that we are doing. perhaps, it is the most exciting, using the historic st. cars -- street cars, adding service on the embarcadero. we do have a couple of ball games, one saturday at 1:00 p.m. and another at 5:00 p.m. on sunday. this for help with this. we are testing the people plan earlier -- during this week. including the most notable ltd. and the 37 limited. those will be connecting people

from bart up to event areas in the north of the city, the marina green. it will provide connection to the regular service and will continue to provide regular service to our regular riders. there will be increased demand testing does, bart and the ferry and the golden gate writers providing enhanced service. there will also be freed valet bike parking at the green. and anyone who does need to drive, despite all the great transit service and bike parking, should use the satellite parking lots. there is good information on the america's cup website and presumably on our website. there is also a web page on the 511.org website for the

america's cup. we're looking for a bigger event in october and then another next year. the next rail related item, just an update on the central subway. in terms of the full funding grant agreement, it has advanced from the executive branch of the federal government to the legislative branch. that is moving well in terms of construction. we're just about finishing the second of our utility location contracts. the tunnel contract work that had already started at the south and where the machines are going in and has now started at the south end where the machines are scheduled to be removed in north beach. right now, we're just during the utility location this year.

we're working very closely with the north beach community to make sure that any concerns are being addressed as we're working with the union stair -- union square with stockton being fully closed and the tanah location on going there. we should be working on the next contract for the station next week. and we will be free advertising be chinatown station contract -- advertising again the chinatown station contract with the next few weeks. i think some of the manifestation of the tunnel work has started both on fourth street and north beach, but most significant right now at union square. will be closing the elevated entrance to the board muni station next week as well. that will ultimately be the entrance to the muni station.

there is activity all along the alignment, which is good news to see that continuing. the final whaled-related to1i item -- a rail related item the cable car competition will be coming back. it will be september 6th at noon in union square. everybody is, of course, invited. next week, there'll be a preliminary competition at the cable car barn to get the finalists lined up. we have 12 competitors right now, of whom six will be chosen to challenge leonard oates, who is not just the current champion, but he won in 2007, 2008, and 2009. no doubt, he wants to hold onto his title. in addition to the professionals that will be competing on september 6th, will also be showcasing some amateur ringers competing on behalf of the

charity of their choosing. in addition, we will have the 49er gold rush cheerleaders, and a band performing. it is a great tradition here in san francisco. this is the 49th annual. i look forward to seeing you all out there. we are going to be hearing at the september 18th board meeting an update on a lot of bicycling activities. to help set the stage for that and generate additional thoughts onó/ that, we have asked the san francisco bike correlation to join us here today and give us a bit of an update on some of what they have been working on. and they are not here yet. let me go on to just one final issue i wanted to note, which has gotten a lot of attention recently and has to do with some

advertisements that were recently placed on -- i think it is 10 of our buses that run out of the flinn division. the board adopted an advertising policy in 2007, and the contracts that we have with our advertisers, whether for the bus shelters or the vehicles, the contractor is required to adhere to that policy. they are required to screen advertisements for compliance with the policy. the policy was drafted and approved by this board five years ago, keeping in mind the limitations that we as a public entity have on governing free speech. that is protected by the first amendment. the recent advertisement came in through the process like all other advertisements do. an advertiser -- or an organization approached our

contractor. they were reviewed against the policy and found it to be complied with the policy, which i believe it is. and they went ahead and enabled the ads to go up, despite what is clearly a lot of distaste by people in the agency, members of the public, employees, and many groups that were not surprisingly offended by what was in those ads. and we get a lot of consultation internally and we issued a statement a day or two after this issue was brought to the foure condemning the ads and we have subsequently posted on the buses that the ads were appearing of little bit more public condemnation of those ads, even if they do fall under first amendment protection.

there have been many calls for us to remove the ads or take other action. we are working with the human rights commission and will be holding a town hall meeting with many of the folks that we have heard from in the public, who have been concerned about the ad policy and those ads in particular. we have received a lot of support from the human rights commission, the san francisco interfaith council as we try to work through this. we will be scheduling that town hall.p meeting probably sometime in september. that has been kind of a big issue in the public realm. i thought i would just raise it here. and besides the bicycle coalition of state, which if they are not here, we may need to continue to another time, that is the end of my report. >> she will be here shortly. >> thank you. on the other part about the ad copy -- the ad, i think it is

important for this body to take a look at this policy. this certainly, we did not envision anything like this when we adopted this policy in 2007. >> that review is under way. i have asked the city attorney's office to help us in reviewing the policy, looking at any more recent case law or other interpretations ofhn the first amendment that might inform changes we might want to make to the policy. we may come out of that review recommending no change. we will undertake that process as quickly as possible and i will come back with a recommendation to the board. >> on behalf of the board, we all take this issue very seriously. i believe we received over 4000 e-mail's on this. it was huge. >> not 4000, but there were above 500. maybe 700.

there were a significant number. >> ok. >> maybe this should have been under new business or whatever, but the speed of the light rail vehicles on the eureka corp., -- the eureka curve -- >> we cannot hear you. >> is that better? thank you. on the lrv vehicle speed issue on the eureka curve, the last time we had a report on this it was minor standing that the worker be done may be early or mid summer. and it would be best to have a report back by deborah johnson when she was in your role. when the track work was done, i believe the speed and the curve would increase. my understanding that -- was that would happen over the summer. it seems from my personal daily

commute we are still going at the reduced speed. i do not want to demand an answer today, but if we could get a report back on the year recurve and where we are with its vehicle speed and the upgrade, i would appreciate it. >> ok. the advisory council? i do not see mr. mercer -- mr. murphy here. >> no, but you do have members of the public who wish to address you. one person. herbert weiner. >> is mr. weiner here? >> i do not see him. >> i do not see mr. murphy year. oh, mr. weiner, here he is. >> in respect to that offensive sign that has been posted on the

municipal vehicles, i am really wondering how carefully that was reviewed before it was posted. i think that the mta is so desperate for money they will take it from dubious sources. basically, the 11 south van ness compound and its employees have to start thinking outside of the muni bus. it is unfortunate. basically, maya understanding is that the revenue will go to the -- my understanding is that this revenue will go to the human rights commission. basically, it is blood money. the mta has nothing to gain from this ad. and now you have public protest in a town hall meeting. let's hope this never happens again. the anti-defamation league, the interfaith council, everyone is

concerned about this. mr. be a lesson to all of you. you have to get money -- this should be a lesson to all of you. you have to get money legitimately. and you cannot get it by a taxicab drivers or installing parking meters all over the city. there has got to be a better way. maybe a basic -- a better way would be to break up the municipal transit authority as a separate body and have the municipal railroad by itself. [tone] and that way you can generate money independently >>. >> and the former director of the by coalition will be here shortly. he just got the time wrong. >> that is the director's report, right? ok, go ahead.

>> could i get the camera, please? >> sfgtv will control that. >> thank you. i am just commenting on the dinner lane contest. -- ding-a-ling contest for the taxis. i was trying to cop -- a drop off a customer the other day and i believe i was going to get a ticket in the mail. i actually have a video of the incident as well. i would like to see if we can get this up on the camera as well. $#s>> what's the matter? what is the matter, lady? you are standing right in the middle. i want to drop these people off.

just say yes. you want to be dropped off, right? >> this is what i have to deal with on a daily basis. mta meter maids or people. but i do not know about that. it is very disturbing, to say the least. at the ballpark, one by one ticket in 1991, i got a to get there and it was very disturbing. that was a long time ago and nothing has changed. this is the hostility we get for serving the public of san francisco. if you look at the pictures, you can park illegally. meter maids can park illegally

regardless of the time of the meter. fá[tone] thank you. >> the issue of free speech does not impinge on this situation. when government creates a sign, then the information in this kind is commonly understood to be approved by -- in the sign is, men understood to be approved by government. everyone is looking at various obscenities, like the girl who is massaging her clitoris or the condom on the penis and everybody thinks that is ok for government to do. it is not. i ask you to not make a direct the course in between what you can do and what the people can do, because you do not have the freedom of speech that the people do. do not try to go for the throat with the freedom of speech

approach to things that are objectionable in one way or another. >> mr. chairman, we do have members of the public who have asked that item 10.2lmnn, which have to do with the vicinity of bryant street and cesar chavez. >> and 10.1a has been severed, correct? >> yes. >> is there a motion on the consent calendar for the remaining items? any further discussion? all in favor? all opposed? is there any discussion of 10.2lmnn?

>> mr. johnson. >> my name is robert thompson. i am a resident. i am looking for to this project being implemented soon. >> that is generous of you to come down. i will move the item prepared -- the item. >> there is a member of the public that would like to address you on the issue of 10.2lmnn. public comment is closed on that. he has moved on to the consent calendar. >> we have a motion and a second to approve that. all in favor? all opposed? so ordered.

the only thing that is left is public comment, right? >> yes. you may address the board on matters before the board, but not on the agenda. >> up until last week i was a member of the taxi advisory council. there are three things i want to talk about. number one, i'm very glad you're doing all of the planning for the america's cup race. it sounds great. i hope you can forward this information to taxi services, so they can for it to all of the cap companies, so we can direct passengers to use muni in situations where a would be more efficient. the second item is, june 5th, we

were told that the taxi advisory council report would be heard in august. is not going to be heard before you take up item 11's legislation. and it is yet another -- yet more evidence of the disdain and this regard with which the taxi advisory council has been held by your board. i do not know if all of you were given our resignation letters, or whether it was strictly director nolan. it should have all been given them, fine. if not, i have copies. the third item, i cannot underline how emotional i feel about this. it is yet another slap. july 4th, you were enforcing the parking meters. [tone]

on our independence day you enforce the parking meters. i'm jesus' birthday -- on jesu'' birthday you don't enforce the parking meters, but you do enforce them on our nation's birthday? shame on you. >> next speaker, please. >> matters not on today's agenda. >> i would like to say that i would like to underline the resignation of the members of the taxi advisory council. they made a wonderful attempt to improve the taxicab industry over the past couple of years. they were treated rudely, as ms. houseman just said. none of their recommendations

were even heard by this board. i think it is appropriate that they resigned, and i thank them for their work. >> thank you. next speaker, please. good afternoon, directors. i just came here during my cab shift. i looked at the proposal, which i strongly disagree with, but i will leave it to others to get into that. >> you realize that item has not been called. these are things not on the agenda. >> ok, but conspicuously out of all of that is the waiting list list. it seems -- conspicuously out of all of that is the waiting list. i am on the waiting list, never 38. it seems that has not been taking care of. i spoke to someone who is first

on the waiting list and he has been waiting about a year-and-a- half. he just got an offer letter. there are people who have gotten medallions who are off the waiting list who are out there driving right now. i really feel i should be given the chance to get my medallion, the way many people -- i do not know how many -- have gotten their medallion. i say this with all due respect. i do not want to be disrespectful in any way. but i see no other choice but to go to a lawyer in some way and see if we can go that way. and i think it is terrible that i would have to do that. [tone] that is why i'm here and not working right now. >> next speaker.

>>h the board. pilot program. >> that is item number 11 on today's agenda. >> should we wait for that? rex it will be out shortly. >> -- >> it will be up shortly. again, these are items that are not on today's agenda. >> i have been driving a cab in san francisco for 16 years. i am also on the waiting list. i and 82. -- i'm 82. i do not think it is the politics of the cab companies or for the drivers. i feel like it is the politics in san francisco. i think this situation can be dealt with. i do not think any of you have actually driven a cab. the thing with driving a cab is

that you sign up and you do it. instead age your cap and you have 10 hours. you have -- you a $150. you have to make that money to make your money. that is the job. after you pay taxes, you have what you leave with. there is no health plan. that is ok. you're a privateñi contractor. in your shift to deal with drugs, people throwing up, people tried to attack you, people trying to touch you, people swearing at you, roving organ donors. last saturday, i picked a big gap with a guy and three of her sisters -- his sisters. one woman literally had her legs around me trying to do something. i had to stop her from doing that. the woman on the right ended up during outside the cab, thank

god. but she was missing one of her pink high heels and there was puke outside of my cab. legally, i can charge them $100. they were happy drugs. it was fine. i have people pulled guns on me. i have had domestic squabbles. that is a typical cabdriver job. you signed up for it. that is cool. [tone] but what makes me angry is for the mta to throw the cabdrivers in san francisco underneath that bus. that is absolutely wrong. [applause] >> when i first started in this business in 1984, dianne feinstein and the mayor had a thing with cabdrivers and she

appointed a counsel to look at it. and they appointed in lieutenant to study the industry. he was supposed to talk to everybody and get their opinion and find out how the business worked. we have had a lot of trouble getting a hold of the sky. he finally showed up about two months later. he walked into the room and started to tell us what the cab business was light. he did not ask one thing no question. he spent two hours at the airport on a tuesday in april and he was telling us how the airport work. i corrected him and he started screaming at me and if it came down to a fight, the police would be cabdrivers. -- beat the cabdrivers. ñrmove forward to 2009, and a

woman came and her words were that the m.t.a. was coined to get its money, -- going to get its money and it would be the best we can do for everybody and it would be totally fair. we began to negotiate the price deadpan, -- the pilot plan, which was totally fair. everybody got something and nobody got everything they wanted. it was a pilot program for the rest of the country. and now we're back to the lieutenant. it is three years coming up with a plan that you guys decided to throw in the trash, and for god knows what reason. it is extremely disappointing to see why you are doing. [tone] >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> is jeff johnson here? herbert weiner? christopher for ochres and -- christopherfá fulkerson? >> these are comments by the public. one thing i am really wondering about is when this mess is going to stop. there have been so many late muni buses, so many missing muni buses. i have waited such a long time sacramento st. to 444 ministry one evening. there is simply no excuse. the schedules have to be kept. there is basically nothing wrong with the