i'm louis lieuman the executive directortor san francisco fleet association. together again in san francisco for fleet week. there was a late decision back in june from the board of directors for the san francisco fleet week association, we struggled with whether we were going to have a fleet week or not. we had to make that call because it takes a long time to organize an event like this and

usually we start in november of the year before for the next fleet week. it's a late start. we had a big discussion. and we decided we're going to do it. we're going to take the risk because we trusted our leaders, mayor breed, the department of emergency management, the department of public health, all of the people who gave us the guidance as a community and it's san franciscans that were smart enough to follow that guidance and here we are, the only live in-person fleet week in the entire nation here in san francisco. thank you, mayor breed. thank you to the leadership, and thank you to san francisco. fleet week's already started. there's ships already at the piers. yesterday, we had a fabulous program with the boys and girls club. a big basketball clinic down in front of [inaudible]

which will be hope for tours. of course, we're all -- we all know about the air show. san francisco fleet week air show presented by united. united stuck with us as did the blue angels. they committed early. they said if you are having a fleet week on the ground, we are having a fleet week in the skies and they are going to be here with their brand new f-18 super hornets, amazing plane and joined by united and redbull and a whole lineup of participants. you can go down there for free and watch. buy the premium tickets with premium sitting. those tickets are, by the way, almost sold out. so if you want them you have to get them. we have the neighborhood concerts. you just got a sample of it right here. [ applause ] the full navy band

southwest is here in town. and they break up into smaller bands and they're going to be in just about every neighborhood you can find in san francisco. check out the website fleetweeksf.org and see where and when they're playing in your area. the ship tours are going to be taking place. you've got to go down there. greet the sailors and marines. say hello to them. welcome them to our city. they are excited to be here in our city and explore the streets of san francisco. the canine program. the dogs of the military, police department, fire department, and array of other organizations bring out their dogs to show their skills. it's a great neighborhood event 10:00 a.m. this saturday. check out fleetweeksf.org or monitor our social media

@fleetweeksf. i'm going to introduce mayor london breed. thank you, mayor london breed. >> well, i don't know about you, but i feel like our city is finally coming alive again after such a challenging almost two years. and when i say two years, it's leading up to this global pandemic. and, in fact, we missed out last year on seeing the incredible blue angels fly over the skyline of san francisco, but we did have programming for fleet week virtually and we went to treasure island to the coast guard base to kick it off, but it still wasn't the same. even though fleet week happened virtually, what i missed most is being around the people and welcoming the folks from the navy, from the coast guard,

from the marines and also doing the incredible work they do in san francisco on preparedness. now, we know we talk about excitement around fleet week and the blue angels, but we also have to keep in mind that this is also an opportunity for us to come together with the port of san francisco, with the fire department, with the police department to talk about preparedness and how we continue to work together so that if and when -- not a matter of if, but when there's an earthquake or a disaster in some capacity, we know we can count on the folks from the military to come through and help us weather the storm. we take this as an opportunity to work together and i want to appreciate the work of many of the city department directors that are here with us today including our fire chief janine nicholson and the fire department, we appreciate you. chief scott is not here, but i

want to appreciate the police department and the work they continue to do to keep us safe as well as along with dr. grant colfax and the woman the department of health. and the director of the port, thank you to our port partners and president of the port commission kimberly brandon for being here with us. you know, we had a lot of work to do and it was very challenging work to do, but let me tell you, it was all worth it because we are celebrating in san francisco. yes, we need to deal with preparedness and disasters and pandemics and other things. and we will come together to do that. but fleet week is opening a new chapter in san francisco. i don't know about you, but i still think about when i was in

high school at gallaleo high school and the planes practicing to get ready for the air show. the air show is coming back with the blue angels. the parade of ship and ship tours which are incredible. i don't know about you again, but those ship tours were like the highlight for me. and, we have this band that's going to be performing all over san francisco in various neighborhoods. i miss live music and, yes, i used to play the french horn, i may not be that good anymore, but i'm willing to take a chance and see if i can join you and i may need a couple of practices before i jump in. but the fact is, they're going to be going to neighborhoods. they're going to be performing for the people of san francisco and we are so very grateful. so for the activities and all the things that are happening for fleet week, please, check out the website and make sure that you participate, you

attend, you follow the covid restrictions so you don't get in trouble. you make sure that you do your part because we're still in a pandemic. we're still in a pandemic, but san franciscans, we're at 82% of the folks in san francisco vaccinated. and that's really why we're able to have fleet week in the city. but more than just fleet week, just next week, i mean, just tomorrow right down the street, guess who's going to be playing their first pre-season game? the san francisco warriors. i mean, the golden state warriors. and, one of the first parades in so long, the italian heritage will be this sunday. we have incredible tables all outside. people are eating, hanging out, waving. so make sure on sunday you stop by the italian heritage parade and celebrate with us.

and i've also got to send out a big shout-out to the san francisco giants who are in the playoffs. and i just want to make sure the folks in l.a. know that the giants are actually number one in the series. so this friday, i heard that "beat l.a." yes. so friday and saturday, they'll be games. they'll be all kinds of activities in san francisco. the city is going to be bumping and all of you are going to be all around our city enjoying it, enjoying our restaurants, staying at our hotels, visiting our neighborhoods, and just do one thing for me. make sure you remember we were in a global pandemic where we had no choice but to protect 1 another. we had to stay home. we had to obey many protocols and we're still doing that in

some capacity today. but, ultimately, we're still able to come together like we haven't been able to do for the last 16, 17 months. so let's make sure when we're out there we're remembering what we didn't have at one point and appreciate where we are and let's celebrate it. let's have a good time. thank you all fur being here. looking forward to celebrate fleet week with all of you. and, at this time, i want to introduce because we are at crane cove park which has a rich history in san francisco with the military and world war i and world war ii and the person who's responsible to keep this place beautiful and nice and clean and available to all of you and hopefully we can add a skate park one day because i like to roller skate, but our port director lane

forbes. >> thank you so much, mayor. and welcome all of you to crane cove park and to fleet week. it's absolutely wonderful we can be here to celebrate. i'm here today with my commission president kimberly brandon and we broke ground on this park. it was wonderful to provide open space to this neighborhood, the dog patch community who actually designed this park. this is a park designed by and for the neighborhood and the mayor came out and under her leadership, we were able to open up this space for people to enjoy the nature while they were all of us struggling from the pandemic. when we had our last fleet week in person, i made a joke that it was diane feinstein, our first mayor who was a woman who saved fleet week and now mayor london breed, our second mayor who is a woman, is so good and

prepared for fleet week and i made the joke that women just know how to prepare better. but how would i know that we would have a global pandemic that none of us were expecting and that our mayor would act really quickly, more quickly than anyone else acted and that she would follow the science the whole way and not question it. and how did i know that our mayor would be so successful that we would be the only country in the whole nation able to post an in-person fleet week and that we'd take the risk to do so and we'd be safe enough to pull it through. now, my tenants, 500 of them, the commercial folks, the retail, the people-moving facilities we have, excursions, crews, we've suffered so much and our tenants and businesses are so eager to get people back

to san francisco. and we're talking so much about the inner connectiveness about being prepared and honoring our sea servicemen and women. this was all for shipbuilding for the war effort. a heavy industrial industry here with these wonderful vessels that provided our security. how did we know now that our tenants would be so eager to see the visitors that come back in great numbers during fleet week and so many locals are coming down. we've had press articles about the war re-opening, pier 39. how our local small businesses are benefitting from this event and how they will be nurtured by people returning. so i think covid has laid bare how inner connected we are and how much we really have to think about community and its entire inner connectedness. and how i was right, women are

better prepared. welcome to fleet week. [ applause ] and now i have the honor of introducing a very important person to san francisco port, the captain of our port for the coast guard, newly in the position, a great leader, let's welcome captain taylor lamb. >> thank you, director forbes, for that great introduction. what a pleasure it is to be here with you today as we kick off fleet week 2021. on behalf of the district commander and all of our members across the state of california, we could not be more excited ton here as we highlight our u.s. military, u.s. navy, marine corps and coast guard members, our emergency first responders, our emergency management professionals and certainly the greater maritime community at large. on that note, i'd like to quickly convey our sincere

thanks to the critical partnerships here in the port of san francisco as we work daily to ensure the safety and security of not only the public but our marine transportation system. on the note of safety, i'd be remiss if i didn't remind our boating public, please ensure you have enough life jackets for all passengers on board and a v.h.f. radio. it's the best means to contact the coast guard for any time of maritime emergencies. with that, we are really excited and looking forward to a safe and enjoyable week of events and look forward to introducing you to some of our nearly 4,000 active duty coast guard members here and assigned to the bay area and some of 0 our visiting coast guard units such as robert ward. it's a 154' state of the art designed ship capable of conducting a myriad of missions.

search and rescue, operations just to name a few. we thank you, mayor breed, for your leadership and all of our partners here across the region. thank you so much. [ applause ] i'd also be remiss if i did not introduce a very distinguished leader admiral u.s. navy. admiral. >> hey, everybody. thank you so much. thanks to the mayor. thanks to these distinguished colleagues for letting me be up here. i'm honored to represent the sailors marines, coast guard men and women that i hope you get a chance to meet this week. i'll start out by saying wow. it's great to be here in person. i'm so happy fleet week was able to execute because of the city's preparations and for me,

it feels a little bit like a homecoming because the last time i had a fleet week experience, it was here in 2014. and i was part of the crew on that. it was awesome. it was epic. probably second only to meeting my wife for the first time. sorry, that's just where things go. it's because of the hospitality of the city. i'm super excited to bring the young people and show them what fleet week is life for the first time in their careers. so this year, fleet week is going to be epic. we've brought a slew of ships. the u.s.s. john mccain. and we're going to have a pretty big amphibious assault ship, the mount rushmore. we're going to have aircrafts and boats. it's not just the navy. it's the coast guard, support

services, first responders. we're setting up a disaster relief village over in marina green. this is all about showing you the type of capabilities we have to work together with the city in times of crisis. navy and marine corps band. every day they're at a different venue. we've got parades. we've got parades on the water. we've got parades on the land. we've got an air group. i don't know who they are. the blue angels. have you all heard of them? [ applause ] i'm a helicopter guy, but they're kind of cool you've got to admit. and the most important thing, i'm bringing a lot of young sailors, marines, coast guard men and women and we're telling them to get out and about in the community. ya'll clap for them, please. [ applause ] so they're getting beaten by your youngsters in sports. they're working with dogs which is a cool initiative, but the main thing i want them to do is

get out and talk to ya'll about who they are, what they do, and why they serve because that's what fleet week is all about. it's about civilians celebrating their military, but it's also what we're all about. it's really important. so we missed 2020 because of covid, we overcame that. absence makes the heart grow fonder. so this year is going to be epic as i said. i think it's going to be the best fleet week ever. i look forward to seeing you out there. it means a lot to me personally. it's a good feeling. i'm not going to lie, but also to our military families to see themselves and being recognized like this. and now i have the honor to introduce -- i'll pass the mic to our executive director mary ellen carol. thank you so much.

[ applause ] >> thank you, admiral bayes, for that introduction. thank you, mayor breed. and it's such an honor to be here with my esteemed colleagues. it's also a thrill to be here and not talking about covid and not telling you what you can't do, but just really to send the message to have fun and, of course, be safe. but on a serious note, we do -- my team and i are part of fleet week. that is so important to us and the partnership and the planning that we do with our military partners. so we really focus on all different things. this year, we focused on air support and activities for san francisco in a seismic event. the possibility of us becoming an island for all intensive purposes for some period of time is real and so our marine

and our air support with our military is critical. on a day-to-day, the coast guard provides us with help on our waters, around our bay. as a surfer and a bay swimmer, i personal appreciate it in case things go awry but during nature events of course. this year, we have -- last month, we did exercises with all of our partners and the u. s.s. tripoli. and a lot of the people from d.m. had an incredible day at moffet field and really experienced the capabilities that the military brings to us and those relationships that we make. these relationships with these people that we make every year

is going to make our ability to respond so much better. later this week, we have the seniors seminar and that's where we're really going to exchange our lessons learned. we are so proud of our covid response and so much of that goes to the leadership of this woman right here, our mayor. the fact that we have 82% of our folks vaccinated is entirely the reason that we're all here being able to do fleet week. so thank you, mayor breed. [ applause ] and thank you to everybody in the city who contributed to that. so we're going to talk about the things that worked for us. we're going to talk about a lot of other things. virtual op's, when that needs to happen. mental health which is a real issue and problem for us and a lot more. so i hope everyone takes the opportunity to come out to the senior leader seminar. the only other thing i have to say is just, please, have a wonderful time, be safe and

welcome to our service, our servicemen and women. it is our honor and our privilege to welcome you to our city and we hope you have a wonderful time. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, mary ellen. thank you to all of our speakers. thank you to elaine forbes and the port of san francisco, which is a whole community of people who helped to make the work of fleet week easier for the planners. the wharfingers. the people have just been flawless throughout this whole planning process. and thank you for this beautiful park. it's beautiful. crane cove park. and i cannot leave the stage without pointing out that our chairman of the board retired

major general mike might retired marine corps is the guy who pulled this back together in 2010 to recessitate fleet week. thank you, general, for all of your support. i think we're going to conclude the conference. we're going to have the speakers gather in front of the stage for a photo-op and we're going to gather for q and a if anyone desires. thank you very much.

a city like no other, san francisco has been a beacon of hope, and an ally towards lgbtq equal rights. [♪♪] >> known as the gay capital of america, san francisco has been at the forefront fighting gay civil rights for decades becoming a bedrock for the historical firsts. the first city with the first openly gay bar. the first pride parade. the first city to legalize gay marriage.

the first place of the iconic gay pride flag. established to help cancel policy, programses, and initiatives to support trans and lgbtq communities in san francisco. >> we've created an opportunity to have a seat at the table. where trans can be part of city government and create more civic engagement through our trans advisory committee which advises our office and the mayor's office. we've also worked to really address where there's gaps across services to see where we can address things like housing and homelessness, low income, access to small businesses and employment and education. so we really worked across the board as well as meeting overall policies.

>> among the priorities, the office of transgender initiatives also works locally to track lgbtq across the country. >> especially our young trans kids and students. so we do a lot of work to make sure we're addressing and naming those anti-trans policies and doing what we can to combat them. >> trans communities often have not been included at the policy levels at really any level whether that's local government, state government. we've always had to fend for ourselves and figure out how to care for our own communities. so an office like this can really show and become a model for the country on how to really help make sure that our entire community is served by the city and that we all get opportunities to participate because, in the end, our entire

community is stronger. >> the pandemic underscored many of the inequities they experienced on a daily basis. nonetheless, this health crisis also highlighted the strength in the lgbtq and trans community. >> several of our team members were deployed as part of the work at the covid command center and they did incredit able work there both in terms of navigation and shelter-in-place hotels to other team members who led equity and lgbtq inclusion work to make sure we had pop-up testing and information sites across the city as well as making sure that data collection was happening. we had statewide legislation that required that we collected information on sexual orientation and our team worked so closely with d.p.h. to make sure those questions were included at testing site but also throughout the whole

network of care. part of the work i've had a privilege to be apart of was to work with o.t.i. and a community organization to work together to create a coalition that met monthly to make sure we worked together and coordinated as much as we could to lgbtq communities in the city. >> partnering with community organizations is key to the success of this office ensuring lgbtq and gender nonconforming people have access to a wide range of services and places to go where they will be respected. o.t.i.'s trans advisory committee is committed to being that voice. >> the transgender advisory counsel is a group of amazing community leaders here in san francisco. i think we all come from all walks of life, very diverse, different backgrounds, different expertises, and i think it's just an amazing group of people that have a vision to make san francisco a

true liberated city for transgender folks. >> being apart of the grou allows us to provide more information on the ground. we're allowed to get. and prior to the pandemic, there's always been an issue around language barriers and education access and workforce development. now, of course, the city has been more invested in to make sure our community is thriving and making sure we are mobilizing. >> all of the supervisors along with mayor london breed know that there's still a lot to be done and like i said before, i'm just so happy to live in a city where they see trans folks and recognize us of human

beings and know that we deserve to live with dignity and respect just like everybody else. >> being part of the trans initiative has been just a great privilege for me and i feel so lucky to have been able to serve for it for so far over three years. it's the only office of its kind and i think it's a big opportunity for us to show the country or the world about things we can do when we really put a focus on transgender issues and transgender communities. and when you put transgender people in leadership positions. >> thank you, claire. and i just want to say to claire farly who is the leader of the office of transgender initiatives, she has really taken that role to a whole other level and is currently a grand marshal for this year's s.f. prize. so congratulations, claire. >> my dream is to really look at where we want san francisco to be in the future. how can we have a place where

we have transliberation, quality, and inclusion, and equity across san francisco? and so when i look five years from now, ten years from now, i want us to make sure that we're continuing to lead the country in being the best that we can be. not only are we working to make sure we have jobs and equal opportunity and pathways to education, employment, and advancement, but we're making sure we're taking care of our most impacted communities, our trans communities of color, trans women of color, and black trans women. and we're making sure we're addressing the barriers of the access to health care and mental health services and we're supporting our seniors who've done the work and really be able to age in place and have access to the services and resources they deserve. so there's so much more work to do, but we're really proud of the work that we've done so far.

[♪♪] >> we worked very hard with the san francisco venue coalition, the independent venue alliance to advocate for venues. put this issue on the radar of the supervisors and obviously mayor breed. the entertainment commission and the office of small business and we went to meetings and showed up and did public comment and it was a concerted effort between 50 venues in the city and they are kind of traditional like live performance venues and we all made a concerted effort to get out there and sound the

alarm and to her credit, maybe breed really stepped up, worked with matt haney, who is a supervisor haney was a huge champion for us and they got this done and they got $3 million into the sf venue recovery fund. >> we have represented about 40 independent venues in san francisco. basically, all the venues closed on march 13th, 2020. we were the first to close and we will be the last to reopen and we've had all the of the overhead costs are rent, mortgage, payroll, utilities and insurance with zero revenue. so many of these venues have been burning $1,000 a day just to stay closed.

>> we have a huge music history here in san francisco and the part of our cultural fab lick but it's also an economic driver. we produce $7 billion annual' here in san francisco and it's formidable. >> we've been very fortunate here. we've had the department of emergency management and ems division and using part of our building since last april and aside from being proud to i can't tell you how important to have some cost recovery coming in and income to keep the doors open. >> typically we'll have, three to 400 people working behind the

teens to support the show and that is everything from the teamsters and security staff and usualers, ticket takers, the folks that do our medical and the bar tenders and the people in the kitchen preparing food for backstage and concession and the people that sell key shirts and it's a pretty staggering amount of people that are out of work as a result of this one verne you going tarkanian. it doesn't work to open at reduced capacity. when we get past june 15th, out of the into the blue print for our economy we can open it it 100% and look at the festival in full capacity in october and we're just so grateful for the leadership of the mavor and dr. coal fax to make us the safest ♪ america and this is

been hard for everybody in san francisco and the world but our leadership has kept us safe and i trust them that they will let us know when it's safe to do that. >> a lot of people know about america is military stuff, bullying stuff, corporate stuff. when people like me and my friends go to these foreign country and play music, we're giving them an american cultural experience. it's important. the same way they can bring that here. it sounds comfy buyia, you know, we're a punk band and we're nasty and we were never much for peace and love and everything but that's the fertilizer that grows the big stuff that some day goes to bill graham's place and takes everybody's money but you have to start with us and so my hope is that allel groups and

people make music and get together because without out, hanging together we'll hang separately, you know. >> other venues like this, all over the place, not just in the san francisco bay area need to exist in order for communities to thrive and i'm not just talking about the arts communities, even if you are here to see a chuckle bucket comedy show and you are still experiencing humanity and in specific ways being able to gather with people and experience something together. and especially coming out of the pandemic, the loss of that in-person human connection recovering that in good ways is going to be vital for our entire society. >> it's a family club. most our staff has been working

with us for 10 years so we feel like a family. >> what people think of when they think of bottom of the hill and i get a lot of this is first of all, the first place i met my husband or where we had our first date and i love that and we love doing weddings and i expect there to be a wedding season post 2021 of all the make up we haddings and i hope that many people do that because we have had so many rock ep role weddings. >> i told my girlfriend, make sure you stand at the front of the stage and i can give you a kiss at midnight. at this got down on one knee at the stroke of midnight. it wasn't a public thing, i got down on one knee and said will you marry me and is he she had are you [beep] kidding me and i said no, i'm dead serious and

she said yes. we were any time homicideel of the show. we just paused for new year's eve and that was where i proposed to my wife. this is more than just a professional relationship it's more than just a relationship from a love of arts, it's where my family started. we'll always have a special place in my heart. >> venues, you know, represent so much. they are cultural beckons of a city. neighbors can learn and celebrate and mourn and dance together. venues and arts and culture are characterized as second responders to crisis and they provide a mental health outlet and a community center for people to come together at and it's the shared history of our city and these spaces is where we all come together and can

celebrate. >> art often music opens up people to understanding the fellow man and i mean, taz always necessary and if anything, it's going to be even more necessary as we come out of this to reach out and connect with people. >> we can sustain with food, water and shelter is accurate and does anybody have a good time over the last year? no. >> san francisco is a great down. i've been here many years and i love it here and it's a beautiful, beautiful, place to be music and art is key to that. drama, acting, movies, everything, everything that makes life worth living and that's what we've got to mow proteasome no san francisco and that's what is important now.

[♪♪♪]

. >> president yee: of the 26 neighborhoods we have in west portal, it's probably the most unique in terms of a small little town. you can walk around here, and it feels different from the rest of san francisco. people know each other. they shop here, they drink wine here. what makes it different is not only the people that live here, but the businesses, and without all these establishments, you wouldn't know one neighborhood from the other. el toreador is a unique

restaurant. it's my favorite restaurant in san francisco, but when you look around, there's nowhere else that you'll see decorations like this, and it makes you feel like you're in a different world, which is very symbolic of west portal itself. >> well, the restaurant has been here since 1957, so we're going on 63 years in the neighborhood. my family came into it in 1987, with me coming in in 1988. >> my husband was a designer, and he knew a lot about art, and he loved color, so that's what inspired him to do the decorations. the few times we went to mexico, we tried to get as many things as we can, and we'd

bring it in. even though we don't have no space, we try to make more space for everything else. >> president yee: juan of the reasons we came up with the legacy business concept, man eel businesses were closing down for a variety of reasons. it was a reaction to trying to keep our older businesses continuing in the city, and i think we've had some success, and i think this restaurant itself is probably proof that it works. >> having the legacy business experience has helped us a lot, too because it makes it good for us because we have been in business so long and stayed here so long. >> we get to know people by name, and they bring their children, so we get to know

them, also. it's a great experience to get to know them. supervisor yee comes to eat at the restaurant, so he's a wonderful customer, and he's very loyal to us. >> president yee: my favorite dish is the chile rellenos. i almost never from the same things. my owner's son comes out, you want the same thing again? >> well, we are known for our mole, and we do three different types of mole. in the beginning, i wasn't too familiar with the whole legacy program, but san francisco, being committed to preserve a lot of the old-time businesses, it's important to preserve a lot of the old time flavor of

these neighborhoods, and in that capacity, it was great to be recognized by the city and county of san francisco. >> i've been here 40 years, and i hope it will be another 40 year >> my name is alan schumer. i am a fourth generation san franciscan. in december, this building will be 103 years of age. it is an incredibly rich, rich history. [♪♪♪] >> my core responsibility as city hall historian is to keep

the history of this building alive. i am also the tour program manager, and i chair the city advisory commission. i have two ways of looking at my life. i want it to be -- i wanted to be a fashion designer for the movies, and the other one, a political figure because i had some force from family members, so it was a constant battle between both. i ended up, for many years, doing the fashion, not for the movies, but for for san franciscan his and then in turn, big changes, and now i am here. the work that i do at city hall

makes my life a broader, a richer, more fulfilling than if i was doing something in the garment industry. i had the opportunity to develop relationships with my docents. it is almost like an extended family. i have formed incredible relationships with them, and also some of the people that come to take a tour. she was a dressmaker of the first order. i would go visit her, and it was a special treat. i was a tiny little girl. i would go with my wool coat on and my special little dress because at that period in time, girls did not wear pants. the garment industry had the -- at the time that i was in it and i was a retailer, as well as the designer, was not particularly

favourable to women. you will see the predominant designers, owners of huge complexes are huge stores were all male. women were sort of relegated to a lesser position, so that, you reached a point where it was a difficult to survive and survive financially. there was a woman by the name of diana. she was editor of the bazaar, and evoke, and went on and she was a miraculous individual, but she had something that was a very unique. she classified it as a third i. will lewis brown junior, who was mayor of san francisco, and was the champion of reopening this building on january 5th of

1999. i believe he has not a third eye , but some kind of antenna attached to his head because he had the ability to go through this building almost on a daily basis during the restoration and corrects everything so that it would appear as it was when it opened in december of 1915. >> the board of supervisors approved that, i signed it into law. jeffrey heller, the city and county of san francisco oh, and and your band of architects a great thing, just a great thing. >> to impart to the history of this building is remarkable. to see a person who comes in with a gloomy look on their face , and all of a sudden you start talking about this building, the gloomy look

disappears and a smile registers across their face. with children, and i do mainly all of the children's tours, that is a totally different feeling because you are imparting knowledge that they have no idea where it came from, how it was developed, and you can start talking about how things were before we had computer screens, cell phones, lake in 1915, the mayor of san francisco used to answer the telephone and he would say, good morning, this is the mayor. >> at times, my clothes make me feel powerful. powerful in a different sense. i am not the biggest person in

the world, so therefore, i have to have something that would draw your eye to me. usually i do that through color, or just the simplicity of the look, or sometimes the complication of the look. i have had people say, do those shoes really match that outfit? retirement to me is a very strange words. i don't really ever want to retire because i would like to be able to impart the knowledge that i have, the knowledge that i have learned and the ongoing honor of working in the people's palace. you want a long-term career, and

you truly want to give something to do whatever you do, so long as you know that you are giving to someone or something you're then yourself. follow your passion and learn how to enrich the feelings along the way. [♪♪♪]

>> my family's starts in mexico in a small town. my parents are from a very, very small town. so small, that my dad's brother is married to one of my mom's sisters. it's that small. a lot of folks from that town are here in the city. like most immigrant families, my parents wanted a better life for us. my dad came out here first. i think i was almost two-years-old when he sent for us. my mom and myself came out here.

we moved to san francisco early on. in the mission district and moved out to daily city and bounced back to san francisco. we lived across the street from the ups building. for me, when my earliest memories were the big brown trucks driving up and down the street keeping us awake at night. when i was seven-years-old and i'm in charge of making sure we get on the bus on time to get to school. i have to make sure that we do our homework. it's a lot of responsibility for a kid. the weekends were always for family. we used to get together and whether we used to go watch a movie at the new mission theater and then afterwards going to kentucky fried chicken. that was big for us. we get kentucky fried chicken on sunday. whoa! go crazy! so for me, home is having something where you are all together. whether it's just together for dinner or whether it's together for breakfast or sharing a special moment at the holidays.

whether it's thanksgiving or christmas or birthdays. that is home. being so close to berkley and oakland and san francisco, there's a line. here you don't see a line. even though you see someone that's different from you, they're equal. you've always seen that. a rainbow of colors, a ryan bow of personalities. when you think about it you are supposed to be protecting the kids. they have dreams. they have aspirations. they have goals. and you are take that away from them. right now, the price is a hard fight. they're determined. i mean, these kids, you have to applaud them. their heart is in the right place. there's hope. i mean, out here with the things changing everyday, you just hope the next administration makes a change that makes things right. right now there's a lot of

changes on a lot of different levels. the only thing you hope for is for the future of these young kids and young folks that are getting into politics to make the right move and for the folks who can't speak. >> dy mind motion. >> even though we have a lot of fighters, there's a lot of voice less folks and their voiceless because they're scared.

>> supervisor melgar: good afternoon. this meeting will come to order. welcome to the san francisco land use and transportation committee meeting of the san francisco board of supervisors. the clerk today is erica major, and i would also like to acknowledge and thank the sfgovtv for staffing this meeting and bringing it to your homes. madam clerk, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes, madam chair. the minutes will reflect that the committee members participated in this