tomorrow's board meeting. we will do that without objection. madam clerk, the we have any other items before us? >> no, mr. chairman. supervisor avalos: we are adjourned. [applause] >> good afternoon. i have wanted to say this for some time. thank god for heroes.

thank you very much. [applause] thank you for being here this afternoon to do something that is a great, great celebration for our city. last october 19, while driving her daughter to school very early in the morning, she saw a crash, a very horrible crash. she decided she would stop. she decided to take a look at what occurred. as she saw the flames and the truck overturned and noticed there was somebody in the street, she stopped her car and got out. she did not hesitate. she went out and pulled somebody out. in danger to herself and she had no hesitation. as a result, she saved somebody's life. in fact, she saved a life of

mike, who is here today. thank you. [applause] we have invited her here today, not only to praise her, but we ask that she bring her whole family. one of the things i have been thinking about, personally, we not only wanted to recognize her with our fire commissioners better here today, fire managers caught fire chiefs, police chief, and his command staff. they all know what heroes look like and feel like. they wanted to join me in this celebration. i also wanted to tell you -- not only did she act selflessly, but there is something there where you are trying to figure out whether or not you would have done the same thing. to know that she did this by

instinct almost, as reported, without concern for her own safety and saving somebody's life, i have to say that i wanted her here. i wanted her family here. a lot of times it's not that you learn this in school or friends. instinct, sometimes, is a reflection of your family. thank you very much. [applause] i know you're very proud of your family. when instinct comes -- you look

at who brought them up. i think it's a reflection of the family, the values, things they are talked. -- things they are taught. growing up, you learn things that are instinct of character. i wanted to make sure the family got the recognition here today to you are part of her heroism. it takes a family to raise somebody who has the right instincts to do what it is. thank you to mike and the royal trucking company for their support. this is the first time you have been able to meet each other. it's a great union. it is what we in san francisco have been so proud of learning and understanding. on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, i want to

present to you are signal of being a hero for us and even to our own heroes in our fire department and police department. i want to present to you, on behalf of the city, a signal for us. if i could then present to you -- [applause] this award. it is titled, "the city and county of san francisco goods american award presented to kena williams in recognition of your heroism on december 19, 2011." "your city and your mayor is grateful for your courage and bestows this good samaritan award to you today, october 17,

2011." [applause] i present this to you, as well. >> thank you. >> we just gave something here. a new backpack with a lot of goodies in it. ok. now i would like to have the fire chief come up. >> i cannot wait to go to school. [laughter] >> thank you very much, mr. mayeor. after we in formally acknowledged last week, a lot of people from the media came up. if i could echo what i said last week -- what you did was

phenomenal. it made a huge difference. mike is with us today. i know you two will always have a special bond because of what you did last week. like i said to you, you played a special role, too. you did exactly what your mom told you to do. you state in the car so she could go out and do what she needed to do. a lot of people would not have done that. especially having your daughter in the car -- like the mayor said, you did not hesitate. it was instinctive. for that, all of us that where the uniform and have the training are in complete awe of what you did last week. at 22 years old with a 5-year- old daughter, it has got to make you feel good. i can tell what a special bond you have got. you have got your daughter here agree you have your mother, your grandmother, your aunt, and other relatives. i know mike had a chance to talk

to you yesterday prove he probably wants to say a few words, as well. i know he loves you. the media will want to talk to you, as well. people were inspired by your story. it's incredible. thank you very much, on behalf of the members of the san francisco fire department. we really appreciate it. the chief appreciate it, as well. we are tr training or the equipment. you did it. it's an honor to know you. [applause] >> in addition to our commissioners on the fire commission and our command staff, i also want to thank the supervisor for being here, and the royal trucking company mike was working with and is working for, and their support for kena

, as well. would you like to say a few words? >> of course. >> all right. >> good afternoon, everybody. in here. i am really thankful you guys are giving me -- everyone is proud of me, even people who do not even know me. i'm grateful for my family and for everybody. mike, i'm glad you're all right. that was my main concern. i really appreciate you guys so much. i am so overwhelmed right now. i am very thankful and grateful. that is all i really have to say. [laughter] i love everybody and i love you. even if i did not know you, still came out to help you.

i did not know who you were or nothing like that. in a good hearted person. i prayed the whole time i was getting you. i am glad you are standing and i am really grateful. >> thank you. >> come on up, mike. >> i am not much of a speaker. for some reason, at that particular moment, this beautiful lady decided to stop. to me, she is my guardian angel. if she had not have stopped, i do not know what would have happened. i know i would have been there by myself and alone. i really do not know. god bless you. you will always be in my heart. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you, again, to the family, for having such a wonderful daughter and a wonderful san francisco citizen. thank you very much. thank you. >> 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.