i am no. 4 under 92 on the medallion list. -- 492 on the medallion less. i have been driving since 1996. what this is proposing is ridiculous. they're selling medallions now. i have been on the list to get it when my name came up. now my name came up, i do not have $250,000 to pay for it so i am waiting for my name to come up, it will never come up is -- if this goes through. if you look at the classification of drivers, it is the most stressful job, period. firefighters, ceos, next to us. we serve the community, we do a great job. i do a great job. i deserve what i have been waiting for four years. i am the taxi drivers here today. i came on my off day and will have to keep coming to speak my mind. i do not feel like saying this. i do not like being here, but my number is 492 on the list. please respect what we do. thank you. by the way, we are independent cabdrivers. we are by law forced to take credit cards. we have to pay for our cabs and cash at the end of the day. when they pay with credit cards we do not get it until four days later. thank you. pres

you have for the medallion. having said that, the concern i have in front of you is the board of supervisors and the mta needs to be focused not just on the interest of drivers or cab companies, but in the public's interest and we are family. we are -- we are failing. we are failing to provide the right services to this public. that means taxicabs that do not provide dispatch services. these things need to be reformed. one of the things on the table is something that this industry will all poes. that is the city replacing the medallion holder with themselves as the monthly income earner of the medallion. that is being proposed right now. in other words, the medallion not issued to a qualified working driver who is the pride of ownership in making sure the medallion is servicing the city but ran to -- rent it out to the city and the city becoming the landlord to the medallion. and want to give you pause before we go down this trajectory because the city can make $300 million selling medallions in a politically co

it will vastly reduce drivers' chances of getting a medallion. the only thing they have in common is revenue for your agency, the mta. also, i have to say that leasing medallions to certain favored companies is going to have some grave consequences. when you're getting rental income from the operation of medallions, you will be partnering with these companies, these chosen companies. you'll be giving them an economic advantage over the others and how does that square with your role as an impartial regulator? can you avoid the perception and the reality of favoritism? will these companies be treated differently from -- for regulatory and participatory issues? what about liability issues? it is a huge can of worms. unless it is a very light meeting on the 15th, give us a time certain for these tax issues so that drivers can attend and also give us separate agenda items so all these things are not lumped together. >> after i assured you we would be here on may 15, for this item, it is possible it will not be until the first meeting in june. whenever

let us have our medallions. thank you. president chiu: thank you, next speaker. >> my name is [unintelligible] i am totally against this 500 medallions to be turned to corporate medallions to benefit mta. according to the pilot program, they had a year ago, there were saying 12.5% of the revenue of the medallion goes to the interest of the drivers. nothing has done -- been done about it. -- 2010 medallions. the drivers have not benefited. on top of that, mta wants to [unintelligible] for their own interests. mta is trying to help the municipal transportation, the buses and cable cars and all those people who are working for the city at the expense of the taxi drivers. very low benefits. we have been driving taxis and after all these years, we get our medallion. we are not benefiting from this. i think we should -- the board of supervisors has to take the taxi section out from mta control. [bell] president chiu: thank you, next speaker. >> >> the afternoon -- >> good afternoon. i purchased a cab company last year and is a c

all medallions or permits. not all permits are medallions, however. the mta gets those confused. a color scheme permanent is something, for 30 years, the holder of the medallion could apply for if you wanted to run his own business and not have to affiliate with one of the companies he may not wish to affiliate with. it was not just a matter of right, it was a part of the concept in giving medallions to individuals rather than to companies. the request your went to the mta in february of this year and said i would like to apply for a color scheme permanent. they said, we are not issuing those at this time. the ultimate question, what is the source of this rule? in papers filed as recently, the mta cited a resolution 10-029. it deals with the medallion pilot program. that is what they were doing for the last three years. by the way, anything you have been doing up to this point, february of 2010, you are absolved. it is ok with us. it did not say, you could go on into the future and have regulations that are not written. to the contrary, the enabling legislation of the mta regulat

a taxi company with one medallion might cost $500 to operate versus a taxi company with 500 medallions might only cost $5,000 for the permit. >> he made it sound as if you could attract other medallions. i misunderstood. >> no, sir, that is not the case. if you are an owner-operator under another company, that when mean that -- that would mean that you are working under yellow cab company paying to fly their colors, to rent their cars, etc.. that is just the same as mr. aryan being a taxi driver or a medallion holder. >> there is language under 1115, it has to do with the termination of a number of permits. the board will, from time to time, why wouldn't they just -- i know you are not a silicide with them any longer, -- i know you are not associated with them any longer. " absolutely. -- >> absolutely. no policy has been enacted. no rules have been enacted by the mta board. this is purely a staff decision. that later could be ratified by the mta board, but it is not a policy. >> it seems as though one of the biggest objections has to do with the fact that it would create a queue. who

they are the permanent medallion sales program. as you mentioned, the public needs and necessities summer -- study will not be done until summer. we need to take environmental review. the recommendation that comes from that study in terms of if and how, i-- how many additional taxis we should put on the street, the fall. what we're intending to do with the medallion sales program is develop it so it will work for whatever the outcome of the study is a we do not have to wait. we should be bringing that. we believe that the may 15 meeting will be a lot of taxi issues on the agenda within a pd other aspects of the study. director bridgesnkman: i had a meeting about the permitting process. we had every brief conversation about this. they're going through the process -- for different saturdays or sundays when they close one block. it does not have any cross streets are transit. there is a barrier for entry with all the costs involved. i have an interest in this as it relates to play street. there was a block that seemed to be crying out

when you go down this path of granting the medallion out and replacing the medallion holder with the mta, there will be enormous pushed back. you are getting into the taxi business partially. there will be people who say, you want to be a landlord, maybe you should be part of the insurance. maybe if there is an accident, you deal with it. maybe you should provide workers' compensation. why don't you take all the reward without the risk to become the landlord -- i want to warn you. it is not the direction you want to go into. you could raise an enormous amount of revenue by continuing the sales model and be wary of the rental one. >> thank you. >> if there is no one else wishes to address the board, it would be appropriate for a motion to move into closed session. >> motion to move into closed session. let's go into closed session. if we could just clear the room.

these medallions go to the drivers on the list. i know proposition a was created this election year and most of the voters who voted had no idea it would overturn prop k. i think the cab industry is becoming a cash cow for the sfmta. the more important issues out there are health benefits, illegal flow activity in san francisco, which is running rampant, and there is a lot of issues that go along those types of lines right there. as i said before, it is a big cash cow for the city of san francisco. it is only to bail out the muni and they should [unintelligible] thank you. supervisor kim: thank you. >> i was wondering if you could read what i have submitted. wsupervisor kim: we have a copy. we will read this letter. >> that should be done before voting for his reelection. these are are -- abuse of power that has been done. you need to verify these, the laws that has been broken. he has been in the taxi commission before and he has done nothing about the industry. you saw the illegal limos and the public crying poor enough transport

how do we sell medallions and empower the working driver? these are so valuable, that they lined up several hundred preapproved divide them. we are allowing more medallions of for transfer. you're looking down this of the path. i asked you to please reexamined the opportunity to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. >> i have the pastor of first friendship baptist church. i stand before you to strongly oppose the enforcement of meters on sunday. i struggle with adequate parking space to accommodate parishioners. furthermore, many businesses are closed on sunday. i don't see the benefits to enforce parking. the scripture community is severely compromised as festivals have sunday streets activities calls parishioners to make alternative parking arrangements. i urge you to abandon sunday meter enforcement by remembering the 13 stands of the prayer of st. francis. >>-doubt about this hearing literally an hour before it. haikou the small business commission, who called the small business network, i called the district council, and small business

. >> i ahave been a cab driver for 22 years, i am a medallion holder.treme case of conflict of interest that the municipal transportation agency is entering into, is already in. by making itself both the administrator and the chief recipient of the medallions sales program. this is something that is completely contrary to what everyday folks believe government is for. it is a no-brainer in terms of ordinary conversation, everybody understands the mta should not be both selling the medallions and administering the program. we would like to believe in the industry, those of us who do not have a financial interest, would like to believe that this is something that was not in your plan when those three or four lines of text in proposition a were in our opinion overestimated. the program has been one in which the sunshine task force has had to be brought to alert, when the tax at -- taxi advisory council voted to set aside every other consideration there were discussing and talk about only whether the medallion sales program should be put forward. and so the

they acquire taxi drivers to buy a medallion. no medallion you are not legal.ut they now cost a million dollars. >> very expensive. >> john: so expensive only big companies can afford them. the drivers are now employees. >> it's because the medallion. >> it restricts entry the purpose of these licenses is to keep outsiders out. >> john: so it's safe and orderly marketplace. >> the purpose of the license is so they can charge higher prices. >> john: the few remaining places where it's still easy to start a taxi business is washington, d.c. these drivers like that. >> it's free entrepreneur system. >> john: now this lobbyist wants to end that freedom. >> you have to regulate. >> john: he wants to bring the medallion rule to washington, d.c. the number of taxi allowed you can't. >> there are too many taxis. >> john: these drivers don't think so. they like being allowed to work, but the lobbyists convinced a councilman to sponsor his bill. >> we want to professionalize our taxi system. >> john: what does that mean? >> we want to make sure the customer has a good ri

. >> most cities to buy one of these medallions. no medallions, you are not legal. they now cost million dollars. >> very expensive. >> so expensive that only big companies can afford them. so these drivers are not entrepreneurs, they are employees. >> it's because of the medallion. >> the purpose of these licenses is to keep outsiders out the purpose of a license so they can charge higher prices. >> john: one of the few remaining places you can start a taxi business is washington, d.c. >> it's the last bastion of free entrepreneurs in america. >> john: this lobbyist wants to end that freedom. >> you have to regulate. >> john: he wants to bring the medallion rules to the washington, d.c. he wants to cut the taxi cars in half. >> there is too many taxicabs. >> they don't think so. >> they like be allowed to work but the lobbyists convinced the d.c. councilman to sponsor his bill. >> we want to professionalize our taxicab system? >> we wanted want to make sure the customer has a good riding experience. >> john: that sounds good but regulations are in the books subject

i could not hold my tongue with the medallion a sales program raising more than $20 million. in new york, i never had to pay as a student to take surface transportation to go to school. new york city has agreed and has approved selling 2000 taxi medallions and there will raise $1 billion. this is something i think you really need to take a look at. you do not have to do not like new york, but we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars. we are looking to find things like this, this has to be a top priority. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> [reading names] those are the last speaker cards. >> great idea, appreciate you guys putting in all the time for this particular issue. to take the money for maintenance is unacceptable. right now, as we speak, you can go over, 45 buses sitting in the barn. while our position is neutral on this -- first of all, can i ask for a request to expand -- extend my time? chair nolan: we cannot really do that. >> this is a tradeoff would service. ubalde agency is going to give out free rides to the youth, you are taking away service. do not

earlier, i propose something like that, that we essentially called medallions that are out there, and change the system quickly. i received an awful lot of feedback. loud sometimes, but always clear. how we act on that, and the proposals were taken back. as i go forward, one of the things that i would be very sensitive to that several people, including some of my friends that are here today, people have ordered their lives according to its and people have invested 10 and 15 years on the hopes that they will get a medallion. that is something we can't take away very quickly. the current proposal that is out there has an accommodation for that, it has a phase-out that allow people to continue to proceed along a list with that sort of thing. the best way to address this theory is to assure you that i hear what these cabdrivers are saying. he said he disagrees with me, people complain about the drivers. i'm not saying they never complain, but that is not the main complaint. if i hear 25 taxi complaints, one of them will be about a driver. as we go about addressing the issues of service, i

many items were stolen including medallions similar to this one. they say five years service and 20 year service. they were a gift to the homeowner in return for his service in saudi arabia. if you spot the medallions or have information about the case, police want to hear from you. >> new at 6, a former realtor and pastor was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for organizing a mortgage refinance scheme. edwin peratta targeted spanish-speaking peoplg struggling to pay their mortgages. >> it makes it more shameful and reprehensible, because he also represented himself as a clergy member. >> he defrauded at least 32 victims. he would persuade his victims to sign over the title of his homes to them and collect their mortgage payments. >> a high school teacher was sentenced today. he made national headlines when he moved in with a former student. 41-year-old james hooker faces charges. another former student says she was in a relationship with hooker in 1998 when she was 17 years old. >> an emotional morning for suspended sheriff ross mirkarimi. it

they are looking for a pair of gold medallions stolen from a home in the bay view district. the medallions were a gift to the robbery victim in return for years of military service in saudi arabia. >>> smoking in san jose may be more challenging. the city council is looking at banning smoking in front of theaters, atms and caves. we have the details. what is the possible timetable here? >> reporter: if everything goes through we are looking at memorial day weekend as the start of a new ban here in san jose. the days of lighting up in front of the movie theater may be over after the city council adds to the places where you can no longer light up. what you see here a cigarette in a hand in front of a restaurant may be a thing of the past. >> it's hooey. >> reporter: it's clear that john does not like the changes in the smoking ban ordnance which makes it illegal to light up in outdoor areas where people gather to eat. >> sitting outside smoking is, you know, who is it going to hurt? you know. if you don't want to go to the bar because they have smoking outside don't go. >> re

they took away drivers prospects for medallions. so now we are also feeling angry, discouraged, we have no future, we are threatened. with loss. so let me point out the contradiction. i will go faster. point out the contradiction. our job is to greet passengers currently -- courteously and deliver them safely to their destination. it is a contradiction that you can drive a street car through, but we do our job and because we are professionals and despite the disgraceful m.t.a., which has been distracted for more than two years by taxing the dalliance. they need to remember that they are part of transit first. >> -- president chiu: thank you very much. thank you very much. >> below. i am larry edmonds. i want to speak to the board of supervisors and to the police chief. in they sro's in san francisco, we have bullying going on in the building. at the ambassador hotel. i do now shontay. i was in the elevator, 3:50 p.m., and i could not grieve until i saw someone who was going to have something for her on thursday. she was a great lady

it's what you're allowed to have as far as religious medallions and stuff like that.ite a letter to him stating what you want. and he said he would try to do his best to get it to you by the end of the day. >> they won't take me over and let me get it? who is going to handle it? the thing i'm saying is no one is supposed to touch it. to touch it without my permission is a sacrilege. it defames it. >> i understand that. that's why i'm telling you to put it down on the paper. put those instructions on that paper in written form. if i go back and tell them -- >> the thing of the matter is it is right there in the property. if they take me over, i can pull it out and let them visually inspect it. >> i understand. you need to write it on paper for him. do you know what i mean? write it out and i will be back in a little while. i will take it to him. >> in less than 24 hours, kinslow hopes to have his religious items returned. but over in level two, haley french hopes he will be getting back his freedom. >> i'm waiting to see what the caseworker will tell me about paroling

police investigators are looking for a pair of gold medallions like these stolen during a burgeon march 23rd at home in the city's bay view district. we've learned that the me doll i don't knows were a gift to the victim in return for military service in saudi arabia. if you know anything about the break-in or the whereabouts of the gold medallions please call the police department. >>> still ahead, the search to find a suspect targeting wildlife in the south bay. >>> talk about a roadhouser, check out this video. a traffic nightmare after an armored truck goes off course. >>> why a bay area medical marijuana maverick is getting out of the business for good. >>> coming up, what's behind the new federal investigation into the future of an ailing california power plant. >>> we're watching increasing high clouds approaching the bay area this evening. as we get the weekend started, we should see increasing high temperatures tomorrow. sunday, easter sunday, we may see april showers. we'll he y whatheha t weekend forecast has in store when we come right back. [ crickets chirping ] [ traffic p

. >>> read police say the 43 year-old michael medallion the cars' owners say he reported the hit and run on wednesday it officers found a car this afternoon in oakland may be arrested and also this afternoon he is being charged with felony hit and run possession of heroin and ammunition he is on probation for a missed a misdemeanor from two years ago. live in oakland share in san cbs five. new tonight will experts encountered a rare sight while looking for june becquerel, and fishing line. this audit work as feeding on the gray whale carcass about 5 mi. of moss landing why that has scientist even more worried about june. >>> i do looking all day in the monterey bay searchers found a few dozen of the great whales humpback whales and a lot of dolphins that after looking for what they say high probability areas there was no sign of a single web and now they believe that she is dead. and here's part of the reason why. these organs were spotted by miles of this spot of moss landing in a rare moment caption on camera at the hands of a different baby gray whales hours ago and are now playin

. >> san francisco police are asking for help in solving the theft of two gold medallions.hey're 2-1/2 inches long and a half inch wide. the medallans were taken during a mother on march 23rd in the bayview strict. they were a gift the victim for his years of service in saudi arabia and have sentimental value. nip -- anyone with information is asked to call the police. >> how the president is sharing the joy of the holidays. >> a cease fire in syria is just days away and there are signs that the government is in a rush to crush the resistance. >>> we'll find out from frances dinglasan if this warmer spring weather will stick around. -dad, why e you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are the great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a perhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ >> alan

they are looking for a pair of gold medallions stolen during a burglary on march 23rd at a home in thes bay district. the medallions have distinctive markings and were a gift to the robbery victim in return for his years of military service in saudi arabia. if you spot the gold, you should call the san francisco police. >>> 15 people are missing after a bridge collapse in northwest turkey. two vehicles fell into the river below the bridge after part of it collapsed yesterday. efforts to locate and rescue the missing people are ongoing. authorities shut down the shutters of a hydroelectric dam to lower the river's water level to help with the search. and weather habz made it extremely difficult for divers to search for the missing people. >>> for the first time in a half century, cuban catholics celebrated a government sanction holiday on good friday. the holiday was granted after a request by pope benedict during his recent visit to the island. yesterday the streets of havana were filled with scores of cubans who acted out the stations of the cross. a mass was also broadcast on state t