president olague: i spend a lot of time in japan town. i was there this morning, for instance, having a sandwich -- we have to be here by 12:00, so you have to allow for time for lunch. but i was there by your side and i was there a couple of weeks ago also. i'm really excited there is something going into that place and that part of the mall could use some of vitality and some noise. these guys seem reasonable. i bought sandalwood and sense of their last week. i think vitality is what that part of the mall needs. you are right, outside of the bookstore, there is no gathering place. i was sad to see that town house living had closed because they were a family-run business and they had been there for years. i was sad to see their doors had closed. i know is going to be replaced with another business, but i think is more of a change than a family-owned thing. i think you guys can work out your issues. you are right next door. new management? i guess that is good. hopefully, you can work out those issues and there are conditions in here that

located in japan town. requests for conditional use authorization. 1555, request for conditional use authorization. case 88-c, through 2320 chestnut, request for authorization. those are the consent calendar items. >> is there any public comment on consent items? >> hi. i am christina crawford, here to comment on 2011-02 88 c. this is 2320 chestnut street. president olague: you would like that pulled? ok. when we call the project, you can comment on this. >> i will be notified of the new date? president olague: we will hear it right now. jonathan -- is that it? >> thank you. at 1517 irving, commenting on item three. i would like that pulled as well. >> thank you. >> my name is michael lebeck and i'd like have removed, item 2.0, -- >> this is moved. so far, items three and four on the consent calendar will be heard. is there any public comment on the other items? which -- do you want to come to the mic? is this one o fthose we will be hearing? >> i couldn't hear you. >> we pulled 155, 5 irving street, and th

town. the original plan, i believe you saw, the japan center as an opportunity site. unfortunately for us, it was far from being an opportunity site for development. at least there is the opportunity to strengthen japantown for the future generations. one thing to add, coming to the planning commission and going to other meetings, i want to thank you, because the infrastructure financed district popped up, and perhaps that is something you can also consider. thank you very much. >> if you heard your name, come up to the microphone. >> good afternoon, commissioners. as you briefly heard earlier from pual lor -- paul lord, i have been interning. it has been a very rewarding experience working experiencepaul japantown and with community. i am representing japantown on behalf of a progressive group of young leaders. our group focuses on japantown- related issues, such as youth and young adult development. organizing local events and promotingcommunity. we have also been involved in a better neighborhood process, with an 18-page, simplified version of the plan. the organiz

fillmore, to cover and create the surface local light rail, and a connection of the streets to japan town, you would buy yourself a lot of land that would be recreated and the cars could still get off, to go into japan and down into the area to the north. as of one bridge going over,e gr fillmore in a narrow area, you would have a couple of blocks in each direction to create a lot of thing there is. that is the concept that i would like you to consider. and then the other thing on that no jenin crease of height -- no general sp increase of heights and japantown in the 60's and was very high buildings or very low buildings. the grid in the past in san francisco was always two to sick floors and what we did in those days is created a lot of surface level single or double story and everything else was really high and i think you may be able to gain density by looking at the areas where there's rooms now and if it' possible to add a floor or two to those and gain more housing or more things there, but then stay away from where are high buildings where you can and still end up with the same de

they offer a unique cultural experience that is very contemporary to japan town and in line with designs for japantown. those that have been in japan will find it extremely missed out. the games will be prize- oriented. nothing mature or gory. prizes will be changed every couple of weeks, and it iwlwill offer retail goods and snacks. target range is 3-12, anime fans, couples on dates. i store will have a father is applying for or with their children. imagine the joy you will get from winning a hello kitty for your daughter. here are examples. these are some stores in japan. very j-pop. i don't know if you're familiar with the building but it is contemporary and up-and-coming. it will represent the store's image. this is tomo and yiu. -- yui. they will be representatives of the store. check this out, i'll have one here that says sorry, out of order. maybe pictures like this, this will be on the machines, on the walls. someplace that you will feel comfortable to bring your five- year-old. the characters will be on the walls, think of as a hell of katy -- hello kitty store. it offers a refr

i have a letter from paul chin, which serves the senior citizens of japan town. this letter is in support of the verizon antennas to be located on geary. i write both as a former fire marshal for the city and county of san francisco, and in my capacity for kimochi. as a former fire marshal, i know these applications are reviewed not only by the planning department, but also by the health department and the fire department, and to protect the public these agencies ensure the safety of all antennas. the rf report must be included on all plan submitted -- plans submitted, signed by a professional engineer with expertise in the technology. as an officer of kimochi, it is important to me that we have connectivity. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good evening, supervisors. i support construction of more antennas on geary boulevard. it is absolutely silly to be concerned about a location that is so far away. this is over 1,000 feet away from the street. it is important for us to have capacity right now. families need to stay in contact with children and gran

i think this will be a huge success i think it is unforgivable that japan town bowling alley was shut down for market rate on doucondos. this should be well supported by legislation that does not look to the past but looks to the future. in terms of the entertainment and night life industry. but it needs to be supported. with the limited live performance, it goes hand in hand with giving credence with a special use district. my house off to supervisor kim. >> we wanted to look at a more comprehensive reform district but normally we would not have picked off a tapering approach to this. small businesses are moving forward and they cannot wait for the community outreach to take place to look at the overall district. we do support looking at it. this came into being for a reason and we want to do the purpose it out reached before we do any whites killed changes. i am excited about the bowling alley. i want to remind supervisor mirkarimi when your a huge advocate for bowling, there was one of the saddest closures. this is a place for young people and old to go. it is sad that we don't hav

i feel that my store fills a specific need in japan town to provide children and families in place to interact. there is a significant opportunity to bring families with young children because it lacks these types of activities

at the heritage friend level, coalition of asian-american government employees, japan town merchant associations of san francisco, ktsf television, sugar bowl bakery, and union bank. and media partners, abc-7, a.m. 1400, asian week.com, comcast, and choir.net, ktsf tv, s.f. gov tv, the examiner and world channel. thank you so much for your support. [applause] and if you're -- this celebration also received the support of so many individuals as well as professional small businesses and community organizations. you'll see their names listed on the screen and in the program book. and on the website. a.p.a. -- apasf.org. those attending this celebration for the past few years, we have been treated to so many fabulous and unique ethnic, cultural performances. this year, certainly no exception. the northern california cherry blossom festival just celebrated its 44th year. during which the 2011 queen and court was selected. so tonight, the 2011 court will perform their opening number from the queens program, choreographed by mickey nowitzki and music by shina ringo entitled ringo uotota. please welcome

but we are in tandon protecting and nurturing the neighborhood alamance that form the basis for japan town's cultural activity, our atmosphere, and small independent merchant base. there is an analysis in your packet by the planning department, which shows that even maintaining our current basic height limit, there is room for substantial growth within japantown that for the next 20 years, based on current growth in rates. we did take this into account. there's still room to grow. the height increases in the japantown draft plan, however, we felt were just too much. there were too large and inconsistent with the character of japantown. these were up to 375 feet. there were three towers ranging from 130 feet to 250 the potential on the japan center. this is in the neighborhood that basically is about 50 feet maximum height, and it is not built up to the maximum height. you can kind of get our feeling that having these large buildings would destroy the neighborhood character. and one very important issue was a long geary boulevard. we are very concerned that what is now viewed as a moat separa

it you can buy t more crafts for a cause for the south, quite to see at the buddhist temple in japan towncrafts fair and fund raiser to benefit the japanese-american museum san jose. >>> in addition to the handmade items, an author and inspiration for a book will be signing at 11 a.m. you get a book signed then you can sign up to make a book at your own, beginning book making is a class you can take today at the sanchez art center in pacifica. it is kind of pricey at 100 bucks, you know what, a handmade book, fright awesome gift. my kids make them but they are a little cheaper. okay. so you get out there you have some craft they ideas. get out there and make yourself a great today. beth! hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ femalennouncer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calor

the town is crippled, liable to flooding because the coastline has slipped by about a meter, but this is japan. at the town hall, the paintings speak of a way of life, waving off the boats for months end with their flags and streamers for good luck. they thought they'd never see this happen again here. and yet, decks with bunting and flags, they left port to hunt for tuna. fu >> brown: finally tonight, what some recently released audio recordings tell us about former president richard nixon and the events of one surreal night more than four decades ago. ray suarez has that story. >> it's hard to imagine an american president if this intensely security conscious age leaving the white house in the middle of the night to meet protesters on their turf. it happened in may 1970. president richard nixon was under intense criticism for widening the vietnam war to cambodia. four kent state university students had been killed by national guardsmen just days before. thousands of yuck protesters quickly mobilized and headed to washington, d.c. around 4:00 a.m. on may 9, mr. nixon abruptly decided to surpr

the town is crippled, liable to flooding because the coastline has slipped by about a meter, but this is japan. at the town hall, the paintings speak of a way of life, waving off the boats for months end with their flags and streamers for good luck. they thought they'd never see this happen again here. and yet, decks with bunting and flags, they left port to hunt for tuna. >> brown: finally tonight, what some recently released audio recordings tell us about former president richard nixon and the events of one surreal night more than four decades ago. ray suarez has that story. >> it's hard to imagine an american president if this intensely security conscious age leaving the white house in the middle of the night to meet protesters on their turf. it happened in may 1970. president richard nixon was under intense criticism for widening the vietnam war to cambodia. four kent state university students had been killed by national guardsmen just days before. thousands of yuck protesters quickly mobilized and headed to washington, d.c. around 4:00 a.m. on may 9, mr. nixon abruptly decided to surprise

ministry researchers are trying to figure out how much radiation is lingering in the towns and villages around japan's damaged nuclear plant. they started a detailed survey on monday. the information they collect will enable government authorities to draw up decontamination plants for the contaminated 20 kilometer zone surrounding fukushima daiichi. evacuation zones with levels of about 20 millisieverts will also be included in the survey. 30 people gathers on monday at a monitoring point in the designated evacuation zone. power employees are work ago long side government officials. they recorded levels in helicopters and cars equipped with measuring devices. >> translator: nearly 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate. with that in mind we'd like to do all we can to press ahead with the decontamination plan so evacuees can return home sooner. >> environment minister researchers will provide an interim report on the results in december. workers are expected to use the radiation surveys to plan their full scale cleanup efforts which are set to begin in january. >>> a doctor said the physical devel

ministry researchers are trying to figure out how much radiation is lingering in the towns and villages around japan's damaged nuclear plant. they started a detailed survey on monday. the information they collect will enable government authorities to draw up decontamination plants for the contaminated 20 kilometer zone surrounding fukushima daiichi. evacuation zones with levels of about 20 millisieverts will also be included in the survey. 30 people gathers on monday at a monitoring point in the designated evacuation zone. power employees are work ago long side government officials. they recorded levels in helicopters and cars equipped with measuring devices. >> translator: nearly 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate. with that in mind we'd like to do all we can to press ahead with the decontamination plan so evacuees can return home sooner. >> environment minister researchers will provide an interim report on the results in december. workers are expected to use the radiation surveys to plan their full scale cleanup efforts which are set to begin in january. >>> a doctor said the physical devel

ministry researchers are trying to figure out how much radiation is lingering in the towns and villages around japan'saged nuclear plant. they started a detailed survey on monday. the information they collect will enable governmental authorities to draw up decontamination plans for the contaminated 20-kilometer zone surrounding fukushima daiichi. evacuation zones with radiation levels of about 20 millisieverts per year will also be included in the survey. some 30 people gathered on monday at a monitoring point in iitate village, that's located in a designated evacuation zone. tokyo electric power company employees are working alongside government officials. they recorded radiation levels at 100-meter intervals using unmanned helicopters that fly 50 meters above the ground and cars equipped with measuring devices. >> translator: nearly 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate. with that in mind, we'd like to do all we can to press ahead with decontamination plan. so evacuees can return home sooner. >> environment ministry researchers will provide an interim report on the results in december. workers

aside from the aid plan, noda will back japan's support for research on a road building project to link the port town in southern myanmar to the thai border. the assistance is to encourage construction of roads crossing the region. through the measures, the japanese government hopes to boost relations with asean to counter china's growing influence in southeast asia. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

aside from the aid plan, noda will back japan's support for research on a road building project to link the port town in myanmar to the thai border. the assistance is designed to encourage construction of roads crossing the region. through these measures it is japanese government hopes to boost relations with asean to counter china's growing influence in southeast asia. that's all for this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.

. >>> about 150,000 people in japan are waiting to hear one simple thing from politicians and nuclear experts. it's safe to go home. they fled towns and villages surrounding fukushima daiichi after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant. the damaged reto are supposed to be in cold shut down by end of the year. there is no telling when or if evacuees can return home. this week on uclear watch," we find out how these displaced people are feeling about their future, starting with one man's story. here's osama takahashi. >> reporter: he is going home, though he is not sure what he'll find. the japanese government arranged his only previous visit back in september. he went by bus. this time he is driving home. his house is located just 2.5 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. one can see the plant's ventilation tower from the road in front of his house. the march 11th earthquake damaged some of his furniture and a lot of other things. sato had to search through his family's photo albums. he selected photos of a few special occasions, family celebrations, school entrance ceremony. he left all the other photos behin

wooden sticks i traveled far into the hinterland of western japan, a place called curiously enough obama or little beach in japanese. the quiet townd to share its name with the u.s. president is the chop stick capital of japan. here craftsmen are making chop sticks pretty much the way they have for the last 400 years, spending days, months, even years to create a pair of finely lackered chop sticks. if a pair of chop sticks is a heavy, hardwood like maple. trimmed into 8 or 9 inch planks. at this chop stick factory, the magic starts improbably with a sprinkling of broken seashells. this artisan is a 40-year veteran. he says, in the 17th century the samurai craftsmen looked into the sea and saw shells glittering in the white sand. he wanted to recreate this in lacker. lacker is actually layer after layer of varnish painstakingly dried and then reapplied sometimes 30 times in all. most of this will be gently sanded away, revealing a tiny seamless mosaic of shell and lacker. knowing how hard to sand and for how long means the difference between fine lacker and junk. chop sticks come in an endless variety of colors and shapes. there a

. >>> about 150,000 people in japan are waiting to hear one simple thing from politicians and nuclear experts. it's safe to go home. they fled towns and villages surrounding fukushima daiichi after the earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant. the damaged reactors are supposed to be in cold shut down by end of the year. there is no telling when or iffy vak ees can return home. this week op nuclear watch, we find out how displaced people feel about their future starting with one man's story. >> reporter: he is going home, though he is not sure what he'll find. the japanese government arranged a previous visit in september. he went by bus. this time he is driving home. his house is located just 2.5 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. you can see the insulation tower from the road in front of his house. the march 11th earthquake damaged some of his furniture, and a lot of other things. he had to search through family photo albums. he selected photos of a few special occasions, family celebrations, school entrance ceremony. he left all the other photos behind. >> translator: spending time, living so far from home, i've realized

. >>> about 150,000 people in japan are waiting to hear one simple thing from politicians and nuclear accidents -- it's safe to go home. they put the towns and villages surrounding fukushima daiichi power plant after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant. the damaged reactors are supposed to be put into cold shutdown by the end of the year. but there's no telling when or even if evacuees will be able to return home. this week on "nuclear watch," we find out how these displaced people are feeling about their future. and we're going to start with one man's story. here's nhk world's osamu takahashi. >> reporter: hiromichi sato is going home, although he's not sure what he's going to find. the japanese government arranged his previous visit in september, he went by bus. this time, he's driving home. his house is located just two and a half kilometers from fukushima daiichi. one can see the plant's ventilation tower from the road in front of his house. the march 11th earthquake damaged some of his furniture. and a lot of other things. sato had to search through his family's photo albums. he selected photos of special occasi

japan. as the unemployment level rises in spain, the country is dealing with a unique problem -- dozens of villages have been left virtually abandoned. officials say more than 600 townslages are now uninhabited and more finding their population shrinking as the residents flocked to urban areas in search of jobs. spain has the 's highest unemployment rate at more than 20%. italy has a new leader after years of controversy. prime minister silvio berlusconi delivered his resignation. the country's new leading man is working to get the italian economy back on track. >> silvio berlusconi was once untouchable. a self-made man, a man from milan, struck his fortune by founding a media empire is worth about $9 billion. he is said to have hosted sex parties. then there is ruby -- he allegedly had sex with the dancer when she was 17. berlusconi left off but with each scandal, and politics became more of a laughing stock. leaders. european what brought him down was the economy. the italian slow growth, a huge debt, and it * ridiculous politics spooked international creditors. italians said a arrivederci and forth his resignation saturday night. to head off a financial catastroph

japan, right now, for obvious reasons. as the nuclear crisis spiraled out of control, towns surrounding the plant were evacuated. as we approach iitate, the numbers are shooting up now, which is not good for human health. 470. 523. whoa, this is elevated. iitate lies 25 miles northwest of the plant, and it's as close as i'm prepared to go on this trip. it was a farming town before the disaster. but with high radiation levels, tokyo ordered a mandatory evacuation, something that was unthinkable for the mayor, norio kanno. >> werman: the mayor isn't alone. many others told me japanese people have to question the lifestyles they've taken for granted. some are even taking to the streets-- something, i'm told, that's out of character for this country. >> japanese people, even though they're angry inside, they don't show it. but this is a very important turning point. and now, i think those ordinary people, they have to stand up and really become strong. >> werman: as a leading author who has been writing about japan for nearly 50 years, mitsuko shimomura told me she has never seen this many people challenge japan's d

town of cannon beach, oregon wants to do just that. the $4 million city hall it would like to build would double as a tsunami shelter. in japan, they have about a dozen vertical evacuation structures in tsunami zones. and they have invested much time and money into insuring their high rise buildings do not fall during an earthquake. i went to the place they call e- defense outside kobe. it is home to the largest seismic shake table in the world. engineer takuya nagae gave me a fascinating tour deep in the bowels of this massive $400 million facility. >> 12 pistons support vertically and five pistons move horizontally for each direction. >> reporter: during my visit, they were getting ready for another test. about once a month, big structures are built, furnished and then shaken violently to see what happens. >> we have to break the specimen in order to find the capacity. not just so it's safe and we can stop. no, we have to continue to see the real capacity the fracture >> reporter: nagae showed me a stark example of what they have learned here. this reinforced concrete school building failed during its shake test, but this o