this meeting will come to order. welcome to the monday may 23 meeting of rules of san francisco board of supervisors. i'm supervisor matt dorsey chair. i'm joined by my colleagues vice

chair walon and safai. i want to express gratitude to our clerk victor young. thank you to the team at sfgovtv for broadcasting today's meeting our producer michael batczar. do you have announcements. >> board of sprierdzs and committee have hybrid meetings. and providing remote access via 12 phone. >> first and then we will take those who are waiting on the phone line. public comment number is streaming across the stream. you will hear the meeting but mutes and in listening mode only. when your item come up and public comment is called those in person line up to speak and those on the line dial star 33 to be added to the peeshg line. if you are on the phone, remember to turn down your tv and all listening devices you

may be using. you may submit comment in writing. e mail them to rule's clerk victor. young sfgov.org. and you misend written comments u.s. mail to city hall. 1 dr. carlton b. goodlett place room 244. san francisco, california. 94102. items acted on upon today are expected to appear at the board of supervisor's agenda on june 6, 2023 unless otherwise stated. of >> thank you. would you call items 1, 2 and 3 together. >> a motion approving rejecting the nomination for reappointment of el11 schumer on the preservation hall advisory commission. item 2, a motion approving rejekeling the mayor's nommation of mae woo term ending january

13 of 2026. item 3. approving the mayor's nomination for clarence blanchard to the commission term ending january of 2024. there are 3 candidates before us, 2 hear reappointment and one nominated for a first term as stated in the code this body is responsible ensure the historical character and beauty preserved in the facilities are maintained cording to the highest standard not allow to fall in disrepair well is pride san franciscans have and as a member of board of supervisors we sit in this beautiful chamber this reminds how special this build and our city are. i want to thank all nominee for willingness to serve. this is something we seat work that the body does.

i want to first invite ellen schumer. i will say my understanding that she has a tour after this we will probably see if there are questions for you but ms. schumer. woman to rules. floor is yours >> good morning and thank you. the building really is beautiful. there is nothing else like it in the world. and everyone this come throughout doors whether on goodlet or van ness should appreciate this structure. it is the finest example of municipal art built at the time. and it is now 107 years of age.

thank you supervisor safai. >> i wanted say a few words. thank you, chair and ms. schumer we have a bit of quite a bit of history in this building not a little bit quite a bill san francisco city hall is a story of resilience and a city coming back after the 1906 quake and fire ournd mayor roth city hall reopenod april 5 of 1915 what can be done when the city pulls together and everyone works toward a common goal n. 1989 it was damaged again and leaders same together to renovate it through the 95 bond measure. on january 5 of 99 mayor brown reopen today in the preservation of maintenance remain a top priority for our city we enjoy

every day. and even coming in this chamber gives me i don't know chills but it makes me happy ever time i step in this chamber. i'm pleased that mayor breed reappointed 2 outstanding commissioners here with mrs. shum and mae woo and clarence blanchard. i support all of these appointments and thank the commissioners for wellingness to serve am our amazing city and for ms. schumer we see her almost every day walking, guiding people. bringing in students and bring nothing people from out of city. and out of the city hall and making the experience a wonderful experience. really appreciate your service, ms. shum and all of the appointise. they have my full spchlt thank you. >> thank you supervisor safai. seeing no one else.

mechanic ms. schumer. >> and next up we havey mae woo. i don't know if show is visible online. i did contact ms. woo. she is aware of the meeting but we were poseed provide instructionos how to connect but unable to get her on the phone. >> okay. >> then, let's hear from clarence blanchard. >> mr. blanchard? floor is yours. welcome to rules committee. >> thank you. appreciate the opportunity to speak. one thing i did not mention another thing we got a lot of always give guidance of may be a couple minutes if you have a presentation there is one thing we'll hear from a lot of people i want to observe in fairness

the time limit. thank you. i started my career in this industry in 1962. with the navy, construction battalions. we built and protected things we built. and that was a good experience and i graduated from school. i was stationed the defense laboratory 7 story build nothing d10. i'm sure supervisor walton is aware of it. we learned analyze and monitor nuclear radiation. deployed to the test site where we had test this is was a good experience. from that 40 years later i was affected with radiation poisoning. city hired me in 1970 as an electrician that allows

mow it do maintenance and repair on various buildings. fire house. laguna honda, police stations and this building. this building was unique every part that we found that failed we could not get on line. we could not go to lows i enjoyed pin taining this building there was a strike in 76 and went in private practice i'm involved in the courtroom remodel at the supreme court building across the street where we are doing the same thing with the av system i appreciate this opportunity and hope you consider me. thank you, much. thank you very much. for your service.

seeing no comments can you sit down. >> thank you. >> why don't we open this up to public comment. yes. member hos wish to speak in person lineup for those remote on the line press star 3 to enter the speaker line. i want to express my support for clarence blanchard we have a

shared love of the park. i wanted let everyone about he is an amazing community member and willing to serve. can we have our next caller, please yoochlt david pilpel. want to speak briefly in support ellen schumer's reappointment. el7 a fantastic historian. y support her reappointment to this body. >> thank you that completesure call in speakers. >> thank you. public comment is now closed. >> and i would tloik make a motion it strike reyekt where it appear in all 3 motions and send the items for approval.

>> mr. clerk. >> yes, on the motion to delete reject and all 3 motion and to recommend as amended, vice chair walton. >> aye. >> supervisor sa fei. >> aye jovment chair dorsey. >> aye >> the motion passes. >> thank you on a unanimous vote the mayoral reappointments and appointments to the city hall preservation commission elenshumary item 21. woo, 2 and blanchard 3 move to the full board for approval. >> >> item 4a pointing 9 member ending december 23 of 24 to the cannabis oversight committee. we have sorry. 9 seats and 18 applicants.

i want to thank whoefrn applied the cannabis oversight commission had is a relatively new commission this is the second set of members ash pointed. commission coupled with drastic changes to the industry in the past 7 years makes serving on this a task i appreciate everyone who apply exclude encourage whoefrn is not selected stay in touch and apply for other vacancies where there may be eljiblth for and skefsh on other bodies before hearing everybody i want to read off the requirements for the seats. and seats that have in the received applicants. seat 8 is equity program. 9 cultivationor distributor with

less than 20 employees. seat 10 we don't have any eligible applicants is for organizationed labor. seat 11 organized labor with works with delivery. seat 12. store front retailer. seat 13 equity. 14, state regulations. [inaudible]. seat 16 patient or consumerer for the last 5 years. >> i continuing is a trade off when we have prescriptive it for applicants a situation we say, no to good people because you don't fit neatly in something that was prescribed years ago. that is something i want to hear

from the cannabis community is this is what we mode to look at to be participation and always being we are always mindful of diversity there is only one female this . is sometimes when you balance a prescriptive seat requirement there are trade off in that. usually our committee will wait until after applications are received before a hearing this body has not met for months. there are discussed in the industry. we have received applications, thank you for joining remotely. we have so many folk who is applied. thank you for your comments. and and interrupt thank you is

not something tindz to be rude i want to get everyone time and do it fair low that said, i want to start the hearing with the one person who is reapplied after serving one term and after i will call people up in order listed on the agendaful mr. ja malian. >> thank you for holds thanksgiving meeting this is i third iteration of the cannabis oversight mittee i served on 2 of them. and chaired the last session. i'm honored to run again i would like to get appointed i now chair the state mittee allows me to bridge the gap with local and state laws which [inaudible] i agree with everything you said. would be great to have more female voices but there is

important work to be done exit look forward to working on it if i get reappointed thank you for your time. >> thank you mr. ja malian. seeing no questions let's ask okay. i think supervisor safai will save comment and questions for the end. can we invite alexander. >> [inaudible]. good morning supervisors and rules committee. i'm alexander, i am going for seat 8. equity seat. so -- i have been i will try to keep comments brief i'm a local business owner born and raised in san francisco. gradual up in the fillmore and represent the demographics that mission initiative created to

impact the i embody all of those descriptions. i want to ensurety decisions made in the space affect my community. which is impacted by the war on drug and the stigma of the medicine we know as cannabis. i want to be an example to those in my community and it is possible to make it in this place. as far as my experience i have i back grundz in entrepreneurship on all 41s worked in sales and finance for years. i have a cannabis courteous in 2019 and attended sf success equity since 2019, completed my business training with the dream keeper initiate itch. i specialize business experience to working in the local industry. and i volunteer with the sf

communities center. sorry if i'm talking fast. i would like to emphasize i'm the only equity applying that have business 100%. i navigated every support whether planning department and all of the hearings and everything this come with this. i think that the best place to have this seat based on that and i wanted to positively impact my community and show them is possible. and -- that does it i will keep my comments short there is more that guess into it i have support from our community here in san francisco. i don't have corporate interests it just me temperature is important for machine with my experience and to sit on this board and thank you. bye. >> thank you, alexander next is

deshawn davis for seat 8, 12 and 13. hey everybody. how you doing? 2 minutes here. >> so everybody i'm deshawn daves i'm a san francisco native i was born here. i guess going to who i am, i have opened several businesses in san francisco. i have been a business owner here since 2002. i have volunteered at boys and girls club and also a part of the warrior's transition coming to san francisco. i'm not only equity advocate a business owner and retail shop

owner. the reason why i'm signing up i wanted leave the program better than what it is. i wanted to the next people coming in the next generation. like alex. holding a position in the community. it is hard to explain how important it is for everyone to see it grow and see us win. the conversations i had around cannabis and equity in the city its not just about the cannabis per se but all of us together winning as a community. inclusion.

i knowledge that's t. that's it. >> great. thank you, much mr. daves. and next up is donaldson for seats 8, 12 and 14. >> thank you. and just for everyone's information there is i am rung the time are for 2 minutes when you have 30 seconds left you will hear a soft chime had 2 minutes is up a louder chime. >> thank you for allowing me. it is on. pull it closer. i have a microphone it gets higher. >> use the other microphone it reaches higher. wroo you know thanks for allowing me the time to present

here and speak on my behalf for the cannabis oversight committee. i'm a native. grew up in potrero hill and north beach neighborhoods. i attended marshall high school graduate exclude went to uc merced degree in business management before i moved back here to pursue my career in mall business. today i am applying for seats 8, 12 and 13 on the san francisco cannabis oversight committee to go to my experience. over the last 5 years i gained an amount of knowledge and experience to understand what it is like to prit i cannabis retail company in san francisco. since january 2020, i have been the ceo and equity applicant for the california street cannabis

company now has 2 businesses will. i had dealt with nuances of permitting process. i dealt with the difficulties of growing, of growing a highly taxed and overly regulated business in san francisco. i dealt with security and safety, in cannabis business and limited access and resources for us. and with this experience i believe i have an ideal perspective that can help inform city leaders about realities of the industry. and come up with solutions that encourage growth and sustainability in the san francisco cannabis market. thank you for your consideration. >> thank you, mr. dondzsonful next is joshua weitz.

an applicant for seats 8, 12 or 13. >>, steamed members of rowels i'm joshua weitz. i serve as ceo a cannabis retail balance and a pioneer of the sf social equity program since inception i'm pursuing 2 retail permits. i'm asking for your consideration to fill the seats 8, 12 and then on the committee i think my time will be best to serve the community. i contributed to the an fran human right's commission on discussions on effective program in 2017. at that time transitioning out of rooiker's island

>> in from behind bars we reflected on the criminal justice system and hopelessness that ensnares those. after his release my father died and as i raised my son over here with my sister i'm committed to embodying that same sacrifice and dedication he showed me. and setting a service or yentsed example for my son to emulate. the market is in crisis. more resort to the under ground economy and applicants are diselusioned questioning if legalization is worth the struggle. i can walk in one path. [reading fast]. in maen manufacturing i recognize our city interconnectedness. retailers outlets for our products. we need more opportunity for inspect brandses to be created in the city and more less

restricted events to sell to the public. we must address the threat of over saturation and robbery and violence to prevent retail failure. we require on going opportunity in a continuing shifting economic landscape, grant support, technical and training path ways to employment in cannabis. i request your consideration of my voice i aim to use my experience to bring the changes we need as a cannabis community, thank you for your time and wish you an amazing day. >> thank you. mr. weitz. next up is roomwad connolly for seats 8 or 12. is he online?

i believe he is logged in. you can speak at this time. he is not commenting. may be we can come back >> okay. he is online now. >> okay. we'll come back. next up is adam haze. mr. haze is for seat 9. >> good morning. supervisors and rules committee i'm adam haze i'm a co-owner of cents which is a cannabis brand and company in san francisco.

this has been an operator here in san francisco since 2016. pre-existing legacy operator and through the law changes with the stele in 2018. it is important to serve on a board like this. there are not many operators left. under the previous laws if the rec market i have experience running my mall company. we have a mall team of sick employees. and navigating the community and market for many years and have still surverified. have a wealth of knowledge when it miss to what it is like to operate a business such as ours

in the city of san francisco, which is not very easy. o i think i can bring a lot to the table by sharing my experience and have a voice for companies like ours. thank you. thank you. mr. haze. >> we have mr. connolly back with us. >> great. >> he is in queue. can you hear us? mr. connolly can you hear us. you having technical issues? keep cannot hear you. we will take your comment later in the meeting. okay. >> so then next up is apolo

wallace. an applicant for seat 11. >> good morning. welcome. >> good morning to the committee thank you for your time i'm apolo wallace from 2785 born and raised in san francisco in the lower haight. 25 year teamster the last year and a half i have been organizing cannabis deliver competence warehousers. i did a start to finish campaign with grass door, 100 person unit. we won that campaign exterior currently negotiating their contract. and i'm in the middle of another with another delivery company

and have another lined up. i deal with the workers are aspect and their point of view the entire time. i deal with them constant 3 and have been put as their business agent. i deal with the work and you think i have a good points of view. thank you. thank you. next up perry jones. perry jones an applicant for seat 12. perry jones online? hello, everyone. i like to thank the board of supervisors and anyone who showed up to support the agenda. i'm perry jones a lifetime native of san francisco. i started this journey unfortunately on the [inaudible] by being targeted by the war on drugs. i was impacted and incarcerated on a school campus having marijuana. that is something that drove me want to to have justice got me involved in the cannabis industry i am a teamster myself. but and besides my skill in the

trades i'm focused on the cannabis. went to a university i mirj in the cannabis civics and engaged with the cannabis community educating and public engagementment i have been able to start my own 100% own company. upon company by myself [inaudible] and have been able to incorporate that and partnerships where i was able to get my permit. the [inaudible]. was passd and need to move forward with a perimism purchased a building in the mission district. as far as retail i appreciate the opportunity to educate the community more around legal can combis provide safe access. i believe i was a great candidate and verse when it come

to the law and the policies and also changing the narrative being an african-american male it the industry which is new. tell be a great to have a face and expertise such as mine and great partnership with chop it is to have the expertise in retail. i like to share that experience in addition to my personal experience to further the agenda of the cannabis industry and where we are. and sdparz the over site committee a great idea but i like to see room for improvement and i will want to come in to be able to have that narrative my perspective and those who are under represented incarcerated or don't have the opportunitiful i appreciate you being able to make that and learn and share my life experience. why great. thank you, mr. jones. next is wayiat lynn.

for seat 12. >> good morning. supervisors i'm we at lynn in the medical cannabis space since 2013. my experience has been operator since 2013 and currently i run another legacy cannabis retail store in union scare. founder of 710sf a supporter of establish and want growth of cannabis operators and the equity program. the designed access to the industry promote ownership and employment opportunity for the social equity applicants invest in infrastructure for historically disinfranchised communities and the impact of the drug enforce am policy. my firm is providing technical assistance to 3 applicants who

are applying for cannabis business permits in san francisco. we prioritize hiring of equity and individual his meet the criteria in our residents. i have been in the space for awhilism understand the taxes and safety issues and as an asian-american i would like to put my hat for this position. thank you very much. great. thank you mr. lynn. next is david tally. an applicant for seat 13. good morning. thank you for the time to listen you to. thank you for you being here as limp i'm david tally, i have been in the bay for 15 years before that i had the operation

done in southern california cultivation, deliver and he dispensary as limp since moving here i have been specific low focussed on the cannabis industry. working at urbeena, harvest. managing. i pent time getting batch complors masters in hope so of using that information and my toejz have myself my own operation in the city. with the regulations and costs of that, it was not feasible at the moment a lot of you understand. i have been in the sales space the last 6 years. i'm a cond wit between brand and dispense iaries i listen to occurrence of dispensaries equity operations or store front and they have a lot of worries as well. you know with my experience i hope i can bring perspectiveef the equity applicants. somebody who has sdratsdz

everstraddled both sides and just hope to inform. i was overwhelmed by the support from reaching out to people. recommendations. appreciate your time upon and thank you, thank you. >> great. >> thank you mr. tally. next is walter redding junior. mr. redding an applicant for seat 13. >> how y'all doing? my journey start i'm a native here. went to middle school, element and high school here. i started off with out reach. teamed up with london breed when there was the african-american culture center. i deal with high risk youth. i like to stop the violence and making sure you know everybody is safe and going on. in gavin newsom used to walk to work i accompanied him on the

walk all the time. a couple years ago i just started my own cannabis journey. my own deliver competence manufacture, gummy yum waiting for permits now. yea, and when i first got in, i experienced fraudulent immediately. somebody new like me and black like me i experience fraud. i started a new organization equity defense firm. and i want to help the people like me little fishes that don't know much about the business. and you know other people come and they pray on your licenses and stuff and pray on your permits. so i would love to be a part of seat 13 with the committee. because i have been through a lot. got a lot of background in san francisco, period. and you know,ip want to make

sure everything is okay and help others and that's what i'm here for seat 13, i would love it. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> appreciate it. >> and next up is wilial doll an. an applicant for 8, 12, then or 14. >> good morning i'm william dolan. i wanted start by saying thank you for having us this morning i appreciate your time of although i applied for multiple seats i am look to contribute and add value whatever seat i sit in i would be happy to take that role. my primary goal as a member would be continuing to develop an equal and sustainable cannabis industry and by preserving equity ownership.

the local cannabis. a couple reasons why san francisco i have been in san francisco for 18 years. and adversity in my lifetime i'm a cannabis business owner i have 2 in cannabis under construction onopen nothing june and another in 2024. the first business is 4033 jouda in the outer sunset and 560 valencia with a full service consumption lounge i'm a licensed attorney and real estate broker. licensed to practice law in california. just left week admitted to practice at the supreme court of the united states and take my oath in front of the 9 justice in washington, d.c. with an incredible and memorable

experience. i had deal subject matter in california laws related california regulation and compliance and our local laws lands use, zoning and cannabis compliance a medical cannabis patient and abused for 22 years to treat medical conscience including my hearing disability. thank you and i'm honored apply for a seat in this committee. i have been san francisco cannabis retailer alliance and browning democratic club and look forward to working with you in the future. >> thank you. i like to interrupt i believe we have resolved mr. connolly's technical issues are you with us now? >> good morning, i am. >> good morning. >> mr. conlow is an applicant for seat 8 or 12. >> the floor is yours.

>> thank you very much. i apologize for my technical problems. good morning i'm conlow i go by ray and ray-ray my husband and i live nothing san francisco for 30 years prior to joining the cannabis industry in 2014, i spent 23 years in the software industry i specialized in bringing technologies up to either be acquired or go public. i went through 2 acquisitions [inaudible] and in 2014, i yoined the cannabis strep and working must have awarded the first permit from the office of can bills with thes equity program. and it was it is eureka sky in the castro and have a second retail space located in the

wharf seaweed. and most low have been the co chair of raising 23 million dollars for the friends of harvey milk an anticipate in the wharf merchant's association long with the casted row merchantses i sat as secretary of the merchant's board. my history and my [inaudible] i [inaudible] understanding of the condition bills industry of being successful but also the challenges that we face. we are faith challenges with tax, black market and competition. and i'm looking at the industry with a bounce not from success but failure. and i see a lot of really great

people in the industry. that are struggling now. i see people being successful and i feel as though my back fwrunldz and the balance i bring of being level headed. i can add e normous value to the committee and i hope i'm considered for a seat. thank you. >> thank you. next rubin sortet for seat 13. >> hello, thank you for the opportunity. and i want to say it is right here is truly the democratic process being real that i can be considered to be a part of this committee. now, i'm a fourth generation resident of district 10 bayview.

community this has been historically pummelled and taken advantage of with the war on drugs. me, by trade i'm a licensed [inaudible] in the state of california now i'm serving our population working at the [inaudible] build being. i think a deeper point of view being that my brother was incarcerated. the person i live instead same room with and had every opportunity to go to college however he remained incarcerated. and i'm looking at it is from the point of the consumer and the doctor. i have a specialized knowledge of what happen when is you have dry mouth. when you add heat to our

athlete. and what happens when you have bad breath and build up. and also what it is to be actual consumer not trying to be involved with the black market. and i feel that i have an interesting point of vow not necessary low being twhoon has sold cannabis or been a seller or anywhere inspect that time industry. however, i'm honored have the position now to be considered and i hope that i am going to be picked for seat 13. thank you. thank you. >> next up can lewis rodriguez. mr. rodriguez seat is applicant for seat 14.

i come to you as the coprofessor and founder the cannabis social equity and he entrepreneurship at golden gate school of law on mission street. i held my law degree from the school of law proudly and i am here also requesting a residency waiver. i am a proud transplant. i do live in oak land. but i'm here because i think that it is important to be present in knowing that a residency waiver would not hinder me because i could be here anyway. i'm here because i'm root in the san fran i believe in the work of social equity competence the work i have done to achieve that is to pro bono service social

equity of community in san francisco but all across california and new york. and since inception of the clinic we have given 2600 hours of pro bono services to verified equity applicant it is. across california but in the state of new york now. as well when i came out to the bay area in 2017, ggu was the only school of law that accepted meeen though an applied to various schools i had a nissan ultma no friends or family in the area and 3 years i went on to serve the community and create a clinic one of one in the country. and the last 6 years experience in this industry and i believe i can serve on this community because of 3 things culture being equity and he youth. culture we teach our kids the foundations from rudy corp us view it takeses the hood to hood

to the views of regulation. equity we understand it is the cornerstone of inclusive society and youth i understand that they other architects of tomorrow. i understand i must plant trees and in shade or experience harvest. thank you. >> thank you. >> and next up is shale gilmore. also an applicant for seat 14. good morning i'm shale gilmore applying for seat 14. i have been a lawyer in california for over 20 years the last 5 years had my own law practice serving cannabis investors and operators including equity applicant in corporate, commercial and regular matters. in 2018 cofounded the bar

cannabis law section for extension networking opportunity to lawyers in san francisco serving the cannabis industry that year i upon cofounded the first group of volunteer warriors pro bono services to equity applicants that group evolved to the current were partnership the bar association enjoys with office cannabis today. since 20 ton i developd and taught legal and finance 101 through the city college of san francisco program and i authored legal articles addressing law including one last month look at california cannabis provision and it is commerce clause. fiwere to be appointed my goal would to be daily and with integrity serveace a resource on california laws related cannabis i want to be appointed i care about legal, revving litted and

tested and environmental associately equal cannabis in san francisco i lived for 19 years. as a gill man who knows about the role that stigma play in our law and institutions i see value in the mittied of water works removing stigma from cannabis in society. i want to play a troll help the communities garth and evaluate data and hope to pleasure objectives with iny teg rit and he emphasis on equity. i thank you for your time and i'm available for questions. thank you. >> next issan 21et for seat 16. >> good morning. can you see mow? >> yes. >> yea, hi.

good morning. yea. set to go. >> your 2 minutes begins now. >> okay. so good morning i'man 21et a native of oakland, california i have resided in san francisco, bayview neighborhood since 2011. i am applying for seat on this committee for a couple of reasons. one i am a current user of medicine cannabis believe in affects are efficacy on patients living with chronic pain. parents with cancer. and actually began my advocacy back in 1966. prop 215 our s b 420 that passed the laws of creating america a

medical marijuana identification card. because at that time our numbers for people living with hiv and aids and those attracting hiv was tremendous. numbers were tremendous at this time i worked for the haight ashbury clinic where we saw a multitude of folks that were using drugs. american to me has been criminalized long enough. helps with mental health and people to gain appetites so they eat and sur5 when their cancer patient its is incredible. for me my goal to join this committee i do have an extensive knowledge of sxrouls regulations

and laws using can bills i would like to see safer access to the cannabis for the newt those hoping criminalized. almost support system and thank you very much for their time and consideration. >> next is brand goodwin an applicant for seat 16. thank you i like to say that hearing cannabis talked about in the chambers a great day for us. we appreciate that. i have been a residents since 1977. i loved san francisco and i love cannabis. i'm media director of the brownie democratic club. we protect the rights of medical

patients. and consumers. i think someone should be on the committee. who is not tied to the industry. which i'm not. who advocates for consumers. i think the basis of this business is consumers. and i would i like to see changes in the regulations to help medical patients to help consumers. and to lower the price by cutting the red tape. and making it visible to people much higher prices because people go to the unlicensed market because it is a third of the price of our legal operation. so -- you know i work with brownie mayor and run a compassion program we give out free cannabis to low income and

medical patients we want to expand that and make it easier we want to create education so we talk to our fellow citizens not about the stigma about the benefit. i appreciate you ash pointing me because i come from the accomplice of the consumer of the medical patient. thank you. we have heard from all applicants now public comment. members joining person line up to speak. for those listening remote low on the call in line press star 3. for those in the queue continue to wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted that is your queue to comment. can we have our first in person

speaker. >> good morning i'm excited see all of the new applicants. we need as much new blood and energy to evolve this industry and committee i'm nita parks i serve first 2 years of the verified equity seat on this committee and the very first year the chair. and i hope to be remembered for my pz process and auditing of the department and how their framework moving permits through. there are 3 things i have to recommend about this committee. swon there needs to be a great path way of communication with the committee and the supervisors. there is no like formal path way of getting all the recommendations to you at least as that when i sat on the chair hi to do it on my time and there

was no formal time period. >> the other thing is that there needs to be 2 seats added for events its is missing off of the mittee and licensed type that is not represented there it is a license that and a permit the city gives out. >> and that voice is not represented. we will have to go as members of the mounts to be heard example 2, and 3, the there be a seat for human right's commission. the economic equity folks because now as a woman who holds that seat, she penned the equity program we need to hold the framework of the. equity program so we can evolve what we are doing. we are currently looked at by the nation our failures and achievements and as many as we have there would be great.

thank you for your time good morning by way of reference the city employee i'm here on my personal time. grit to see you. >> i wanted give my support to donaldson. for this seat. i known him since he was 15. i wanted give a shout out to his dedication to the local city and mall business communities. to give him kudos for not only graduating high school, going to uc and helping start businesses in the city coming from potrero and north beach public housing. no easy feet a lot have done a lot in that sense as limp i want to say besides dedication here in the city he brings

connectivity to the small business commission through partnerships and friendships with mentors and does a bunch of great work. 3 different business and personal time. yea. hungry entrepreneur brings a youthful perspective and the other things i mentioned. thank you. good morning. i'm joyce hicks i'm here to give walter redding support. for the opportunity to be on the board. upon i think that he has been working very hard in san francisco. trying to help youth. and help through the cannabis industry. he will be a good person for the seat. whatever seat he is going for. i just wish you guys to give him

that opportunity. thank you. >> good morning. ben here. in my capacity as a civilian today to speak on behalf of donaldson for the seats he applied for. i met drai 17 years ago in the big brother big sister program when he was 16 worked as a dish wash in my bar. at 18 he was by far our best bar back in all of our embarrass we had 150. and he was had managers at different embarrass fighting over having hem work. he is deeply uncomfortable speaking about himself. i will do it for him here. by the time he was 21gm of 2 embarrass. when he was 24 he was an owner in a bar with us and now he is a

ceo and manages all the prescriptions for our dispense easier open. reason i think he would be grit for this role he is the time person who can take in incredible amounts of information, filter them and come up with practicing mateck workable solutions to get them through. he does it every day. as an employee or the ceo and partner of ours t. is hard to think of that considering the journal we have been of he does at this time cannabis industry is facing extinction event. a lot is federal and state. but there are more the city can do. drape is deeply aware of where all of the things combine and he is the time person who can help to make things better. thank you for hearing me i appreciate it and have a good day. thank you. no further speakers in the

chamber we will move to the remote callers. we have 6 with 3 in line to speak at this time. can we have our first caller. >> go ahead this . is dave you'd goldman i want to thank the supervisors for considering these candidates. i'm from the brownie mary democratic club and endorse dondzson for seats 8 and 12. our democratic club has run a compassion program we give away free legal excess condition bills to low income medical patients with hiv and cancer and veterans throughout northern california. as one of the ordinance of the california street cannabis company he has been instrumental in helping us. make this program robust. i want to and that's for seat 8 and 12.

i support wilyom dolan for 13 and 14. he, too, has been extremely helpful for us. in getting our democratic club robust and strong as it is and finally that is seat 13 and 14 and graham goodwin for seat 16, he has been a member of our democratic club runs the social media program and has been essential for the functioning of our club. the committee will be served by donaldson. dolan and goodwin. >> thank you. >> thank you. can we have our next caller. >> [inaudible] i thank you for, show my support for alex.

i have came not sure what [inaudible] i'm work nothing the capacity of the mentor with alex and able to see exactly where he makes an impact in the communities. him being the fillmore district and give become to that community is important. especially from the standpoint he has prolific idea and a strong mission. to educate his communities about cannabis and one individual who has been able to navigate the search program and license. he visited in himself and created manage that will have a lasting impact in his communities came from a dream as a chieldz had he was a kid it is shocking next door to the barber shop had a vision as a child to give back to the communities and now he has the opportunity to from committee standpoint and

business standpoint. >> the communities able to navigate the politics and able to give back in a way that an individual. calling for support for toward seat 14 i believe mr. rodriguez is capable of a qualified and i have seen him create a clinic closing and with doing everything the right way and

make sure they are in the position to exceed as applicants and the students themselves. equity applicants especially as a person of color understands unique position that we are in in order to try to succeed in this space and i mentioned he is the per fect candidate. thank you. >> >> thank you. next caller, please. >> good afternoon this is lloyd smith i would like to give my support to mr. rodriguez. i known alex for a number of years we went to law school together and during that time he

was the president of our chapter of the drug policy. i seen him take that work and when we graduated he began a clinic. >> he was also on the board. he is best seated for the position he knows about the law and works in san francisco to help people get their licenses and stay in compliance. and that is the best person for the job. thank you. >> thank you. just double checking. yes. proceed. >> i'm marie and i'm an equity advisor and technical assistant. for about 5 years. i know a lot of the applicants on the list and i'm confident a lot of them will do a great job

i'm calling specific low for alex, i have been working with alex since 2018 and i watched him create his dream into reality. alex is a successful entrepreneur. instead of take upon hundreds of thousands outside and looking for other place. he invested in san francisco and investing in the fillmore and where he is from and does in the have per ins another one of those inspect license holders which literally are rare and i think if we do anything to support someone that it is putting the world on their shoulder and trying to see the shift in the storm through on their own and all the different aspects i seen him over come and the programs going on throughout the process and hopeful low get in a grand opening here soon. and i want to call in support

for the people that are reinvesting in the community, from the community and a sole proprietor in the cannabis industry is a unicorn. my voice heard for alec seat 8 and supporting david tally for seat braen. bran for seat 16 and all great people make sure we can support those. next caller. >> hi. this is angela white calling from successors. i am call nothing spchlt alex. perry jones and david tally. i think these 3 and i'm sorry and dra cary. i think all of them will be excellent candidates for the

seats. they are all native san franciscans. manslaughter 3 of the 4. but we need folks with the voice of the community. the voice of equity and i am so excited they come fourth. build themselves in the race. support all 3 of the candidates. thank you very much. thank you. next speaker, please. >> yes. good morning. i'm michael cohen. i'm a secretary of the san francisco democratic club and like to endorse 3 candidates. one is dracary for seats 8 and 12. and william dolan for seats 13,

14 and bran goodwin for seat 16. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> that was our last caller. thank you. public comment on this item is closed. >> there is a few things that i want to mention that one of the things my least favorite part of this job is when we near a position to say no to excellent applicant this is is something that we have to do today. in a couple of instances. the second is public comment recommending changes public low to the law and i said in my remarks sometime when is they are over low prittive that means we don't have the let tude we would like to have. and then the issue of residency requirements that came up.

my view on this general low is when it it is something like this as so long as there is an investment and understanding in the businesses that go on in san francisco. i don't feel that strong low about the need for someone to be a resident as long as they are involve instead communities. this is business sector we prefer everybody to immediately move to san francisco. if you are have a business here but as long as you are invested in communities i don't feel strongly about against having i residency waiver. i nan my colleagues want to speak. first is supervisor safai. >> thank you. i want to thank everyone this amriered today. we obviously from the responses we have a very diverse cannabis communities from individuals working on the issues for

decades to those who are recent to the industry and building a sustainable 40 for the industry as limp i'm committed to a sustainable cannabis industry why each time i joined with supervisor mandelman to put a pause on delaying the local cannabis tax i think the industry is under a lot of different economic precious. many of which deal with federal and state. tax. cannot bank or get significant lending and rely heavy low on carb. and saying things that everyone knows. we are working on public safety we got pd to assign a high level person on staff to be a point of contact for an industry under assault. to robberies. and kidnapping.

this is something that is -- scary and dangerous and it is threatening on those in the industry. we have worked i lead the changes to the planning code to allow for security gates metal gates to come down to protect people's investment. many of which they put their life savings and inferring themselves and families and to an industry. it it is under the threat of robbery and break in. this was afternoon important change. we are looshging for ways to explore reforms to protect cult virts and pdr zones and labor to ensure those in the industry are well represents and workers rights are a strong consideration. we care workers are not an after thought but conditions to work and respect in the city is of

appearance to me. must be honest the impact of store front retail. having more saturation does not protect those we invested to ensuring they will be successful that includes, let that are home grown. san francisco residents and the ones we want to ensure benefit the most first from the industry. those that put the time, effort and energy in this and those that have been unfortunately the victims of the war on drugs. we. to ensure that is manage that is highlight exclude that is part of the reason why i push for this pause. i and that will be heard manage up this thursday to talk about how we put a pause on the

applications. allow those in the strep and those who applied catch up. i want to remind folks it was important me been here from the beginning of the this legislative conversation that we highlight those that are equity applicants we made sure that meant you have 40% ownership. and before we opened more applications to nonequity applicant and met those that were equity would be able to thrive a lot of that ties become to the pause. and nothing it also allow you to coordinate public safety response for dispensary and to convert medical cannabis permits from article 16 and then working

with those neighborhoods that have opposition allowing them to understand where we and are how the spreadingly out of the industry across the city makes sense. with that i think president new oversight committee is essential. this they can ton give us input and give us insight and direction. i will following the lead of chair dorsey today in terms of comments he made earlier about the upon balance of the i want to say we have a couple seats hope we worked with labor and will work with them to fit seats i think highlighting having more female applicants from that industry is important. if you notoriety selected today apply where lawyer vaccances and participate in the process and work with us. having been former chair because you are not selected in this round does not mean you will not in the next round we hold your

application. stay active in the industry and when opportunity arise we look to ensure have you that opportunity to rise. can tell you some of the people here today were not chosen the first time thank you for the interest and support. there are good correspondidates for few positions we want to make sure you continue to want to serve here there are options that are available to get involved and serve and payment. and making the city better and so -- want to thank you and reminds you we have a difficult decision to make at time when is

we have a number of good candidates. don't take anything personal if machine is not selected today this means keep try and working and hopeful low there will be a way for you to participate and working with community in san francisco. thank you. thank you. and so seeing no further questions or comments i like to make the motion to recommend the following applicant and send them to the full board seat 8 ja malian. 9. adam haze. 11. wallace residency waiver approved. seat 12 donaldson. seat 13. dave you'd tality we residency waiver approved. seat 14 gilmore. 16 mologyly. i had trouble keeping up.

seat 8ali ja malian. may i ask if seat 9 is adam haze. seat 11 apolo wallace. request residency waiver. >> correct. seat 12 dracary donaldson. >> yes. i have that. seat 13 david tally. with residency waiver approved. >> seat 14 shane gilmore. and seat 16antonet mologyly. >> thank you. >> roll call. >> on the motion to recommend the members to the referenced

seats with residency waiver if required vice chair walton. >> aye. >> supervisor safai. >> aye yovm chair dorsey. >> aye. >> motion passings without objection. >> thank you, mr. clerk. on that item then 7 have theeds recommended to the cannabis oversight commission and upon appointments move to the full board with positive recommendation. >> mr. clerk do we have further business >> that completes the agenda for today. >> thank you, clothes and thank you, everybody. we are adjourned.

>> this facility is the largest project in our sewer system improvement program. it has a price tag of 1.3 borghese. it is rebuilding one -- $1.3 billion. the policy and government affairs team helps the finance team talk to legislative officials and policymakers creating financial programs for us to get low interest loans. >> getting the funding for the project was important to save money for the ratepayers of san

francisco and enable us to build the project on budget. >> we were able to secure for the sf p.u.c. the loans from the epa and state mostly for the facilities project. >> we are providing low cost funding for projects that really provide tremendous social and environmental impact. for example the $699 million loan is going to pay for half of the biosolid project. >> what is challenging of the new sources of financing. they require the group to look at creative option ways to take the funds and build them to the existing process. >> the southeast plant is in hunter's bay. it is across the street from residential homes. one of the objectives was to

make it an asset. >> it will be at another plant further away from houses. it is going to help in terms of odor, air emissions, noise. >> this project that receives the federal loan funding is going to create 3,000 jobs in the community. >> in addition the streetscape improvements and architecture there is a lot of thought so that it is an asset to the community. >> it feels great to win the financial assisting ability award. i believe the group works hard to an chief financial stability in everything they do. >> we are getting world wide recognition for the work we are doing because of the green infracture projects in the communities with a lot of social impact. to me i am very proud of that effort to be a part of that. >> i nominated the team for the

financial sustain ability award. they got some of the largest state and federal loans in the country. it saved the agency 10s of millions of dollars. i am proud of temperature team for put -- proud of the team for putting this together. we got the largest

>> hello i'm city attorney david chiu. first i would like to everyone to understand how we got here. in the 1970s, certain pharmaceutical companies created powerful description opioids and manufactured a crisis of undiagnosed pain. extremely dangerous and addictive opioids were marketed to patients as safe, we now that was a lie.

prescription includes normally reserved for end of life care were given to people with headaches and back pain. this resulted in millions of american and entire generation becoming dependent on opioids. every aspect from manufacturing manufactures to retailers to distributing played a part in exacerbating this crisis. five years ago, san francisco brought a lawsuit against every part of the supply chain distributing distributors and dispensers like walgreens who pushed out these drugs to patients without regard obligation to flag suspicious orders. they were more concerned than profit than following their legal obligations. they did not give their pharmacist time to conduct due diligence pressuring their pharmacist to philadelphia.

--fill, fill, fill. walgreens received over 1,200,000 red flag prescriptions yet they performed due diligence before dispensing. this opioid 'em dem epidemic has affected many. and there is been a direct correlation between the prescription opioids these companies pushed years ago and addiction crisis on our streets again. again quoting judge brier, there was evidence showing how abusive prescription opioid lead to elicit opioid including heroin and fentanyl as addiction becomes more severe, opioid users create stronger and cheaper opioids. the cycle of addiction is foreseeable and from the trial noted that 70% of heroin users

today start withed prescription opioids. for so many of us, it has been frustrated to witness the tragedies every day. it's easy to blame those struggling, but we must remember that some of the most profitable companies in the world, engineered this public health crisis. now before the settlement itself, let me say this, there is no amount of money that will bring back the lives that we lost due to the epidemic. we mourn our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers but the one thing that we can do as lawyers is to fight for justice, to ensure that those who cause harm are held accountable, with they it case we took on opioid manufacturers and distributors and pharmacies. one by one we secured settlement and until today our law enforcement has brought in

130 million dollars to the city. the last remaining dpept --department by the end of the trial was walgreens. walgreens gave short trip for 15 years , its pharmacies failed due diligence many written by suspicious prescribers. evidence presented a trial made it clear that walgreens chain in san francisco which had a history of failing to comply with federal regulations, filled a significant volume of illegitimate prescriptions and contribute today opioid distribution and made the situation worse in san francisco than it would have otherwise been. today we have secured a 230 million dollars settlement with walgreens coming out of this

lawsuit which is the largest award to a local jurisdiction against a local department in the country. we will receive 57 million dollars by next june of 2024 and then the vas majority of the settlement over the next 8 years, over 175 million by 2030. as points of comparison, if we had not brought this lawsuit, we would only be receiving our allocated share of national litigation which would have been about 15 million dollars. this settlement is over 15 times what we would have otherwise received. twice the value of 83 million dollars received bitten tire state of west virginia, a state ravaged by opioid. today brings total to over 350 million dollars. which is the largest amount in the history of our office. this is money our city will have over the next 15 years to alleviate the crisis to get people the help they need and

to address the tragic suffering. now in this trial, we have sought to lift up the voices in our city with witnesses toiling on the frontlines of the cries. the judge relied on their stories and its findings, we are grateful to our city partners for their incredible work. and i want to thank the department of public health, lead by cole facts, to our library, to our fire department and i want to thank chief nickel son, to our department of public works and recreation and parks department and our medical examiner office, our sheriff's office and so many more. let me conclude by thanking the legal warriors who fought on the frontlines of the fight for justicement i am so proud to head up the best municipal law office in the country. we would not have achieved this

significant verdict, at the moment the first bench to rule against the opioid industry and the first bench trial to find walgreens liable without the brilliant minds in our office. newer opioid team, we have ivan, sa ra, mckayla, george, sarah gutierrez, julie, owen and others. i want to also acknowledge my predecessor dennis herrera and his chief deputy attorney ron flynn. we also would not have been able to litigate this case against some of the most profitable companies in the world without our outside counsel, include hyme an and bernstein, roder and dawn, simmons, hanley conroy, levin papentoya, whites lex underer bergh and take a moment and

welcome our former city attorney, louis renney and the renney public law group. on behalf of our city and the people who will benefit, i want to thank each and everyone who are here today who share in the credit for today's announcement. and with that, we have 3 speakers today. it's my honor to bring up somebody who has for his entire life but particularly in resent years as been grappling crisis after crisis and i'm of course i'm referring to dr. colfax. [applause] >> well thank you city attorney too. i really want to thank you for giving you the perspective on what pharmaceutical distributors did to create this crisis. i trained during the period of

time that you talked about including at zuckerberg san francisco hospital and i witnessed firsthand the pharmaceutical and distributor abuse of patients, the most vulnerable populations in fueling addiction, the consequences of which we are dealing with today. and i really want to thank you and your team for the leadership you showed in holding the distributors accountable and i also want to acknowledge and thank the dph team of experts who testified as well our other city partners. commit today preventing overdose deaths through aggressive interventions. our priority is to bring people with substance use disorders into care and to save lives. with the addition of these settlements, dollars the city

will help many on their journey to wellness and recovery. the national fentanyl crisis has affected cities across the country including san francisco. fentanyl a synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent anmore phene. our strategy includes urgently distributing the medication of reversing overdoses. we distributed over 7 2000 of naloxone to save lives. and in resent months, we have trained 3300 people to recognize and respond to an overdose. the department has also made treatment for opioid disorder a

key priority including using evidence based treatments including morphine and methadone accessible to people so that they can deal with their addiction and begin the journey of treatment and recovery. over the last few years, the department has increased its service hours so that every door is truly the right door for people to receive he's live saving medications. in addition, our behavior health pharmacy makes regular deliveries, meeting people where they are at city funding housing to provide them with the services that they need including a clinical psychiatric pharmacist and nursing to start people on medications. providing care for people who are experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders who are vulnerable to overdose, is

a high priority for the department. 7 days a week, our street care teams, are in neighborhoods with public drug use work to go draw people under care. but a care presence these trust with individuals weary of healthcare settings due to the trauma of homelessness or reluctant to stop using drugs. we are also implementing a major expansion of residential care and treatment beds for people with behavioral health needs including substance use disorders. in resent years we have opened more than 350 new care and treatment beds in addition to our existing 2200 care beds in our system. so over 2500 residential care beds. and i want to take another moment to mention the fact there is talk about treatment on demand. there is no wait to ak iss life

saving medications, the time to access methadone is less than one day and we have substance treatment beds available as we speak. in closing these funds will be critical in helping us to expand our programs to address this fentanyl pandemic. and most importantly to save lives. thank you very much and thank you again city attorney for your leadership. [applause] >> tubsinger dr. colfax and of course i want to thank all men and women who work in your department and for your partnership with this lawsuit. as i mentioned before, this would not have been possible but for the partnership of outside council who had expertise in what was going on in litigation around the

country. here to represent them is elizabeth from leaf cabraiser. [applause] >> thank you very much, it's an honor to stand here on behalf of the many outside lawyers and staff members who came together and answered the call of san francisco to partner with i think the best city attorney's office in the country to bring the resources, the experts, the experience of national opioid litigation to the trial here in san francisco. and i cannot mention all of these attorneys and professionals by name, i'll simply mention those who could not be here today, my partner

richard highman, jane, pete muchae and alis. they were the four counsel, they were above the water line face of this case. but they were assisted by many many lawyers and others from the city attorney's office and others. it took and takes an army to mount a case like this and to put on a trial like this, not every city or county can do it, not every city or county would do it. the cost, the risk the challenges are tremendous and so i'm so proud to say, together with the city attorney's office, we won a trial victory the first of its kind in opioid nationally and because of that, we were able to negotiate a settlement that brings much needed money and resources to san francisco on a

schedule that is accelerated more quickly than the national settlement. but there is one thing that needs to be said while we are celebrating locally, this trial and this settlement has a ripple affect. and the ripple affect is that because of the judgment rendered by the federal court, defendants came more quickly to the national negotiating table and this outcome in san francisco catlized a new set of settlement, with walgreens, with wal-mart and with cvs that together when they become affective, will generate additional 18 billion dollars nationwide to help us fight the opioids epidemic. and i just got called out for

using the word celebrate, and i think that's fair. we're not celebrating anything today, except an opportunity that because san francisco stood up and fought, we now have the funding that is so needed to continue the fight against opioids, it's the fight for the lives of the people and county of san francisco and is a fight which of necessity, not necessity of our making continue for every day of the rest of our lives. those of us standing here who are lawyers in the opioids litigation, will be continuing this bat sxl this fight in every jurisdiction in every court where we can and we will not give up until we have done everything that we can do as lawyers to join in this fight. but this is a fight that takes

city and county services government services, private citizens and i just want you to know today, if you don't know already that the services provoided by the dedicated people of the city and county of san francisco, are second to none in expertise, dedications, efficiency and resolve that this crisis will not overcome us. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, elizabeth and again thank you to all the legal lawyers that stood firm as we fought for justice and for the accountability and resources for our city. our final speaker today, let me say that during the trial, we spoke about the fact that every day at zuckerberg sf general,

25% of the case that's come through of the patients who come through, are coming to us because of their opioid crisis. and on the frontline, we have the chief of emergency medicine from ccsfg, dr. christopher caller. doctor? [applause] ced >> thank you and good morning, i appreciate everybody here being here for this incredible announcement and i want to thank san francisco city attorney and everybody here from taking this important step and making this happen. my name is chris, i'm the chief of emergency medicine of zuckerberg hospital and trauma center. and i testified about the opioid epidemic and what my experience has been in the emergency department every day and the long term health impact that the opioid epidemic has it. and as much as i recognize very

personally that we have faced a pandemic and many other healthcare crisis and challenges, it would be hard for me to describe a greater challenge that we face and a greater crisis than the opioid epidemic. and so much of it ends up on our city hospital department, and, like many across the state and across the country, and every day, we will see 15-30, 20 cases or more that range from acute overdoses and in some cases that result with loss of life that can be so measurable that it will drive further use if not treated to the long term impacts that we see from opioid use disorder. and what can sometime begin as simple prescription at walgreens, it can snow ball

into full blown disorder with lifetime impacts. this is such an incredible important next-step in reinvesting in our community. and will give us the opportunity to do that and to refocus resources on treatment and prevention of this crisis. thank you to everyone here. our work is not over, we got a lot to go but this is really an important step in this process. thank you. [applause] >> again i want to thank everyone for coming out and every person standing on these steps. i want to say to the press, we'll be around if you want to ask us individual questions, thank do you want a final picture of the group? should we stand in front of the podium. that's a wrap for today but

thank you for being here and the fight continues. thank you. [applause] - >> good morning, everybody. thank you for coming here today and to roll out and as what will be an important intervention. we know that the occupying and epidemics in your state is one

of the most deadly public health crises in a long time. >> opioid related overdose are not the real cause of death but we've seen a doubling of people who have died in overdose over the last 5 years. we are in the midst of a public health crises there are solutions we have to make that harder for people throughout the centennial and easier for people to assess treatment and hear for people to access centennial and easier to access treatment. and evidence states medical treatment for opioid addiction this is a treatment that has been approved and in place for over 20 years but unfortunate right now that treatment is not accessible to many of the people that need it

it the most and known as is the most effective treatment for opioid addiction and shown to have mortality or the livelihood of overdose dedicate by half we have to get more people access to those effective treatment. >> right now over 80 percent of people have access to opioids no enroll in the treatment and get them off the drugs entirety. that bill we're announcing we partnered with with mayor london breed will assure that we can enroll more people in the treatment that will save lives and people approved it is safe and a includes in the something

that someone can overdose and deals directly with the physical love owned with opioid addiction. a few years ago i brought someone here to this hospital to the circle doctors and who are addicted to opioid and took us hour to convince them to get had here when we when they got here the biggest champion was convincing them because of physical sensation not to go right back on the streets to get drugs. - can help people deal with the physical impacts of addiction in a way that allows them the treatment to get them through recovery and stabilized. this bill will allow that for the first time to carry to the effective treatment for opioid in local farms to reach people

homeless and people have will given up and people that are having an addiction. i want to thank london breed for her leadership and the department of public health and the hospital for being at the for the most part that will save lives we have to con fraternity front the drug trade and get access to finally and london breed is leading on that but make sure that people are opioid addiction we give them the opportunity for treatment that is what the bill will do i want to introduce be london breed and one of the center pieces that have ab 66 three make sure that a mobile farm reaches people where they are and get them enrolled in the

opioid dui u addiction programs to keep ism alive. >> london breed. >> are first of all, let me say thank you to singularly member mating haney for the work he's zone doing to find create solutions to help the treatment on demand and oftentimes we hear stories about people about consistently are trying to get help and i'm sure many people can tell a story of a family member three struggled with addiction they were told i told you they were ready to get them to treatment sadly has been challenging. i had those experiences myself and thinking about some of the people that i tried to purposing assist month of them are not even here with us today because of their vehicular with addiction and overdose in opioid and more so

from finally in fact, in san francisco this year started to see an uptick in overdose deaths in the city and the first three months of is this year 200 people died of overdose the challenges madam clerk that the pandemic we came together and mad hard decisions and everybody excavations to save lives this situation around the over dose deaths we're seeing no diversity should be handed like the crisis that is that's why in the city we've been pushing to make significant changes to provide alternatives to make make sure the treatment on demand not just something we talk about but go to the clinic but outside out in the street people can get a support once they say i'm ready we're there to deal with hero needs that is a critical step to

help us get to a better place i think with the various healthcare providers and the various people on the front line dealing with with that crises need more pull "ab three 7 three is a grammar had you we provide support with the equities out there and seeing the people to be on on the ground trying to get people help and services. so i'm grateful to assemblymen han why a and wanted to acknowledge not a one thing or another a lot of things we need to do because we know that behavioral health is challenging the scopes of work that occurred in the substance can be challenge and the need to reform the corvette laws are

equally important i want to take the opportunity to thank the senator for the work in sb three 36 a 43 two bills will help us reform the customer serviceship at the end of the day, what is happening on a san francisco people are saying why are not not doing anything why is that person lba laying on the sidewalk and the over dose debates continuing a lot of the laws need to happen at the state legal and snoort haney is getting us to a point where treatment on demand on the streets what have the knack that 0 reduces the over dozens and throughout the country every single day i appreciate his work and at this time, i want to introduce the director of the

public health doctor. >> well, good morning everybody and thank you, mayor. broebd and senator haney the health agency across california statewide from the devastating opioid crises and we're talking to assembly member haney i have a clinic across the street and an hiv clinic and for years with hiv we which somebody turned positive became infected with hiv we waited for years or months or years before we starting medication and recently a person find out they were perfect positive and gave them a package explained how to do it and literally no barriers on demand

we realize that model for hiv in san francisco this is a major step and that model for the treatment of substance abuse disorder and that is why we really need to think all the tools to reach people where they are and every door is truly the right door to make sure the treatment an demand a right and an incredible importance last year 6 hundred and 47 people died from this within our city and 70 percent two quarters involved finally and yet we have an effective treatment for this there is more than hope there is constitutional it strong evidence that mu-n e medicating done reduced the risk of overdose that is by up to 50 percent and much better than many most of mentioned we eye

for to treat herself tension of doibz we have the tool and methadone treatment authority, be prescribed and december pensz by the paramedics that bill allows paramedics to disburse to help people stay on treatment we know that mobile treatment works we have experienced in the hearts of our city for example, the opioid treatment impacts right here at the hospital of the only mobile melth done clinch in california traveling to the dispense since 2003. and when the covid 19 with opened

two more mobile clinics on the campus to make sure they're more consequent and assessable. and that works the programs retention rate increased really need to make sure people can come when they need to and get the access for the treatment and about compliment our efforts for the plan and already prescribing to people addressing homelessness and on the streets to ongoing care and the health paramedic is available for anyone with medi-cal and with those hours and they - see deliveries to people for permanent housing and parts to housing and prescribing and

prescribed open up prescriptions and we're enhanced and expands on those efforts and mobile paramedics can removal significant barriers for the apportions in california without a doubt access to a pam i don't know about you but i've been to the mobile clinic and other things i have to do but for people that are trying to survivor the mobile clinic can make a huge differs we know that the treatment works we have seen that and need for tools and like to thank assembly member for his leadership and mayor breed in addressing the owes dose epidemic in san francisco. thank you very much. >> i just want to be clear. most ever you are familiar with narcan or someone that is

experiencing overdose to save their lives and no more than thin as the bad zone the most effective treatment for people addicted to opioids and gets them off the drug that is a replacement therapy with wraulz to get off of finally or opioids that helps them and they can get off of opioids entirely? the most effective medical treatment for opioid addiction and right now this is not acceptable to many people who need it including people maybe coming back coming to a clinic many paramedics don't carry this for the first time in our state make many legal to carry that

medication in a mobile paramedics and some of the people are homeless and some may have inadequate transportation and the most vulnerable people often don't have regular access to healthcare or clinics this will allow us to go moot them where they are and if it is create informational solutions allows us to get the treatment to get them off the drugs unfortunately, is not able so i want to clarify that. for you all one of the things i had in the legislative is to help all of our colleagues concerned about finally and also understand solutions and there are saying the words concerned about finally understand what that is and can save lives and get people off of that and make

sure that is possible >> good morning. >> a couple (unintelligible). >> any questions? >> (microphone distorted) anything like that or (birds singing). >> well the bill is right now in the assembly floor we have to pass the bill first and hope my colleagues will support that and the governor signs that into law that will not go into law until january 1st, the next year and the director of public health is bearing this out once we pass that allow law this will allow us to carry the critical mentioned for opioid addictions and mobile paramedics right now the state law we can't carry in

mobiles this law will pass and will go into effect and really it out i don't know what you're on (microphone feedback) yeah. i mean more than the city knows how to do this; right? the point is we have to get the bill passed and make sure that happens as soon as possible and to be whatever clearly with the need it we're working on that and we're going to get it on the ground as quickly and possible. >> so in terms of the mobile paramedics we can get you those big numbers but what we have on the opioid front to make sure that people 19 access in the sites we have the funds going around and providing it access

to be more effectively and have a mobile television. >> asian american pacific islanders may is asian american & pacific islander heritage month about san francisco the asian-american about the history and curtain or encouragement. >> about fun and family and

food. >> about all of us celebrating each other together after celebrating the cultural tradition a our future. >> showing you the regular things like the families and connecting the japanese heritage and my heritage in hawaii and other asians around the city and world and growing up with the bay area. >> asian american pacific islanders it about showcasing the apa heritage culture contributions and full staves of music and the great diversity within the community i'm not a asian-american but have a great communication and about celebrating the stories of blood lines of apa heritage and the difficult challenges creating opportunity and building a new. >> let's celebrate may is asian

american & pacific islander heritage month and victorville our writing our future for the future may is asian american & pacific islander heritage

everyone. and welcome to san francisco's 19th annual api heritage month celebration. my name is grace hari kari, one of the co chairs of this year's celebration, along with my mother, brother from another mother, um other culture alferez . yes. give him ahead. we want to also acknowledge our third corps co chair thomas lee, who unfortunately cannot be here with us this evening. then how about another round of applause for the halal hula dance troupe for opening tonight's program

and celebration with the wahine ? a. oh no, a and danny hula, so one more time. so they are based in south san francisco under master teacher kawika, the group's primary focuses on cultural traditions associated with the hawaiian islands. good evening. my name is al perez. i am so excited about this year's celebration. because in my mind , i kept thinking that it's much about everything asian everywhere all at once, just like the movie. well with the three amazing organizations that we're honoring tonight, doesn't it feel like a little bit like an oscar night? while we do hope that you will enjoy this evening's program, this celebration event would not be possible without the generous support and dedication of the many people in organizations we have who have come together to make this tonight's event a success. we are very grateful to our sponsors publicity partners , the members of the a p, a

heritage celebration committee and all the volunteers this evening between here and city hall. we have almost 150 volunteers working to make sure that everyone has a good time and enjoyable experience. please give them all a round of applause. and we also want to take this time to recognize our celebration partners. the asian art museum, the san francisco public library and the center for asian american media for an amazing range of art and cultural programs they are offering throughout the month of may. so please do check the celebration guide that you can is found at a p. a. s f .org for a list of all the programs and now it gives me great pleasure to turn over tonight's program to our mistress of ceremonies. please give a warm welcome to pria. david clemens host program kqed newsroom, one of the longest running programs that

focused on news and public policies, prayer. thanks so much. what an amazing night, everybody. hello one more round of applause for our celebration co chairs. it's great to have you all here. let's all stand for the national anthem. course say, can you see? by the dog. bonds. early. hi what's so proud? no, louis. at the tour. in light. lastly me, whose broad

stripes i and bright star. rise through through the pain. bye. oh, the red as we want. it was so good. land lease tree me. so bombs. for game. gave proof. all through the night. by that i black. tag was still there won't say does that star. spain angled

oh, yeah. dave. oh, the left. hand of the free and uh huh. oh, my. amazing please be seated. so you just heard that amazing voice from 21 year old recording artist science brown. she's been singing since she was six years old. the answer is of half filipino and half black heritage . she already has recorded three original colleagues songs with a record label in the philippines, and she was recently on the front cover of the magazine. afro inspired we do have amazing talents in our community been so honored to, um, be a part of

this community over the last several years. i came here in 2005 as a cub reporter for ktv. you and i do work for kqed. now i've lived all over the nation. all over the world. but san francisco the bay area is the home of my heart. and i feel, um , really, truly honored to get to be here tonight and celebrate our heritage together and the celebration of that and the embrace that the city provides as well. 45 years ago. let's talk about how we got here. 45 years ago, president jimmy carter signed into law a resolution declaring one week in the month of may as asian pacific american heritage week in 1991 week celebration was expanded to the entire month of may and then in 1992 legislation was signed into law making asian pacific american heritage month in may, a permanent celebration in the united states. yeah, we can applaud that. then in 2005

here in san francisco mayor gavin newsom enthusiastically supported the idea of an annual official celebration that would include all asian and pacific islander communities. here in san francisco, if you didn't know more than one third of the population is of asian american and pacific islander descent. there are a lot of us we continue to show the nation how to properly celebrate asian american and pacific islander heritage month our city celebrations, which include a public awareness campaign, you may have seen some of the images out front and on the plaza. these are the collective efforts of the members of the a heritage celebration committee in partnership with the apa heritage foundation. it's a non profit organization dedicated to securing the sponsorship and resources. to support this celebration. and at this time, please welcome claudia. in chiang. she was the president of the a. p, a heritage foundation

and coordinator of this community celebration. she is here to give her greetings on behalf of the a p, a heritage celebration team, claudia. okay. thank you. this is all yours. thank you for you. happy api heritage meant everyone. thank you for joining us for this celebration this evening, and events like this take more than a village. and. just the api community. there are no less of villages as we know, and i really want to on behalf of the aapi heritage foundation. thanks all the diverse ethnic group for coming together putting together not only this evening celebration, but events throughout the month. and for all the elected officials department has numerous members of the council of core. our sponsors community partners who

are with us here today. your support and presence means a lot to us. thank you so much. and as priam mentioned this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the law, creating a special time in the month of may for the celebration of a p i culture and heritage. some of us have been thinking 45 years. what changes has been there. well honestly, it just kind of disappointing at times. because when we think about anti asian hate fighting for equity. breaking the glass ceiling. none of none of these issues and new often times it's more of the same in this very frustrating however, through the pandemic. i think we realized that when

organizations and communities put together. we can make the difference. the pandemic shows us that a lot of they're actually a lot of silver linings that you know we can see. and run organizations pulled together. my first communities coming together talking about how do we stand together with each other? that gives us hope. give us hope, and that's what's in spite this year's theme celebration theme. strengthening the fabric of our community. we are not just talking about the api community. but the community of our city, the community of our country, the fabric in be inclusive of everyone. this past weekend. we kick off the aapi heritage month celebration a couple of times once in the samoan community and actually

also in japantown. the event at the japan tang is titled outcome, our community, our pride. our community, our pride . that's exactly how we feel about the api community. and that's exactly why every year so many of us put, you know, really spent countless hours many, many months because we want to have a month that we are so proud of, and i can say thank you enough again. our amazing co chairs perez, our own amazing grace and thomas lee without them. i mean , we really cannot be really cannot make this and i just want to show i appreciate appreciation to them again. i don't know where they are. and probably backstage somewhere. we all come from different places, even within the aapi community. different cultures, different backgrounds. we are all

different colors, forms and shapes that makes up the fabric. like on a quilt. you see so many different patches. but we are part of the whole we may be different, but we are part of the whole. and that's what we want to see, and we hope that over the years will continue to work together to make this a more perfect fabric to make this a more perfect and beautiful quilt. and now it is my honor to introduce our mayor who times and times again has demonstrated her commitment commitment to embracing diversity. someone who inspired us, actually, together with the human rights commission and the san francisco public library to put together coordinate the first ever joint celebration of lunar new year and black history month. someone who constantly remind us that we should look beyond our differences and focus on what we

have in common place. warm cup place. warmly welcome san francisco mayor london breed. thank you, claudine. and thank you to the asian pacific islander foundation for the work that you continue to do to really strengthen those ties. year round. um i gotta say being here today i'm really excited and it does take me back to my days in high school. not too long ago. when i attended galileo high school and even in middle school and elementary school, what i appreciate most about my experiences. we celebrated our diversity. many of us came from a lot of different backgrounds and during the assemblies that we held during lunar new year and african american history month,

we had a chance to learn about one another's culture. and, yes , we all hung out with one another. but at the end of the day, what's so important? is to learn and to celebrate and to recognize that we are a strong community because we have course represent our various culture, our communities, our families and what we grew up with. but we become even stronger when we're able to build bridges and come together and to learn about one another, and to respect appreciate an uplift one another and i must say that the work that the asian american m pacific islander heritage month has done is not only celebrate each of the diverse communities within the asian community, but more importantly, including other communities and making sure geographically that we're touching on just how amazing and diverse san francisco is, in a way that oftentimes is not on full display, and i want to

really appreciate and know that there are so many elected leaders here, but i want to take this opportunity to thank the asian art museum to thank the san francisco public library, and i see michael lambert. and to thank campus for the work that you all do to bring us together to make sure that for the past 19 years now we celebrate the month of may as a way to highlight our diverse asian community in san francisco. i know that it's been very difficult over the past couple of years, especially during the pandemic, and so many people have tried to divide us and tear us apart as a city and to single out the asian community in particular, and the reason why something like that doesn't work because of the foundation of who we are and what we know we represent as a city. how when challenging times occur, we come together and we stand up for one another and one of the things that i saw that was so amazing in the city is we didn't just throw up our hands

or point the finger. we basically rallied. we came together members of the board of supervisors and our city leadership rallied for support and resources to go to various organizations. where we collaborated and escort programs for seniors. the african american community in the asian community through c y c and the street violence intervention program came together and became the ambassadors of the community to look out for our seniors. it was an amazing time, and i know that it was a challenging time as well. what we have seen in terms of the reduction in the number of hate crimes in this city that have occurred have been encouraging, but we know it's still not enough. but i am grateful that we have real partners in our law enforcement agencies. in particular. we have our police chief bill scott, working hand in hand with our district attorney, brooke jenkins to ensure that accountability is no longer lacking in the city and county of san francisco. so the work that we know we need to continue

around safety around protecting our history and our culture, of course, acknowledging the past and the challenges that exist there, but also how do we move forward? how do we come together and events like this? and throughout the month of may that will occur will highlight the significance of this diverse community. but i do also want to take an opportunity to recognize that san francisco as a global city we bring together people from all over the world. i know that we have ambassadors and council generals, but in most cases they all want to be located right here in san francisco, because it's such an amazing city and i want to acknowledge and thank the various council generals who we work hand in hand with from china from indonesia from japan , mongolia, the philippines, singapore and korea. yeah. thank you all so much for being here and thank you for the work that you continue to do with our office to ensure that communities from all over the globe are supported. now in san

francisco will have another opportunity to be on the national stage. and in fact, some of you have already heard that apec the asia pacific economic co operative is going to be hosted here in the city and county of san francisco in november of this year. so what does that mean? well we have had no other significant international event in san francisco since 1945 when the u. n was a stab list in our city. so what does that mean? the heads of states that from all over the world ceo s from everywhere. yes street closures and other challenges. so please be patient. but the fact is san francisco will be on a world stage and to really highlight our asian community will be at the front and center of what we will do to demonstrate how amazing this city is. and i'm

looking forward to working with each and every one of you to ensure that san francisco is recognized. last but not least i want to just acknowledge the number of organizations that are being honored throughout apa heritage month in san francisco . of course, one of this one such organization is one that i've had personal working relationship with. the japanese culture and community center of northern california who has been around for 50 years working in and for community and not just to protect and support one of the oldest. um and most significant japan towns in san francisco but also supporting the surrounding community. the relationship between the african american and the japanese community has really a deep history and deep roots in the neighborhood or also known as roots in the neighborhood. there's also the angel island immigration station foundation. for the past 40 years, they have

been preserving the important history of the immigrant community, and they tell the story so that those stories are shared and not forgotten. the asian pacific fund supporting community through philanthropic work for the past 30 years. all of these organizations play a significant role and the asian diaspora to continue to uplift and to support community. i want to say congratulations to all of you and thank you for the work that you have done and will continue to do on behalf of the asian community and last but not least again. i want to express my true appreciation to claudine chang, who. along with the various volunteers. i mean, if you walk through the door today, you saw a host of people who are volunteering and working to ensure the success of not only tonight's event but also many of the other events that will occur throughout san francisco and various parts of san francisco to uplift and celebrate asian culture in the city and county

of san francisco. thank you for your work. and enjoy the show. thank you. mayor breed for the real talk about the challenges our community faces and how the city is working to address them . and thank you to claudine for your leadership and your vision in organizing tonight's event. it has been 18 years that you've been doing this we also want to say thank you to the mayor's office staff and all of the city officials here for your presence and your continued support. i'm getting a quick note. we have a proclamation signing that is taking place. the mayor said. i should experience it every year.

this is the day that when the mayor of the city science of proclamation for api month in the city, so may a bridge and the mayor would like to invite members of the counselor court to join on stage and then after that picture, we would like to invite the elected families to join as well.

excuse me up. this year.

but yeah, hello. would you like to yeah, sure.

and show you better come up. i know. look at. alright a big thank you again to claudia and chang and mayor breed. tonight's celebration wouldn't be possible without the support and commitment of our generous business and community sponsors. at this time, i'd like

to recognize this year's major sponsors, starting with the heritage champion sponsors. amazon, us bank. wells fargo. thank you so much. our heritage captain sponsor uber. our heritage partner, sponsors chinese hospital and see chp health plan. cruz japan center garage corporation, kaiser permanente, sterling bank and trust, golden state warriors, waymo and withers worldwide. and our heritage. friends sponsors a common one connectivity. cathay bank comcast, portsmouth's plaza garage corporation, san francisco association of realtors and the uae ymca of san francisco. we are also so very grateful to our community sponsors. you can see them in your program in the interest of time. but let's give that huge round of applause. you've been waiting to give right now to all

of our sponsors this evening. coming up. next. we have a very special performance. for those of you who have attended this awards event in the past, you know that each year the plan is to feature a different and unique cultural performance from asia and the pacific. this year, we had planned to have two amazing performances showcasing the cultures of thailand, but unfortunately, the performers of the first group the thai cultural center of fremont are under the weather and can't join us. we are delighted to present an amazing singer who is among the top of the charts in thailand and has performed for the queen of thailand herself. let's give a warm welcome to talk to and her performing group took to will be singing for you. a new song titled love is love.

so why do you have. time night time and hired. younger. on a. pie. elsom. okay?

a round of applause for took to . now we get to begin the apa heritage awards presentation every year, the apa heritage foundation honors organizations that are involved with art culture or the preservation of

ap history for having achieved significant milestones in their mission and existence. to present the first award this year. i'd like to invite san francisco supervisor connie chan to the stage. connie is the chair of the budget committee supervisor. chan is the only asian american member of the san francisco board of supervisors, and the community is thankful for her dedication to public service. we would also like to invite dennis he chair of the awards committee to join in the presentation. thank you, supervisor chan. thank you, priya. good evening. this is an my honor to join you this evening to really be part of the celebration. while i am grateful and to be representing our api community among 11 members of the board supervisors definitely look forward to seeing more representation. we deserve it. with that. i also want to recognize our board president

aaron peskin and along with my colleagues, supervisor rafael mendham, in among here with us today. our api community should know that we most definitely have to support um from our board supervisors, and we are going to continue to stand united together, especially what we have been through in the last two years. it is the reason why it is also my privilege on behalf of a p, a heritage foundation today to present this award. um founded in 1993 asian pacific fund has been one of the champions and a community foundation among many but really has been providing most a lot of support for our api community, not just in san francisco, but really throughout the bay area. we're grateful for their support with their support that we see so many can continue to emerge from this pandemic and to be

successful. so with that. is my arm. you are to present this award to them today. thank you, everyone, and thank you so much to the asian pacific american heritage foundation for this recognition of this milestone achievement for asian pacific fund. my name is carolyn wang cong. um, and i'm excited to accept the award on behalf of the staff and our community and our board. um i wanted to just share that you know when the asian pacific fund was founded in 1993 30 years ago. the bay area only consisted of 15% of our population was asian american. today it's 27% and since we represent the full bay area counties like santa clara and alameda, actually their highest population is asian, american and pacific islander. that's right. um. but there are

counties in our bay area where a p i is also make up the highest number of individuals living in poverty. that includes right here in san francisco. the mission of the asian pacific fund is just strengthen our community by increasing philanthropy and strengthening the nonprofit organizations that are our community safety net. i'm so proud to say that over the past 30 years we've been out given out hundreds of grants 450 grants to nonprofit organizations, many of which over the past few years just because it's been so difficult in our community, and we have continued to be overlooked. we've also offered over 40 different capacity building initiatives over a tenure and we have built up a network that continues to grow more than 80 different nonprofits. i'm so proud to say that as the only asian pacific american focused community foundation here in the bay area we've been here through second thin. and we're going to

continue to be we look forward to continuing to build our strength. to lead with courage and to create our belonging together. thank you.

thank you, supervisor chan. now i'd like to invite david san francisco city attorney david chiu to present our next award. david has had an illustrious career in public service on the san francisco board of supervisors, the california state assembly and now the first asian american city attorney in san francisco. please welcome, david. chu. come on over. i. good evening. i am so honored to join you tonight for the 19th annual asian american academy awards event here. and in case you're wondering every single person in this room. you are on the a list. for the asian american capital of our country , and that is here in san francisco. it's my honor to help

recognize an organization that for 40 years has reflected and embodied are asian american community. my guess is there are many people in this room who have a grandparents or great grandparents who went through angel island. angel island, as we all know is not just a spot on a map. it's not just a beautiful view of the bay. it was a former detention center, where over a half a million immigrants from over 80 countries once passed through, and i think many folks know if you've ever been there that there are inscriptions in the barracks where there used to interrogate and detain immigrants who came through inscriptions in chinese and japanese, korean and south asian languages. that told the tribulations the trials, but the dreams of generations of san franciscans and californians and americans. i want to take a moment and just read one stanza from one of those poems. waves biggest mountains often

astonished this traveler. with laws harshest tigers, i had a taste of all the barbarities. do not forget this day when you land ashore. push yourself ahead and do not be lazy or idle. as our cities first asian american city attorney often think about that history, particularly at this time, when during this time we are re experiencing the history of anti asian hate during this time, there are leaders that are demonizing immigrants from asian countries during this time, there are some who suggests that we should not be re learning the history of our past asian island station foundation is an organization that is teaching us about our history and our culture, reminding us of where we came and providing that vision of where we should be. so with that it is my honor to invite up to the stage. the executive director of the angel island foundation, if you could please join up edward and i'd also like

to join onto the stage. jj laura , who's the board chair of a p a heritage foundation? congratulations. thank you. thank you so much. david my name's ed type porn, and i've had the honor and privilege of serving as the executive director for the angel island immigration station foundation for the past three years. i'm joined here tonight by a senior manager of operations and exhibits russel norman, as well as our most recent board president g. a man who needs no introduction. but thank you so many so much for your years of leadership and championing of angel island. can i just see a show of hands? how many of you have visited angel island since january of last year? alright? yeah, i got you there, right? my hope is that by next may, every single hand in this room is raised because if you identify as asian american, native hawaiian or pacific islander, or

is someone who is an immigrant or of immigrant heritage, or someone who stands an ally, ship or solidarity with our communities, angel island is a required pilgrimage. because you see for all immigrants, their descendants and their families. angel islands, a living landmark , a landmark that symbolizes diverse experiences of detention of racism, and if exclusion, but also of hope and determination. for the past 40 years, the foundation has worked to preserve the site as well as to elevate its histories and its stories. to promote learning and also to celebrate the new beginnings and immigrant contributions that make this country so strong and through all of these efforts, what we seek to do is to create a future that is more inclusive and more equitable, one that embodies a nation where immigrants make our nation better. so congratulations to our fellow or days and on behalf of all of the current and former board and

staff of the h island immigration station foundation. thank you so much. the apa heritage foundation for this recognition and for this award thank you. thank you. city attorney david chu. all right. next up the

third and final presentation of the apa heritage awards, please welcome san francisco sheriff paul miyamoto. sheriff miyamoto has dedicated his career to public safety. he's the first asian american sheriff in san francisco and currently one of only two asian american elective sheriffs in the country. please welcome, sheriff miyamoto. thank you. and thank you, everyone. this has been an amazing evening so far, and it's only going to keep getting better as we move along. i do want to say, uh when i was asked to introduce the next group, the next award recipient. uh it's extremely special to me because the japanese cultural community center. is a part of my personal community here in san francisco . i live five minutes away from japan town and being of japanese

, american and chinese american descent. i've had the opportunity to bridge cultures to experience many things. but the proximity and the closeness and the support that the japanese american community gives my mother now. and in her golden years, um as much appreciated so. i am very happy and honored to be here to present this award in particular on the 50th anniversary. of the japanese cultural and community center. i was hopeful that it would be a little older than me, but unfortunately it is not but 50 is an amazing achievement and the longevity it represents in our community. is one that should not be, uh ignored since 1973. it's amazing that this organization has provided cultural and educational programs both to preserve and promote our culture and historical heritage, something all of these organizations have done it enhances the

understanding and appreciation of our community. and as i mentioned with my own mother, it supports the members of the community and provide spaces for them to come together and be a part of our experiences. today the center offers an array of programs for diverse audience of all ages, which includes both traditional and contemporary japanese cultural arts. activities for children and youth. exhibits and forums, senior wellness programs, performing arts and social and recreational activities. and i do want to mention one more thing. before i bring executive board member walton up here to accept the award. um being an elected official and elected law enforcement official and representing our community. uh and when you hear the words like only supervisor on the board first city attorney first sheriff. we're only just opening the door and taking a role, which we hope will be followed

by the youth and the members of the following generations that are supported by these groups by the asian pacific fund by angel island immigration station foundation representing our history and by the japanese cultural and community center. so without further ado, yuko walton. good evening, everyone. my name is yuka walton, and i'm an executive board member with the japanese cultural and community center of northern california. it's quite a mouthful, but it's finally known as the center in sf japantown. we would like to start by thinking claudine cheng and the chairs of tonight's celebration . thomas allen grace, thank you for bringing us here together. it feels so nice to celebrate our diverse aapi community and just to be joyful, right like this is so nice to be altogether. the center is celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, and the theme of our celebration is celebrating generations. so as we celebrate

, we're thinking about our essay . the first generation of japanese people who came to this country started a new life and built the community that we know today to be japantown. and we also think a lot about our niece are second generation who have been so resilient as they have faced so many injustices and overcome so many barriers. our niece have been forcibly removed not just once, but twice the first time when they were forcibly removed and unjustly incarcerated during world war two. and the second time when they were forcibly removed by the redevelopment agency, all in the name of urban renewal. and so the niece their dream as they were watching their homes and their businesses be demolished. their dream was to own and operate a community center in sf japantown one where we could celebrate our japanese cultural heritage one where we could have families and friends gather and

one where we could run programming for all the kids and the elderly in our community. so the fact that we're here tonight receiving this award celebrating our 50th anniversary, i think is beyond the wildest dreams of our founders. it feels so good to be able to say we're still here and we have a bright future ahead of us one in which will celebrate our japanese traditions and also , uh, celebrate our diverse japantown community. so once again, i'd like to say thank you so much. we feel so honored to receive this award. thank you.

okay let's give another round of applause for all our honorees tonight. and thank you for your patience with me over some moving parts before we end tonight's program with the grand finale. i have a few important announcements to make. after the event ends. you're all invited to a festive reception at city hall. when you leave the theater or volunteers will be handing out raffle passports, which you can use to enter the reception and later on, you can convert that into raffle tickets for some great prizes. and for everyone who does not have a wristband. please make sure to enter city hall through the entrance on polk street, where you are required to go through the security checkpoint. once you're at city hall, please take time to enjoy a sampling of asian pacific cuisine, specialty cocktails, cultural performances and visit the community exhibit tables and at city hall. you can also get your own logo pin and t

shirts. last but not least we want to thank all the raffle prize donors for their generosity and support for this year's celebration around of applause, please. and before we close tonight's performance with the grand finale, i'd like to thank the a p a heritage foundation for giving me an opportunity to host this year's heritage awards and celebration . i look forward to next year's celebration. this is a big one coming up mark your calendars with the date may 1st 2024 it will be a fabulous 20th anniversary celebration. yeah. and now for the grand finale of this evening's performance we have for you a special dance performed by wrong day bollywood it is choreographed by manpreet kamal, followed by the cultural

procession, which will be introduced by longtime committee member rose chang. please enjoy . asahi bon garden, mahar bon time about here. you're some nick laura. he had rocky asim fan kara molokai hosting hosting hoi

thank you very much to manpreet

co mouth for energizing with a colorful, vibrant babic to strengthen our spirit. the cultural possession has been a tradition with our, um, celebration for since 2008 and i just enjoy doing it so much. we have such a wonderful group waiting to come in and back by popular demand. we have christine ideas, the vocalist extraordinaire. all right, well, what are we waiting on? let's get this party started.

understand. by me. hmm. dumbbell and fall. and the mountain. shit

stumble. to the sea. be afraid. oh, home. be afraid. just as long. as you stand. stand by me.

can i have the little ones? crouch in front right here. come on. come on. we just kneel down here. thank you. can i. come on.

okay someone let me know if we it looks good. where's our photographers? i can't tell what your clothes that look good. frank, just yellow. party. yeah. okay? i'm gonna hurt you. to come over the front and coach of front door. come on. how's it going? is it balanced? maybe have some people come to decide? come on. because that's why sticker than this side are we good? make a comment. if not,

we're ready to take a picture in right now. everyone looked up to frank james camera. look up right now. look up for the next 30 seconds. thank you. thank you, everyone. and before we proceed to city hall, we're gonna party right. let me christina diaz is going to get us in the party mood. all right. where's um, our music?

okay? he stands. we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we

we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we >> asian-american pacific heritage month is about taking a moment to think about who you are and where you come from and appreciating the wealth and diversity that we bring to our community. >> it's about celebrating tlc, bringing in new years by visiting temple and giving to the monks. >> it's about inclusivity. >> it's about keeping family traditions. >> it's about hindi culture. >> it's about your heritage and knowing your roots. >> it's about culture sharing. >> about thes it reconnecting with my past. >> it's about celebrating heritage for api. >> it's about learning the

culture differences and finding ways to celebrate them. >> it's about being proud of yourself. >> it's about keeping tradition alive from my parents to my son from chinese new year to celebrating the holidays. >> it's about recognizing and celebrating our culture richness and the importance of inclusion. >> for a brighter and just future. >> let's celebrate aapi heritage month by writing our own history for the future and remembering our past.