>> [applause] my goodness. well, hi, everybody. clear everybody here is happy. and you know this is a contrast to when happened before during last year's time when we were here at laguna honda and talking about the decertification and the challenges and the issues. ir will start over. i'm san francisco mayor london breed. [applause]. and all these people behind me have official low saved laguna honda.

[applause] and the difference between then when we had a decertification and now is the sad faces the tears and now the smiles, joy and excitement. for the people when work at laguna honda this is in the just about their jobs. this is about their patients. this is about the people this they help every day. the people this depends on them. for help for support because they can't take care of themselves. we know what is at stake. when the decertification came to us. we knew we had no other choice but to come together to make hard decisions and to fight for laguna honda. and fight we did. and as a result, we worked really hard and i gotta say no one worked harder then and there

the people who physically worked here. and we did all the paperwork. but it was touch and go for i minute and one of the best decisions this the department of public health made, doctor coal fax was to send the best add administrator anywhere to help us and guide this ship. i want to thank roland pickins for his work. [applause]. times i came up to lug luge and walked the halls with roland i know you want to keep him. you got a new director. sandra will be great! it was so like over the past year see the excitement serving

folks. how people felt and mote the patient and family members and hear the stories. we had no choice. and we had to make very decisions that were criticized. i want to thank david chu for the lawsuit. . because it did take a lot of courage because people discouraged us from going there. but we reached out to everyone on the state level and on the federal level. and i got to point out key leaders on the federal level who were instrumental with helping us to get tow this moment. i want to star with jackie spear. who really not only sounded the alarm but worked hard up until the day she left office to help support us and man, what will we do without our fierce leader

nancy pelosi. she was absolutely invaluable in this process. and really pushed aggressively it make sure that it was clear where we stood on saving this institution. i want to thank our governor and gavin newsome and scott wiener for heard work on the state wide level and helping us get to this point. so, this irrelevant was a collective effort of national support of state support and of course of a lot of local leaders. i said our city attorney and the supervisor who represents this district, melgar and thank the president of the board of supervisors aaron supervisor peskin. >> and i want top extra super thank the members who are the staff but especially our

partners in helping. seiu for your work. because of the advocacy that was helpful to put the pressure on. but again i want to keep back to the doctors and the nurses and the clinicians and the people who distribute the food and hands that make the food. the blessed machine when makes the food the people from the food makers and creative to the folks who have patience and people taking care of everyone and the folks in between who show up daily to take out the treasure to make sure that we are discarding needles appropriately there are many moving parts to laguna honda and the people here when you have done to work hard to fight your concerns about what was happening in the uncertainty. you know men of you could say i don't want it and i gallon some place and he wills do manage so

my financial situation is protected but no you rolled up your sleeves and worked hard and smart and said i'm stick with laguna honda i want to take care of the people i care about the patients at laguna honda. thank you all so very much. thank you. [applause] whoa! if i don't when to say anymore. but i want to say -- to the department of public health e approximately and i know grant colfax will talk about how this works because it is different layers the patients at laguna honda depend on medicare and medicaid and the state after going through the various processes and trying to get up to parmaking adjustments to new policies. giving a list of new rules that

weep had to adjust to, we got to the accomplice on my birthday august 11 we submitted an application. and in record time the state responded with, you are approved. what does this mean? that means the majority of the money over 200 million dollars a year this we rely on from medicare from the state will now come flowing in laguna honda to ensure that we protect this institution so that those who are most vulnerable and those who could least afford tell not only be in laguna honda and get the passport and care but mean this is if sillity will be open to the next generation of folk who is need it the most for another 150 years.

>> so i can go and on. i will come back later. in the meantime i want to say that doctor colfanatic be proud a pandemic now make sure we save laguna honda you got a lot of great things under your belt and appreciate this more than anything else. and we are truly grateful to you and the folks you put in accomplice to get us here. ladies and gentlemen, to provide the specifics when this means is doctor grant colfax. thank you, thank you mayor breed. thank you mayor breed. have we been waiting for this day or waiting for this day! 200 million dollars in medicaid dollars will flow to lug luge. a great day. i really want to thank

everybody. because with this funding secure laguna honda is here to stay. and -- this represents a new beginning for laguna honda. going forward, laguna honda will be the if model of the new modern guild nursing facility. our job is to ensure the health of our community especially for those who are most vulnerable. and laguna honda is a key part of that mission. over 150 years laguna honda served san franciscans. it is a place and will continue to be a place where we provide compassionate long-term care for low income people when need us. for them, this is not just a skilled nursing facility. this is their home. this is why all of dph pulled

together with our colleagues at laguna honda and collaboration with many others to put time, resources and effort to making significant improvement this is lead to our ref certification. we brought in experts skill in the nursing home care to sustain improvements from clinical operations to staff training. we moved record pace and for those. you who know this city it was a referred pace. outstanding pace to hire our new nursing home administrator and ceo sandra simon. [applause] and sandra 2 assistants jennifer wade and jill. yea. our new leadership team is in place. and we were not alone we could not do this alone we had

partners who worked with us advocated for us and done everything in between to get us here. we could not have done this without passport and mayor london breed. thank you, mayor. i was not happy going in the mayor's office and giving her the news we were decertified the mayor said you can and will do it i want it done. thank you, mayor. i want to thank yes. i want to which thank the support of city attorney chu. and his team lead boy julie. amazing work. this team the teach attorneys every day worked with us. advocates. you we think the legal side is remove from the clinical side this was a close relationship.

thank you, david for you and your team's leadership thank you to the board of supervisors president supervisor peskin and melgar incredible making sure weave got it done and i want to thank the leadership of the health commission for effort in guidance. and of course, we are grateful for the leadership and support of speaker pelosi and not without laguna honda itself this team crucial low included the per inship and support of the leadership and membership local 1021. under the leadership of theresa and union employees. we had to mission in minds!

and thank you roland pickins. i called you. you anyhow that call was coming you took on daily responsibility, leading the change. you truly went above and beyond. thank you. and you know i don't i feel like with roland and the team it does come to minds the quote from st. francis do what is necessary then possible and soon you will do the impossible. i feel like this reflects the ethose you and your team brought to this work. [applause]. most of all we are grateful to our residents and their families. who despite uncertainty in the situation were supportive of us. gave us the reason and will to succeed. and if you stay patient centered you keep resident in mind the

work will take care of itself we went become to when is benefit for the residents of lug laguna honda this is why laguna honda represents the best san francisco and why we work so hard and success have gone low for our residents, fells and our city. thank you, and i would now like to turn it over to city attorney david chu. [applause] brother and sisters inference france the sun is shining today. who ask happy about this day! so, let mow sill this every time i come to laguna honda i think this is true for so many, we may have had quibbles with regulators the last couple years. when i step through the doors, we feel the care. we feel the professionalism. we feel the spirit of the city

of st. francis in this building and that would not be the case but for the men and women behind us first i want to star boy thanking and sallowing the staff and workers of laguna honda. thank you very much. friends, this hen quite a journey. it turns out it was one year ago this month when this facility under the threat of closure our office joining the mayor, dph the leadership of the institution and otherings we filed a let you to continue funding. pause resident transfer and keep laguna honda open. we all heard from countless resident fells and staff when faced uncertainty. who were worried more transfer exclude the tolls the transfers

could have on vulnerable patients. and through this litigation, we reached a fair settlement to condition funding pause transfers and give the institution the troop apply for recertification. there were thanks today. and of course i want it echo the thifrpgs for federal and state partners but irrelevantment to thank the local willful, mir, doctor colfax, dph come laguna honda staff there is a joke with relationships with lawyers and health care professionals. i'm so proud we came together to preserve this critical institution that so many of most vulnerable san franciscans rely on. i want to take a moment and acknowledge folks from my office work helped lead us today. san francisco city attorney's office we are the best municipal law office in the country no

part because of those who are part of team laguna honda. i wish that the folks were here next to right in front of me were behind us. i want to tick a moment and thank julie. hen row lip ton. tera steely. and medina. glen levy. michael. jessy smith. sarah, jen. star. katie. lilly and pam. >> [applause] jop love it when lawyers and heck folks come together. i want it take a moment and acknowledge the efforts of my former city attorney lewis. >> i will close by saying this together we have preserved this incredible institution and restored a safety net for san

francisco. laguna honda taken care of most vulnerable we look forward to this happening for the next 100 years. with this my honor to bring up someone helping to represent our neighbors and residents of the city of san francisco the supervisor of d 7, supervisor melgar. >> thank you very much. i want to say thank you, mir for your leadership and for being able to tune out the noise. while the task at hand needed get done. sometimes we have contentious rep with the board and the major's office. [laughter] and i remember very vivid low that meet whenning we decided no we need to work together. tune out the noise and figure out how to get this done and cord nit and work together the messaging together the same page and get it done. this was you, mayor.

thank you very much. for your leadership. i want it thank a couple people in your office. this is shawn your chief of staff. thank you for all that. and someone when has in the been thanked from dph besides pickins whom i appreciate is doctor baba. and i look forward so much to working with sandra simon through the work ahead. come with years of experience as a nursing home add administrator in san francisco worked at the jewish home the other institution that does this time of work. i thank you for stepping up. in doing this. and of course local 1021. for all of the partner help the work and strategy and communication and organizing all of that thank you. i also. to say thank you to the

advocates joe request urban. the doctor palmer the california advocates enoughsing home reform and gray panthers than i organized the letters to the feds and a annoying folk and made sure everybody understand to preserve the people we serve and the gem for 150 yearers florence nightinggale over seen in terms of making sure we are doing right. and being true to our san francisco values. thank you so much, everyone. keep going it is now on us to make sure this never happens again. we have the appropriate compliance, training but also the wonderful things we need to make sure this is the tradition continues to serve san franciscans thank you and with this i will bring up the machine

of the day. our ceo and director of the san francisco health network mr. roland pickins. [applause]. good afternoon will everyone. supervisor melgar said, wonderful day to be in the saddle of the statute of florence nightinggale. this is a great day for everybody the laguna honda. nurses, doctors and therapist and the staff most of all or residents and their families whom laguna honda their home. will past 18 months seen nothing short of trans formation laguna honda in a world class the world class skilled nursing facility. one this will continue to serve for generations to come.

our goal has been dem strit this we meet the highest standards and meet them every day. we have prouven this in multiple surveys the past 18 months. those results taken an extraordinary effort with extraordinary dedication and attention it detail. everyone working at laguna honda in every capacity has done outstanding work. and they have done this under stressful and challenging circumstances. and i'm so proud of them. and grateful. for their commitment to our residents. i want to express my thanks to theical cal department of public health and the federal center for medicare and medicare services working with us on this journey and recognizing the progress we made. we all share the same goal to

provide the best service public to those who rely on public funded health care. and finally, i'm grateful to residents and families who have been patient and supportive of our people and our efforts. it hen has been stressful for them. with today's recertification our residents can feel secure about the future of the accomplice they call home. today, we are all prud of what we accomplished together. we are a different and better laguna honda. and we intends to keep this journey going. for our residents, city and our nation. . by meeting high standards every day, day in and day out and in every way. this is how we will ensure san francisco can be proud of laguna honda for decades to come.

and finally as i introduce our next and final speaker whom none of this would be possible were not for she and her members and those of our other union partners my long-term cowork and friends kristin hardy vice president of 21 san francisco. [applause]. >> thanks roland for this great introduction this might have been the best in awhile. but i'm kristin hardy. i'm the vice president for san francisco for 10 to 1 and this is a very, very proud moment for me. i'm a san francisco native born and raised and i grew up and born and raised in this neighborhood. i live 5 minutes from here i drive past this place every day and i am also a 12 year employee

at san francisco general hospital with customer competence roland back in the day when than i were there. i anyhow when colfax appointed and pulled terry i was mad. and brought them here i knew they were the right people to the make sure laguna honda survive and got through what it needed to get through. i wanted to say, it is in the one person. it is me and my members that you see behind me the nurses. janitors the hair dress ors, central supplyers. my nurses. clerks. everybody and everybody i come from general hospital i know when the level of care is like i want to appreciate my members. i have one of my fabulous leaders here with me. debbie dobson, she has taken charge on making sure that she

hen in the weekly meetings when i'm not available to join. she has been there. and i can get an update with her and our rep who k could not be ear jessica done a fabulous job day and night supporting the workers. helping them understand education and training than i needed. third and second and first shift whatever was. we are celebrating the work of member and resident and bringing back laguna honda so we want to know i just want everybody to know that this is a hard work of our member and this was i team effort not just my members the residents joint effort i don't think we do this often but my political alis. our wonderful mayor. board of supervisors, melgar is my supervisor and aaron. [laughter] and the rest.

you know, i'm just glad we are at this day and like i want to i especially want to thank our city attorney david chu. he has been a great alli for us in the labor movement. i know we don't do too much with attorneys and at a federal level you know secretary came through and tap in the and just -- grant colfax and the administration you have done an awe some job you kept us in the loop. mark leech. everybody else that represents other members. my brother. vice president of organizing. brandon dawkins. used to work here at laguna honda and a shop store and a

shout out to my president to speak theresa who is a cna used to work here and is still a member and wants to give her love and support to all you guys and administration i am turn it back over to doctor grant colfax. upon again, thank you for being here a great day and think we will you heard the story and the different partners involved. many groups that helped lead the way and i think we have time for a few questions. for the mayor. my grand mother lived here. well, my grand mother lived here for about 13 years. and i used to come up to laguna

honda when it was the patients in the old location and the new. and the difference is the building butt people and the care she got were the same. and to think that there are other people who could not get this care was heart breaking this was a life safer for me personal low and my family when we could not take care of her daily. it was hard. and it was harder to leave her some accomplice like laguna honda until i first coming up here every day. the nurses rubbing my back while i was crying i did in the want to leave my grand mother they made me feel okay. her nurses like albert and denise and others. just the joy this changed in her from no smiles to smiles demonstrated all i needed to know the care she experienced

over the years of coming here an accomplice i thought what would have happened. so there are other people who need this accomplice. and when was important to us buzz in light of when was going on with the recertification. you know when this monies for the families who can't you know get their family member in laguna honda, that was weighing on me heavily as the people who are already here getting services. when are we do when we have to tell people, no when they need this place and so this was so important on a whole level and i'm grateful to god today for you know putting forth a blessing to not only the people who work here and live here and those who will be able to eventual low call laguna honda home and cared for at the end of their life in most case and live with dignity.

this is truly amazing we are happy to be here because it is a challenging time for so many people this is a joyous occasion. thank you. [applause]. >> okay. thank you so much, appreciate it. thank you for being here we move forward together. thank you. [applause].

my name is doctor ellen

moffett, i am an assistant medical examiner for the city and county of san francisco. i perform autopsy, review medical records and write reports. also integrate other sorts of testing data to determine cause and manner of death. i have been here at this facility since i moved here in november, and previous to that at the old facility. i was worried when we moved here that because this building is so much larger that i wouldn't see people every day. i would miss my personal interactions with the other employees, but that hasn't been the case. this building is very nice. we have lovely autopsy tables and i do get to go upstairs and down stairs several times a day to see everyone else i work with. we have a bond like any other group of employees that work for a specific agency in san

francisco. we work closely on each case to determine the best cause of death, and we also interact with family members of the diseased. that brings us closer together also. >> i am an investigator two at the office of the chief until examiner in san francisco. as an investigator here i investigate all manners of death that come through our jurisdiction. i go to the field interview police officers, detectives, family members, physicians, anyone who might be involved with the death. additionally i take any property with the deceased individual and take care and custody of that. i maintain the chain and custody for court purposes if that becomes an issue later and notify next of kin and make any additional follow up phone callsness with that particular death. i am dealing with people at the worst possible time in their

lives delivering the worst news they could get. i work with the family to help them through the grieving process. >> i am ricky moore, a clerk at the san francisco medical examiner's office. i assist the pathology and toxicology and investigative team around work close with the families, loved ones and funeral establishment. >> i started at the old facility. the building was old, vintage. we had issues with plumbing and things like that. i had a tiny desk. i feet very happy to be here in the new digs where i actually have room to do my work. >> i am sue pairing, the toxicologist supervisor. we test for alcohol, drugs and poisons and biological

substances. i oversee all of the lab operations. the forensic operation here we perform the toxicology testing for the human performance and the case in the city of san francisco. we collect evidence at the scene. a woman was killed after a robbery homicide, and the dna collected from the zip ties she was bound with ended up being a cold hit to the suspect. that was the only investigative link collecting the scene to the suspect. it is nice to get the feedback. we do a lot of work and you don't hear the result. once in a while you heard it had an impact on somebody. you can bring justice to what happened. we are able to take what we due to the next level. many of our counterparts in other states, cities or countries don't have the resources and don't have the

beautiful building and the equipmentness to really advance what we are doing. >> sometimes we go to court. whoever is on call may be called out of the office to go to various portions of the city to investigate suspicious deaths. we do whatever we can to get our job done. >> when we think that a case has a natural cause of death and it turns out to be another natural cause of death. unexpected findings are fun. >> i have a prior background in law enforcement. i was a police officer for 8 years. i handled homicides and suicides. i had been around death investigation type scenes. as a police officer we only handled minimal components then it was turned over to the coroner or the detective

division. i am intrigued with those types of calls. i wondered why someone died. i have an extremely supportive family. older children say, mom, how was your day. i can give minor details and i have an amazing spouse always willing to listen to any and all details of my day. without that it would be really hard to deal with the negative components of this job. >> being i am a native of san francisco and grew up in the community. i come across that a lot where i may know a loved one coming from the back way or a loved one seeking answers for their deceased. there are a lot of cases where i may feel affected by it. if from is a child involved or things like that. i try to not bring it home and not let it affect me. when i tell people i work at the

medical examiners office. what do you do? the autopsy? i deal with the enough and -- with the administrative and the families. >> most of the time work here is very enjoyable. >> after i started working with dead people, i had just gotten married and one night i woke up in a cold sweat. i thought there was somebody dead? my bed. i rolled over and poked the body. sure enough, it was my husband who grumbled and went back to sleep. this job does have lingering effects. in terms of why did you want to go into this? i loved science growing up but i didn't want to be a doctor and didn't want to be a pharmacist. the more i learned about

forensics how interested i was of the perfect combination between applied science and criminal justice. if you are interested in finding out the facts and truth seeking to find out what happened, anybody interested in that has a place in this field. >> being a woman we just need to go for it and don't let anyone fail you, you can't be. >> with regard to this position in comparison to crime dramas out there, i would say there might be some minor correlations. let's face it, we aren't hollywood, we are real world. yes we collect evidence. we want to preserve that. we are not scanning fingerprints in the field like a hollywood television show. >> families say thank you for what you do, for me that is extremely fulfilling. somebody has to do my job.

if i can make a situation that is really negative for someone more positive, then i feel like i am doing the right thing for the city of san francisco. >> the market is one of our vehicles for reaching out to public and showing them how to prepare delicious, simple food. people are amazed that the library does things like that. biblio bistro is a food education program. it brings such joy to people. it teaches them life skills that they can apply anywhere,

and it encourages them to take care of themselves. my name is leaf hillman, and i'm a librarian, and biblio bistro is my creation. i'm a former chef, and i have been incubating this idea for many years. we are challenged to come up with an idea that will move the library into the future. this inspired me to think, what can we do around cooking? what can i do around cooking? we were able to get a cart. the charlie cart is designed to bring cooking to students in elementary students that has enough gear on it to teach 30 students cooking. so when i saw that, i thought bingo, that's what we're missing. you can do cooking classes in the library, but without a

kitchen, it's difficult. to have everything contained on wheels, that's it. i do cooking demonstrations out at the market every third wednesday. i feature a seafood, vegetable, and i show people how to cook the vegetable. >> a lot of our residents live in s.r.o.s, single resident occupancies, and they don't have access to full kitchens. you know, a lot of them just have a hot plate, a microwave, and the thing that biblio bistro does really well is cook food accessible in season and make it available that day. >> we handout brochures with the featured recipe on the back. this recipe features mushrooms, and this brochure will bring our public back to the library. >> libraries are about a good

time. >> i hired a former chef. she's the tickle queen at the ramen shop in rockwood. we get all ages. we get adults and grandparents and babies, and, you know, school-age kids, and it's just been super terrific. >> i was a bit reluctant because i train teachers and adults. i don't train children. i don't work with children, and i find it very interesting and a bit scary, but working here really taught me a lot, you know, how easily you can influence by just showing them what we have, and it's not threatening, and it's tasty and fun. i make it really fun with kids

because i don't look like a teacher. >> in the mix, which is our team center, we have programs for our kids who are age 13 to 18, and those are very hands on. the kids often design the menu. all of our programs are very interactive. >> today, we made pasta and garlic bread and some sauce. usually, i don't like bell pepper in my sauce, but i used bell pepper in my sauce, and it complemented the sauce really well. i also grated the garlic on my bread. i never thought about that technique before, but i did it, and it was so delicious. >> we try to teach them techniques where they can go home and tell their families, i

made this thing today, and it was so delicious. >> they're kind of addicted to these foods, these processed foods, like many people are. i feel like we have to do what we can to educate people about that. the reality is we have to live in a world that has a lot of choices that aren't necessarily good for you all the time. >> this is interesting, but it's a reaction to how children are brought up. it is fast-food, and the apple is a fast-food, and so that sort of changes the way they think about convenience, how eating apple is convenient. >> one of the things that i love about my program out at the market is the surprise and delight on people's faces when they finally taste the vegetable. it's been transformative for some people. they had never eaten those vegetables before, but now, they eat them on a regular

basis. >> all they require is a hot plate and a saute pan, and they realize that they're able to cook really healthy, and it's also tasty. >> they also understand the importance of the connection that we're making. these are our small business owners that are growing our food and bringing it fresh to the market for them to consume, and then, i'm helping them consume it by teaching them how to cook. >> it connects people to the food that they're buying. >> the magic of the classes in the children's center and the team center is that the participants are cooking the food themselves, and once they do that, they understand their connection to the food, to the tools, and it empowers them. >> we're brokering new experiences for them, so that is very much what's happening in the biblio bistro program. >> we are introducing kids many

times to new vocabulary. names of seasonings, names of vegetables, names of what you call procedures. >> i had my little cooking experience. all i cooked back then was grilled cheese and scrambled eggs. now, i can actually cook curry and a few different thing zblz . >> and the parents are amazed that what we're showing them to cook is simple and inexpensive. i didn't know this was so easy to make. i've only bought it in the market. those comments have been amazing, and yeah, it's been really wonderful. >> we try to approach everything here with a well, just try it.

just try it once, and then, before you know it, it's gone. >> a lot of people aren't sure how to cook cauliflower or kale or fennel or whatever it is, and leah is really helpful at doing that. >> i think having someone actually teaching you here is a great experience. and it's the art of making a meal for your family members and hope that they like it. >> i think they should come and have some good food, good produce that is healthy and actually very delicious. >> cooking is one of my biggest passions, to be able to share, like, my passion with others, and skills, to h

>> i don't want to be involved in the process after it happens. i want to be there at the front end to help people with something in my mind from a very early age. our community is the important way to look at things, even now. george floyd was huge. it opened up wounds and a discussion on something festering for a long time. before rodney king. you can look at all the instances where there are calls for change. i think we are involved in change right now in this moment that is going to be long lasting. it is very challenging.

i was the victim of a crime when i was in middle school. some kids at recess came around at pe class and came to the locker room and tried to steal my watch and physically assaulted me. the officer that helped afterwards went out of his way to check the time to see how i was. that is the kind of work, the kind of perspective i like to have in our sheriff's office regardless of circumstance. that influenced me a lot. some of the storefronts have changed. what is mys is that i still see some things that trigger memories. the barbershop and the shoe store is another one that i remember buying shoestrings and getting my dad's old army boots fixed. we would see movies after the first run. my brother and i would go there.

it is nice. if you keep walking down sacramento. the nice think about the city it takes you to japan town. that is where my grandparents were brought up. that is the traditional foods or movies. they were able to celebrate the culture in that community. my family also had a dry-cleaning business. very hard work. the family grew up with apartments above the business. we have a built-in work force. 19 had 1 as -- 1941 as soon as that happened the entire community was fixed. >> determined to do the job as democracy should with real consideration for the people involved. >> the decision to take every one of japan niece american o

japanese from their homes. my family went to the mountains and experienced winter and summer and springs. they tried to make their home a home. the community came together to share. they tried to infuse each home are little things. they created things. i remember my grand mother saying they were very scared. they were worried. they also felt the great sense of pride. >> japanese americans. >> my granduncle joined the 442nd. when the opportunity came when the time that was not right.

they were in the campaign in italy. they were there every step of the way. >> president truman pays tribute. >> that was the most decorated unit in the history of the united states army. commitment and loyal to to the country despite that their families were in the camp at that time. they chose to come back to san francisco even after all of that. my father was a civil servant as well and served the state of california workers' compensation attorney and judge and appellate board. my parents influenced me to look at civil service s.i applied to police, and sheriff's department at the same time. the sheriff's department grabbed me first. it was unique. it was not just me in that

moment it was everyone. it wasn't me looking at the crowd. it was all of us being together. i was standing there alone. i felt everyone standing next to me. the only way to describe it. it is not about me. it is from my father. my father couldn't be there. he was sick. the first person i saw was him. i still sometimes am surprised by the fact i see my name as the sheriff. i am happy to be in the position i am in to honor their memory doing what i am doing now to help the larger comment. when i say that we want to be especially focused on marginalized communities that have been wronged. coming from my background and my

family experienced what they did. that didn't happen in a vacuum. it was a decision made by the government. nobody raised their voice. now, i think we are in a better place as country and community. when we see something wrong we have change agents step up to help the community affected. that is a important thing to continue to do. you talk about change and being a leader in change and not knowing whether you have successes or results. the fact of the matter is by choosing to push for change you have already changed things. through inspiration for others, take up the matter or whether it is through actual functional change as a result of your voice being heard. i think you have already started on a path to change by choosing that path. in doing that in april of itself

creates change. i continue in that type of service for my family. something i hope to see in my children. i have a pretty good chance with five children one will go into some sort of civil service. i hope that happens to continue that legacy. >> i am paul, sheriff of san francisco. [ music ]

this meeting of the refuse rate board for august 31st, 2023, into session. so i will turn it over to our team to read some announcements. um please respond with hear or present at chair to hear board member herrera here with two board members present. we do have quorum for the refuse rate board and will move on to the land acknowledgment. uh, we acknowledge that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the ramaytush ohlone who are the original inhabitants of the san francisco peninsula as the indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the ramaytush ohlone had never ceded lost nor forgotten their responsibiti