so we expect to go to the fta around 2011? >> yes. commissioner campos: in looking at the scope of work for stage two in the report, it talks about how the authority will lead the work which will be conducted by the sfmta, department of public works, parsons, and the authorities consultants. i wonder if you could say more about the interaction between these different players? >> the project team is large, but it is effective. authority is the lead at this stage. the handover to mta will happen after the informant the document is certified and position is obtained. after what we are calling stage three. however, the team includes mt a sustainable street planning staff, and now mta capital planning staff, so we have an engineering manager, staff engineer, who will be doing a lot of the work. we have an mta sustainable street staff who had done work for the project, who had done transit signal priority for the project. in addition to providing review to the overall environmental analysis and engineering efforts thus far, mta has also con

fta will issue a ruling or determination. whereas the subcontract will sell only be rewarded under this conclusion subject to tjpa conclusion protest. the resolution is also amended to include an additional line to the first result which will stay the tjpa board of directors authorizes a trade contract for balfour beatty in the amount of $187 million subject to fda ruling. >> just in terms of the math, i am not sure that this is the healthiest way to look at it. the discrepancy on sbe participation is about 7%, but the overall bid difference is 10%. i know this may not be the only issue granite has raised -- just, the math does not seem to work. we should try to meet our goals. at a certain point, we could take $20 million and give it to disadvantaged communities, where we would be doing more for those communities than by selecting a contract that is 10%, 7% higher sbe participation rate. i am not recommending -- >> i wanted to point out, at bit time, they came in at 17.3%. they have since been identified and that the $3 mill

process began with the final approval dated january 7 of this year and continues with monthly meetings fta washington and region 9 staff, along with tsa staff, and it continues to meet and satisfy all the obligations under the ssga road map process. submitted must and that we achieved on november 19 where the project received approval for the letter of no prejudice that would allow us to move forward with the utility relocation contract in the union square area. this is an significant milestone which allows for the federal authorization of an early construction activity. identified before you are the remaining sfga some metals necessary on schedule to receive the $942 million in federal funding. a key milestone in the application is a submission of an updated financial plan, which is scheduled for february 15 of 2011, that identifies the funds committed to this $1.58 billion project. the sfmta is now moving forward with revisions to the central subway financial plan in order to meet the ssga obligation. the central subway financial plan is comprised of federal, state, and local funding sou

at this stage in product development, fta requires cost savings be carried in the program as program contingency. the mta is also controlling cost through its utilization of what is known as a contingency management program -- commissioner chu: just to clarify, you commented that cost savings must be carried as contingencies. would you are saying is, even if we are realizing cost savings, as we are seeing with $8.5 million, hypothetically, the $10 million coming up in the second quarter of 2011, we cannot count those toward reducing the project cost, we just have to put into a contingency bucket at a later point in time? >> that is right. the plan allows us to reduce our contingency levels for the program. further to the point, currently, the program carries $300 million in program contingency. that is part of the $1.58 billion program. this is not allocated, not assigned to any effort in the program, besides program contingency. in the management plan, there are seven intermediate milestones. if the agency meets those milestones, those contingency levels will be reduced, and a radic

at this stage in product development, fta requires cost savings be carried in the program as program contingency. the mta is also controlling cost through its utilization of what is known as a contingency management program -- commissioner chu: just to clarify, you commented that cost savings must be carried as contingencies. would you are saying is, even if we are realizing cost savings, as we are seeing with $8.5 million, hypothetically, the $10 million coming up in the second million coming up in the second quarter of 2011, we cannot count

i think that is what fta interest is going to be.we are not building a system to know where, where people do not have traditional riding transit. this is providing higher levels of quality and service to a community that has been very much in the forefront of using transit. i think it is an important keys down to the sustainability of the neighborhoods touched by this, providing even greater access to growth in this -- growth industries of clean and green technology and it will be the focus of our economic program over the next 30 to 40 years. supervisor campos: thank you, commissioner. thank you to the staff for both of this grant -- transportation authority and the mta bus transfer -- presentations. it is great to see both agencies working together well. we hope that that continues. i would like to thank the members of the public that came out to speak on this. many smart and talented people on both sides of the equation. i do not usually disagree with the speakers that came out against the project. i understand where they are comi

it is a regional small starts priority in a highly rated sfta -- fta project. the project is currently in the environmental analysis, product development phase. we have made a significant amount of progress on this phase. we have completed all the technical studies in support of the anbar the document and are running the administration draft. completed 12% engineering. right now, we are on the verge of circulating the public draft of the eir, eis, identifying a preferred alternative, and initiating 35% engineering on that provocative. the request before you is to amend our contract with parsons transportation group for their portion to getting to the finish line of completing and circulate the environment the document and supporting the 30% project development effort. it is a new scope item and all of those areas. the bigger picture for this phase is it is being conducted in three stages. the first stage is the work we have already done to complete the environmental technical analyses and to complete the 12% project development, which is already done. stage two

program matures, levels will drop, and when those contingency levels are essentially freed a by the fta kroger, how -- program, the agency will be able to reprogram those funds back into the capital program. commissioner chu: so the current $300 million that exists in plans, to the extent that we have additional savings, that would add on top of that contingency? so for example, the 18.5? >> exactly. commissioner chu: and as you meet different milestones, by the end of the project, this contingency balances can be reduced? >> yes, requirements will be lowered, and so the surplus funds, the agency will have the chance to reprogram that money. commissioner chu: so the point i am taking away, the project we have right now, 1.57, that could be down -- brought down in terms of cost savings, but we are not ready to reflect that in the numbers until we meet milestones, until the contingency is released. >> thanexactly. commissioner campos: commissioner david chiu? commissioner chiu: i just wanted to clarify a couple of things. i know we continue to get questions about this from constituents, s

so the fta is going to look at that. it was concealed well. but the funding problems that muni has is long-term. december 2009, service cutbacks, six lines discontinued, others shortened. may 2010, 10% service cuts. no funds to restore service. current fiscal year, $24 million midyear fiscal crisis. right now coming up in a few months. state cutbacks and transportation funds, $400 million deficit, plus multi-year budget deficits in the coming years. that is a known. muni will be hammered in the coming years. riders will be affected. meltdown's are continuing often, and why? aging fleet. $2 billion in deferred investment. $660 million in a structural investment for fleet replacement. the central subway is also considered a high risk project by the mta in their january letter of 2010, and they are saying, the city will not cost -- fund any of the overruns. look at the products across the country. what are the risks? they are high. the central subway, the funding is very peculiar. high speed rail is connecting these -- commissioner campos: thank

it is a highly rated fta small starts project. we have been rated high for cost effectiveness. it is also a regional party for the small start program. we are part of mt a's vision for rapid transit as expressed through their transit affected this project. it is an exciting project for the muni system. where we are right now is the environmental analysis and product development phase. 12%, 30% engineering. we have made a lot of progress. we have completed all the technical studies for the environmental analysis. we have completed 12% project engineering. this is what we are calling phase one in this request. we are moving on to stage two. stage two comprises additional environmental work and the initiation of 30% project development. i will go a little bit more into the scope of this effort in a moment. there is a third phase. the third phase is so designated because it will have a different funding strategy. by the time we reached the stage three, we expect to be able to leverage a small start funds. right now, we are starting product development at risk, but we expect to have

the fta says the you tube video was not correct. >> reporter: the flags were flying high outside the dublin center, as the winter sun and wind caught the colors of the red, white and blue. inside was a ceremony to honor those who are fighting to defend those colors and the country. troops that came home for the holidays were present. >> it makes us feel good about what we're doing. it makes you think that people back home are thinking about you. >> reporter: mike hoklin started the tribute. >> my brothers went to vietnam. nobody knew who they were when they left, nobody knew when they came back. >> reporter: konklin founded the association in 1998 to help heal wounds. >> this has been almost ten years for my family. and multiple deployments and so you build up some armor but it's still, we're all vulnerable. it doesn't get easier. >> i feel really honored that there's people who are really thinking about us. >> reporter: army sergeant pete sullivan is just happy to be home with his pregnant wife. >> to have been gone for 12 months, and to see him two out of the year it's truly a bles

the fta says the you tube video was not correct. >> reporter: the flags were flying high outside the dublin center, as the winter sun and wind caught the colors of the red, white and blue. inside was a ceremony to honor those who are fighting to defend those colors and the country. troops that came home for the holidays were present. >> it makes us feel good about what we're doing. it makes you think that people back home are thinking about you. >> reporter: mike hoklin started the tribute. >> my brothers went to vietnam. nobody knew who they were when they left, nobody knew when they came back. >> reporter: konklin founded the association in 1998 to help heal wounds. >> this has been almost ten years for my family. and multiple deployments and so you build up some armor but it's still, we're all vulnerable. it doesn't get easier. >> i feel really honored that there's people who are really thinking about us. >> reporter: army sergeant pete sullivan is just happy to be home with his pregnant wife. >> to have been gone for 12 months, and to see him two out of the year it's truly a bles

if we are not catching up with tpp or fta, in world trade. >>reporter: rice distributors like nakajima see a better way... specially trained, he is a so-called rice "meister," and can wax eloquent on the subtle flavor notes between hundreds of varieties of white rice, which vary even from paddy to paddy... >>... he and others are confident that high-quality japanese rice can hold its own in a free market,here or overseas... the question is when politics will allow farmers a chance to do so. >>abirached: crazy golf, a once tired mainstay of the british seaside, is making a resurgence, withdozens of new courses opening up from seaside to city centre. as the craze continues to spread across the globe, we catch up with some of the world's top pros at the crazy golf world championships. >>reporter: the "creme de la creme" of crazy golf battled it out on the hastings seafront. >>reporter: founded in 2003, the crazy golf world championships is a key fixture on the international minigolf calendar. where 54 of the world's top players compete for the $

getting back to the questions on the fta's and the clock on colombia had stopped. what are you exactly looking for -- the administration to resubmit that agreement? you are looking at the possibility of restarting the clock on columbia. is that something you can do on your own? >> i think the desire is to have the president send all three together with strong support from the white house and commit the political capital to move those three. each of them it is a market opening agreement but all of the -- colombia has a stornrong foreign policy reason with that as well. i think a discussion still need to be held with the white house, with senate leadership as quote am what the best strategy is -- on what the best strategy is. there is no better way to show the rest of the world of america is serious about trade in casement then moving those three fta's. [coughs] excuse me. >> hi. >> good to see you. >> thanks. a couple of questions on some pending issues we have on trade with respect to the mtp and the gsp. if you could comment on where you think those might go. my n

we came to a separate agreement with the koreans outside the fta. those negotiations will continue. the president is committed to pushing the koreans to give more although beef over 30 months requirement. i hope we get there. host: abilene, texas on the republican line, sandy. caller: i don't know where to start. i'm starting to feel that you are either an american or local list and you cannot be both. maybe you should move to south korea. he obviously has no love for america. the free-trade agreement has gutted this country. we cannot produce anything. quds all i have to say. i'm sad for our country. he looks very well fed and rich. is money is probably in hedge funds in another part of the world anyway. hostguest: i'm sorry if i look l fed. i do my best on that. rich, i don't think so. live within government 30 years. 20 years on capitol hill and eight years on the clinton administration. i discovered the private-sector if after the 2000 election. i am new to this part of it. i don't want to talk about who is the better american. i have always been an american and always will be.

fta allows the movement of goods.the restrictions are removed, it allows for agricultural products to enter. it allows these integrated, very sophisticated electronics and the like to be assembled and reassembled back and forth. it has generated, overall, high- volume trade. has it produced on both sides of the border the kind of good jobs people want? that's still the debate. we have undefined issues, such as the trucking dispute with mexico city. the sale of u.s. christmas trees planted. why? we could not settle the nafta trucking dispute. the teamsters did not want the trucks closely inspected on u.s. roads. the kinks are not all worked out. there are still a lot of challenges that are out there. the ultimate goal is to try to get both economies working productively. it's one of the last areas in the world. the united states has a labor based that it can use and a world that wants us. mexico is pretty important to our economic well-being, as is canada. host: the impact of mexican drug- violence on the u.s. economy