spur is a nonprofit. member-supported think tank in san francisco committed to the success of the city in all its forms. many of you are already members. can we get a show of hands of spur members? that's fantastic. thank you so much for your continued support of our organization. without your help, none of this would be possible. for those of you who are not yet members, i hope you'll join us and get involved. roll up your sleeves and really get involved in the nuts and bolts of the city. we can all work together to engage the city so we can all succeed together. we're all investors in this town. thank you very much for all of your support and for joining us this evening. it is now my pleasure to introduce wade rose, the chair of the 2012 good government awards. wade? [applause] >> thank you, cory. appreciate it. good evening, everyone, and welcome to the 32nd annual good government awards. 32 years. finding people to give awards do because there are a lot of people who are dedicated to making sure that

i want to thank spur. i know that the best ideas in city government do not come from the politicians. they come from all of you. i want to thank spur for helping to convene not just the smartest people in san francisco, but the smartest people from around the world to help us figure out how to innovate. it is my honor to introduce the first award thee of this evenin. this is a very unique award. this is the lifetime achievement award. mfac has to select one individual out of 26,000 who best exemplifies what service is to our city. when i was first elected to office, i asked a lot of people, literally hundreds of people, who is the smartest person in government. with all due respect to the other smart people in this room, there was one name that came up over and over again. that was our awardee. whenever i have a question that was difficult to answer, i would ask my staff, who are we going to call? the same name always came up. it was our awardee. i'm going to tell a story that has not yet been told publicl

welcome to spur. i enjoy being here because every time i come here, some part of my brain wakes up that has not been woken up before. i am here to welcome you. earlier, i had a wonderful opportunity to exchange with our panel members about what they are doing and how they're doing it. . i think these panel members are here as part of their own entrepreneurial spirit. they own companies but love the city. they know the spirit of the city is one of innovation, that invites peoples and views, and smashes them -- meshes them together to see if we can make an even better san francisco. we have two other supervisors who may be coming later. we're all part of the initial group of policymakers at city hall who want to hear news views and ideas on the new collaborative economy. we're interested in it because it has aspects that have piqued our interest, about hoour environment, how to improve life for more people, how to make an expensive city more affordable to more people, how to utilize the strengths of the

with that, i want to thank spur and mfac. it is so important to recognize the people in the city that are so good and so creative and reward them and celebrate that good management. keep moving the city forward, folks. [applause] >> but it is not going to get this award next year. [laughter] technical difficulties. be patient. enjoy that fabulous bar. i just love landscaping. i grew up in a landscaping business. i learned to appreciate the outdoors. coming to rec and park was a natural transition. i started in may of 1998. i came in as a gardener and worked with the turf crew. i manage approximately 7,000 acres and i supervise 75 to 85 people under my direct supervision. i am responsible for eight parks more or less. every day that i stepped out, i feel so fortunate and very lucky to work for an organization with so many different properties. each one is its own gem. harding park is one of the gems of the city. opened in the 1930's. cypress trees and rolling hills. a very well designed golf course. we've had a very successful

. >> i would like to thank spur and mfac. thank you for this honor. being selected to receive such a prestigious award is such a great honor, but i think even greater considering all the top candidates. when i graduated from uc-davis, i learned the theory of being a manager. i needed something to show the reality but i quickly learned the best way to acquire these skills was to watch and work with senior managers in the rec and park department. i've been fortunate to work with three outstanding managers. they were instrumental in my growth as a manager. i thank them. another ingredient needed to be a successful manager is to have a great team. my supervisory team -- may have been instrumental in the golf and turf operations by completing tasks to the highest standards possible of any group of people i've ever seen. i would also like to thank the gardening staff, the teamsters, the operating engineers, everyone who makes my operation possible, even down to the local vendors and everyone that keeps my organization running. thank you. as you all know, sa

thank you, spur. i want to make a quick announcement. a wise person told me that if you want people to come to your revolution, through the best party. i am headed over to thursday -- thirsty bear after we experience the hospitality of spur. drinks are on me. [applause] yeah! i want to echo the comments of david chiu. i think this is a big moment. i want to celebrate. mayor lee's working group can make a great city even greater. other cities are watching san francisco. what we do here will influence them, and that could change the world. there are a lot of questions, too. the sharing economy waits to be shaped by policy. it is in its adolescence. this is a transformative moment. it is waiting to be shaped by policy, but for whose benefit? we believe it should be shaped for the benefit of as many people as possible, and especially for those who need it the most. . we also need new regulations, not simply application of the old. otherwise, the sharing economy will fail to meet its promises. 30 of things that are the biggest threats to our

. >> spurs, we will go back outside and look at traffic. >> spurs, we will go back outside and look at traffic. will be you headed man: we need a good night's sleep. >> spurs, we will go back outside and look at traffic. will be you headed woman: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-toprm. comfort couldn't hurt. and our perfect dream factory's been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling] 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it hps boost the immune response to that t ofn adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life. were hurt.o people hailed the size of golf balls. >> let's get a check on traffic and weather. >> let's check on how it is lo

. >>> coming up, the jazz snap the spurs win streak. the reds rally past the blujs and the yanks clip the orioles. the mets stay perfect celebrating a walkoff win in the ninth. your early morning sport headlines are straight ahead. >> looks like our spring trend will continue. cool and wet weather on the coast. your weather is coming up. you're watching "early today". >>> good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today". in sports the texas rangers came out swinging after a rough start by their big free agent signing. here's nbc's mario solis with a look at your sports headlines. >> darvish made his debut. kyle seger hits a pair. before the fans settle in their seats mariners are up 4-0. rangers have nine innings to make up the difference and that's what they do. nelson cruz, josh hamilton hit homers. darvish picks up his first win in the bigs 11-5. one of the reasons texas got darvish to fill the void of c.j. lewis. c.j. lewis struck five over seven innings. angels won. baltimore took four games but yankees finally got thei