oakland is the second most literate city in the nation, the city with the best weather -- sorry, sand francisco. -- sorry, san francisco. we are constantly being named as the most diverse city. that is, like, 129 languages spoken in our public schools. our latest group, the winner of our spelling contest is a young lady from nepal. oakland is a city that is constantly reinventing itself, whether it be in the end of the transcontinental railroad with dozens of hundreds of different kinds of european immigrants across the country, or the home to the borders that gave birth to a jazz movement, or today, as the most affordable place for new immigrants coming to the bay area to live. each of them leave a mark. one thing that i would say, when you come to oakland, is that of lenders -- is that oaklanders are pretty passionate about our city. i was teasing ed that he and i have probably made more public appearances together then my husband and i have in the last couple of months. i can assure you that we work really closely together, which resolves a couple of major longstanding issues. what

oakland is the second most literate city in the nation, the city with the best weather -- sorry, sandrancisco. -- sorry, san francisco. we are constantly being named as the most diverse city.

the m.t.a., the muni city, literally is one of the most productive systems in terms of per capita resident usage of a transit system in this country next to new york. so if we have 800,000 residents here in the city, 700,000 people ride the system everyday. the very demanding environment. and we need to build for the future and we're taking our capital dollars right now to reinvest, rebuild the system, build more of the system so that we can deal with the population demand and transit demand we see in the future. >> my name is paul simpson. there's a big elephant in the room that no one's commented on. i'm wondering if someone among our esteemed panelists might stand up and respond to this. first of all, i want to say that i appreciate at least stepping in -- ed lee stepping in as the mayor jumped off. we have a situation here where the city takes in $6 billion. it takes in a lot of money. but approximately $1 billion of that are going to employee retirement benefits and current employee benefits. everyone talks about a partnership of labor. that partnership is dysfunctional. is there anyo

literally. tuesday, the city council will consider hiring a single contractor to deal with commercial waste pickup and disposal. city staff is recommending allied waste. allied owns its own landfall and processing facility. some councilmembers say that just makes sense. >> we want to move the city to a zero waste city. we want to be the first in the country to be a zero waste city. and we know we've got no more room at the landfalls. so we've got to make a transition. and to do that requires having a single hauler who has demonstrated time and time again that they're able to meet those kinds of diversion goals. >> but not everyone believes giving allied a monopoly on commercial waste removal is a money-saver. other waste services are filing complaints against the action. >>> we have all heard the saying. one man's trash soothe man's treasure. in san francisco, a group of artists is working to restore a centuries old mural no one bothered to care for. nbc bay area's joe rosato jr. shows us the artwork's unusual journey back into the light. >> i've been doing murals in the city and beyond for over 1

thieves are taking aim at the city's parking metres literally. christin airs is in oakland with how much these thefts are costing the city. >> reporter: dana, it took a very short walk to find these sawed off parking metres. a half a dozen within a few hundred feet all because thieves are quite literally ripping them off. workers at downtown oakland's sidecar restaurant started noticing it late last year. one day they were fully intact. >> it looked like somebody took a hack saw a powerless tool of some sort and cut the heads off. >> until there were more than half a dozen decapitated metres on this block alone. >> we really think it is the change in the economy. people are looking for extra change. so what they do is cut the meter head off. they take it some place where they tried to break in. >> reporter: for the city it means lost revenue and another $300 to replace each damaged meter. so parking officials have set up a foil. >> and we've been installing a deterrent sleeve over the pole that makes it very hard for the pole to be cut. >> but the

. >> i think part of that is in 1913 a city ofs a place of culture, commerce, and industry and the signs in a literal and metaphorical way were present in the city but we're debating now what cities are and sustainabl sustainablity and environmentalism and once you say that maybe signs are not a part of the city or unnatural or don't speak to the values of a non consumer oriented culture and make clear for example. i think this kind of notion and the notion of signs and beautification is also an issue. >> this picture shows both the general advertising. this used to be the buy it yourself casket company. you could beretail caskets. what a loss to the city. it says on the window for lease and there is a provision in the planning code when a business is gone the sign has to be removed within a certain lent olength oftime. do you know th? >> no not off hand and the business sign goes with the business and once it's gone not considered a business sign. >> and it's in the code and it says how long you have and i think 90 days and the business code says that as well. here is another one of the corner signs

city. today, we have are before us, literally, groundbreaking legislation. what he will sign into law today, what the mayor will sign into law today represent a big of a to the city's regulation of local food production. our community gardens and backyard kitchen gardens will be permitted everywhere under this legislation. surprisingly enough, prior to this legislation, the sale of that food was not. the products are primarily derived from locally grown foods. it establishes operational standards to ensure compatibility of urban agriculture within our existing neighborhoods. there are [unintelligible] from the agricultural commission as well. it is my great pleasure to introduce the champion of environmental sustainability. he was director of public works and the city administrator. he has been instrumental in moving electric vehicle policies forward as well as leading an overall effort to make the city far more sustainable. it is my great pleasure to introduce you today. >> good afternoon, everybody. it is my personal pleasure to be out here. i want to thank

there are literally thousands of potholes all over the city of oakland. take a look at these ones on jackson street. cars driving through this stretch of street simply cannot avoid a rocky ride. while crews are focusing on patching up these potholes, some say it's nothing more than putting a band aid over the bumps. >> there's another one right here, like there's a few right here. >> reporter: susan can't escape them. >> potholes everywhere. it's like you can't catch a break. >> reporter: her east oakland home is surrounded by potholes. >> i always have to try to dodge them and if i don't donl them i think i'm going to get a flat tire, and it's just terrible. >> reporter: but help may be on the way. oakland public works has kicked off a four-week blitz to patch hundreds of potholes all across town. >> we shouldn't have that many potholes throughout our city. buff unfortunately our streets are in that type of condition where they continue. >> reporter: but city workers admit the patchwork is just a temporary fix. the roads really need to be repaired at the

city. [laughter] one that does not let me sleep very much, but certainly it -- i have said this in many cases, just literally these eight weeks i have fallen in love with this city even deeper because it is such a wonderful place to be. every community i visit, every corridor that we walk together, it fascinates me house on many other people who live and work here -- but even those who don't -- just love this city and they do what they can to make sure that it is running well. it is very natural that as i am thrust with the responsibility of being mayor, that i look for talent, and i think a lot of the talent is with the women of san francisco. [applause] it has been my pleasure, of course, to have been an employee of this wonderful government some 22 years now. but to take you back, i had the pleasure of serving another mayor some years ago, one who taught me a lot of things. one of the things that i recall back in the late 1990's, the early 2000 tossed it was when i was the director of public works. there was this report that came out not to recently thereafter called the seadoll report, which was being no

city of misrata. today gadhafi's forces literally blew that theory apart. chief foreign correspondent richard engel begins there tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, kate. it appears the rebels were celebrating about what was going on in misrata prematurely. today saw some of the heaviest fighting yet in misrata as unrest is continuing to spread across the region. gadhafi is proving to be a wily survivor who understands the limits of nato's commitment. after pulling back from misrata gadhafi's forces rocketed the city today, hitting hard. gadhafi's government has also said that plainclothes tribesmen will move in to clear out the rebels from misrata in the next 48 hours. nato wouldn't be able to stop that from the air. fresh from his visit to benghazi last week, senator john mccain called the situation a stalemate on nbc's "meet the press." >> it's pretty obvious to me that the united states has got to play a greater role in the air power side. our nato allies neither have the assets nor frankly the will. >> reporter: but libya isn't t

. >> reporter: it's gotten so bad city crews can't keep up, they literally haul away tons of garbage every week. >> we're pretty much chasing our tail for the most part because there are so many vacant structures throughout the city. >> reporter: in fact, often just hours after a hot spot is cleared, more trash reappears. >> it looked like they might or withththththththth >> richard grant says he's tired doing the dumping to clean up their act. >> i we can just get them and see would they like it if you how would they like it? >> the city is fining the banks that own the properties $100 a day, although that covers some of the cleanup costs, it's not . the problem is becoming much more than an eyesore. >> the rats that actually come out of it, the rodents that actually come in to feed off of what's left behind. so, yeah, it canctually beco >> code enforcers say they have more officers to crack down on the dumping. >>> we'll t >>> taking a live look at the bay bridge, nowiz a section of the bay bridge stands a little taller this morning. the section that was put into &4ace yesterday is

. >> reporter: it's gotten so bad city crews can't keep up. they literally haul away tons of garbage every week. we're chasing away hotels in some parts because there are vacant places in the city. >> often just hours after a hot spot has appeared, more trash rereappears. richard graham says he's tired of all the mess. he wants the people doing the dumping to clean up their act. >> if we can just get them and see how would they like it if they come in their area and do it, how would they like it? >> the city is fining the banks that own the properties $1,000 a day. while that covers some of the cleanup costs, it's not deterring the dumpers, the problem becoming much more than an eyesore. >> the rats that actually come out of it, the rodents that actually come in to actually feed off what's left behind, so yeah, it can actually become a health and safety issue. >> reporter: now, code enforcement officers plan to crack down on those doing the dumpings. they bought some specialized surveillance cameras so they not only hope to get pictures of the folks causing

literally saving lives. how do we deal with that as a city? last year, we added about about $1.7 million in violence prevention funding. there is a real danger that a lot of that will be eliminated t. how do we deal with that? what happens in our community? >> i am with the health department. i wanted to talk about the community-based organizations. we have several hundred organizations. it represents about half a billion dollars for the city. for the last two years, it has been bringing the organizations together to talk about how we can strengthen the partnership between the city and the community-based organizations. they provided great foundation for the community as a whole. the stronger the organizations are in being able to manage finances and programs with the city dollars, the better and stronger they are. this is an important partnership we have with these organizations. we're only as strong as the organization's. we need to be able to support them around their finances. we found we have lost organizations -- not because of the passi

literally, dawning helmets and swords. he and his buddies spending time showing up around the city not to do battle, usually just to grab a quick bite. they have a lot of time on their hands. but you know, a lot of people are asking, why do this? what's the deal? and he's like, just to get stares, just to be funny. i don't know. >> i've seen it before. don't get it. but they look shiny and happy. >> i know. you're like, seen it, done it, no. no thanks. >>> time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in west virginia, there will be a memorial in honor of the victims of last year's upper big branch mine disaster. a year ago, an explosion at the mine killed 29 workers. massey energy, the owner of the mine is idling production today and will hold a moment of silence to remember those who died. >>> in washington, a packed agenda for the house armed services committee. it holds a hearing on libya and japan. >>> and happy birthday to former secretary of state colin powell. today he turns 74. >>> all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories a

we've got one seventh of our city, a large city here in alabama that is literally shut down. and right now our efforts feel like we're throwing rocks against the battleship because of the enormity of this. we're going to make progress, hour-by-hour, day-by-day and week by week. >> this has been called one of the worst natural disasters in the united states since hurricane katrina. now we know these many years later new orleans still is not the city that it was before katrina hit. when you look at the extent of the damage in tuscaloosa, can you can see that it's going to be many years before your city is what it was at the beginning of this week? >> it could be many years. but what we're focused on is today, let's find everyone, make sure they are accounted for, and tomorrow we begin the process of moving this debris, slowly but surely. but i'll bet you this. the resilient spirit of our citizens has been on display for the world to see. and when tuscaloosa is rebuilt, it's going to be better than it was before. we're to the going to let the 45 individuals who passed away in th

. >> and i think she meant literally the hall and it's a light green color and we are firming up a city wide policy of a plan of bringing those out in the areas. >> and i took that opportunity to steer back to the green message. >> i am isabell and from the department of public health and working on a child issue and including the children in the thinking and planning, and mr. albert, you said in comments about pedestrians, that we are adults and remember that some of us are not adults and we are going through different stages of development and have our own challenges and needs. >> when i said that, that's why we set an example, and we model the behavior. when we jump out in front of the car, and bridget reminds me and it's a red light and don't cross. and i am thinking, that's how i raised my chidz -- kids in the city and i told them you stop on red. and the pedestrians are the most vulnerable of the modes and who are more vulerinable are the children and seniors. >> and one element of this picture of creating a good environment for pedestrians and transits is bus stops. and that's it

but signs of summer already trickling across the capital quite literally this weekend sees the launch of the season of found. what's the city soak it all in. spring has been india a moscow for more than a week old ready the temperatures are warm the sun is shining as you can see now that's the time usually visit as many fountains it's an amazing and impressive and spectacular display imagine five hundred sixty wants across plates are being switched on similar time as me throughout the capital many of them with law and some music with streams of different colors and trades listening to the african toxic side i'm not god's law they fall into the very macho every year the phones in season opening ceremony trolls and many people specially families with children some of the most fascinating fallen since out here they've put in ha exhibition center in the sun to most right where we are now it's home to this time for our colleagues and for instance on the colossus that's the biggest of them all is they want it you can see behind me now the friendship of the people spontaneous let me give you some stats the size of the fountains fa