ♪ on june 26, mayor newsom and other officials gathered at the hospital to cut the ribbon and welcome the public into a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility. >> 3, 2, 1.

[applause] >> in has been 10 years since voters approved the measure for the new building. >> when they cast the vote, we have an exciting opportunities to rethink how art is done in a hospital setting. >> replacement program generated approximately $3.9 million in art enrichment funds for a comprehensive art program that contributes to the quality of life at the hospital by enhancing the environment and supporting the hospital's needs and therapeutic goals. artists were commissioned to create 100 original works of art. as was for the gardens and courtyard areas. >> be artwork does more than just hang on the wall. it will enhance the therapeutics

of the hospital and will include sensory stimulation, orientation, social interaction. >> it was set into like boxes to create color filled areas in the hospital. inspired by nature, the signature painting of native san francisco birds, clouds, and the surface of the ocean waves were translated into a variety of media including glass mosaic and tapestry. the playful clock encourages memory stimulation among the patients. they used the theme of the four elements as they relate to vocation.

it is a direct homage to the historical murals in the original laguna honda building. it features to large tile walls. by observing residents, the gardens created a public artwork in the form of the handrail. in one of the outdoor courtyards, the circular grouping of -- with a smooth finish. this features ten unique button sculptures with different pastel colors that function not only as a place to sit, but also as a touchstone to something recognizable, familiar, and

comforting. another key component included an art project that responded directly to the hospital's rich history. using archival images and artifacts, had designed 16 intricately woven tapestries that are inviting of significant events that shaped the hospital and the community over time. a >> it attracts a lot of visitors, and they are all and all - -in aw -- in awe over the variety of mediums used. >> i think we have given the city of san francisco and the residents an incredible art collection.