flat district. she says her streets are in pretty good condition but they have some pedestrian issues where they could use money to make sure that the long crosswalks are safe for seniors and kids to cross all the way. that is in there. almost $50 million is focused on pedestrian safety projects. so it is not just the roads. it is also a road-related work that is important for pedestrian safety. bicycle lanes are in there, signal lighting. but may look at geographical equity, it is spending the same amount of money in each district, not because of the size, but what is most important to that district? we have different categories for different things. some might want more money for

pedestrian projects because their roads are in ok shape. then there are others who just bought it for the roads. my streets are narrow, people get across, not all lot of history of pedestrian accidents. >> [inaudible] are you going to bring them back? >> yes, the budget does contemplate a police academy. the budget has passed, so there is a police academy included in there. we are glad to see that. i think the police department and public will be glad to see that. we are now getting more retirements from the police department and we would like to have a number police officers coming in -- younger police officers coming in. >> you talked about sciu as the

union that you had to work with. the pension is going to change their life. >> we did meet with retirees. they told us they're concerned is not their pension, it is health care. they have some plans that they believe are very good for them and their age already. our changes on the retirement services board have to do with economics. if there is a choice between the purchase of generic drugs versus brand name drugs, that decision has come before the health services board. in my opinion, there is no difference between generic and brand name, except cost.

so why don't we make a decision that saved us money without compromising quality? that is the kind of decision on what the health service's board to make. in by generic drugs -- invite generic drugs in. if we do not take quality away, we need to let you know, we are just lowering the cost. they are a little bit afraid of that, but i think they are more afraid of change which does not affect that quality of the health care they want. i think the additional person that we anticipate to be on the health care board will pay attention because it is somebody being selected and presented by the comptroller's office that will pay attention to the cost. we need to have some cost

containment but it does not need to compromise money. >> we just heard yesterday that there was a new comprehensive proposal, including resources that were already provided to the city in charity care. >> i have a team of people from the department of public health reviewing the proposal, also with the housing, also with the tenderloin community for the impact on their community, and of course, muni, mta, the human services group. they are reviewing it in detail. i will be scheduling a meeting with cpm see to go over that to see how -- cpmc to see how that translates over into the impact

we want. i do not have an immediate response except to say we are discussing this in detail. i am trying to help cpmc be successful at the board of supervisors and planning commission. as we get closer and closer to an agreement, i believe they need to listen to my advice. i work with the board every day. i know how they think. they want to have a successful vote at the board. i am guiding them there with the conditions -- it was not conditioned that i made up out of thin air. it was to deal with all of the impacts of a hospital decide they want -- they want a big hospital and want to have to take care of everything else. i am very careful to know how

each supervisor feels about the impact on the project. i would like cpmc to be successful because they do not have a lot of time. we would do the best we can and review every aspect of this so that they have the best chance of success. >> the issue of the state budgets have affected many local businesses. is there any way that the city could help more nonprofits? >> that is why i am proposing a set sales tax. the state did make some severe cuts. we do not know when those cuts will start that impacting the nonprofits. as you know, through our city budget, if you ask many of the

nonprofits, they're pretty happy. we restored a lot of the original cuts. their services reflect the values that i hold, board of supervisors hold. now the state is making cuts, some in the same places that we've restored. we cannot promise to back fill all of those cuts. we can promise to go through the same process and asked what are the critical services that we must save, and work on them as hard as we can. that is why i need an additional cushion with a half cent sales tax. that will give us the of the need to restore cuts that the city is making. it is unfortunate the state cannot resolve their problems and they push it off onto the counties. i know the governor is trying hard, but it gets frustrating that they cannot agree. i am happy to be working with a board that can agree locally. maybe we need to send a message

to get agreement that's fair. i need more resources to help with those state cut spirit that is by the have cent sales tax is important to me. and it is not increasing the sales tax, in my opinion. it is just saving half. the public gets the other half. that is what i considered the sales tax as a safety valve sales tax. >> i wanted to talk about redevelopment. what is the city going to do with that? when the state cuts, how much impact is that to the city? >> on the zoning issue, we have

calculated, in their process, they say if you want to restore your pre development agency, you have to pay a certain amount of money. we believe the amount of that money is about $20 million. we do not have that kind of money. we are trying to figure out ways in which we can finance that, but that they need to come through redevelopment. we do not have the money in the city at all. that is the challenge. the other challenge is, it is the opinion of the redevelopment agency that it is illegal for the state to do this. the redevelopment agency for san francisco will most likely join in a state-wide a lawsuit

against the state from doing this. as a city, we are reviewing our options, but because it is a separate agency, the redevelopment agency can make its own decisions. we have not included on our decision. we are working with the city attorney to get some aspects on the legality of this. we are fairly certain the redevelopment agency will be joining the state-wide lost it with all of the other major cities in the state. they believe -- and there are good grounds to believe that -- that this is not a maneuver taken by the governor's office. >> does that mean we are going to have a temporary injunction first? >> i think so.

the national league of cities, as well as the california redevelopment association, have indicated strongly their attorneys have strong opinions that that was not legal. >> [inaudible] you said many times that you would not be running again for mayor. have you changed? with all of these campaigns asking you to run, what is your position? >> i tried not to pay too much attention to the people who have been starting the campaign to ask me to run. to the extent that i read and

see it, i do appreciate that many people support what we are doing and how we are doing it. i enjoyed a lot of support, i think, not only internally from the government, but i think there are lot of people that agree with me. therefore, they believe that should automatically translate into my riding. there are two issues. -- running. i like that people are in joint what we are doing. it is much better than, you are a failure, get out of here. for me, the personal choice has debate with an understanding of why i came to do the job and under what circumstances. it is a personal choice that i had. i never wanted to be a

politician had i been, i would have signaled that many years ago. so i am still of the position that i will not be running for this job. i know there will be a strong effort the next few weeks to convince me otherwise. we will let that play out, but that is where i am at. i never look at myself as a politician. >> [inaudible] >> i think it is more appropriate for me to focus on the things that i asked the voters to pay attention to. i have not really paid attention to either of the candidates for what they are saying. right now, to me, that is it a distraction. -- or what they are saying. i will not be endorsing anyone for any office. i do need to focus on the pension reform, sales tax, and

on the road repaving, as my contribution to the voters. i think that is a lot already for people to understand. i think people will have to make up their mind about the other candidates they choose. but i hope they hold a session with you because you have some good questions. >> when you talk to supervisors, some say that you promised not to run. >> that was the circumstance. they did not want someone distracted. i understand that. that is why i came into this job. >> how do [inaudible] you may go back in many years?

>> of course, i do not think i would get this type of attention as city administrator. i do not have to do press conferences. city administrator is exactly what it is. administer the programs and policies with the mayor and board of supervisors. i enjoyed that. it does not have the day-to-day stress. one of the things i have been clear about as mayor is, i worry about everything. i worry about when i get up but will be on my phone, a shooting, pedestrian that got ran over, a police officer. you worry about everything. you worry about every neighborhood, the fire victims. what happened to them? where are they going to live? what happens to their kids? you worry about every detail because you feel responsible for them.

every day, the mayor is forced to do that because of where you are. everyone helps you expect them to solve their problem. i did not have that experience as the city administrator. therefore, i could go to sleep, i could have a two-day weekend. i could play golf and only worry about the ball and a whole. now i play golf and it is, where is the ball, where is the hole? my mind is on the budget, what i will say, how i will say it. yesterday, with the ping-pong diplomacy, it was fun. i tried not to worry about it, but i said, i do not want to make a mistake because this is international and everyone wants to feel welcome, that they are involved. but as a mayor, you have to

worry about many things. so i go to sleep tired, my notes are in front of me. i have to read my details and be prepared. it looks like sometimes i'm having fun, but in the back, my staff is working hard to prepare me, making sure i understand everything. it is not just making mistakes. it is doing the right thing and making sure it is the right way to do it. i compare myself to the other mayors in other cities. i went back to the conference of mayors and i asked mayor bloomberg of new york. how did you do this over 10 years? these mayors, they have really been helpful. willie brown has been helpful in giving me advice about things

that i did not have. i have had some private conversations with people about how to do things. that is part of my were read. i also enjoyed a lot of support from people because they want me to be successful. they know i am open to honest dialogue. whatever advice they give me, i keep it secret. and there are very content with that. -- they are very content with that. >> [inaudible] >> 6:00 in the morning on sundays. maybe every two weeks. >> [inaudible] you just want to be a city administrator. you are used to these distractions. >> no, there were a lot of things i have to get used to the

first few months. there are a lot of things that i cannot get used to in this job, the attention, publicity, but also, the variety of issues. there are so many things coming at you. for example, this today, a friend of mine in mailed -- e- mailed me and said that one of his in-laws was one of the fishermen that was caught out in the kabul area. i said that we would call the account the general in mexico. so we immediately made a call, asked the mexican consulate to ask the mexican government to continue the search. do not stop. do everything you can. the weather is warm. people have relationships. i did not know that.

i was reading the news like you, and all the sudden, a friend says, i have a relative there. can you plead with the government? i never expected to do that. but here he is, a resident asking for help. so we called the mexican consulate. they were transmitting information, the request. so it is things like that that you never expect. every day there is a challenge. if it reflects things that we can do, we will do it. ok. thank you very much. i hope this was helpful.

[beeping] voice: ready. ready. ready. ready. ready. announcer: it can be a little awkward when your friend tells you he's been diagnosed with a mental illness, but what's even more awkward is, if you're not there for him, he's less likely to recover. i'm here to help, man, whatever it takes. voice: ready. >> san francisco's buses and trains serve many riders who are blind or how low vision. muni is their lives line to get around. simple act of courtesy can help

them access muni services safely. it is not just courtesy. it is the law. >> i used to take the 21 airlock. >> lot of times, when i would be waiting at the bus stop, the door would open and the driver would announce the bus line. >> 71. >> it is easier and preferable when a driver sees someone who is obviously visually impaired if they stop in front of me and say "this is the 71," "this is the seven." >> our buses are setup to announce the lines when we pull up. when i see a customer with a guide dog or cane, make sure i let them know what line i am. >> every time i get on the bus, i tell the driver where i need to get off, even if i think there digital voice system is going to announce that.

just so they know in the event that it is not working. i would say a good amount of the time, i do get acknowledgment, actually. >> good morning. >> morning. is your announcements system working? >> i'm sorry, it is not. >> could you let me know when we get to van ness and sacramento? >> i sure will. >> i have had a number of drivers be really helpful in terms of getting passengers to move down a few seats so i can sit in the front. >> can somebody give this lady a seat? >> the bus driver was say, "please wait a moment. i want to make sure you have a seat." and i hear him or her announced that he needs a seat for a person with a disability. >> as soon as the person gets on the bus, i ask the passengers if we can have a seat for this person. >> anybody help us? thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> sides, federal law requires

that the customers give their seats to the elderly and disabled if they should need it. >> buses should stop in zones that can accommodate multiple lines will stop behind one another. i cannot see what bus is behind -- i'm not even sure if there is a bus behind. the second bus does not come up to the front. oftentimes, it has caused me to be passed up by bosses, by trains, and again, it makes me late for appointments. it makes me late for my job. >> i'm often anxious that i'm going to miss the bus that i need, simply because i'm not fast enough to scamper down and find out which bus is lined up behind the bus that is currently in front of me. what i'm going to work and i take the van ness street buses to work, sometimes, one of them

will pull up right next to the other one. not in a bus stop, but parallel to it. and i do not know it is there. i also do not feel comfortable walking out into the street. >> is that my boss over there? i think that is my boss -- bus. i'm going to miss it. i don't know how many times i have missed buses because of this. >> i do not double park. it is not safe for our customers, and especially the visually impaired. anything could happen, and it is muni's policy not to double park. normally what i do, if i can safely go in behind, i pull in the zone, offload my customers, load the customers that are waiting for me. when the bus in front of the leaves, i will pull to the front for the customers that did not see me.

>> sometimes, the bus pulls up, and there is stuff in my way because the boys -- bus has not pulled up right in front of me. i have to figure out how to get around or through. i have to navigate through all of that in order to get onto the bus. >> when i pick up a visually impaired customers, i like to pull up right in front of them, make sure nothing is in the way so they can walk right on the coach. >> okay, take one big step forward. >> when i drop off a visually impaired customers, make sure you do not pull up at the shelter. you want to give them a straight shot so they can go to the left or the right. you want to pull in front or behind the shelter. never around any trees or pose. i usually let them know that they have about 10 feet before you. a straight shot, and wallace 10 feet away, and they can make the

decision what they want to do from that point. every now and then, and visually impaired customer wants to be dropped off right at the shelter. so they can go to the left or the right from there. >> ok, you want to take one big step when you step off. the shelter is straight ahead. >> if i get on the bus and asked a bus driver to please tell me when to get off at seven straight, the bus driver very often will tell me to just look at the sign, and i will say that i cannot see the sign because and visually impaired. sometimes, the bus driver gets it. some of the time, the bus driver does not get it at all. it is really difficult when you do not see well to understand where things are. it is one of those issues where people do not see it from the outside. so when they see me having problems stepping off of curbs or stairs or running into the

side of a building or things like that, it would appear to them as though maybe i had been drinking, but the problem is that there is no contrast between a great building and a sidewalk. >> it is difficult for some drivers i think to understand that i am blind. although i may look like i'm getting along very well, and it did happen to me on several occasions with drivers, questioning my ability to see. they would say, "well, you really are not that blind." not only is that infuriating, but it is just something that cuts to my core. >> there are times that visually impaired customers get on the bus, and they are moving so well that makes me wonder how blind they are, but that is not for me to decide. i'm just here to take them some point a to point b safely. point a to point b safely. >> i moved all the way across