my name is ben bleiman. i've lived in san francisco for almost 16 years now, and i've been a bar owner, a father to a toddler now in the outer richmond, and a passionate organizer around nightlife for at least the last ten years, if not more. i am currently the chairman of the california music and culture association, which is the trade association that represents night clubs and bars and music festivals and music concerts. and as i said, i've spent years advocating for night life. but before joining the entertainment commission, but joining the entertainment commission has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences i've had. i'm now the president of the commission, which allows me kind of some extra input into the direction that the office goes and what we do. and i can't say how pleasurable it is and how rewarding it is to work with the commission staff. they're extraordinary competent and care deeply about san francisco night life as i do. i think my root of love for night life is night life is for

i've enjoyed working in partnership with president ben bleiman. our city's night life and outdoor cultural and entertainment events are the heart and soul of san francisco. the 3600 businesses, including restaurants, bars, venues, and other performance spaces employ over 62,000 people, bringing $80 million of tax revenue to the city and spending $1.6 billion on local supplies and services. outdoor events including street fairs, music festivals and parades attracts 3.3 million attendees annually and supporting 9,300 private sector jobs. even with all these major successes and impacts, night life and entertainment, its culture and industry are under assault with the same thing that every san franciscan faces: the cost of doing business in san francisco. in efforts to stream line processes and increase access to the permit process, we've gun digitizing the per -- we've begun digitizing the permit process. we've worked in partnership with mayor breed to create the formation of the special events committee. i'm proud of our efforts to create funding op