>> we hope we can learn more about the current state of covid-19 variant cases and others. let's get through the housekeeping and get started. recording. today's event is being recorded and being live streamed on facebook on facebook, sfgovtv, comcast 26, and cable 26. we respect all in this meeting, and want to create a safe space for all. all video will be disabled. video will be on for speaker only. the asl interpreter will be on for the duration of this event. to view the asl interpreter during the slide presentation, please click on view button at

the upper right hand portion of your screen and click on slide view. you can also switch from one slide to the other. once the slide comes on, switch to speaker view media. we are prioritizing questions from members of the public during q&a. media are welcome to follow up with additional questions they have -- thank you very much for joining us. now i would like to hand it over to d.p.h. director of public affairs katy tang.

>> thank you very muc and thank you for attending this webinar. as covid-19 is circulating out there, we know there's questions from many of you. so with that said, i'm going to invite dr. colfax to begin his presentation for all of you, but we will reserve a bulk of the time for q&a. so with that, dr. colfax. >> i thank you, katy, and good afternoon, everybody. it's really good to be here and prioritize where we are with regard to covid-19 in our city. thank you, everybody, for joining. looking forward to questions and some discussion. we have some slides that i'll be presenting to let you know where things stand, and i know that this pandemic is creating

greater challenges within our community. next slide, please. so as of today, we have over 41,000 cases of covid-19 diagnosed in our city, and we have 565 deaths. we are now in a fourth surge, and you can see that we now have an average of about 235 cases a day, and unfortunately, we are seeing another surge in hospitalizations as of august 1 with 97 people in the hospital. san francisco has done a great job of vaccinating people, and again, thank you for your collective efforts in supporting vaccination. it is our ticket out of the pandemic. 70% of everyone in san francisco has been vaccinated, and that includes, in that calculation, people who are under 12 who, as you know, are

not eligible for vaccine yet. total number of vaccines yet, you can see 667,000. 84% of people 12 and older, people who have received at least one dose, and 78% of people 12 and over have completed their vaccine period. so this is remarkable. this is one of the highest, if not the highest jurisdiction of any urban jurisdiction in the united states, and because of this work, and because of what people have done in terms of getting vaccinated, while this fourth surge will present challenges, we are in a much better place, and we will have many fewer deaths as a result of this vaccine coverage. next slide. so on the next slide is the

seven-day rolling average of cases, which is 235. in our winter surge, we peaked at 378. you can see the curve is step and almost vertical. this is because the delta variant is raging through our city, especially among those who remain unvaccinated. we are seeing increases across the world. you see here from the new york times the increase in cases across the globe, and as i already mentioned, going back to the local situation, we have nearly 100 people in the hospital and are tracking those hospitalizations very closely. next slide. in terms of our case rate, so

this is our case rates. this rapid increase, really attributable to the delta virus -- delta variant, excuse me, and the fact that we have reopened much of the city, so therefore, there's more activity. so the combination of these factors are what's driving this increase. next slide. so if there's any change in the current rate of vaccine uptake, and there's no change in san francisco's current contact rate, which is how much we're interacting with the public and each other, then we project the

following, and these are just projections. the current surge would end with 257 additional covid deaths in san francisco. and with that last bullet, just to emphasize, the vast majority would be among people who are not fully vaccinated, and with vaccines, 90 to 95% of these deaths are preventible. next slide. as we've seen throughout the pandemic, covid-19 is having a disproportionate impact on different neighborhoods in the city. in this case, higher rates in

the southeastern part of the city. the more the blue shade on this map, the higher the concentration in the city. so you see mission, tenderloin in particular have high rates. so this is, again, something that we've seen throughout the pandemic, which is why during the pandemic, working with community partners, we at d.p.h. have focused our efforts at testing, vaccine efforts, prevention services in neighborhoods most affected. next slide. so there's been a lot of talk about the delta variants, variants in general during the pandemic. i've used the term several times already during this presentation, so just to be explicit, what is a variant? so viruses constantly change,

and this is a normal process of the virus. a variant is a virus that contains changes different from the parent. some viruses have an advantage over the parent and persist or become more common, so this is basic virology, where a virus adapts. through active genomic surveillance, scientists can identify variants that are concerning, requiring further study, and precautions. public health becomes concerned

about a variant when it affects covid-19 transmission, severity, treatment, or effectiveness. we're now focusing on the delta variant, which we believe accounts for 95% of cases in san francisco, is far more transmissible than the original variant, and the clinical research scientists are determining other factors. so the main way to fight the virus is to reduce transmission, so the virus cannot mutate if it's not reproducing, so this is another reason that vaccination is so

key. the faster locally, nationally, and globally we get more people vaccinated, the less likely the virus will be able to infect more hosts, and the more likely it will be that we will be able to slow the spread of the virus. and again, as i've already said, the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths due to covid-19 are among the unvaccinated here and across the country. so vaccines are highly effective. they are incredibly effective, but breakthrough cases are

possible. but the vaccines are working. they are effective in preventing transmission of covid-19 to totally vaccinated people, and even better, they are effective at reducing hospitalization and death due to covid-19. and, really, you know, i've said this before, it could be the difference -- if you get covid-19 and you're not vaccinated, if you're fully vaccinated versus not vaccinated -- so if you're fully vaccinated versus not

vaccinated, it could be the difference between getting a case of the sniffles versus suffocation and having to go into the hospital with covid-19. i say it's the difference between spending a few days in your bed at home and weeks in the i.c.u. at a hospital. this is not to be taken lightly. these vaccines are life saving and can keep you out of the hospital, and, of course, prevent death. here, an over eight-fold

difference, eight times more likely to be hospitalized if you are not fully vaccinated for covid-19. look at this difference between these two bars. incredible difference showing the effectiveness of these vaccines at the local level. next slide. so i also wanted to touch base on the indoor masking order that our san francisco public [inaudible] issued on august 3, requiring masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. this is an effort that aligns

with c.d.c. guidance to reduce transmission of covid-19 and everyone due to the widespread covid-19 delta variant. so, you know, this delta variant is really covid is steroids, which is why vaccinations are so important, but also protecting ourselves and each other, reducing the rate of transmission by requiring us all to wear a mask in public places will protect everyone, particularly the unvaccinated or those who have not received a vaccine and can help them get protected by availing themselves to a shot. there's lots of resources here. we are really focusing the health department on the most vulnerable communities to

covid-19, reaching out to ensure that people have the right information, the correct information and particularly about the vaccines. know there's a lot of myths out there and misperceptions. we are out there making vaccine available as much as possible. in addition there's information where people can get tested, and for people who want to delve deep into the data, you can see the links to our data and reports. and finally, just to emphasize for further information about covid, the state web side and the c.d.c. -- website and the c.d.c. websites are here to view at your leisure. and i believe that's the end of presentation, and we'll have some question-and-answer now. katy, i'll turn it back to you. >> thank you, dr. colfax, and if you do have questions, please continue to send them

through the chat. we also wanted to welcome two of our incredible community liaisons who have been deployed as what we call disaster service workers throughout the response. these are individuals who have worked in different city departments, and we have called on them to assist with all that's required during this pandemic and want to thank and acknowledge everyone who has been part of that. so today, we have [inaudible] bryant, who normally works at sfmta. has been doing a lot of outreach in the community, and jessica medina, who is also assigned at department of emergency management and has been doing a lot of work. i'll start with [inaudible]. they have been hearing many questions in the community as they've been doing outreach, so we asked them to relay some of those questions with us today, so we'll start with alfini.

>> hello. good afternoon, everyone. the first question that's come in from the community is why is the delta variant so deadly, and why is it so contagious compared to the original strain? >> so can you hear me now? so thank you for the question, and it's a really important one to answer as quickly as possible. we know that the variant is much more contagious than the virus we were dealing with before. as we said, it's covid on steroids, and basically, the virus has mutated so it allows the virus to bind better to our cells in our body. so basically, it has created a way to bind even more tightly to our cells and do it more

quickly to infect us. so that's the key reason why delta is so concerning right now. the -- in terms of its causing more severe disease, there's increasing evidence that it's not only more infectious, but if you get it, you are more likely to have severe illness. that is not concluesive yet, but in talking to our ucsf clinicians and doctors there, there are emerging -- there is emerging evidence that that is the case, and unfortunately, that trend is what we're seeing locally. so it's a series of mutations that allows the virus to enter our bodies more quickly and easily than the prior virus, and then a series of mutations that are causing the virus to create more -- potentially more

serious disease. >> okay. thank you for that. jessica? >> thank you, dr. colfax. another question i have is regarding testing. we're starting to see a lot more people getting tested for covid-19. is the city going to ramp up testing again, especially that the mass testing sites have been closed? >> yes. so we ramped up testing dramatically in both at our al -- alemany sites and [inaudible] and at this point, that increase in demand has not

decreased in supply. we are working with our partners and across our health care system partners, kaiser, ucsf, sutter, and so forth, to expand testing. people who have health care providers are experiencing some delays both in getting some appointments and some delays in getting test results back, so we're working to mitigate that as much as possible. we're also working to access home test kits, which we haven't had in prior times, to help people get rapidly tested. but we acknowledge that testing demand is increasing and, again, are working hard to expand testing options, testing hours for people so that people can get tested when they need to.

>> okay. great. next, we'll go back to fini. >> okay. thanks for that. why do some people who are vaccinated experience symptoms and are being hospitalized despite the small numbers? >> yeah, so i think it's important to look at the broader numbers in san francisco. there are going to be some breakthrough infections, and especially with delta, there are going to be some breakthrough infections. when we talk about breakthrough infections, there are people who, where virus is detected, they don't have any symptoms, but their test would be positive. and then, there are some who have mild to moderate symptoms. but we've all heard of people who got -- did what they were asked to do, stepped up, got full vaccine doses, and they got pretty sick due to covid-19. and, you know, this is the fact that if they hadn't gotten the

vaccine, it's highly likely that they'd be more sick, right? possibly in the i.c.u. and possibly to the extent that they could have died, so i think we just need to look at the numbers and look at the -- the rate of infection and severe infections, and as we keep emphasizing, if people are fully vaccinated, the likelihood of their getting severe illness, the likelihood of getting hospitalized is reduced dramatically, reduced dramatically. i know people who have gotten pretty sick who have gotten fully vaccinated, but we just need to look at the facts, and right now, the facts are because so many people in san francisco are fully vaccinated, many, many fewer people are also going to get sick. and the fact is, with delta here, it's important, if you're not fully vaccinated, to get

fully vaccinated. and if you get covid-19, it is incredibly likely that it will keep you out of the hospital. >> thank you. next question? >> my next question is what is the general guidance with regard to testing currently? what about isolation and quarantine resources if people test positive? >> yeah, so, you know, in terms of getting tested, if you're -- for the -- there are a lot of different circumstances, so i won't go into those details, except to say certainly, if you have symptoms that are consistent with covid-19, you should get tested whether or not you have been fully vaccinated, so really important, and if you are symptomatic, it's important to wear a mask indoors, even if

private settings, until you get that tests. in terms of quarantine, people should quarantine until they get the result of that test as much as possible and isolate for -- for the vast majority of people, isolate if they've had a positive test for at least ten days until they don't have any symptoms. we can continue to provide isolation and quarantine support for people. in some cases, this would mean support -- it's a place where the person is living, providing support for families, resources, or providing a spot where they could go isolate or quarantine as necessary. and at the same time, we do not have the level of isolation and quarantine hotels that we had

for these last three surges, so we're continuing to work with community members and others to ensure that we're prioritizing the isolation and quarantine resources that we do have for the people who are most vulnerable, for the people who don't have another way of managing isolation and quarantine, and again, focusing on providing support for people in other ways so that they can isolate and quarantine as much as possible. >> all right. next question, fini? >> how [inaudible] is the covid-19 vaccine in the long haul? people are scared of the variant, but some people are more scared of the vaccine and the long-term effects, as well? >> yeah, i've heard that concern, and i talk to people about it. so the covid vaccines were developed and approved quickly, which is actually a great thing because they're our way out of

this pandemic. but i also think that while the vaccines were developed quickly, it's important to remember scientists have been studying these covid viruses for over 50 years, half a century. so the science that really drove how it developed has been in existence for many, many years, and this was done quickly because there was an unprecedented support in investment in this scientific research. so right now in the world, the vaccine has been distributed to millions and millions of people, and they are safe and highly effective. you know, we obviously don't know, ten years out from now, what the effects will be, but

all of the indications are that these vaccines are safe, and the long-term risks of covid-19 far outweigh the theoretical risk of any side effects of these vaccines, so just to emphasize that. now, there's also this concern about if i -- when i get a shot, especially if i get a second shot, i get symptoms, i feel fatigued, i feel sore. with the second shot, my arm really hurt for the day. the second day, i had symptoms. you feel achy or like you have a bad case of a cold. it's not a pleasant situation, but believe me, the symptoms of covid-19 are far worse than from these vaccines.

so they're just -- there are also a lot of i think myths out there that are on social immediatea and so forth, you know, the vaccines affecting your re -- media and so forth, you know, the vaccines affecting your reproductive system and so forth. that is not the case. all the experts who specialize in reproductive health are recommending that people get these vaccines. in fact, there was just a study out yesterday that shows for -- unfortunately, for pregnant women who didn't get the vaccine, they were more likely to have their babies early, and the babies were what we call preterm babies, so that was a very negative effect of covid-19. the benefits of these vaccines

far outweigh the bad sides, but we all know someone who got the shot and got sicker than they thought, or my brother got the shot and had an asthma attack a week or two weeks later, and it was, like, did that cause my asthma? no. >> thank you for that. and the last question from jessica? >> the last question is [inaudible] should they then test again. >> so, again, this is this is a situation where they're fully vaccinated and tested positive, basically, you need to isolate

for the ten days until -- until you don't have symptoms, assuming you don't have any symptoms after ten days, and there's no further recommendation to get retested again, and if you do get symptoms similar to covid-19 after that again, the best thing to do is to talk directly to your health care provider. but in general, there's no reason to get tested after the ten days after -- from the day of your positive test. so the most important thing is if you do test positive, to isolate, to wear the mask, and for goodness sake, if you have friends and family that haven't been vaccinated yet, get them vaccinated -- support them getting vaccinated, i should say. >> all right. thank you so much to jessica and fini for all of your work

in the community, as you've heard many similar questions that they all have that they've been fielding in the community, so thank you, fini and jessica. so now, i'm going to get to some of the questions that you've put in the chat. i don't think i'm going to be able to get to one of them, but i'm going to try to combine similar subjects. one thing that has been asked is will the city shutdown again, and will the city take any further efforts to reduce transmission, such as closing restaurants, bars, gyms, or any other place with high risk settings, and do we anticipate going back to the tiered shutdown? so all of these questions have to do with a shutdown? >> so we have no plans to quote, unquote, shutdown the city again. i think we are going to mitigate the virus in ways that

allow us to resume the activities that we missed so much and love while also trying to slow the spread of the virus and prevent the most serious consequences, hospitalizations and, of course, death. so vaccines are key to this. as i said multiple times here today already, they are key along with people wearing masks indoors. they are not as effective as vaccines, but they are another tool that works to slow the spread of the virus. the other thing that we're doing is mandating vaccines in certain settings, including in health care settings, and i think as people know, the city as a whole, the city is requiring employees across

departments to become vaccinated, so there is effort to make the vaccine as available as possible. we will bring the vaccine to you. in your house, if you have five or more people ready to get vaccinated, we can make that happen. and the other thing is now that we've made it as easy for people to get vaccinated, we support efforts for people not getting vaccinated. we support requirements for vaccine. a lot of businesses are requiring to show proof of vaccine status.

>> we're seeing a lot of questions in the chat about boosters and booster shots, so i'm just going to combine some of the questions here. what are the cost-benefit analysis to get a booster shot if they're ready to get vaccinated? how effective is the pfizer and moderna vaccine against the variant, and what's the criteria if someone wants to get a supplemental shot? they've read the news about sfdph affiliated facilities accommodating those requests,

and do you recommend someone getting a shot from two different companies, so if you got a moderna, getting a shot from pfizer or johnson & johnson. so many questions, similar topics. what are your thoughts about booster shots? >> i'm trying to hold all those topics. so a couple of things. starting with one of the questions that was in the middle there was, you know, about the second shot, whether it's from pfizer or moderna.

it's just really, really important to get that second shot. there is no recommendation from any major health care body in the united states, including the c.d.c. and the f.d.a., that people get boosters. i know there's a lot of questions, a lot of discussions about this. right now, we only need to focus on the support of people who haven't gotten vaccines to get the shot. that one shot is j&j or two shots of the moderna or pfizer vaccine. those are the current guidelines, and the health department has not changed its policy with regard to that. now there's a lot of data -- there's actually some data just out today of moderna. there's a lot of discussion around pfizer with booster shots, which would be additional shots based on evidence that people may need them. there are some countries that

are exploring or planning to start booster shots in certain populations. that is not happening in the united states right now. we don't know yet. it's entirely possible that booster shots would be recommended, but again, in the united states, that's not the case. now there has been some publicity about a comment that the health department made, which is giving -- if people who receive the johnson & johnson vaccine, which is a good vaccine, request an additional shot with a pfizer or moderna vaccine, that we will accommodate that, but it hasn't been a change in our policy. but if people have talked to their health care provider and say, you know, i'd really like to have an mrna shot in addition to the johnson & johnson shot that i got, we

will accommodate that, but we are accommodating that because we heard from communities that people were concerned that they were requesting it. we wanted to be responsive, and we wanted to accommodate what people were asking for in the -- in that regard. but it's not a change in policy, we're not recommending it, and we're not promoting it as a way for people to become more protected. >> okay. i know that's super helpful, just given all the questions rolling around that and the news coverage. question, especially with delta and other variants. you recommend upgraded respiratory protection. for example, n-95 masks for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, so again, this is unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings. >> yeah, what i recommended for all individuals in indoor

setting is to get vaccinated. we know the masks work, but they don't work as well as the vaccines. in an indoor setting, i mean, the more we know about them, really, it's both about getting that vaccine with delta here and, you know, if many people can't tolerate wearing an n-95 mask inside, so it's better to wear a surgical mask than certainly no mask at all. but i just -- i know that with the masking, the indoor masking mandate coming back in, that that -- that we focus our attention on masks, but i also don't want to lose sight of the fact that the vaccines are so much -- so important, so

protective, and easy to get right now, so both the mask and vaccine are key to us getting out of this fourth surge. >> okay. great. we have some questions about the new variant, the lambda variant. what do you know about the lambda variant in san francisco, and there's some questions that the lambda and epsilon variants might be vaccine resistant? >> yeah, we're working with scientists and researchers as much as we can to be responsive to further variants emerging. and i think one of the key issues that we've had across the country, in the region, and, as well, is in -- in san

francisco is scaling up our ability to genotype the virus. and thankfully, at ucsf, we have a lab that's leading the state in terms of genotyping. it's plausible that we'll see other variants emerge because we don't have high vaccine rates across the country, and we'll have to wait and see if these variants cause more illness or if they spread or are more crippling than delta. but i go back to -- i sound like a broken record -- the way to keep these variants from

spreading is to get vaccinated so the variants slow down. the less people the virus is able to infect, the more the virus slows down, and the less people we infect. the way to support all of this is to support all people getting vaccinated. >> all right. and we've gotten questions about have we seen any differences in outcomes, for example, hospitalizations, for people who have received different brands of vaccine? >> yeah. locally, i'm not aware of any differences in regard to that.

>> okay. and i know we've had a series of town halls focused on youth and children in schools, but we do have a couple questions here in terms of the delta variant specifically and its impact and everything on specifically three to five year olds. is it specifically safe to allow three to five-year-old children to not wear a mask in child care outdoors? what about the delta variant in pediatric outcomes? any sort of thought on the risk of kids under 12, so questions on covid and how the delta variant is affecting children? >> so this has come up in questions from our clinical

experts, and i think it's really important to emphasize right now that the public health officers, pediatricians, feel that it's incredibly important that we return our kids to in-person learning, and that this is thought that we can do it safely, we can do it safely, and it's so important for the health and wellness of our kids, our families, and our community. the best way that we can ensure that is for family members who are eligible for vaccines to get vaccinated. that can protect the children, and that can protect the school. and we have local data that supports that, so in the last 18 months, of the children who are found to test positive for covid-19 in the schools, all those cases were tracked back to the family, so i just think it's important for us to all do our part to support that.

i was just talking to a number of infectious disease experts at ucsf. you may have read the report from louisiana about children's hospitals being filled with children with respiratory illness. that's obviously a concern, and there's much more covid there, much more than we have locally. there's a much lower vaccination rate, somewhere in the range of 35%, compared to our 75% overall, and there's no confirmation that delta causes more disease among children. right now, the consensus is that children are expect -- you know, even if children get covid-19, that they will experience milder symptoms

compared to adults. but again, as we've seen during these last 18 months, this is an evolving field and we're watching it very carefully. but we want to support schools opening for in-person learning as much as possible. >> okay. thank you. we got a couple of questions about rapid testing and testing as soon as possible, so i don't know if you want to share anything about rapid tests? >> well, i think if people want to avail themselves of rapid testing, that's something we didn't have before, so i encourage them to use it. but i'd say to very carefully follow the instructions, and if you have questions, that you consult your health care provider, so just two important caveats to the use of home test kits, and again, they should not be a substitute for getting

vaccinated. getting tested itself doesn't get you vaccinated. you can test as much as you possibly can, and it's not protecting you from the virus, right? so, you know, if you're tested, get the vaccine. >> maybe just a follow-up question on that. if you can describe for the public quickly the difference between the rapid test and what we have traditionally had out there, where test results are sent to labs? >> yeah. well, i mean, i think there are a lot of different rapid tests out there, but basically, the rapid test allows you to get the results, you know, in as short a time as 15 minutes, and those are being used in many settings across the city and at d.p.h. we're using them at our shelters right now and certainly at our testing sites so you get that result very

quickly. if you -- the traditional -- the traditional test that we used earlier, our tests that take a longer time to conduct, and they can take a turnaround from anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. >> we had a lot of questions about the city shutting down again, but also specific events. we were planning for events to be held outdoors but with a lot of people. should we still hold them? should we cancel them? is there going to be a recommendation that people reduce participating in social gatherings indoors or suspend large gatherings? any advice you have on small outdoor private gatherings, so in general, i think the questions are along the lines i think we've talked about safety

in covid areas on the spectrum, if you could share that. >> yeah, it is on a spectrum. we know that being outdoors helps prevent the transmission of the virus, so that's key, as well, and the more people that you're engaging with, particularly inside, the greater the risk of transmission, especially if there are adults there who have not been fully vaccinated. the other piece is we know that people who are older, particularly 65 and older, people who have comorbid conditions are more likely to suffer from negative consequences from this virus, so i think we just all need to

think through that and do our own risk assessment to make a determination about what we're comfortable doing. there's a big difference between an indoor gathering of 5,000 people whose vaccine status hasn't been checked versus an outdoor gathering of 25 people who are fully vaccinated or, you know, people eating inside either in a group -- in a group setting, in a restaurant -- if they're vaccinated, and the staff are fully vaccinated, there's a big difference in that risk compared to people that are not vaccinated in that setting. so i think it's just really being attentive to your own risk, the risk of the people that you love and who are around you, and making the determination about what you're comfortable doing while supporting getting vaccines and while wearing those masks

indoors. >> and so along those lines, you know, especially given the high vaccination rate of our population, do you any insight of where you're seeing outbreaks in san francisco at least? i think you mentioned earlier, but any specific places or demographics or clusters? >> well yeah, i think we're seeing clusters in the neighborhood map -- on the neighborhood map that i showed. we're also seeing larger numbers the people in the 25 to 35-year-old age group who are not vaccinated. that's our age group in san francisco that is least likely to be vaccinated, so if any of you are 25 to 35 or no 25 to 35 year olds who aren't vaccinated yet, please support them in getting vaccinated as quickly as possible. along those lines, we are seeing, when we're asking

people their activities, we're seeing more outbreaks in indoor settings, including people who are frequenting bars, so that's another place where we're seeing more people. it's basically younger people -- there's a higher risk for younger people, 25 to 35 year olds, who have not been vaccinated, who are going indoors into crowded settings where i think mask wearing is lower than it needs to be at this time. >> all right. well, i know we received many questions, and we apologize we couldn't get to all of them, but we will try to through our messages out to the public and other venues, as well, try to get as many questions addressed in those ways. our website,

of information, as well. i will leave it with one last question. many people are wondering how we can live with this virus in the long run like with the flu, so what are your thoughts on that? >> well, it's hard to project into the future, but we have the tools that work. there's a question, if you get the vaccine, will it work against mutations? the vaccine is key to keeping us from spreading the virus and from keeping us out of more

serious variants, so i just want to emphasize that. i think in terms of where we'll be in the future, hopefully, we'll get more people vaccinated. the masking, indoor masking, will help slow the spread of this surge, and then, we'll have to see where we are in terms of the science around further vaccines and determine, you know, if and when additional shots are necessary. but i think right now, the answer -- the most important thing that we know now is that these vaccines are going to be key and that the more people we get vaccinated now, the more we will be able to mitigate and -- and control the spread of this virus in our community and prevent people from dying. these are great medicines, and the vaccines are our way out.

>> all right. thank you, dr. colfax. thank you to everyone who participated in this event today -- >> and if i could just say one more thing. you know, this has been a long 18 months, and i've said a lot about the virus. there's been a toll on our mental health, our ability to care for ourselves and our families, and in addition to getting the vaccine, please make sure that you're taking care of yourself and your families in the ways that are so important for yourself to be resilient during what is a very challenging time. sorry to cut in, katy, but i wanted to say that, and thanks, everyone. >> oh, no, thank you to you, dr. colfax, and thank you to

everyone who participated and thank you to sfgovtv, as well. if you want to view this again, it'll be available on sfgovtvs youtube channel. so thanks, everyone, and have a wonderful day.

>> this is the recreation and park commission. will the secretary please call the role. [roll call taken]

>> the san francisco recreation -- this is the recreation and park commission meeting of august 19, 2021. the san francisco recreation and park commission acknowledges that we occupy the unseated ancestoral home land of the maloni people. we honor the. [indiscernable] they have never seated, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers, as well as for all people to reside in their traditional territory. we recognize our duties to honour the maloni. we affirm their sovereign rights as first people, and wish to pay our respect to the ancestors and relatives of the

community. please note due to the coronavirus health -- [inaudible] we ask for your patience if we experience any technical issues. public comment will be available for each item on the agenda. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. comments or opportunities to speak during the public comment period are available by calling 415-655-0001, and the access code today is 1468530731. when you hear the agenda item you would like to comment on called, dial *3 to be added to the queue to speak. you will be lined in in the order you dialed *3. the system will notify you when you're in line and waiting. all callers will remain on mute until their line is open.

everyone must account for the time delays and speaking discrepancies between live coverage and streaming. alternatively, you may submit public comment by e-mailing rec parks.commission. if you submit public comment via e-mail, it will be included in the legislative file. you can also send it to 501 canyon street, san francisco, california, 94117. this meeting is recorded and will be available on sfgov tv.org. we are now on item 2: president's reporter. >> the president does not have a report. >> clerk: if there are any public comment on the president's report, you can dial *3 to be added to the queue. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> there are zero hands raised.

>> clerk: seeing no public comment, public comment is closed. we're now on item 3: general manager's report. >> good morning, commissioners. happy end of summer. i do have a few items for you today, so bear with me. i need to start on a sad note. we recently learned about the passing of one of our beloved park rangers, who works in a career spanning more than 50 years. carl worked with us for the past five years, but also spent time with other city departments, including the san francisco police department and sfmta, where he famously won the annual bell-ringing contest several times. our thoughts are with carl's family as we say good-bye to this san francisco icon and legend. his passing will definitely be felt here at

the park. he was beloved by the rangers and by the park visitors. i would like to request that we adjourn today's meeting in carl's honor. >> chairman: sure. >> i have a few vaccination requirement updates as we continue to adhere to the city's ever-changing health orders. beginning this friday, august 20th, all patrons of bars, restaurants, clubs, theaters, gyms, and large indoor events will be required to show proof of vaccination to enter. this will apply to our recreation facilities, which include, but are not limited to, our swimming pools and recreation centers. appropriate signage has been posted at our facilities to help keep the public informed of these new requirements, which do not apply to those who are ineligible for vaccinations, including children under

the age of 12. for more information, the public can visit sfgov/information, where all of these requirements are listed with more detail. last month we were very pleased to celebrate the opening of the golden gate heights playground. the place where joe halissey cut his teeth as a dog walker, nature explorer, and tennis player. it is a nature play area that sparks creativity and a dramatic spiral tower soaring above it all, the newly renovated golden gate park opened last month. the makeover includes a climbing wall, monkey

bars, a basket screen, and steps. the renovation is part of the "let's play s.f." campaign, which is a partnership between the recreation and parks department and the san francisco parks alliance transformed the city's 13 most time-worn playgrounds for creativity and family life. a nature exploration area created by repurposing logs and other natural materials, offers opportunities for unstructured play in the renovated park. san francisco children and nature, which is a collaborative that increases children's access to nature provided design over the exploration area. beyond the playground, it includes a new irrigation system and sod for the field, picnic area, an

a.d.a. provisions. [inaudible] which allows neighbors a proposed project to benefit their community. it provided construction management and architecture design for the project, which was shaped by input from neighborhood residents. i want to thank public works, the rec and park staff, and, most importantly, the neighborhood residents for all of their input in developing what is really a very, very, very special space. but it is not the only special space we have in san francisco. a special ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of another renovation project will be held at jury commons park on september 13th at 1:00. the concepts and objectives for this project were driven by input from communities

throughout the new park, and the design has the lush green hidden oasis of the space, and taking advantage of the sites unique railroad history. there is play equipment, a path improvement and additional seating. for more information, check out our website sfrecpark.org. next week yours truly will be joining a discussion about what we've learned about the parks during the pandemic. we will talk about the challenges brought on by the pandemic, and our staff's herculean effort to serve our city in the time of need. the discussion will be in person and online at manny's. for tickets and more information, check out

welcometomannys.com. commissioners, what do the san francisco giants know how do do better than beating other teams, winning funds. thanks to the good tidings foundation and others, the baseball field at bayview-hunters point neighborhood was recently renovated, including a repaired and upgraded field, dugout, fencing and more. the giants' foundation has helped to renovate more than two dozen baseball fields over the past few years, and now free baseball clinics for boys and girls, ages 7 to 16, will take place on tuesdays and thursdays from 4:30 to 6:30 beginning september 14th through november 4th. free clinics every tuesday and thursday at gilman

from 4:30 to 6:30. for more information, you can contact our staff. i think it is manny blackwell who will be running these clinics. you can call him at 218-3942 or by e-mail. i'm hoping and expecting there may even be guest appearances from commissioner halissey and commissioner manny, who have a lot to offer our children, cultivating a swing and staying down on the ball. i look forward to seeing you all at the diamond. i was a second baseman, for those of you who care -- i don't sense you do, but i just thought i would throw it out there. as many of you know, the great highway reopened to

week-day vehicular traffic this past monday. this was a decision made by the mayor, in consultation with supervisors melgar, mar and chan. motorists will be able to use the roadway from 6:00 a.m. on mondays until noon on friday, and then it will close for bicyclists over the weekend. on holidays, the great highway will also be closed to vehicular traffic. as i mentioned, these changes were announced aft last week by mayor breed, with support from supervisors chan and melgar, and will be in place until the board of supervisors considers legislation on the future of the highway beyond the pandemic closure.

check out the mayor's website or sfrecpark.org. the historic san francisco open is returning to golden gate park during labor day weekend, from september 3rd to the 6th, at the lisa and doug goldenman tennis center. this year's tournament is hosted with funding from toby's philanthropy. it is the 120th anniversary of the tournament. no joke, 120 years. and for the first time in decades, the tournament will be offering a prize purse to attract top women and men college players, emerging and task professionals, as well as recreational players. for more information, including how to register, visit

playtennis.usta.com and then we'll be doing a public free broadcasting with u.s. open matches on the big screen during the championship weekend. the schedule includes matches on friday, september 10th, from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m., which will include the men's final semi matches. and on friday, which will be the women's final. and sunday, september 12th, from 1:00 to 4:00, which will be the men's final. we showed the women's final last year while the tennis center was under construction, and the year before that, pre-covid, and it was so much fun to see everybody out there and to watch tennis on the big screen. so bring a blanket because we can't predict the

weather, and cheer on your favorite players at the lisa and douglas goldman tennis center. finally, commissioners, after five successful years and then a pause in 2020 due to the pandemic, the san francisco botanical gardens and sunset piano are excited to bring back "flower piano," to transform the san francisco botanical garden into their own alfresco concert hall. and everyone is invited to play and listen to commissioner eric mcdonnell and many others. flower piano will take place from friday, september 17th, to tuesday, september 21st. for more information, visit sfbg.org. finally, commissioners, i'm thrilled to share this month's video with you,

which is about our golden gate park junior guides program. and i really want to thank and appreciate lisa branston and the partnership division, and the san francisco parks alliance for all of their work, and our recreation team, for all of the incredible work they did to put this program together this summer. this was a free shuttle program for kids to visit golden gate park this summer. and they were treated to an amazing day in the park of play and observation and a reading of golden gate park "a" to "z" by the author. and they were given passes to come back to the park with their families to visit all of our attractions for free. they also got a ride on the sky star ferris wheel. as i think this video will share, this is a wonderful

program, touching hundreds and hundreds of kids. and i think there was a very healthy percentage of kids that had never been to golden gate park before. and we focused our shuttle program in our equity zones and most underserved districts in san francisco to ensure that everyone has a chance to enjoy one of america's best parks. so with that, david, i'd like to queue up the video and share with you in a little more detail this wonderful program.

>> we're not hearing any sound, colleagues, just so you know. >> david -- [audio echoing] >> we will bring this back to you. i think there are some technical difficulties that are going to be hard for us to overcome in a timely way, that i'm learning from our staff. so this really is a wonderful program. so what i would like to do at our next opportunity, come back with not just the video, but some more highlights of this fabulous program that was

happening this summer. but with that, i'll conclude the general manager's report. >> chairman: thank you. >> clerk: if there is any public comment on the general manager's report, you can dial *3 to be added to the queue to speak. paul, let me know if anyone has their hand raised. >> ashley, there are seven people on the call, and there are two hands raised. i'll unmute the first. >> clerk: okay. you'll have two minutes to speak. >> caller: yes. i want to open the great highway. i think it is finally refreshing that the highway is open to cars so that people can get to work and do the things that they need to do. this is a have, a want, rather than a need -- it is a have for the people. i think it was kind of telling that you guys all laughed when you mentioned that the great highway was going to close at noon on friday. keep the great highway

open, please. people need it. i'm a vet. i need to get to the v.a. stop all of the nonsense. thank you. >> clerk: next speaker. >> good morning. this is patricia eric. i'm so grateful to the mayor and gordon mar for opening it at least partially the great highway. everybody in the sunset, 85,000 people, are breathing a collective sigh of relief finally. i was on the lower great highway, and the number of cars are down 60%. since monday. and it is a beautiful sight for me to see. people are up there walking on the

newly-cleared bike path. there are just as many people up there now as there were before during the week. and working people are not stuck in traffic trying to get to work and get home. people in the avenues are not afraid to cross an intersection because they might get run down by a callous commuter. so i'm very grateful. i'm very grateful that finally working people, moderate-income people who have to get up every day and go to work are safer, and we are all safer. the bike coalition says that they deserve a fully car-free great highway. does that mean that we deserve to have to live with 18,000 more cars in our neighborhood? i don't think so.

i'm just grateful that finally there is some fairness and equity. thank you. >> clerk: paul, has anyone else raised their hand? >> that was the last hand raised, ashley. >> clerk: okay, see no further callers, public comment is now closed. commissioners, did you want to say anything about the general manager's report. i think commissioner halsey has his hand raised. you're on mute. >> thank you. i was at the gilman playground event. it was a beautiful day. the facility is gorgeous. we all know that projects like these take funding. a tremendous job by the giants' community fund, the glad tidings

foundation, the generosity of brandon crawford. there were a number of speakers that day. mayor breed talked of her time at gilman, said she played shortstop about 35 years ago. i actually played at gilman about 20 years before her, when the field was entirely dirt, as well as the outfield, with a few sparce blades of grass, and now it looks fabulous. but i wanted to say there was a number of speakers that day. they all did a very good job, but i felt commissioner jupiter-jones was the most affective at this event, without question. and i'll tell you why: most of the politicians talked about the bigger groups, the funders, which, as i mentioned, is totally necessary. but when commissioner jupiter-jones spoke representing the commission, she brought it down to the community level. she talked about teaching

at brett hart school. i believe it was her first teaching job, which is right next door. more importantly, she gave a shoutout to the staff at gilman, to robert watkins and duran tyson and christopher adams, and jamie omens. she gave a shot out to them so that when all of the media and politicians and speakers left, it was great to hear those people mentioned because they're the ones that are going to have to take care of this space. they're the ones that are going to have to provide this positive programming for all of the youth in that neighborhood. so i just wanted to tell everyone what a fantastic job she did. as i said, the most affective part of her presentation is that she brought the conversation to the neighborhood level. great job, commissioner.

>> you're too kind. thank you. i appreciate it. it was a great event. >> chairman: thank you, commissioners. >> clerk: okay. so we are now on item 4: general public comment. up to 15 minutes. this item will be continued to item 8. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public that do not appear on the agenda. with respect to agenda items, you will have the opportunity to address the committee when the item is reached. if you would like to make a general comment, dial *3 to be added to the queue. paul, does anyone have their hand raised for this? >> ashley, there are seven people on the line and one hand raised. >> clerk: okay. you'll have two minutes. >> two hands. >> clerk: two hands.

okay. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is tony paster. i've been the parade chairman for 2021. we are applying for a permit for washington square park for sunday, october 10th, 2021, from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. this will be our 163rd parade. part of this event is the auto show in washington square park. it will hopefully be our 25th auto show in the park. we believe this will help the city and county of san francisco to come out of this pandemic and celebrate all things italian. we bring in thousands of people for the parade and car show. this will help the economy, all restaurants, bars, delicatessens, and bakeries in the area. it has been a north beach tradition for over 150 years. recently i attended the san francisco old car picnic in speedway meadows, and the

recreation and parks gave a permit to them for over 200 cars in the golden gate park. we are asking for 30 to 40 cars only. with the renovation in 2019in washington square part, we are excited to showcase the park and san francisco nationwide we have revised our plans to protect the green spaces and water systems so we can leave the park in the same condition when we depart. again, we're asking for a permit for washington square park on october 10, 2021, to showcase italian cars in the park. thank you for your time. >> >> chairman: thank you. >> clerk: next speaker. >> yeah, hi. good morning commissioners. thank you for this opportunity to address the commission. my name is paul panelli, and along with tony, i'm on the committee, on the board of directors for the italian heritage parade

and the auto show, that tony was just talking about, for which we have applied for a permit. in addition to the pertinent comments made by tony, i would just like to add that it's very important for the commission to know that our committee is very aware of the time and effort put into the renovations at washington square park. and we are very aware of the concerns of the commission over the condition of the park. this is something we discussed quite a bit in the past, and we continue to right now, and it is a concern of ours because we have so many commissioners who are either natives of north beach our current residents of north beach, and realize the value of the park not just to san francisco, but to the community in north beach. so being aware of the renovations and aware of the concerns, we

constantly discuss mitgations that we can take. it is important that you know we're willing to do whatever it takes to get the permit and to satisfy the concerns of the commission. mitigations are necessary. we realize that and we're willing to accommodate any of the concerns on the part of the commission, and i just wanted to kind of make that point so you're comfortable grants us a permit should that time come, and if this needs to go on the agenda for next month, we're more than happy to do that, too. thank you for your time. at the same time, the concourse italiano car show is also a big part of our heritage and celebration. >> clerk: paul, are there any other speakers? >> there are no more

hands, ashley. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. we're now on item 5: the consent calendar. commissioners, let me know if you would like to take anything off the consent calendar. if not, someone will make a motion to approve. >> do we want any public comment on the consent calendar, ashley? >> clerk: yeah, that's probably a good idea. is there any public comment on the consent calendar? paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> i see six people on the call and zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay, callers, public comment is closed. >> chairman: commissioners, any questions or comments? [buzzer] >> i move that we accept the consent calendar. >> chairman: thank you. >> i second. >> chairman: moved and seconded.

all those in favor? >> aye. >> chairman: any opposed? hearing none, it is unanimous. thank you. >> clerk: we are now on item 6: san francisco zoo. >> good morning. tonya peterson, director of the zoo. i'm here from the zoo, and i believe i have a powerpoint, which is better than my messy office here. oh, goodness (laughing). [laughter] >> okay. i think we sent a powerpoint. i'm just checking if maybe -- >> clerk: maybe gary -- not gary. david has it. he should be sharing it for you. >> oh, thank you, david. because i wanted to show you two of my favorite

animals. >> from the beginning, and...there we go. >> great. david, if i could just go right to that first slide -- >> okay. >> thank you. all right. i wanted to wish everybody happy world orangutan day. unlike world donor day, there is a day for these beautiful animals. we're celebrating the two we have here, judy and baroni, who was named by our community. instead of trying to promote doughnuts, we're trying to tell people not to eat foods that have palm oil, they are destroying the communities

of these species, particularly the palm oil industry. we're trying to make our zoo visitors eat less in terms of palm oils and fats. so be healthy today and think of these two beautiful creatures. if i could go to the next slide, david. the one title "march of the penguins here," this is my favorite annual convenient at the zoo. as a reminder, the zoo has the largest outdoor penguin pool of any u.s. zoo, if not the world. we couldn't do this during covid, but we gave birth to penguin chicks. because our pool is out door, these chicks will be in competition with seagulls and other wildlife, recently even egrets, so we take some time to train these chicks how to be hand-fed, and we actually train them how to swim since they are separated for some time from their parents. once we feel they are

ready to join the big colony, we allow them to come from the back of the zoo, where they've been training and learning these skills, and they actually walk through the zoo and join the colony for the passage of rights. and we open it up to our members early in the morning. and we were safely distanced, so we limited the numbers by online reservations, but it was just great to see the public again and to welcome lemon on the left. lemon was named by our members in a contest. i don't know if they meant lemon and lemonade. and to the right is handsome david, who was named after a board member who recently passed away during this terrible pandemic. so welcome david and lemon to our colony. right now their feathers are quite fluffy, and they look big until their

feathers actually become waxed down and look more like the other penguins. so come join us. and then my next slide here, david -- we didn't have much breeding or births during the pandemic, but thankfully many of the breeding recommendations we received have been under way. this is an endangered african antelope. it has the longest nursing period, and the mothers will hide with the calves in the african savannah. and i think for a couple of weeks, staff didn't realize she had given birth. she was so clever about how she hid her calves. about five or six weeks later, she allows the calf to come out. you can see he is healthy, and already his remarkable strengths are showing. come see him. he is a spectacular annal, already hopping and jumping around. as the general manager

mentioned, in the next slide, we, too are ever-changing with the covid requirements. we had recently opened places like our insect zoo and our south america tropical aviary. we are reopened those areas in the front of the zoo. and today we will be closing indoor dining, moving folks outside. you can order food through our mobile apps, but we'll eliminate that and some other indoor dining in light of new covid requirements, but we're thrilled that the rest of the zoo and the outdoor aspect of the zoo remains open. we require online reservations to make sure we can maintain a steady flow of visitors and ensure social distancing. my next slide is bittersweet. that is bruce, named

affectionately after the former giants manager. he may be the heaviest but also the meanest annal in animan africa. and he has just been a delight. [inaudible] they seek our collaboration in breeding endangered animals. and recently they have found a girlfriend for bruce. unfortunately in a zoo in the midwest. it is a brand new exhibit, and i think will it best for him and her that we move bruce to the midwest. so we are training him now now. see those treats there? those are lollipop treats that entice him to come out of the water and into a water. he is 5,000 pounds, and his crate is 4500 pounds. not a lot of companies can

assist us. so we thank lab core and others for providing us the equipment. when he is ready, he will be going on a special chartered flight probably mid-september. the timeline is up to him. again, bittersweet to see him go, but we hope he sires future hippos. our long-term plan is to replace him with two pygmy hippos. they're even more endangered. they were found in the island of madagascar, and our strategic plan is focusing quite a bit on madagascar and the wildlife there, as it is predicted in the next 15 years there will be no wildlife on the island in madagascar. so please come and say good-bye to bruce before he goes. and i just want to give another update on an exhibit that thankfully was allowed to have continued construction

during the pandemic, and that's our snow leopard exhibit. our male was named jimmy "g" after the 49ers quarterback. and he successful sired twin leopard cubs. and it was the first births for jimmy "g" and his mate. so to jimmy "g"'s credit, he not only had one successful birth, but two, but that caused us to have to expand the exhibit quickly. and we have tripled the size not only in length, but in height. and the snow leopards will have a chance to look over the tigers, the hippos, the rhinos, and maybe even have a view of the ocean on a good day. we hope to open that at the end of september. lastly, little things matter: we are zoo and gardens, and one of our meritis board members came

here (indiscernable) and it has been the delight of children and all generations as they have come in a surprise, something we were able to do during the pandemic with the closure. with that, i finished my report, and i'm here for any questions. >> chairman: thank you very much. >> clerk: if you have any public comment on the zoo report, you can dial *3 to be added to the queue. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> yes. there are four people on the call and zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no comment, public comment is closed. we are now on item 7: the "let's play s.f.." and an update.

>> hello, commissioners and general manager, i'm lisa branston, i'm director of partnerships at the recreation and parks department. and i'm here with cara rupert, who is the deputy director of the capital division on this initiative. the item today is, of course, our recurring informational update on the "let's play s.f." initiative, and they get more and more fun as the pictures get prettier and prettier as we move through this. so before diving in, just a quick reminder that the program had its origins in the 2012 clean and safe neighborhoods parks bond, which allocated $15.5 million to renovate playgrounds. the task force prioritized

13 playgrounds based on presence of toxic wood and play equipment and placed in low-income neighborhoods for children. the playgrounds they selected was twice the number of playgrounds that the department estimated could be renovated with the $15.5 million from the bond. so the department partnered with the san francisco parks alliance to raise private funds so we can get all 13 playgrounds renovated more quickly for san francisco's children and families. next slide, please. so just a little bit of a summary before we dive a little deeper into this. as i mentioned, it is just so exciting to continue to be able to share the progress with the commission, and, more importantly, with the public. we've now completed eight, and almost nine, playgrounds with one set to open next month, as phil mentioned. three more have approved concept plans by this

commission, and their documentation is being prepared to put them out to bid and get them into construction. and the very last playground in the initiative, stearn grove, we're deep in the community and engagement process. and carol will share some pictures of the emerging design of that playground later. and then i did just want to -- okay, go ahead. sorry. next slide, please, cara. and i did just want to think about the three pillars of the campaign, which continue to guide all of us in this work of why it is important. community, creativity, and wellness are critical factors behind the initiative. there is detailed research that shows that beautiful public spaces designed with stakeholder engagement inspires

community and brings people together. play helps nurture growing brains, and getting outside leads to improved well-being among children. and through these pillars, we honor the combined commitment of the department and the parks alliance to the 20,000 children that live within a quarter mile of these 13 playgrounds. and with that note, i'll turn it over to cara, who can talk a little bit about where we are on project delivery on all of these 13 sites. >> great. thank you so much, lisa. and good morning, commissioners. my name is cara rupert, and i'm a project manager with the capital division. i want to remind everyone of what these 13 playgrounds are. here is the map we have showed in the past, identifying each of these 13 playgrounds across the city. the ones with the red

check marks are the ones that are complete. and eight of the 13 are complete and reopened to the public. we are excited to share that -- actually, i'll go first through the seven that we have already shared with you. panhandle playground, mercer heights playground, mcculley playgrounds, alice, the west portal, and the west wing in mcclaren park. and i was about to say we are excited to share the golden gate playground opened last month. here are some visuals, some beautiful, brand new lovely, little playgrounds in a beautiful park, and a really fun opening celebration last month. and as you've heard, jury commons is set to open next month as well. these pictures are from last month. as you can see, even the

mulch has been put down. we're doing some final tweaks and waiting for the turf to establish, and then we'll open this beautiful little park to the community again as well. and here is a little preview of stearn grove playground. this project is -- we are working with the community to develop the concept plan. this is a rendering that was shared last month at a community meeting. and we expect to go back to the community with a final plan and then come to you before the end of the year for secret adoption and approval of the concept plans. we have the projects you have seen over the past year, for the concept plan approvals. just a quick reminder of what those look like, to remind everyone, the playground in the upper left, buchanan street mall

on the upper right, and hertz playground on the lower left. siege one of these playgrounds is developing documents, and we expect to be back here probably in the spring for award of contract. so i've already gone over the schedules for all of the remaining projects, but it is always nice to see the whole program together. i know this is a really tiny schedule, apologies. the red vertical line is today's date, showing where we are in the initiatives. and the red stars are when we are expected to come back before you for an action item on the initiative. so as you can see, our next one would be stearn grove. we're hoping to be here before the end of the year for concept plan, and then early to mid-next year for award of construction contracts at the other three that i mentioned. and with that, i will pass

it back to lisa to sum up. >> great. thanks, cara. so just to -- as cara said, to sum up and to show the financial update, you'll see from the initiative budget the project continues hover around $35 million project. and cara's cost estimates on the playground construction has been great so far. and we're hoping and looking forward to those holding as we bid out the next set of projects. and the partners have done some work to lower some of the initiative-wide expenses. and with that and the addition of some public funds for -- to complete richmond playground, we're happy to say we're almost done with the fundraising for this initiative.

and, um, that concludes the presentation for today. and cara and i are happy to answer any questions. and just give our thanks to this commission for its support and oversight and to our partners from the san francisco parks alliance for the multi-year deep partnership on this initiative. thank you so much. >> chairman: thank you, lisa. >> clerk: if there is any public comment on this item, you can dial *3 to be added to the queue to speak. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> there are four callers and two hands raised. >> clerk: okay. first speaker, you'll have two minutes. >> caller: hi. this is susan chercoff, from the california native plant society. thank you so much for the beautiful native plants

around the playground in our park here in north beach. please continue to use only native plants to landscape our playgrounds. it is wonderful that we've got more playgrounds in the works here in san francisco for our children, but please, please use only our native plants. that way we continue to have a place for wildlife, in addition to children. thank you for your attention. my comments are complete. >> thank you. >> clerk: next speaker. >> caller: hello. my name is suzanna flaker, and i'm a senior project manager at the park alliance. thank you, lisa, for that great overview. we're so happy to be part of this initiative. and we're so thrilled to see the golden gate heights playground opening

and the exploration area open up next month. and we're super excited for jerry commons to open up next month. i work on the capital project delivery side of things, and i collaborate pretty closely with the project managers and design teams. i just wanted to say i'm constantly amazed and impressed about how well the playground design and construction projects are managed. i think i can speak pretty confidently for the community members and partners that are all involved (indiscernable) that just as lisa had mentioned, that the projects are really bringing people together. it has even inspired other community groups to become stewards of their own neighborhood playgrounds, which is really fun to see. i just wanted to mention it is wonderful to see such a range of

beautifully-constructed playgrounds, with eight of the 13 playgrounds completed. it is pretty amazing. so thank you for your partnership, as well as all of the rec and park project managers for all of the hard work on all of the renovations. i just wanted to say thanks for being here and that,and thank you >> i had the pleasure of serving on the task force

that identified these wonderful spaces, so always wonderful to hear the ongoing progress that is made. eight down; five to go. thank you, lisa, and the entire team. i just want to add my thanks. thank you. >> chairman: thank you, commissioner. >> clerk: okay. so we are now on item 8: general public comment, continued from item 4. if anyone else has joined the call who didn't get a chance to speak during general public comment on item 4, this would be the time. and this is where you can address the commission on items that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the recreation and park commission and do not appear on the agenda. so if you would like to make general public comment and you haven't done so already, you can dial *3. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> there are four people on the line and two hands raised.

>> clerk: okay. you'll have two minutes. first speaker. >> caller: good morning commissioners. my name is richard rothman, district 1 resident. and it is great to have the great highway open to cars during the week. when i was on there three times, there are cars, bicyclists and walkers walking on the path. so i think we're all sharing the great highway. the other thing i want to talk about, i don't know if the commissioners are aware that supervisor chan has drafted a resolution about j.f.k., to keep it open in its present con tribulations, with some modifications. one is to open it up to cars from ace to kent, for a.d.a. parking, and also

allow parking people to drive and drop off people in front of the young museum and the academy of science. and then park behind the band shell. the other change is to open up the garage to free parking for people who meet certain criteria. that hasn't been worked out, but i would guess that the city would have to take over paying of the bond. so this is just a proposal. and i know m.t.a., and i hope rec and park, is planning to meet with the members of the disability community. i know when we have compromise, not everybody is happy, but maybe that's a good compromise if not everybody is happy, but we've got to try to make everybody happy. thank you. >> chairman: thank you,

richard. >> clerk: next speaker. >> caller: hi, my name is steven gorski, and i'm a 40-plus year resident along the lower great highway. and i want to say we are grateful that the highway has finally been opened, but i want to say this partial opening is going to create problems on the weekends. and having it shut at noon on friday seems ludicrous. but, i believe that the environmental concerns of the sierra club are also concerns of ours as residents, and the various groups that are formed, of neighbors that want it open, and first responders, and to prove my point, the bicycle coalition last week had a rally and they bragged about partying on the sand dunes and destroying --

that's why there is no ice plant. they were all trouncing over it. so i believe that their, quote, unquote, environmentalist view is phony because they would not support that. in addition, i have seen now the path, finally, is 16 feet wide. and we have plenty of photos since the highway was opened that demonstrate walkers, people with strollers and babies and dogs and cyclists on the path. if rec and park would maintain that -- this is the first time in at least eight years -- at least eight years -- and it took katie following and my wife following for finally the path to be cleared somewhat, but that was many moons ago. they need to maintain that. it might be contra to the bicycle coalition because they're trying to use that

space. but i also note, because i can see the highway, that there are people still riding their cycles on the highway in the shoulders -- that's fine. the vehicular traffic is there -- >> clerk: i'm sorry, steven, your time has ended. is there anyone else with their hand raised, paul? >> there are no more hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further callers, general public comment is closed. item 9: commissioner matters. commissioners, would you like to bring anything forward? >> commissioner mcdonald? >> thank you. today, commissioners, i am your equity moment. [laughter] >> i have had the incredible pleasure of serving on this commission for the last eight years. and my term on the commission has come to an

end. and so today will be my final commission meeting. and, again, it has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve. i am eternally grateful. just a few reflections that i would like to share. one, thank you to president buell for his stellar leadership, both in terms of supporting and facilitating these meetings, but also helping to navigate all of the public interests that get expressed in and around our parks on all sides. so i appreciate commissioner buell, your leadership in that regard. i also want to thank our general manager, phil, for ensuring we have the best park district in the country. it continues to be phenomenal. and, in particular, the

leadership around ensuring the department's commitment to centers equity and access in all of our communities and in all of our parks. it is just, and has been, stellar. a few things i'm most proud of -- i'm proud of all that we have done. but a few things i will lift up i'm most proud of: one, the center -- the creation, rather of equity zones, and a commitment to driving resources, capital investments, into these long overlooked and much-in-need communities and neighborhoods has been stellar. the development of the internal equity plan, trying to ensure that internally and externally we are creating an equitable community and department. the department public statement decrying the murder of george floyd and a commitment to continuing to fight racism and systemic oppression of black people, again,

phenomenal. as lisa just shared a few moments ago, "let's play" initiative, eight down and five to go. i look forward to celebrating the remaining five as they come online. and then the commission's commitment to the land acknowledgements, the equity moments, again, as continued evidence of our commitment to all things equitable. i certainly thank all of the commissioners i've had the privilege and pleasure of serving with and alongside. i hope you are as proud as i am of the really great work that we continue to do. and there are many things still to come. lastly, i want to thank mayor ed lee. he honored me with this appointment and demonstrated some confidence in my ability to represent him and to help support lee, this department, and this great work.

so i'm eternally grateful to him. as we reference, we, collectively, in our public statement, i really do believe that parks and open spaces are a perfect space and place to model our commitment to equity for all. and so i really do hope that you all will continue to hold that as a north star that you drive towards, and that you will continue to ensure that every person in every community has access and opportunity to the best of parks and open spaces, and i believe that's what our city deserves. and i'm very confident that is what you all can continue to deliver. and so i conclude with the words of our friend carol bernett: "i'm so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh and sing a song. it ended before you know it comes the time we have

to say so long." thank you so much. [applause] >> bravo. let me say before i call on commissioner mazola, there will be an appropriate time to thank you for your service and contribution. let me go to him since he has his hand raised. >> i have a question on a different subject. >> all right. let me finish my comments, then. commissioner mcdonnell, there are few commissioners and my experience in 11 years who have contributed more to the commission and the department than you. and, as i say, we will appropriately open an occasion to thank you. i also want to say, though, you have served in many ways as the

conscience of the commission. and i think your contribution on the equity and equity measurements that we use in how we evaluate what we are doing have significantly improved thanks to your participation. so you have my heart-felt thanks for all you've done. with that, i see that, yes, the general manager, i see your hand is raised. >> thank you, mr. president. again, i do hope we have some more structured time, whether formal or informal, to celebrate and express our gratitude to vice president mcdonnell. let me just say a few words on behalf of the staff, and they do start with thank you. i think if there were a book written about how to be an engaging, thought full, modern -- an engaging, thoughtful

commissioner with staff, it would be to model your approach. you've always been, first and foremost, a champion of our work. and you have celebrated our work. but beyond that, you have so thoughtfully, and with that incredible conscience that president buell reference, guided us quietly in the background when we needed you. and even when we didn't realize we needed you. [laughter] >> and you have never said no to a request for council, from me or any of my staff. you always show up. you have never put pure politics above the interests of our parks

system. and i just really want to express my gratitude on behalf of our team, and i do want to call out our diversity inclusion committee on equity for all of the advice and guidance you have offered our employees of color. you know, we are so grateful for you. and i just want to express so genuinely our thanks for all of your support in the last eight years. >> thank you, mr. general manager. >> i don't see any other hands up at the moment. as i said, we will have a formal event acknowledging this sad moment. having said that, commissioner mazola, you had an issue you wanted to raise? >> thank you. i had a question on the public comment from earlier, from the italian

heritage committee and the permit they're trying to receive, for the car show at washington square park, and where staff and the general manager are with that. >> chairman: i'll throw that to the general manager. >> sure. obviously we're very supportive of the event and the parade. we have expressed, and will continue to express, our concerns about putting cars in the meadow. as you all know, every space is different. i know there was a reference to hammond hallow earlier. we just spent millions of dollars addressing some very serious soil compaction, irrigation, and drainage issues in the meadow. because of the soil mix and some other very unique qualities in washington square, it is a very delicate space.

and while we completely understand and celebrate the desire, first of all, to celebrate, you know, the italian-american heritage in north beach, and to include vehicles in some way, it is our continued strong suggestion that the vehicles be placed on the roads right on the edge of washington square, utilizing a road closure. so we get to showcase them. we get to celebrate them, they get to be adjacent to the park, but they do not potentially compromise seven-figure investment, which, by the way is still in a relatively fragile place. and so that is our condition. >> so i respectfully disagree with that position. like was mentioned by the callers, they have a car

show in golden gate park. they park hundreds of cars on it. i just drove by crissy field this weekend, and there were tons of events going on that lawn. they take care of the lawn the way they're supposed to and then they move on. i realize a lot of money went into this park, but these guys aren't rookies. they're soliciting advice and recommendations from superintendents from golf courses, including the olympic club, who parks cars at the olympic club all of the time when they have golf events. so there is no reason why we can't do it, too. i'm just not satisfied with that answer, and i would like to bring this up at the next commission meeting, and have it on the agenda, and have the commission take it up and vote on whether or not to let the italian heritage committee have their right to have something they've

been doing for 25 years down there. i don't think it is fair they get shafted, and i'm completely only about that. so i would like to see this on the commission packet next month. >> chairman: thank you, commissioner. are there other comments? seeing none, ashley, let's move on to new business. >> clerk: okay. we are now on -- well, first i have to take public comment on that. if there are any public comment on commissioners' matters, you can dial *3. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> ashley, we have three people on the line and zero hands raised. >> clerk: seeing no public comment, public comment is closed we're now on item 10: into business agenda settings. do any commissioners have

anything new to bring up for item 10? >> chairman: i don't see any. >> clerk: is there any public comment on item 10? >> still three callers on the line and zero hands raised. >> mr. president, can i just reiterate i would like to see that item on the next agenda? >> chairman: yes, that has been noted. >> commissioner, there is probably some progress there. it is an information item, but should -- if the permit requests wishes to appeal our permit decision, then it could potentially end up on the agenda. but the -- we could certainly have an information item to try to air out the issues, but that would be the vehicle for the commission weighing in. >> i disagree. i think it should be an action item. there is no reason why we

can't make it an action item. >> well, let me chat with the city attorney about that before we commit to one way or the other, but i think there is a way to get it before the commission, commissioner mazola. with that, where are we, ashley? no public comment on -- >> clerk: no public comment on that. we are now on item 11: communications. if anyone would like to comment on item 11, you can dial *3. paul, does anyone have their hand raised for item 11? >> zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no further callers, public comment is closed. we're now on item 12: adjournment. >> chairman: let me again follow up on the general manager's report and ask for a motion to adjourn in the memory of carl payne. >> so moved.

>> chairman: so moved. is there a second? >> second. >> chairman: all those in favor? >> aye. >> chairman: thank you, commissioners. i appreciate your time and attendance and participation. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, ashley. >> thanks, ashley. >> big hugs to you, commissioner eric. ♪♪♪

francisco. >> my name is fwlend hope i

would say on at large-scale what all passionate about is peace in the world. >> it never outdoor 0 me that note everyone will think that is a good i know to be a paefrt. >> one man said i'll upsetting the order of universe i want to do since a good idea not the order of universe but his offered of the universe but the ministry sgan in the room chairing sha harry and grew to be 5 we wanted to preach and

teach and act god's love 40 years later i retired having been in the tenderloin most of that 7, 8, 9 some have god drew us into the someplace we became the network ministries for homeless women escaping prostitution if the months period before i performed memorial services store produced women that were murdered on the streets of san francisco so i went back to the board and said we say to do something the number one be a safe place for them to live while he worked on changing 4 months later we were given the building in january of 1998 we opened it as a safe house for women escaping prostitution i've seen those

counselors women find their strength and their beauty and their wisdom and come to be able to affirmative as the daughters of god and they accepted me and made me, be a part of the their lives. >> special things to the women that offered me a chance safe house will forever be a part of the who i've become and you made that possible life didn't get any better than that. >> who've would know this look of this girl grown up in atlanta will be working with produced women in san francisco part of the system that has abused and expedited and obtain identified and degraded women for century around the world and still do at

the embody the spirits of women that just know they deserve respect and intend to get it. >> i don't want to just so women younger women become a part of the the current system we need to change the system we don't need to go up the ladder we need to change the corporations we need more women like that and they're out there. >> we get have to get to help them. >> (clapping.) the airport it where i know to mind visions of traffic romance and excitement and gourmet can you limousine we're at san

francisco inspirational airport to discover the award-winning concession that conspiracies us around the world. sfo serves are more 40 million travelers a year and a lot of the them are hungry there's many restaurant and nearly all are restaurant and cafe that's right even the airport is a diane designation. so tell me a little bit the food program at sfo and what makes this so special >> well, we have a we have food and beverage program at sfo we trivia important the sustainable organic produce and our objective to be a nonterminal and bring in the best food of san francisco for our

passengers. >> i like this it's is (inaudible) i thank my parents for bringing me here. >> this the definitely better than the la airport one thousand times better than. >> i have a double knees burger with bacon. >> i realize i'm on a diet but i'm hoping this will be good. >> it total is san francisco experience because there's so many people and nationalities in this town to come to the airport especially everyone what have what they wanted. >> are repioneering or is this a model. >> we're definitely pioneers and in airport commemoration at

least nationally if not intvrl we have many folks asking our our process and how we select our great operators. >> ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ the food option in san francisco airport are phenomenal that's if it a lot of the airports >> yeah. >> you don't have the choice. >> some airports are all about food this is not many and this particular airport are amazing especially at the tirnl indicating and corey is my favorite i come one or two hours before my flight this is the

life. >> we definitely try to use as many local grirnts as we can we use the goat cheese and we also use local vendors we use greenly produce they summarize the local soured products and the last one had 97 percent open that. >> wow. >> have you taken up anything unique or odd here. >> i've picked up a few things in napa valley i love checking chocolates there's a lot of types of chocolate and caramel corn. >> now this is a given right there. >> i'm curious about the customer externals and how people are richmond to this

collection of cities you've put together not only of san francisco food in san francisco but food across the bay area. >> this type of market with the local savors the high-end products is great. >> i know people can't believe they're in an airport i really joy people picking up things for their friends and family and wait i don't have to be shopping now we want people take the opportunity at our location. >> how long has this been operating in san francisco and the late 18 hours it is one of the best places to get it

coffee. >> we have intrrnl consumers that know of this original outlet here and come here for the coffee. >> so let's talk sandwiches. >> uh-huh. >> can you tell me how you came about naming our sandwiches from the katrero hills or 27 years i thought okay neighborhood and how do you keep it fresh you can answer that mia anyway you want. >> our broadened is we're going not irving preserves or packaged goods we take the time to incubate our jogger art if

scratch people appreciate our work here. >> so you feel like out of captured the airport atmosphere. >> this is its own the city the airline crews and the bag handlers and the frequent travels travelers and we've established relationships it feels good. >> when i get lunch or come to eat the food i feel like i'm not city. i was kind of under the assumption you want to be done with our gifts you are down one time not true >> we have a lot of regulars we didn't think we'd find that here at the airport.

>> people come in at least one a week for that the food and service and the atmosphere. >> the food is great in san francisco it's a coffee and i took an e calorie home every couple of weeks. >> i'm impressed i might come here on my own without a trip, you know, we have kids we could get a babysitter and have diner at the airport. >> this is a little bit of things for everybody there's plenty of restaurant to grab something and go otherwise in you want to sit you can enjoy the experience of local food. >> tell me about the future food. >> we're hoping to bring newer concepts out in san francisco and what our passengers want.

>> i look forward to see what your cooking up (laughter) ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> today we've shown you the only restaurant in san francisco from the comfortableing old stand but you don't have to be hungry sfo has changed what it is like to eat another an airport check out our oblige at tumbler dating.com

>> this is the recreation and park commission. will the secretary please call the role. [roll call taken] >> the san francisco recreation -- this is the recreation and park commission meeting of august 19, 2021. the san francisco recreation and park commission acknowledges that we occupy the unseated ancestoral home land of the maloni people. we honor the