i know that we had to go through a hole fire, i was really happy to see the projects moving alongi would be curious to hearm the budget analyst. >> sure the. >> what proposed are two positions that are general fund funded to work on the the city's own project. the way our protocols have worked for a long time is that when a city agency comes to us for environmental review, we automatically put them at the top of the queue. what happens repeatedly is that departments come in for their reviews, and we are pushing off the private project sponsors. it really creates a problem for us on the other side. what this would do is allow us to have staffed exclusively dedicated to those city projects. it would be primarily rec-park, three of our four biggest projects right now, and allow that work to move forward without delaying other projects. i will say that we are broadly defining "environmental review" so we are including the staff of the department and the staff that is dedicated to the historic preservation side of ceqa, which also causes delays. collectively, that will really help us move tho

. >> a nationally recognized singer, please welcome phillip alongi who will perform the "national anthem." ♪ o say can you see ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ ♪ through the perilous fight ♪ o' er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ and the rocket's red glare ♪ the bombs bursting in air ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ o say does that star spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave noeds ♪ >> with that the first full day of the republican national convention is underway in tampa, florida. we will, of course, keep you up to speed and up-to-date on all that's happening there. but right now let's go back to the breaking news on hurricane isaac. tamron hall standing by in new orleans with the very latest. hey, there, tamron. >> reporter: hi, craig. as we mentioned, this is the big breaking story. this is the story that could impact lives. we know hurricane isaac has already been a deadly storm. president ob

. >> phil alongi, joining us as executive producer here on the floor. very much for being with us. >> my pleasure, steve. >> back to dan ball from "the washington post." as we conclude our preview. and we will have live coverage on monday when the gavel comes down. but it will be a brief session. dan ball, looking at the polls, romney campaign is saying we are in this game despite the onslight. >> that's right, we in "the washington post" have a poll which will be out overnight. which shows a close race, this is a competitive election. we are likely to see that at least until we get through the debates. the notion that someone will get a bounce in the next weeks is old fashioned. the conventions back to back don't allow an opportunity for someone to get a big bounce. the betting is once we get through this week and next week, the race will still be where it is as they go in. which is a close race and a lot of battle ground states with a margin of error. we will go into the fall as we have been all summer. >> this is something that people preview as rema