today we are at recology. they are celebrate 20 years of one of the most incredibly unique artist residency programs. we are here to learn more from one of the resident artists. welcome to the show, deborah. tell us how this program began 20 years ago. >> the program began 20 years ago. our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970's. she started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. she started with kids. they had an exhibition at city hall. city officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. we thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. since then, we have had 95 professional artists come through. >> how has the program changed over the years? how has the program -- what can the public has an artist engage with? >> for the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you would expect from a program like ours. over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. conceptu

recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top? >> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation. they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on

. >> when you are talking about recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top? >> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation. they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. i am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand- embroidered objects from our day-to-day life. >> can you describe some of the things you have been making here? this is amazing. >> i think i started a lot of my work about the qualities

i want to ask about recology. that would be a redundancy and would not work. >> i want to correct what i said. it is half a mile away and we already have a site. want to put it appear so you can see it. that is the top of a tunnel road. there is a sight there already. >> the important part is, maybe dead translator could -- the site is not close enough to cover the area that has the need. >> [speaking foreign language] >> one of the things i think is worth translating is there will be no loss of parking. is that what we are hearing? commissioner antonini: i had some other comments that do not need to be translated. there is a huge gap, as we can see on the maps. as we have been hearing all along, with the huge increase in demand, we need more sites and we need sides closer to the area, say you have to

garbage rates went up last april when the city switched contractors from allied waste to recology.ia partner, the mercury news report, says another 10% increase is likely, partly because people are recycling more and tossing out less garbage. but recology's overall collection costs remains the same so the city needs to raise rates to cover lost revenue. if approved, the average customer with a 32-gallon can would pay $1.62 more each month. and tomorrow the palo alto council will vote to reverse a long-standing ban on pot clubs or to put it to the voters. there could be a ballot measure that would permit up to three medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. the city clerk's office said the council has the choice of adopting the proposal or introducing a competing ballot measure. supporters of medical marijuana say they will try to convince the council to adopt their proposal and save $92,000 in election costs. >>> with california strapped for cash, public schools are struggling with gutted budgets. and where the state can't help, one major corporation is stepping up. abc7s educati

are company called recology is seeking rate increases of 20% in some communities. charges are linked to travel times and even as people use smaller garbage cans. >>> residents in pacifica are divided over whether to allow a widening of highway 1 on the south side of the city. supporters the caltrans plan have gotten the district attorney involved. they say the planning commission violated state law by talking about the controversy at a meeting even though it was not on its agenda. >>> hard to believe 22 years ago today the loma prieta earthquake brought the bay area to a standstill. it was october 17, 1989, 7.1 magnitude quake devastated areas from oakland right here in san francisco to santa cruz and watsonville. the quake is blamed for 67 deaths. an open house and remembrance are plan ford this afternoon at the san francisco fire department museum with a moment of silence at 5:04, the minute the quake hit. >> haven't seen thosages those -- images. >> i was hosting an event. i was in new hampshire at the time and of course the world series game was about to start

everything from, yesterday, i spent time at recology. they're well over 1000 people working in this area, simply because the city has said we want to divert all of our waste out of landfills. those are green jobs. you have heard about the jobs that are recreated because somebody said we want to recycle plastic. then i want to project open hand and that the people who put solar panels that solar hot water panels on their roof. that work is continuing. of course, public policies here in the city that are forward- looking are helping that to happen. yes, i know that there is so focused that because of one issue, people are not seeing those jobs as fast as we might like. but they're there. i think you should expect to see a solution to answer those charges. >> there is the poster child for failure, which is cylindra. >> the investigations of what happened there will continue. but what i would hate to see is for us to walk away from the other companies to have benefited from good government policy, whether it is cleaner vehicles are clamping

everything from, yesterday, i spent time at recology. they're well over 1000 people working in this area, simply because the city has said we want to divert all of our waste out of landfills. those are green jobs. you have heard about the jobs that are recreated because somebody said we want to recycle plastic. then i want to project open hand and that the people who put solar panels that solar hot water panels on their roof. that work is continuing. of course, public policies here in the city that are forward-

. >> we're here in another recology studio with abel. what attracted you to apply for this special program? >> who would not want to come to the dump? but is the first question. for me, being in a situation that you're not comfortable in has always been the best. >> what materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here? >> there are a lot of books. that is one of the thing that hits me the most. books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. >> job mr. some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. -- taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. >> the first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. it was actually a poster. it was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long. in terms of the flatwork, i