before there was a golden gate bridge, there was a golden gate, a golden gate way to america. place where our troops came home from battle. whhe

of our park, the golden gate. today, we are standing at the very center of a vast urban national park that is connected by the spectacular bridge. i might add, this national park is celebrating its 40th anniversary celebration this year. just as this national park resulted from a surprising vision, so, too, did the bridge. here we have the perfect blend of human achievement and natural splendor or. when the golden gate bridge was proposed, many people questioned whether it could live up to the beauty of the golden gate straight, the natural break that connected san francisco bay to the ocean. we can see today that the natural beauty was not only matched, but enhanced. as stewards of the national park lands that greed and support this bridge, we are honored to be partners in this celebration of its every fifth anniversary. congratulations and we look for too long partnership had. thank you, janet. [applause] >> thank you so much, frank, thank you so much for what you do for our parks every day. it is very much appr

before there was a golden gate bridge, there was a golden gate, a golden gate way to america. place where our troops came home from battle. when they came through the golden gate, they knew that they were home, safely home. it is a symbol of hope for immigrants who have come to our shore, and when they came through at golden gate, decades and decades ago and continued to do so, they knew that they could have access to the american dream. it is a gateway to the american dream. those immigrants and those troops are all a blessing to america. we can only imagine what was in their hearts and minds as they saw that it way. 75 years ago, people of courage and innovation decided that there would be a bridge. the mayor pat the describes that it is a symbol of innovation, then and now. built in the midst of the depression, as has been referenced, this bridge is a reminder that no matter what the daunting challenge, no matter how daunting, overwhelming, other, -- america always invests in big and bold endeavors. the construction of the golden gate bridge is a history overcome the doubts

before there was a golden gate bridge, there was a golden gate, a golden gate way to america. place where our troops came home from battle. when they came through the golden gate, they knew that they were home, safely home. it is a symbol of hope for immigrants who have come to our shore, and when they came through at golden gate, decades and decades ago and continued to do so,

golden gate park at all. this has not been done before the beach chalet sote. -- site. it is part of the mou and is required to use on used funds to be carried forward to the next fiscal year. we have time to do the right thing with an alternative. another point i wantwith the co- the product is inconsistent with the local coastal plan, because it fails to protect the naturalist the quality of the park, and because it will have negative effects on other resources in coastal zones but said the project boundaries. this point is definitely appealable to the california coastal commission. you need to hear that. please do not approve this permit. thank you for your time, and hang in there. >> please do not certify the eir. i am beth lewis. it is flawed. it is inadequate. the eir claims the only adverse effect is it will impair the historical significance of a very small portion of the park. i really do not think that cutting down 55 trees and paving over 7 acres near a beautiful ocean, essentially changing the cha

we're talking about over 1,100 acres of golden gate park, less than 1% for this field. there are already ball fields. the ancillary benefit is undeniable, and that is an activation of a part of the parke. i take my job, as i know my colleagues on the commission do, very seriously. one of our main charges is to bring more people to our facilities, more people to our parks, to activate people, to get our kids and grown-ups out there. i would not be taking this job as seriously if i did not consider that we need to be 4- thinking and progressive and innovative with our parks -- forward thinking and progressive and innovative with our parks. when we had the golf course, there was a fair amount of resistance to that, and that has been a very successful in addition to the park, activating an area of the park that otherwise would not be activated. it is hard to say it is ahead of the curve when it comes to activities, because we are such an active city. this department is trying. there were many years when soccer was not popular. i'm sure it was popular with some communities,

i am glad you reminded me that my father was on the golden gate bridge authority. growing up as kids, we had a free pass. every time we went across the bridge, we never had to pay the toll. i thought that was a little unreasonable. that is when i got my first notion of political reform. [applause] -- [laughter] in those days, if you were on the bridge authority, you got a free pass to cross the bridge. we have lost a few of those good perks that stimulated a lot of good work. by the way, my sister cynthia, she walked across the bridge the first day. [applause] there

we begin with the golden gate bridge highway transportation district board and staff. [applause] raise your hand, board members and staff. the golden gate national parks conservancy board, board associates, and staff. where are you? [applause] the national park service. [applause] the presidio trust board and staff. [applause] and the elected officials and the staff of the great city and county of san francisco. [applause] than today we want to welcome our corporate partners who have supported our anniversary with funding and communications support. we are especially grateful to our to our partners. genentech, represented by jeffrey teeter. [applause] hewlett-packard, represented today by kirsten rivera. [applause] kaiser permanente take, represented by yvette radford. [applause] wells fargo, represented by richard belite. [applause] to our cable partner, odwalla, represented by mason thorton. [applause] to our building partner, chevron, represented by russ yaro. [applause] david miller. [applause] levi strauss and co., represented by jill nash. [applause] pg&e, repres

i am glad you reminded me that my father was on the golden gate bridge authority. growing up as kids, we had a free pass. every time we went across the bridge, we never had to pay the toll. i thought that was a little unreasonable. that is when i got my first notion of political reform. [applause] -- [laughter] in those days, if you were on the bridge authority, you got a free pass to cross the bridge. we have lost a few of those good perks that stimulated a lot of good work. by the way, my sister cynthia, she walked across the bridge the first day. [applause] there she is. my father has a picture of that. i was not born yet. it was the next year. [laughter] by the way, 1937, there was higher unemployment than aren't we do then there is today. and most people were a lot for them there are today. when people say we cannot afford it, you have to question that. when we could not afford it, we greet -- built great monuments, great expressions of courage. that is what this bridge represents. [applause] now we want to distinguish between foolishness and boldness. but if

this week in, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of our golden gate bridge.ot the comment on what it meant to me. i said to a number of you in the media that one of the reasons that it is not just a great engineering marvel for our country, but it has been a symbol for many people around the world to come to san francisco, and this is just one of those neighborhoods among many where people establish themselves and created little saigon, and i have been very proud to work with all of these small businesses and residents of the tenderloin community and this area for years. mohammed nuru and i spent many years of walking up the street trying to figure out how to improve it. in between our noodles and our sandwiches, we were able to figure out a few things with the neighbors. by golly, if you look at this today and compare it to five years ago, it is reflected now so much private investment. people are taking their own risks as well as investing in their own neighborhoods. and we started -- a thing two years ago we put these pillars in that the bequest of the nei

no one can build a bridge over the golden gate because of insurmountable difficulties. that was what was said about it at the time. 75 years ago, at the completion of the international orange marble, strauss would probably right, at last, the mighty task is done. 75 years later, we recall the words of that same poem he wrote. launched the midst of a thousand hopes and fears, and damned thousand hostile sneers, yet never its course has strayed. and here we are today, 75 years later. it is a point of personal privilege for many of us here to remember the 50th anniversary. remember that? what a crowd we all remember the unexpected crowd that showed up to walk across the bridge. a little different from the inauguration. in the 25 years since, i have had the privilege in congress to work with so many of you here. certainly, janet is relentless and persisted in her advocacy for this bridge. appropriately, in the bridge international orange, that is how she comes into congress to remind us of what our challenges and responsibilities are. this is a bridge that we always want to

that is the impact of lights, on golden gate park. that is the lack of interpretation and respect for what the golden gate

of golden gate park was all sand, too. so we actually have created an environment and there's plenty of places for the scunks and the raccoons and the coyotes and birds and bats to go, except for those nine acres, there's a lot of other park that can be part of their habitat and i think they'll be able to adapt to other parts. i really don't see a problem with this particular e.i.r. there was one other issue brought up, i guess it was about the lights and there are other lights in golden gate park, at keyzar, at the concourse. and i don't think it's foreign to have lighting there and the technology has been improved greatly. you notice the lights at at&t park, which are much larger than these would be, but the light coming off of those is much less than in some of the orland parks, particularly candlestick or other places where the light suggest not as advanced as it is today. you can focus the lights on a fairly discreet area and you'll still be able to see the night sky a few blocks away from it and see all the things yo

the golden gate bridge and golden gate park are both icons. the bridge is a magnificent gateway to san francisco. it is an magnificent gave way to the ocean. the wind mill has undergone multimillion-dollar renovations. the intrusion of the sports complex with artificial turf and stadium lighting would mar the setting. i urge the commission to consider alternatives which would create an overall increase in soccer time and maintain the western edge of the park. that is the intent of the master plan. thank you. good afternoon, commissioners. i am a 40-year resident of san francisco. i am a commissioner on animal control and we have heard this issue, up several months ago. i'm surprised to see what a big deal it has become. it is interesting to hear all the comments. the kids were really cute. i saw your faces smiling. us adults are here to say something else. i am opposed to this plan to cut turf on here. the other alternative about the when when of the sunset playground. it is very expensive, the lighting -- this is the west end of the park. it

hundred scandals using the gate including bart and homer simpson. so we look up to watergate to remember, people forget, for you it's all distant history. i recall the 25th anniversary there was a man on street interview in champagne, illinois where i lived and they asked the young college student what was watergate about? one of the presidents resigned, we can laugh but it's easy to forget. a poll in germany showed that 20% of german college students do not know, had no idea what auschwitz was. they had a reason to forget. when we think of wear gate as a triumph but not a blemish on our history. time grows old teaches many lessons. time is passing what are the lessons of watergate. one of the things relate to the people involved in this conspiracy didn't decide in 1972 let's get together and violate through. they took baby steps, happened a step at a time, at one point they were on the other side of the line. many of them were no older or just a few years older than many of the people in this room. i mean we shouldn't be self-righteous, therefore b

the golden gate park facility should be made accessible to all users. one of the key elements of this proposed project is to make open spaces accessible to people of all means and abilities and to increase accessibility, which is consistent to the general plan. finally, the golden gate park master plan, while not in the general plan, there is an outline suggesting what should be in the plan, and that outline does provide conflicting policy direction for facilities such as the soccer fields. again, within the golden gate park subsection, the outline suggests that we should have recreational facilities, the recreational facilities are considered essential resources in golden gate park, and it emphasizes the role of recreational facilities. at the same time, it emphasizes that the naturalistic landscapes should be protected and renewed within the bounds of its character. it also states that vehicle traffic should be minimized. finally, the primary function of the part is to serve the recreational needs of all san franciscans. the implications include that

my family spent every weekend in golden gate park. my parents love the flora and fauna and have always been very active in environmental issues. i first discovered a soccer ball when i was 13 1/2 or 14 and five years later in 1961, 50 years ago, our soccer team, the under 19 boys team, won the united states national championship. this is the first youth team from west of the mississippi river to win a national championship and to this day the only san francisco youth team that has ever won a national championship. most of the kids, incidentally, were poor kids from all over the city and beach chalet was our haven, our heaven. and it was an amazing opportunity for us to grow up playing soccer there. i wanted to say that since i started coaching in 1960 and i've coached about 70,000 kids in that time, and i've also been very concerned about environmental issues. and i wanted to say that i am a little conflicted as the previous speaker indicated, and there are many, many things they am concerned with in terms of the e.i.r. and the plan t

the ring with the golden gate bridge as the symbol front and center as a part of that ring. i wanted to once again acknowledge, because they have been so central to what we have been able to accomplish with this anniversary celebration, our sponsors, our tower supporters. wells fargo, celebrating its 160 it anniversary this year. they have just been phenomenal. talk about the perfect connection to the bridge with their history. hewlett-packard, who as a breeze to engineering and innovation, just as the bridge represents innovation. they are another partner. genentech. also an educational partner and an innovator in the health care world. and kaiser permanente a who saw the power of the bridge in the surrounding park lands to bring exercise to the community and the millions of people who, thanks to the wonderful work that has been done over the years in congress, have allowed our surrounding areas here to be full of people that walk, jog, and by the bridge a nearby park lands. please join me in thanking these towers sponsors. [applause] quickly, at the cable and builders of a

join me in welcoming bill gates. >> thank you. i am grateful forever your invitation to address ow this special day. to express my gratitude, i brought this with me. this bag is helping lift 10 million people out of poverty. farmers in central and west africa grow black eyed pea s. they are hearty and protein rich. weave ils destroy half crop after it is harvested. or they did until receipt cases developed this nylon back that costs less than $2 and keeps out the bugs and increases poor farm family incomes by over 25%. that bag is a good example of the many partnerships our family has with aplu members across the country. the american public colleges and universities do the finest research in the world. you create knowledge not just for its own sake, but to improve people's lives. on behalf of the foundation, i want to thank you for that. today i want to focus on the one thing you do that is even more important in that research. that's providing great education to almost five million students. the moral act created a system of pub

with the new language added, mclaren clearly needs work, in golden gate also. those are two of the major gems in the city. the forest alliance is satisfied with the additional language. we might have hoped for more, but that is the nature of it, and we are satisfied and will not in any way opposed the bond. >> i have a slide. i will to speak to it. i am arnita bowman, and i want to sit the to the supervisors released -- for listening to the concerns. the natural areas is a very controversial program. they're people barely support it and others of us the top concerns. it is encouraging we're starting to be listened to. i want to say that i agree with rpd and the representation of mount davidson being a signature gem of san francisco. it still needs to be protected. i think that is what we're interested in. there are many of the things that the natural areas are doing that some of us do not think are beneficial to the parks, and preserving those as a treasure of the sentences go. i just want to say i think it is really important that this discussion started soone

i wanted to talk briefly about the golden gate master plan. i know neil mentioned it briefly as part of the general plan review process but i wanted to point out that the department recognizes that goaltender -- golden gate park is separated into to distinct sections, the east end, the more developed area and the west end is more sylvan and pastoralnd we recognize that and respect that and try for that goal. but if you look deeper into the master plan -- plan, that concept an over over-arching concept but there is specific language in the plan that poisonous to athletic facilities and i want to just briefly touch on some of those. in the objectives and policies they recognize major recreation be areas in the park and beach chalet is clearly marked as the a major recreation area with specific purposes for athletic play, soccer. others have that also, like the fly casting pool or the golf course. they're intended for a specific use and that's the way the master plan recognized thep. the second it in the recreation facilities portion of the of th

. >> this would monica gate. white wear was a complex -- during bill clinton's sflue that state and i don't understand myself an expert on them in order to comment to that question. >> wee have karl bernstein, kyle woodward. >> he has been uncovering the story. what more than anything he did kibt them at various points. but really what he did, he confirmed those things and it relimb nated awill lot of doubt. for the purpose of context, woods werg introduced for the first time a carker in that bhook had not appeared named three deep throat which was a kind of humorous nickname taken from a pornographic video at that time. he refered to an executive force who they con sult on their pone. over the years bernstein has suggested that deep throats only confirms thing to them and that they came acongress. another time they had made clear for original sfings for them. what is clear from wears our wood is that deep throat was an umbrella device that was used to refer to more than just mark felt. he was the number two guy

i am the conservation director with the golden gate audubon society. i am asking you to refuse to certify the eir. we believe the eir is very inadequate and represents another -- is very inadequate. we are losing -- because of ongoing conflicts with human activity in natural areas. i was going to talk about the specific plan. one of the things that has gone over tonight, is that we need more playing fields. there is a great demand for it. that is completely understandable. if you look at the history of golden gate park, there are always good reasons to develop the park. good reasons to do more and more there. that is why the general plan recognizes the value of golden gate park cost the western end. that is why the golden gate park master plan specifically says that the park -- it is expected that the plan will retain the integrity of the original design. the plan says all activities and features and facilities should respect the unique design and character of the park. the irs acknowledges the significance impact -- the eir acknowledges the significan

i am a member of golden gate audubon. i urge you to reject the eir to replace the natural grass soccer field at beach chalet and replace them with artificial

the golden gate bridge.e warn about apple conference, getting ready for the commute with the cones. back to you. >> thanks, mike. >> coming up, he was in diapers the last time the u.s. open was in los angeles. the young man will be teeing off, the golfer making history. rfrmt drivers in the south bay work on the b.a.r.t. extension. it's going to cause detours on the road starting this morning. i'll tell you where coming up in a live report. >> reporter: and u.s. open fever hits theay