everybody wants to be at chase center, don't they. well, good morning still, everybody. i started real early so i don't even know what time it is. hi, i'm san francisco mayor london breed. really excited to be here with you all today here at thrive plaza, here at chase center, the home of the golden state warriors who for the first time tomorrow will be playing with an audience of fans. what that says is we are well on our way to recovering in the city. we are well on our way to re-opening and gradually taking those steps. most importantly, as great as

we have done here in san francisco, 64% of san franciscans have received at least their first vaccine dose and about 85% of those over the age of 65, we're seeing our reproductive rates decline. we are feeling good. we are feeling excited and happy and anxious to get back to our lives; but at the end of the day, you all know we're still in the midst of a pandemic. so as comfortable as we may be with our progress, let's make sure we continue to wear our mask and follow our health directive so that we can finally get to a place where we can watch a game without our mask on. and, the reason why we are here is not just because the warriors are playing tomorrow with fans for the first time in almost a year, just think about it. last year, at this time, the

city was closed. and, now, look at where we are. last year this time, we had a different president who pulled us out of the paris agreement to meet our climate goals, but san francisco didn't let that stop us. fortunately now under president biden who made a great announcement today for the country on earth day, we in san francisco are not only well on our way to exceed the goal that he set for the nation. we are well on our way to exceed the goals we set right here in san francisco. in fact, we are 41% less in carbon emissions in san francisco since one thousand nine hundred ninety. this is six years ahead of the

goal that we set initially. and it's the reason why we are so successful and the goals we set around climate change has a lot to do with partners like the warriors. this chase center is not just beautiful and fun and exciting to watch a game in. this is one of our very important environmental sustainable buildings in san francisco. this is the future. and some of the things that we did here in san francisco in addition to implementing clean power sf, you all remember years ago that big push to get that program started. you all remember the conversations around making sure that in new buildings we ban natural gas. you all know that we in san francisco have a climate action plan, a plan that's not just a

plan that discusses what we're going to do, it's a plan that actually puts into action the work that needs to be done to address climate change. this climate action plan is being revised as we speak thanks to the leadership of debbie rafael and the staff of department and environment. and what i am most appreciative is they not only are focusing on equity as it relates to geographic equity here in san francisco. they are making sure that young people have a voice in this action plan which is why mayor from george washington high school is joining us here today. so, folks, san francisco should be proud. we're leading in the vaccination effort. higher numbers than the state and the entire country. we're leading in addressing

issues around climate change with our carbon emissions and other challenges that we face and we're going to continue to lead. and it's time to start upping the ante and setting new goals. at the end of the day, san francisco has been a leader. we know that we can't just operate in our own bubble and make changes to support and uplift the environment without making sure that we are demonstrating how it can be done for others to follow. this entire planet and the future of our planet and the generations to come, there's so much at stake here. i don't want the next generation of young people to look back and say, "what did they do? why didn't they act sooner?" you see this windy clean air we're breathing, it has

everything to do with everything that we have been doing in san francisco. today, clean power sf our city's clean power program is going to beat our target of being one hundred% renewable by five years. all clean power sf customers will receive 100% renewable energy by 2025. and, let me tell you why that is so significant. when we first, debbie, you remember and, michael, you remember this too, when we first launched clean power sf, there was just a little more money that people had to pay for 80% renewable energy and the super green 100%. now, by two thousand twenty-five, everyone gets, every one of our customers gets super green, but they don't pay anything extra.

now, how significant is that? that is going to change the game for clean power in this city moving towards our future to a more seasonable, environmentally friendly city that sets an example for other places to follow. we're going to be introducing legislation that will update our climate targets to san francisco so that san francisco can be carbon neutral. instead of by 2050, when i'm probably going to be real old and the rest of us will too. by 2045. is part of the paris agreement. and so, i know that these numbers and these environmental

things don't seem like they're really cool, but they are really cool because the clean air that we drink, i mean, clean air that we breathe, the clean water that we drink, some of the best water that you could ever taste anywhere. you can drink it right out of the faucet without a filter. being able to see the green trees grow, everything has an impact. and that's why having partners like chase center working with us to make sure that they are not only creating the incredible environment they do to make games exciting even though i know the players can do that all on their own, but this facility doesn't hurt. they have been partners as i said earlier in creating one of the newest green buildings in

san francisco and i'm pleased to welcome to the podium kim stone, the chase center's general manager. >> thank you. welcome everybody. and, thank you, mayor breed. it is so important that we all work together to combat climate change and, at chase center, we value setting the example for others in san francisco. thank you to debbie rafael, the department of environment for working with us to become a green certified business. these aren't -- these are high targets, but they are achievable targets so other private businesses that are listening in, i want to encourage you to join us here. be part of the family about being green certified business. michael carlin as well. his group at sfpuc for all the hard work ensuring facilities like chase center can be

powered by clean energy. and, as mayor breed said, today, the stars are aligning for us because we get to celebrate this great achievement for chase center and tomorrow we get to welcome fans back to the building. we hope chase center can serve as an example to any size business that if we can do it, you can do it. let's go green together and inspire the private sector to do so. so how did we do this? what are we doing? so as chase center, we focus on sustainability from the beginning of this construction project. we are a lead goal certified building design and construction that was during our three year construction process and then for ongoing maintenance and operations. we know being in california, the conserving water is critical for all of us in our futures. so we're designed to recover gray water from our laboratories and our showers.

from the roof, we collect rain water and even just condensation and we are able to reuse that. and, through those collective efforts, we have reduced our water consumption by 84%. thank you. you can imagine it takes a lot of energy to run 1 million square feet and what we do for games and concerts. so this is another area we place high priority. our state of the art hvac system allows us to take advantage of this great climate that we have here to keep the building cool without having to add extra energy to do so. we also integrated a highly efficient lighting system with customizable local controls that ensure that when you walk out of a room and it's unused for a certain period of time, the lights automatically go off. in a million square feet that is an important component to our energy saving efforts. so these features and a lot

others that i won't go into the details on, but we can certainly provide them if you would like them, these have resulted in us saving 35% of our energy usage. lastly, i want to highlight our waste management program. trash is a beautiful thing and so we focus on this and so we have dramatically reduced our construction waste during construction and diverted 78% of our waste out of landfills. very proud of that. and, then, on an ongoing basis, we sort our waste daily and we sort it after every game. the importance of this is that it ensures that we are reducing waste. san francisco has an amazing infrastructure for compostables, recyclables. it just takes that little extra effort and it has a big impact. and, materials aren't the only thing we're sorting. we are also since our opening in 2019, gosh, i can't believe

it will be 409 days since we've had fans in the building. 2019 just seems like such a long time ago. but when the fans come at the end of the game, any of our unused food and raw ingredientsings, we give that to the food runners program and they reuse it and repurpose it. so we aren't throwing extra food into our compost. while we're excited to open our doors to fans tomorrow, i want everyone to rest assured that we operate in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner here. one last reminder for all your fans remember your game ticket is a muni ticket as well so you can reduce your footprint that way as well. thank you all and i want to say with leaders like mayor breed, san francisco will -- has and continued to be a global leader in the environment and we continue to be partners in if that environment.

go doves. mayor breed. >> thank you so much, kim. and, thank you, for all that the warriors are doing to really protect our planet and that's what this is all about. one of the things that i'd like to, you know, tell debbie every time i see her because she's like, you know, i would call her "madam green." she's always looking for ways to save and support the environment and i'm always so proud about how much trash i don't have anymore. and, in fact, i share a trash bin with two other people and every time they pick up the trash, it may be one or two small bags in the trash and everything is recyclable. your plastic bags. you put them all in a bag and wrap them. it's easy. once you start doing it just

becomes habit. from the coffee filters. you just throw those in the compost. i have more compost and more recycles than anything. i'm proud in doing it, but also it's second nature and anyone can do it and i would just say that when your kids tell you to do it, make sure you listen to your kids. children are like don't put that in the trash. i'm like okay. good, they're starting early. children working in our community young people to understand. in high school, i can tell

>> hi everyone. i've really seen the students value the importance of taking action towards climate issues and how we address climate issues is is clearly one of the biggest issues of my generation and we can't avoid this problem any longer. that's why at george washington high school, i'm really proud

of our work of improving my school's waste management issues. we've taken small, but mighty steps bringing awareness to our community about recycling, composting and finding other ways to improve students' environmental habits and behaviors. additionally, i want to mention the students from academy high school for joining my school's environmental club for climate action month. our club's work has brought in many students to want to participate in more action based projects to see the change that's needed. it's really exciting to see so many youth from across the city to join one another to amplify their voices. when the mayor kicked off a series of workshops and events, so many of us youth jumped in on the opportunity to provide more ideas. the process and courage so many youth to conduct their own

plans within their own communities. another good thing, i want to commemorate the notable youth organization as they've been at the forefront of the movement this past year. and, during this pandemic, there's so many obstacles. they've had so many virtual workshops each month and keeps the momentum going. they've encouraged so many youth from all over the bay area to keep educating and fighting for climate justice. not only in the city of san francisco, but in our country. while i'm inspired by all of this, the work of youth is not enough. thank you to the san francisco leadership, our mayor and businesses like the chase center who can actually see real change together and meet our city's new environmental goals. today, let's celebrate how far we've come this earth day and look forward to see the process ahead of us.

i'm graduating really soon and heading off to college, so i'm really excited to take this transformative work with me. continue to inspire one another. and i look forward to seeing how san francisco continues to pave the way. thank you so much and i hope everyone has a good earth day. >> thank you, mary. wow, that was impressive. not just her leadership at washington high school, but you notice that she talked about collaborating with other high schools who have joined the efforts of washington high school. and as a graduate of gallaleo high school. and, most importantly, that the environment is more important than our high school rivals from back in the day. right. but, thank you so much, mary, for your words and your

leadership and good luck with college. we really appreciate that you're going to probably continue this work and it will be an important part of your legacy and you will represent san francisco well. today, we also have joining us and i mentioned debbie rafael and the department of environment as well as acting public utilities director michael carlin both are here to answer any questions if you have them about our new announcements. >> reporter: [ indiscernible ] >> yes. debbie, you want to talk about that. i'm sure she's itching to talk about that. but the fact is it shouldn't be something that interferes with anyone's life. we are trying to naturally incorporate these changes to make it easy for people just

like what i talked about as it relates to composting and recycling. but i'll let debbie say a few words about it as well. >> yeah. that is absolutely right. our goal is very simple for carbon neutrality. we need to be an all-electric city who's operating on 100% renewable electricity. what you heard the mayor say today is we will reach that renewable mark by 2025 and we are continuing under the mayor's leadership to transfer off of fossil fuels and become all electric. her bold decision to ban natural gas and new construction is just the first step. so san franciscans will just see that the way they operate is sustainable because we make it easy, we make it the law, and we make sure that everyone is in it together.

students, businesses, government we're all in this together. >> all right. any questions? thank you all so much for joining us. go doves!

hi everyone. i'm san francisco mayor london breed and it has been a very, very challenging year for all of us in san francisco, but i've got to tell you, we're coming alive again. we're starting to open the city again. i see you urban alkamine. thank you for all the work you do to keep us safe out here. we are here today because we are taking an additional step further to get the city re-opened. i'm joined by a number of our city department heads including our city administrator car men chiu and our librarian michael lambert. and, let me tell you, michael has not only been running this library, he and so many of our librarians and the people who

work for the library here in san francisco, they more than almost any other department have been working as disaster service workers to help address this pandemic. they've been down at covid command at mascone center showing up every day doing whatever it takes. organization. going out to our hotels where we are helping to support our homeless residents. going out to the community hubs to help support our kids. preparing virtual lesson plans and reading time. i did a reading time for kids during this pandemic as well virtually, of course. doing so many incredible things to help get our city going during a very challenging time. i know many of us, we wish we didn't have to go through this this past year, but what we should look at is the

sacrifices we made and where we are now today. san francisco has vaccinated about 60% of the residents here in the city, more than the state and national average. and, over 85% of of those who are over the age of 65 have been vaccinated. we are on the road to recovery. yes, covid is still here whether we want it to be or not. yes, we still have to do our parts and distance and wear a mask and not get too comfortable because the last thing we need is another surge and the need to shut this city down again, but the fact is san franciscans, we are on the road to recovery. we are on the road to building a stronger san francisco. and, that gives me hope for the future and, today is not just

talking about our recovery. it's also looking at re-opening our city. re-opening our libraries. of course, we're going to start with the main library and then we're going to head over to chinatown, mission, and a number of the community libraries and i don't know if you know this, but i grew up in san francisco, and, at that time, there wasn't all this computer internet stuff that we had today. we had to actually go to the library because we would get a look report assignment and the western edition library was my library of choice. i went to ben franklin middle school. and we had to go through a card catalog to find the book, it was in alphabetical order and that's how we did things.

now it's all computerized, it's easy. and, in fact, i still have a library card and now i download my audio books and other things for free. so all those books i forgot to bring back, they just disappear after they expire on my phone. a lot different than it used to be. no excuse for those of us who want to take advantage of reading, of using the computers and other things in the library, we're finally opening and i just, i can't be more grateful to this department and what they have done. all of its employees. all of the people of san francisco, we did this together. we made this happen together. yes, we have our challenges like any other major city. we still have so much work to do to unaddress the inequities that continue to exist in our society. but we're in a good place right

now and we should be proud. we can take a moment. we can take a moment to enjoy this time and to recognize the fact that we are here, that we have an incredible opportunity, and we have a future to look forward to. that's what today is about. it starts with our libraries. the giants and the warriors are now able to play with fans. i saw folks out there soccer leagues, a bunch of kids playing in soccer leagues. i went to the tennis center in golden gate park, packed with people. of course, being responsible, i saw folks walking their dogs and doing all kinds of fun stuff in our amazing parks system. so we are on the road to recovery and i am looking forward to the day when we can finally throw these masks in the area and wave them like we just don't care because i don't

even know what any of you look like anymore. so, with that, thank you so much. today is about opening our libraries as a first step in our road to recovery along with other many of our incredible city assets for the public to enjoy and, with that, to talk more specifically about our library and the work that we're going to be doing to move our city forward is our city librarian michael lambert. >> thank you so much. it feels so good to be here. thank you, madam mayor. thank you, so much for your leadership for guiding us all through this past year and welcome everyone. today is a special day. i'm so honored to be here with mayor breed and announce the books are back and your san

francisco public library is re-opening. as our mayor mentioned, she is a power user of the library's collections and we appreciate all her support for our institution and our library staff. i also want to acknowledge the president of the san francisco public library commission, dr. mary wardell garduzi and library commissioners connie wolf, dr. aronia lopez and commissioner john lee and the executive director marie zapella. thank you all so much for your advocacy and leadership on behalf of our library system. also here, is carol eisen. i have to say carol has been a tremendous partner this past

year working with our staff who have been activated as disaster service workers and more recently helping us to recall staff so we can re-open the library. thank you, carol, for your partnership. it's so excitingtor here at this moment and i am beyond thankful that we're finally able to re-open our libraries for in-person services. it's been a long, hard 13 months, but now we're in a position to safely re-open our libraries for brows and bounce. patrons will be able to experience browsing our stacks again something i know they have dearly missed. we'll also have our public access computers available for printers and high-speed internet access. and, it's really fitting

we'll still be offering spl to go and next week we're going to open the patrero branch and the west portal branch tuesday. we should have all of our branches re-opened by the fall before the start of school. and i really want to thank the community for all your patience and support. you've hung in there and i just really appreciate all your patience as we phase this re-opening and the coming weeks and months ahead. at this time, i'd like to introduce our city administrator carmen chiu. in 2019, city administrator chiu partnered with the challenge initiative to compile a woman's book list to inspire the next generation of women leaders. we're so fortunate to have her support in getting our libraries re-open. city administrator chiu.

>> when i was a little girl, i can remember going to the library. i maxed out every single book i could possibly get with my library card. it was always some kind of a cartoon, garfield or whatever it might have been at the time. and, i have to say how important it was for me to be able to access the library. my parents didn't have a whole lot of money. it wasn't as if we could go to a store and pick out a book or the latest edition we've been hearing about or reading about in school. for me, and many people like me in my community, being able to go to the public library was the one place you got to go where you had the opportunity to get the books you saw in school. you were able to borrow and bring it home. take to your bed or read it on the couch. it was a place that created opportunities. the opportunity to dream and the opportunity to learn. and i think for so many san

franciscans, being able to see the libraries re-open, our public libraries re-open is a blessing. i think san francisco has among the best library system in the entire country and i want to thank michael lambert, our city librarian and all of our commissioners, our friends of the library, our mayor for your support of our library system. today, when we think about this announcement, why i'm so excited, you know, covid-19 has not been kind to people. it's a disease that has required that we went against every single nature of our being staying away from our friends, our families, being disconnected from one another, being isolated and, in particular, for people who are seniors, for our kids. and, so, when we think about bringing back our libraries, it's more than just being able to access books free and wonderful library services and education, it's about coming back together as a community. and, when i think about how

exciting it is that not only the main is opening but that chinatown branch is opening and mission branch is opening, it makes me proud because we're also thinking about the communities that are underserved and not only that, but the community that is live in the most community residential neighborhoods. so i want to thank the library for not only being a place where we can learn but being a safe place for our community to come back together. i want to thank the mayor for all of 0er leadership. i can't imagine a single meeting with the mayor that she hasn't thought about what are we going to do about bringing people back together. what are we going to do about mental health and i want to thank her because she has been constantly pushing not only for us to re-open, but to do it in a safe way, to remember that at the end of the day, we have to make sure we keep our community safe and to do this together. so i want to thank her for her leadership. and, finally, my last thanks

really goes to the workers, the staff of the public library. at its peak, there were 600 san francisco public library workers who were deployed as disaster service workers. the folks helping to pass out food at the pantries. the folks coming to the command center coming to help with all the things we needed. now, we still have 150 who are still deployed. they have been a critical part of our whole response and i just want to thank them for not only the work they continue to do in our emergency response, but for all the work that they are going to be going as we re-open our branches. today is a great day. the sun is shining on us and we are so thrilled. congratulations to the library system. >> thank you. speaking of the san francisco public library staff, we want to thank shauna sherman for joining us today. she runs the african american center here at the main, but she worked as a contact tracer

and we really appreciate people like you and others for the work that you continue to do to uplift the community. and so, i know that and, again, carol, thank you for getting all of the staff back to the library because, let me tell you, i know it was hard work but because many of the library staff felt so dedicated to the work of helping to support the city, yes, they wanted to come back to work, but they also wanted to finish the work they were doing to address this pandemic. so, again, we want to say thank you so much for your hard work and all that you did to help this city throughout this pandemic. and, unlike carmen chiu who probably returned her books to the library when she was a kid, thank goodness i waived all those fines and fees of the past because i'd be in real trouble right now. forgive me, library.

forgive me. [ laughter ] but, with that, thank you all again to the commissioners, the friends of the public library. so many incredible people who care deeply about making sure that people in this city have access to books, that they have access to educational materials to computers and all the things that can help nurture and grow your mind, but also a really good for your soul. so, with that, i want to open it up to questions. do we have any questions? no questions. easy. easy day today. all right. thank you all so much. take care.

>> candlestick park known also as the stick was an outdoor stadium for sports and entertainment. built between 1958 to 1960, it was located in the bayview hunters point where it was home to the san francisco giants and 49ers. the last event held was a concert in late 2014. it was demolished in 2015. mlb team the san francisco giants played at candlestick from 1960-1999. fans came to see players such a willie mays and barry bonds, over 38 seasons in the open ballpark. an upper deck expansion was added in the 1970s. there are two world series played at the stick in 1962 and in 198 9. during the 1989 world series against the oakland as they were shook by an earthquake.

candlestick's enclosure had minor damages from the quake but its design saved thousands of lives. nfl team the san francisco 49ers played at candlestick from feign 71-2013. it was home to five-time super bowl champion teams and hall of fame players by joe montana, jerry rice and steve jones. in 1982, the game-winning touchdown pass from joe montana to dwight clark was known as "the catch." leading the niners to their first super bowl. the 49ers hosted eight n.f.c. championship games including the 2001 season that ended with a loss to the new york giants. in 201, the last event held at candlestick park was a concert by paul mccartney who played with the beatles in 1966, the stadium's first concert. demolition of the stick began in late 2014 and it was completed in september 2015.

the giants had moved to pacific rail park in 2000 while the 49ers moved to santa clara in 2014. with structural claims and numerous name changes, many have passed through and will remember candlestick park as home to the legendary athletes and entertainment. these memorable moments will live on in a place called the stick. (♪♪♪) >> remote hearings require everyone's attention and most of all your patience. if you're not speaking, please mute your