which is why there is text all over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around union square. for the 100th anniversary of the mansion, meridian hosted a series of special events, including a world premiere reading by lawrence ferlinghetti. >> the birth of an american corporate fascism, the next to last free states radio, the next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell, the next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own, the next to last leftie looking for obama nirvana. [laughter] the first day of the wall street occupation set forth upon this

continent a new revolutionary nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen. >> after the readings, the

crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪ under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming. ♪

looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪ >> i love teaching.

it is such an exhilarating experience when people began to feel their own creativity. >> this really is a place where all people can come and take a class and fill part of the community. this is very enriching as an artist. a lot of folks take these classes and take their digital imagery and turn it into negatives. >> there are not many black and white darkrooms available anymore. that is a really big draw. >> this is a signature piece. this is the bill largest darkroom in the u.s.. >> there are a lot of people that want to get into that dark room. >> i think it is the heart of this place. you feel it when you come in.

>> the people who just started taking pictures, so this is really an intersection for many generations of photographers and this is a great place to learn because if you need people from different areas and also everyone who works here is working in photography. >> we get to build the community here. this is different. first of all, this is a great

location. it is in a less-populated area. >> of lot of people come here just so that they can participate in this program. it is a great opportunity for people who have a little bit of photographic experience. the people have a lot, they can really come together and share a love and a passion. >> we offer everything from traditional black and white darkrooms to learning how to process your first roll of film. we offer classes and workshops in digital camera, digital printing. we offer classes basically in the shooting, ton the town at night, treasure island. there is a way for the programs

exploring everyone who would like to spend the day on this program. >> hello, my name is jennifer. >> my name is simone. we are going on a field trip to take pictures up the hill. >> c'mon, c'mon, c'mon. >> actually, i have been here a lot. i have never looked closely enough to see everything. now, i get to take pictures. >> we want to try to get them to be more creative with it. we let them to be free with them but at the same time, we give them a little bit of direction. >> you can focus in here.

>> that was cool. >> if you see that? >> behind the city, behind the houses, behind those hills. the see any more hills? >> these kids are wonderful. they get to explore, they get to see different things. >> we let them explore a little bit. they get their best. if their parents ever ask, we can learn -- they can say that they learned about the depth of field or the rule of thirds or that the shadows can give a good contrast. some of the things they come up with are fantastic. that is what we're trying to

encourage. these kids can bring up the creativity and also the love for photography. >> a lot of people come into my classes and they don't feel like they really are creative and through the process of working and showing them and giving them some tips and ideas. >> this is kind of the best kept secret. you should come on and take a class. we have orientations on most saturdays. this is a really wonderful location and is the real jewel to the community. >> ready to develop your photography skills? the harvey milk photo center focuses on adult classes. and saturday workshops expose youth and adults to photography classes.

commissioner campos: good morning, everyone. well,. my name is david campos, and in the chair of the transportation authority committee. i want to thank sfgtv for there service. madam clerk, could you call the roll? >> [roll call]

we have a quorum. commissioner campos: thank you. if you could call item two. >> this is an action item. commissioner campos: at this point, i would like to open up for public comment. seeing none, public comment is closed. can we take that without objection? madam clerk, can you please call item three? colleagues, i have a very brief report today. i would like to begin by welcoming back our executive director.

glad to see you are recovering, and we certainly have missed having you here, but we are appreciative of the facts that you are first and foremost taking care of yourself. we wish you the best of luck. i also want to take the opportunity to thank the amazing work of your staff, including the deputies, all of these senior staff for the transportation authority who have risen -- who have represented you very well. i want to thank them. in terms of my report today, i would think the most significant thing that this happened since our last meeting is the financial close on the public- private partnership for the second phase of the presidio parkway project. i think it is important to know this is not just an infusion of

cash from the private sector and the federal government into a project we all support. is actually the first project and all of the state of california that has gotten all the way to the finish line and put in place a t3 under sb 4. these are funds that the state of california would otherwise have to come up with at a time of severe budget crisis that has been very difficult for the state of california. i am delighted to be the first county in the state of say -- state of california to do this, to complete this second phase. i want to congratulate in particular our executive director and the entire staff for a job well done. thank you to commissioner wiener. thank you, commissioner campos

-- commissioner wiener, and your staff, and to my staff as well for all there work to support the project. on a separate item, there are discussions in the state budget that i think show possible signs for transportation ebay -- transportation. we are forecast to remain at $420 million statewide. this amounts to about $31.2 million here in san francisco for muni for this current fiscal year. that is a very positive sign. the department of finance says the revenues could even come in a higher. the transit operations, they will see an increase in the

state operations of funding. that is a very good thing, because as you know, one of the challenges we face is the lack of funding for day-to-day operations for muni. on a separate note, i also want to talk a little bit about high- speed rail, which is at a very critical juncture. to authorize bonds to match the federal bonds that have been authorized for the high-speed rail in the central valley. the governor has requested the legislature authorized the sale of another $1.1 billion to cover its share of the mou's. i want to thank commissioner wiener and his staff, as well as the mayor's staff and my

staff, for the work that went into this. it has been an interesting month. there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the next few months. i continue to work with my colleagues. be one thing i will add as we proceed with our work this summer is i know we will have a presentation scheduled for the next meeting on the project in two districts, including district 7 and district 5. the meeting next month will happen on a day that is probably one of the busiest, if not the busiest day for the board of supervisors. so, it would be my intention, unless there is an objection, to perhaps continue that item, that discussion to the following meeting. that promises to be a very long day here at the board of supervisors.

we do not want to have too long a county transportation authority meeting. those are my items for today. at this point, i would like to open it up to public comment, any member of the public who like to speak on the chair's report. yes? >> sometime ago, i read on the county website that we would have some comments of the chair noted so you really know what is happening at the transgendered bay -- transbay and so on and so forth. the information and materials are given here and you come to the meeting come up the committee meetings, they do not go into the funds.

we want something to the point, because once we get an idea of what is really happening, some of us, we have meetings linked to demographics, meaning for example, seniors in san francisco. we can discuss with them what is really happening. they will have input. they will come to the subcommittee meetings. they will come here, and they will speak. a lot of them have no clue why the millions and millions of dollars that are expended on his projects, and as chair, you can tell us just briefly -- even if we just take the central subway, we really have difficulties understanding the juncture at a

very critical time whether the moneys will be there. we have no idea. it kind of its mta involved -- gets and g-8 involved. you go to the mta meetings. they are just going to pull it out from here and make things happen. i say that because not everybody can come here and attended these meetings, but we do have a stupid people who understand a lot about transportation, and they need to get the right type of empirical data, not any thing in detail, but to the findings so focus meetings can be had among the constituents of san francisco. every taxpayer should have a pretty good idea of what is happening with our transportation in san francisco.

thank you very much. commissioner campos: thank you, sir. next speaker, please. >> i would like to comment more on the way the public comment is perceived by the members of this committee and others and the board of supervisors. one of the things i noticed in just observing how public comment is treated is that there are always two or 3 certain members of the committee or board of supervisors to think that public comment, which is the only way that 99% of the citizens can access there elected -- their elected representatives are treated with contempt. they would much rather have a private conversation or chuckle along and then listen to what the citizens have to say. let us show you how little we

think of you. we pay attention to the 1% who show up with a check in there hand or a lawyer by there side -- their side. the other 99%, we will cut it back to two minutes. and we will stand up to the side and we will play angry birds on our computers or all these other things. anything, anything is more important than what any member of the public has to say. i think talking to all those people on sfgtv -- get over it. you are among the 99%. the 1% -- as the board president said when talking about the big water development -- "the deal was in." we knew how you were going to vote. the bottom line is, we really

don't give a damn what you, the citizens of this city, have to say. if you give up -- if you get up and make comments about it, we're going to ignore your. if you get to the point where you know your rights under the sunshine ordinance, which it says on each and every one of these agendas, we will fight you tooth and nail to keep you from getting the information you need to make meaningful and intelligent public comment. for example, i have been fighting for the last year with the city librarian to get financial arrangement information about the financial arrangements between the public library and the friends who raised $5 million a year and spend $6 million a year, and you cannot figure out what they're spending it on. when you look at the records, they will withhold the records from you. when you finally do get something, you find it neither

the city librarian or the library commission is spending any attention at all for those millions of dollars raised. commissioner campos: thank you very much. next speaker please. seeing none, no -- public comment is closed. i do think having information about the executive director's report or the chair felt report would be helpful on the web site. madam clerk backs -- madam clerk? >> this is an information item. commissioner campos: welcome back. >> my report is on your desks. to the chair's point, it feels very good to be back. thank you for your remarks and your concern that all of you had expressed. i will try to be very brief. we are waiting for a puff of smoke in d.c. about the new

transportation act, but i predict we will see an extension of the existing one first, because in order for that puff of smoke to happen, the final conference committee has to be released to the entire house and senate by tomorrow, and i'm not sure we're ready for that. so, we'll see a delay of days, or perhaps a week. there are some important issues at stake. and not talking about the keystone pipeline, which unfortunately as part of this debate. but things like the news starts program which the republicans in the house want to reduce in size.

library projects and so on. and which the senate, of course wants to maintain at the current level. and the tiger program, which the house would like to zero out in the senate would like to maintain at $400 million a year. and we know the tiger program is very much all welcome program in the bay area, and particularly in san francisco in terms of key projects. so, i will keep you posted on this, but i am not holding my breath. at the risk of duplicating a little bit, i do want to take a moment to thank the chair and commissioner wiener. we would not have been so close without the very, very key work. this seems to be the point.

we can recognize the work of some key people. let me start with our deputy director of the project for the distinguished work of minding all the details. financial closed is two words. but before the financial clothes, three books. this is what the contractors will have to follow. they really have to make sure we have a successful and trail blazing project, really, for california. i think the project is opening people's eyes and opportunities for other things, including high-speed rail. because that is what is going to guarantee that project is

delivered on time, on schedule, and maintained for the last decade. that is a really fundamental change, and how ironic for san francisco to believe in what is outside the san francisco roadway project. so, i want to thank the joint venture for the invaluable expertise they brought during that time. i want to thank our partners at caltrans. they stuck with it. and of course, at our new partners -- our new partners. and that is made up of a german firm, which is an international construction services firm, and a french firm that provides

financing services. and so, we are not only trill blazing in terms of california. the three terms that are designing and building the project are american firms. i do not think we could have a better mix. the commissioner's meeting on wednesday had he projects for san francisco that are for programming. 1 is $61 million and there is also $41 million in caltrans