we've seen how successful crocker amazon has been. you go there, it's an incredible sight to see on a saturday morning. there are hundreds of kids that are there and i think beach chalet, i play there, played soccer there, played irish football there, it's a great facility. i think it could be used to its potential. we've got rugby and we've got lacrosse, we've got baseball, we've got so many sports that would benefit greatly to have the field astro turf'd. i know everybody's concerned about the impacts against the environment. i think golden gate park is a phenomenal place and down through the years it's kind of changed as the needs of the city have changed. it's constantly changing. so please accept the e.i.r. i think it would be a great benefit for young families and families with kids and they'll get great enjoyment out it. >> commissioners, steve kerrier. you've had a wonderful week, haven't you? >> yes. >> i'm president of the outer merchants and residents association and a few years ago i was chair of the crocker amazon crock a

so these kids when they do get to go to crocker or, from redding to crocker one day a week they don't get to go on the turf. it's not for ids under 8. not enough capacity. they get to play on the grease over there, which is fine but in a six-week season in the spring two of the games are rained out. so it's unfortunate to say the least. we think the beach chalet will take pressure off the rest of the city and provide more access to children from low-income public school communities all over san francisco poem -- san francisco . shannon? we have two additional speakers. >> good afternoon. thank you for letting me have this opportunity to speak. my name is shannon burns and i've been a soccer and poetry coach for america scores for over five years ue -- now. i began coaching in oakland where i worked with four teams at different elementary schools all having a field at their school site or within walking distance. when i transitioned here to san francisco recently and started working with elementary schools including redding i was surprised to see every practice and game was played on b

those sorts of things were happening at crocker. if you put the lights in here, it it will make it a destination spot. we will no longer have the crime or the problems we have in that area. we are short of the field and this is a perfect opportunity to make this an icon of the city. even better than what we have going on at crocker. this puts it or everybody can have access. thank you. president fong: due to be our commthe hour, there are a groupf kids. you guys want to quickly speak? a small group, hopefully. maybe have one or two speakers representing you. >> i am the father of this girl and the volunteer parent coach of the san francisco seals. we are a soccer team. most of the girls on this team have been playing together since pre-k. we have played in all kinds of fields in san francisco. grassy areas that are not fields, but according to the leak, that they considered them places for us to play. a lot of people have spoken that those are not good places for kids to run around. they are in pretty bad shape. we have seen a lot o

it is proved with the places like crocker that they are great. more and more people are planning a clunker. people are getting fed. art -- are planning longer. people are getting fit. i am excited by this proposal. it will give opportunities for children. nobody has mentioned obesity yet. i do hope your excitement is shared with me and that you approve this plan. thank you for your time. >> good evening. i am a san francisco resident. in december of 2011, i commented on inadequate eir. i oppose the project as it is currently planned. i made a number of comments about a compromise alternative. none of the comments i made at that time have been properly addressed in the 700-page response document. i have written objections to that. i would like to enter them into the record. i specifically objected to the fact that there is this false dichotomy between field at the beach chalet or an alternative. the response documents proposed to say that has already been addressed as part of the offsite alternative. that is absolutely not true. the compromise alt

crocker came out of retirement last july to take over the post after a request from president obama. it's unclear why he's leaving the post a year ahead of schedule or who will replace him. there have been persistent rumor his wanted to leave for personal reasons. in a quote, ambassador crocker confirmed with regret he will be leaving kabul this summer, from an acting embassy spokesman. >> why don't we get started here. thank you all for coming today. we are here to discuss the report of the american energy innovation council on the role of government and developing innovative energy technologies, the business leaders of the council have a long track record of commercial success building technology companies that compete in the global marketplace and they make a strong case in that report, that with the government as a partner the united states can continue to lead in the clean energy sector. as all of the witnesses today point out in their written testimony, there's a global race on to produce the next generation of energy technologies. prices on our electricity bills are at the pum

the announcement today said crocker will leave in mid-summer. he came out of retirement in july to take the job in kabul after having served as ambassador to iraq. in washingn, t state department spokeswoman underscored crocker's decision was not about policy differences. >> he wanted to make it clear that this should not any way be seen as a lessening of his personal commitment and our national commitment, obviously, to afghanistan if you've got a chance to see the fuller statement that he put out to his embassy and the larger community. i think his heart will always be a little bit in afghanistan. >> holman: the president now will have to nominate a replement for crocker. in the interim, james cunningham, currently serving under crocker in kabul, will become acting ambassador. iran and the u.n. nuclear agency were said to be close to agreement today to allow inspections of key iranian sites. the head of the u.n. agency, yukiya amano, spoke after meeting with iran's chief negotiator, saeed jalili. he said he expects to sign a deal soon, once so

it's not known where crocker is stepping down. the white house considering the deputy ambassador james cunningham to replace crocker. first, it was members of the secret service and now, the d.e.a. at least three agents from the drug enforcement administration are under investigation for allegedly hiring prostitutes as well in colombia. they confirm that the investigation is going on but say it's unrelated to the prostitution scandal. a secret service apparently blabbed about the d.e.a. agents as well. a missing climber from a deadly mt. everest expedition has returned to camp safely. now one of the survivors from that trip is speaking out. the doctor says strong winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour moved in and trapped dozens of climbers. four didn't make it out. he said the climbers became disoriented. >> basically was hallucinating, took his hat off and he reached out and looked at me and kind of reached out to me, kind of in like a zombie like fashion. at that point, not a lot you can do for somebody that's dying and frozen

ambassador ryan crocker will step down from the diplomatic post this summer. the announcement comes a day after he attended a nato summit with president obama which focus on how to wind down. meanwhile, the u.s. death toll in afghanistan keeps rising. last night the department of defense announced the loss of a soldier from prince george,. , the 28-year-old captain was killed in action during an attack of an ied. >> one year since the disaster in joplin, missouri. today the town will mark the occasion with a day of unity to honor the 161 people died when a powerful twister tore through the town. last night the president was in joplin to deliver a commencement address to the graduating seniors. the call on the class of 2012 to remember the lessons they learned overcoming adversity. >> you are from joplin and you are from america. no matter how tough times get you will always be tougher. you will not be defined by the difficulties you face, but how you respond, with grace and strength and a commitment. to commitment credits as part of the day long memorial event

i live in district 11 which is home to the crocker amazon play fields which you heard a lot, quite a bit about today and hopefully soon the levy ward fields. these are going to be synthetic fields. the community wanted those fields and that was their desire. however, after seeing the reviews about the beach chalet i'm more and more convinced that this is the wrong location for synthetic field turf. it goes against everything with golden gate's master plan and the feeling in the communities around the park that golden gate park is special and does not need to have synthetic fields. we don't know enough about these fields yet. we've got 10 years, less than 10 years under our belt learning about how these fields are good going to be react and whether we're going to need more funds to keep them in shape. whereas with grass, by renovating the beach field with grass we have the opportunity to do all those wonderful amenities, the bathrooms, all the parking, the issues that other people brought up that could make this a classy field for everyone to use if down the road soccer is not the mai

ambassador crocker came out of retirement to take that post in the summer of last year. >>> as the u.s. prepares to pull combat troops out of afghanistan by the end of 2014, the fight against al qaeda is increasingly turning to yemen. as nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports, the escalation of violence under scores the new threat. >> reporter: the suicide bomber was disguised as a soldier. he tucked into a crowd at a rehearsal for a military operate in sanai, detonated a bomb and killed nearly a hundred people. yemen's defense minister narrowly escaped with his life and officials say it's likely the work of al qaeda in yemen. while the u.s. has decimated al qaeda elsewhere, the militant group has grown in yemen because the country hasn't had an effective government for a year. but the arab spring finally toppled yemen's former president and the new president is trying to re-establish order and crack down on al qaeda. u.s. military officials tell nbc news the new president has dramatically increased government sanctioned u.s. drone attacks in yemen and american counter

, go to crocker amazon and see what they do there, 1,000 kids playing soccer all day. it's an amazing place and we can build another amazing place. it's a great thing for the city and a great thing for the park. >> thank you. next group of players or -- ok. >> one more announcement. for those of you who are taking pictures, i really hate doing this all the time but when you use your flash it really does irritate some of the commissioners so you can take all the pictures you want to take, just don't use flash, please. thank you. i need some kids -- please stop bringing kids in. you keep doing that. please stop doing that. we're crowded. let some people leve and then bring some more in. thank you. >> i am an immigrant frp el salvador. i coach three-point different teams and this year, two of my teams were rained out in the first two weeks. i couldn't bring my team with me, but i'm bringing two of my sons. carlos and diego. and i just want to ask you to please on behalf of our children in san francisco do what's right for them. let's forget about the politics. let's forge

there's ryan crocker, the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan on the left.e white house chief of staff, jack lew, and you can see him over there in the glasses and the darker hair. they're getting ready to be seated and jack reed to the left and carl levin and others and some of the afghan officials who will witness this historic signing ceremony, and as i pointed out, this is basically a framework agreement for some ten years, but a lot of the details have to be resolved. how much u.s. economic and military assistance will continue to flow to afghanistan after 2014? how many u.s. troops will remain in afghanistan after 2014? what will be the role or will they remain in training? senator reed, you're still on the phone with us, and i assume you can't see and these were some of the pictures of the president walking in with hamid karzai. they're going to be speaking and right now they're going to be doing the signing ceremony, and i take it, senator reed, they signed the agreement first and then they spoke. is that what happened? no, they spoke first. presiden

crocker also attended the nato summit here in chicago... to participate in talks about afghanistan's future. it's not clear why he's leaving. a u-s army soldier from wheaton has died after injuries he suffered while serving in afghanistan. specialist samuel watts was hurt by an i-e-d last month. he died on saturday in maryland. watts joined the army in 20-10 after graduating from wheaton north high school. he earned numerous medals during his career, including the bronze star and purple heart. watts was on his first deployment to afghanistan. he was 20 years old. police are investigating a traffic accident that killed an 8-year-old boy while he rode his bike in north suburban skokie. the three-car crash happened around 4:30 yesterday afternoon -- on the corner of main street and saint louis. police say a toyota camry collided with a car... then hit the boy on the sidewalk, before striking a third vehicle. the boy died at the scene. so far, no citations have been issued. seven men are now charged following a weekend attack on a group of tinl

crocker perhaps our most experienced diplomat, served in lebanon and pakistan and iraq. told now that it is because of health issue, not policy disagreement. this is an inflection point. everything laid out in nato is really a wish list of a transition out. but we have still not been able to secure the south and the east, and that's the very areas where the afghan troops are not in control right now. >> that is true. i think ambassador crocker's departure is not a good thing, in terms of trying to come it a resolution in how we make this successful exit out of afghanistan. i -- i didn't know it's because of health reasons because there were none given when the announcement was made. i assumed there was an element of frustration, perhaps some of fatig fatigue, maybe a desire to get back into the private world where he came out of retirement. but this certainly is going to leave a major gap in terms of capability, although jim cunningham, who is rumored to be his successor, is certainly very capable. i also think, andrea, you're going to see others start to depart from ser

crocker didn't have to do this. he served the country very well.ty as ambassador in iraq, came back a year ago to do this job in pakistan to help defeat the taliban, and although he hasn't said anything publicly and may never say anything publicly, i think it reflects frustration. gregg: when you say retreat from afghanistan, the obama policy, are you referring to withdrawal in 2014? >> well, that and the cessation of the u.s. lead in military operations next year. i think this is a prescription to give the country back to the taliban and just give up all the sacrifice we've gone through the past ten years. gregg: rendering an 11-year war for naught. >> exactly. it's a great tragedy. gregg: let me transition to a different international story. talks begin in baghdad over iran's suspected nuclear program. who gains, who loses out of this? >> well, i'm very worried that the obama administration is about to accept a false deal with iran. that the iranians will throw some dust in our eyes, make some minimal concessions and get u.s. acquiescence to thei

much the cory booker stuff not worth continuing for days on end that's for sure and bassett or ryan crocker stepping down offers more bad news for the slow and embarrassing unraveling of the war in afghanistan and since we're playing the name game here let me just point out one name that most definitely did not make it on to your t.v. screen that name would be john brennan obama's chief counterterrorism advisor now you've heard me talk about a many times before on the show most recently where he publicly spoke out about the drone program called it moral and ethical and just and you have to wonder why suddenly he was feeling so good about talking about it in the open well now we have our answer according to reports in the associated press john brennan has now sees the lead in choosing who will be targeted for drone attacks and rates or as i like to put it he's now the man who decides who lives and who dies the judge jury and executioner or as glenn greenwald put it the unelected death sentence so far altman i think that last one really has the best ring to a bit what's really happening here

supervisor john avalos, from district 11, which includes the excelsior, and will sign, our mission, and crocker supervisor avalos was elected to the board in november of 2008. we are going to get to know him and talk about the toughest issues facing the city. welcome and thank you for joining us today. tell us a lot about your background, where you grew up, went to school, the job you worked. >> i was born in a town called and los angeles. it was a lot of working-class folks. my father was a shore worker, my mother was an office worker at usc. my parents were divorced when i was 10 years old, and i moved to the east coast for six years before going back to california after high school. i went to school at uc santa barbara, grte

. > ryan crocker is set to step down.he news of his departure came monday night hours after the nato summit in chicago where he was attending with president obama. kevin is our next caller, an independent. caller: in disenchanted with the democrats and republicans calling in. i think they're all delusional. i think none of them get it. the question is whether or not bain capital should be fair game. when barack obama was running for president in 2008, the republican party, including mitt romney, open up everything he did, including his economic plan. who was working with. committees. the whole 9 yards. they're still getting. mitt romney is running on the economy. guess what. business experience is part of that. barack obama is an economist. i use that term loosely. that is why i have no party affiliation. the last caller, going after barack obama, it is a delusional propaganda machine. the democrats have no idea how to pick facts. i'm sorry. bain capital is fair game. there is no character assassination. they bought them

we're driving across town to crocker, which is a great facility. to make it easier for those of us committed to the city, and who believed in the public- school system year, help us with some of the after-school activities and bring as a field in golden gate park. it is a centrally located place for families to get to. if you could make it work for us, that would be terrific. >> next speaker. >> i am jason mitchell. two of my daughters came to speak. san francisco has the lowest per capita amount of children of any city in the country. i am so heartened by the activists and the activism of all of us. i am also frustrated and irritated. this is a simple thing you could do to value us as parents and children. you have no idea how hard -- to any of you have children? >> we are allowing kids right now. >> do something for us as families and children. thank you very much. >> next under 18 speaker. [laughter] >> add does she want to speak? -- does she want to speak? >> the reason that we want beach chalet soccer field is so kids can have fun and have sav