significant growth here in the city in terms of ridership and we have to make those decisions right now to build the fra infrastructure so we can move people around. 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. everyon

in one of the articles written about him when he passed away, it was said that he loved muni more than anyone else in the city, and i think that is exactly right. muni is something special. it is not just a transit system overlaid on a city. it is something that is deeply enmeshed with the city. the city and muni are inseparable. i think the camera understood that. i think that his experience in transportation, when i read about how many years of experience that he had, i thought that it did not add up with this age. but in fact he started sleeping in buses when he was 16. he started caring about the system quite a bit. i remember, one time, i have made recommendations year. obviously i knew him through the board and the policy advisory group. i remember making recommendations here about one year ago where it was an arcane issue about whether they should buy insurance for certain types of liability. i think that we recommended against the purchase, he thought it was a good idea of you voted for it. later he called me and said that it was a hard decision to go against the recommendation, that he had tried hard

the phone, quote, we already have two black eyes and a broken nose. it doesn't make any difference. charles good year, a spokesman for muni says the city is hoping to scale back muni's annual budget between $25 and $50 million. >> we hope the union leadership will join us in addressing the economic realities that everyone in san francisco is facing now. >> public sympathy doesn't seem to be with the union whose members earn an average of just over $100,000 per year. >> in a recession time it is hard to stand up for as much pay as you got during the boom years. >>> every other city employee union has been taking pay cuts and has been increasing pension contributions and really chipping in to make sure we can address our budget problems. twu is the only union that hasn't done that. >> now by law, muni drivers cannot strike, but the union says that's up for legal interpretation. meanwhile, the city attorney dennis herrera says he would take action to prevent any work stoppage. >>> to syria now and it was the bloodiest day yet in the month-long uprising there. 75 people were killed when syrian security forces fired bullets and teargas to t

muni. while contract talks continue, two flyers are calling for a strike vote. the publicist for muni management is providing the media with a flyer he calls inflammatory that claims that the city has plenty of money and muni salary and pensions aren't the problem. the union says it did not put out that flyer but it did put out another paper that calls for a strike authorization vote. the publicist says that's impractical since the city charter prohibits muni drivers from striking. >> legally i'm not sure whether they have a throwing stand on here. i'm not a lawyer. but my understanding is they have a no strike clause in their contracts. >> a muni driver who is a union member confirms that the second flyer is indeed an official union notice. >>> and today bart will swear in three deputy police chiefs. they are replacing two police commanders who were in a union. the new jobs will not be unionized. the change is intended to streamline the management structure and give the bart police chief a stronger hand in running the department. consultants recommended the shift after the fatal shooting of oscar grant. >>> so did you feel it? >> i wasn't around, no, but i heard a lot of peopl

the phone that "we already have two black eyes and a broken nose. it doesn't make any difference." charles goodyear, a spokesperson for muni says the cityhoping to scale back muni's annual budget by between $25 and $50 million. >> we hope the union leadership will join us in addressing the economic realities that everyone in san francisco is facing now. >> public sympathy doesn't seem to be with the union whose members earn an average of just over $100,000 per year. >> in a recession time, hard to stand up for as much pay as you got during the boom years. >> every other city employee union has been taking pay cuts, has been increasing pension contributions, has been really chipping in to make sure that we can address our budget problem and twu is the only union that hasn't done that. >> by law, muni drivers cannot strike. but the union says that's up for legal interpretation. meanwhile, the city attorney dennis herrera says he would take legal action to prevent a work stoppage. coming up next, more violence in syria this morning following the bloodiest day during the month-long uprising. and update on an endangered butterfly found only

the phone that "we already have two black eyes and a broken nose. it doesn't make any difference." charles goodyear, a spokesperson for muni says the city is hoping to scale back muni's annual budget by between 25 and $50 million. >> we hope that the union leadership will join us in addressing the economic realities that everyone in san francisco is facing now. >> public sympathy doesn't seem to be with the union whose members earn an average of just over $100,000 per year. >> in a recession time, it's hard to stand up for as much pay you got during the boom years. >> every city employee union has been taking pay cuts, has been increasing pension contributions, has been really chipping in to make sure that we can address our budget problems. and twu is the only union that hasn't done that. >> by law, muni drivers cannot strike but the union says that is up for legal interpretation. meanwhile, city attorney dennis herrera says he'd take legal action to prevent a work stoppage. coming up next, more violence in syria this morning following the bloodiest day during the month-long uprising. an update on an endangered butterfly found only in

the same thing. a strike authorization vote. in any case says good year, a strike authorization vote is premature, unnecessary and impractical because the city's charter prohibits muni drivers from striking. >> so legally i'm not sure whether they have a leg to stand on here, i'm not a lawyer. but my upping is they have a no- strike claws in clause in their contract. >> reporter: they claim that the city has money, and muni salaries are not the problem, does not sit well. >> it's pretty clear that san francisco is in a hole right now, i think it's outrageous, with our budget. and reading a statement like that shows the audacity of these guys who are threatening to strike. >> reporter: tonight however it appears the union is as eager to deny the inflammatory flyer as the muni management is to show it around. a driver who is a union member told them this is not an official union notice about a strike authorization notice. he confirmed this notice instead calling for the vote. this does not make the claim that san francisco has plenty of money nor does it state that salaries and pensions are not the problem. tonight that strike vote authorization is underway. it will b

it is bringing common sense into the operations in the city agency, and muni actually has not had a management audit in almost 15 years. that is a long time for an operation of $800 million to go without a management audit. we're now going to the second phase of the audits, which is going to come out very shortly because we do want to look the best practices. i think we also need to look at our investment in the system. part of the problem is a lack of reliability in what we have, whether it is our bosses, what happens -- buses, what happens at some of the stations, the repair areas. there is a sense we are not investing enough capital into the system, which is why, you know, we have trains on the rail. it is important to make the investment. san francisco should have the best public transportation system in the world. and we don't right now. we have the choice of making it better and that will continue to be a big priority for us. >> we are almost out of time, but are there any other issues you would like to talk about during your term as a supervisor? supervisor campos: we are introducing a

continue with identified funding sources, but also to expand services across the network -- caltran, muni, bart in the city. we have been working very closely with your staff on the availability of transit service. we've had a clear back and forth. you can see we are trying to propose the initial vision scenario, increasing by roughly 15%, for the ability to increase a substantial amount of service capacity for rail transit. i would also note our planning scenarios do not suggest a potential increase in growth anywhere in the region. our road planning is not slated to increase very much. we talked about greenhouse reduction. for the bay area, we have huge shuttle endeavour. for 2030 and 2035. there is a reduction of 15% per capita. with the initial vision scenario, we see the 2020 figure and can make a substantial chunk of progress to our 2035 figure. that is good news. the bad news is we have to figure out, in a more constrained fashion, how are we going to meet that target? we do think that the initial vision scenario does show, as a region, the benefits of taking targeted growth, a targeted investment s

the muni bus does not go all the way to the end of the line. i am trying to work out how we can actually extend down to daly city. so if you want to get downtown, from my area, you can take the bart it, and then go downtown, and be there within 20 minutes. right now, you take the 14 bus 2 balboa station, and it will take you 40 minutes just to get to balboa station. that is one thing i am looking at, making muni more effective. san francisco, we talk about it being a transit first city, but it does not mean a lot of options for transit are not well thought out in places further from downtown. my district is one place where we need to create better options. >> you mentioned muni and the changes that are happening. what about parking, traffic, is the area safer for pedestrians? >> there is always a lot of work to do with pedestrians. making sure the department of parking and traffic is painting along alemany. along balboa park station, geneva, san jose, pushing hard to get a ramp for pedestrians. right now, it is dangerous to cross the street, especially if you are pushing a stroller or are in a wheelchair. you hav

the performing arts of our city. >> for more information, visit odc >> the next time you take a muni bus or train, there could be new technology that could make it easier to get to your destination. many are taking a position of next bus technology now in use around the city. updated at regular intervals from the comfort of their home or workplace. next bus uses satellite technology and advanced computer modeling to track buses and trains, estimating are bought stocks with a high degree of accuracy. the bus and train our arrival information can be accessed from your computer and even on your cellular phone or personal digital assistant. knowing their arrival time of the bus allows riders the choice of waiting for it or perhaps doing some shopping locally or getting a cup of coffee. it also gives a greater sense that they can count on you to get to their destination on time. the next bus our arrival information is also transmitted to bus shelters around the city equipped with the next bus sign. riders are updated strictly about arrival times. to make this information available, muni has tested push to talk buttons at

the san francisco city uh official who stood by during this dangerous ride aboard a speeding muni train. >> and also ahead, an earthquake early warning system proposed for california. what if you knew the next big one was coming 30 seconds in advance. >> and billionaire richard branson's next big thing. going deep underwater all alone. >> and then later on "nightline." >> i'm cynthia mchad faen. carolyn and dan, up next on "nightline" working it up through earthquake terror attacks. it is a trip on survival camp where people learn to make it through anything. and the first elephant orphanage. that's on can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. [ speaking spanish ] ♪ [ male announcer ] old el pas. old el paso. feed your fiesta. ♪ [ female announcer ] why choose between delicious or 100 calories? ♪ with yoplait delights, now you can finally have both. ♪ it's

the radio. >>> and there is talk of a possible strike vote by muni drivers even though the city charter prohibitst. two flyers are calling for a strike vote while contract talks are ongoing. one flyer says the city has plenty of money and that muni salaries and pensions aren't the problem. the union says it did not put out that flyer. >>> you won't need the umbrella today. plenty of sunshine in store throughout the bay area. clouds and fog this morning and we are seeing pretty mild temperatures because of that cloud cover. we are seeing some delays at sfo although the rest of the bay area looking good at this time. by the time you make your way into the afternoon we are going to warm it up and see mostly sunny skies in those inland spots. around the bay shores around the corner the coast we may see some lingering fog but your highs are looking good, a few degrees warmer in some spots. that's because of this area of high pressure that's built in bringing us dry conditions, temporarily, but as you can see behind it we have an area of low pressure that's going to make its way into the forecast bring

the bridge. >>> san francisco muni operators are scheduled to begin voting whether to authorize a strike if negotiation for cityals break down. the transport workers union and the agency has been in contract talks for several weeks. muni operators will vote today through thursday. strike authorization by workers does not mean there will be a walk-out but it allows the union the option to call one. city law does not allow muni operators to strike, but the union says the rule is open to interpretation. >>> pg&e's top executive has finally given in. ceo peter darby announced he is resigning and will step down at the end of the month. critics applaud the move but at the same time, they are voicing outrage over the retirement package. abc7's lilian kim has more. >> reporter: six years after becoming ceo and president of pg&e, peter darby is stepping down. mark totey says darby's resignation is long overdue. >> a lack of organizational discipline. we feel the company that was not well run. the problem we feel is that because profits were put in front of people, that is where the shortcuts came from. >> the shortcuts

the bridge. san francisco muni operators are scheduled to begin voting on whether to authorize a strike if ne-iation with the -- negotiation with city transportation officials break down. the municipal transportation agency have been in contract talks for several weeks. muni operators will be voting today through next thursday. strike authorization by workers doesn't mean there will be a walk-out but it allows the union option to call one. city law does not allow operators to strike, but the union says the rule is open to interpretation. >>> 4:36 now. three convicted sex offenders are in custody this morning in santa clara county, for violating the terms of their parole. the sheriff department and several other agencies search the homes and computers of registered sex offenders yesterday. police say three parolees were found in violation and arrested. according to the sheriff department, there are 3,500 registered sex offenders in santa clara county. >>> in san francisco, ucsf police are searching for a suspect who sexually assaulted a woman last friday. investigators released now a sketch of the suspect. described as a white male,

the door open. we are hearing from a city supervisor who was aboard this wild muni ride coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the defense will begin presenting its case in the barry bonds perj >>> let's take a look at today's top stories. the defense will begin presenting its case in the barry bonds perjury trial this morning. there is word that the slug core take the stand in his own did he -- slugger could take the stand in his own defense. the judge will also rule on dropping one count of making false statements. >>> the sex trial involving italy's premier is under way. and the first day in court lasted just seven minutes. silvio berlusconi accused of paying for sex with an underaged prostitute and then trying to use his influence to cover it up. berlusconi did not attend today's proceedings. that trial resumes next month. >>> a former congressman is in libya today. curt weldon from pennsylvania hopes to talk libyan leader moammar qaddafi into stepping down. weldon met with him back in 2004 when he led a congressional trip to libya. >>> all right, folks. we're in for some big changes over the next coup

muni drivers are set to vote on whether to give leaders the right to call a strike if the current negotiation with the citynsit operators will begin a seven-day voting process on friday. if approved it would allow union leaders to authorize work stoppage. they are trying to trim the labor package by $26 million. a strike would be disastrous for muni's hundreds of thousands of passengers. >> the san jose city council is expected to take action today on how to limit and license the growing number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. the council tentatively approved zoning for pot clubs a week ago but they could not agree on cutting it from 110 to 10 15 or 30. they could also not decide on the process of selecting which collectives would be allowed to operate. some suggest the city should ban all the clubs altogether. >>> would you like to get into a university of california school? the solution is relatively easy. move out of the state. even better, move out of the country. acceptance rate for out-of-state students is up 10% this year. abc7's alan wang takes a look. >> i have had a lot of anxiety p

the city should deal with the massive budget deficit. some of those attending said that a big part of the problem is salaries and pensions of city employees. talks with muni and police officers' unions have stalled on the issues of pensions. the mayor agrees that pension reform is needed but says that no one group is to blame. >> we negotiate all of our differences out and in these hard economic times it is about how do we resolve it. >> the town hall meetings are useful as an indicator of how people are feeling. he says it hopes them help maybe the cuts in a way that reflects the city's values. >>> checking other headlines now. a santa clara woman arrested after leaving her toddler locked inside the suv while she played cards at the garden city casino. a guard spotted the 3-year-old child inside her car. the little girl was hot but okay. she was released to her father's custody. >>> a funeral today for the 16 year old who was found shot to death in a san francisco home last weekend. a 15-year-old friend is charged with murder. an 18-year-old is also charged with trying to set the home on fire to conceal the body. both suspects have claimed the shooting w

the mcarthur. no problems. metering lights are off this morn traffic is light. public transit is on time good way to get in the city. bart and muni on schedule and no issues there. before you leave of the house . check on the know conditions with abc sennews opinion com. >> all right. good advice. thank you. >> leave your iphone at home. here is the bloomburg business report. iphone anddroids track and store their location. word that iphones keep doing it. crude is on the line. and that is up almost cents a gallon. walmart testing in the san jose to go in. toyotas could be tough to fight. global outpit plunged 30 percent because of the earthquake and tsunami. here at home. ben bernanke doing what no fed chairman ever did before. there is high level policy meeting on the economy and interest rates. nintendo planning to sell it in los angeles. there are new details of arizona congresswoman giffords remarkable recovery. they cleared her to travel to flood to watch the husband's launch. she was shot by a lone gunman back in january. six people were killed in the shooting. giffords will be accompanied by staff from the rehabilitation

muni drivers will begin voting this week on whether to give the leaders the right to call a strike if current negotiations with the city fail. the transportation workers union that represents muni's 2200 transit operators will begin a seven-dy voting process on friday. if approved the initiative would allow union leaders to authorize a work stoppage. the san francisco municipal transportation agency is trying to trim the labor package by $26 million. would you like to get into a university of california school in the solution is easy. move out of state. the acceptance rate for out-of-state students is up almost 10% this year. abc7's alan wang takes a look. >> i have had a lot of anxiety problem of school. >> cesar perez is not even trying to get in u.c. berkeley based on his friend's experience. >> he tried to get in u.c. berkeley with a 4.0 in high school. he has been -- not get accepted. >> the u.c. system says it accepted just under 70% for california freshmen for the fall of 2011. down a percent from last fall and 2% the year before. >> u.c. is accepting 9% more out-of-state students out of fall, mostly because the

. >>> the sales tax in some cities went up today, the sales tax in union city is now 10 and a quarter percent. among the highest in the bay area. >>> a big change for regular muni riders, after 37 years, fast pass users are now paying with plastic. live now in san francisco with the changes. >> today is the last day, last work day for the fast pass. from now on it's all about the clipper card. >> at the customer service center today, many people were switching over. >> put that card into the scanner. >> so when you go on the card, the bus, you just go beep then you have your monthly in there. >> many people seem to have the new system down, others had problems. >> it was just confusing. >> how so? >> the card sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. >> reporter: this is the april adult fast pass, it was printed but will not be sold. uni will still offer youth passes but only until june. about 150,000 passengers purchased adult fast passes each month which allowed unlimited rides for $60. now riders must use this, a clipper card which is good for use on bart and other public transportation. under the system, passengers put money in their account and each ride is d

the peace. >>> 4:45 now. this morning, we're hearing from a san francisco city supervisor who was on board that muni train with the busted door. it happened during evening rush hour friday night. cell phone video shows the train traveling at a high rate of speed from van ness station with one door open. supervisor scott weiner was one of the passengers. he was the bearded man on the far left. he told us he warned people to step away from that door. >> i asked them if they wanted to squeeze in but they didn't want to. and so we just went. then the operator got on the intercom and announced that he was aware of it and that people should stand back from the doors. >> muni officials admit the door was malfunctioning at the time. and the operator failed to secure it. the operator has been placed on nondriving status while muni is investigating. >>> looks like at which time her get that tax break in -- twitter will get that tax break in exchange for moving into a rough san francisco neighborhood. the board of supervisors approved a payroll tax break for companies that move to or stay in the midmarket and the tenderl

members of the muni operators union authorized a strike if negotiations with the city now in the second month don't go as they hope. >> friday's news that local union 250-a that they authorized a strike struck some as bold. a camera caught them ordering off a bus. and another was texting while driving. and doors were wide open even as the muni trains rolled on. a supervisor witnessed one of those doors malfunctions but the union has really hurt itself to author authorize a strike. >> to authorize a strike is not productive. >> union members declined to talk to the camera but union treasury told abc news that quote we already have two black eyes and a broken nose. it doesn't make any difference. charred good year a speck person for muni says they are hoping to scale back the budget by $25-50 million. >> we hope the leadership will join us in addressing the economic realities that everyone in san francisco is facing now. >> public sympathy doesn't seem to be with the unions who's members earn just over $100,000 a year. >> it's hard to stand up as much pay during the boom years. >> every c

the tax to your number of employees. it is a better structure, i believe. we do a lot of things to support businesses. muni improvements happening downtown, in the more distant parts of the city. supporting businesses. infrastructure we are putting in, sidewalks, lighting. all of this is important to businesses. lots of concentration on that in the downtown area. i see it as one of the big thing that we offer. we also have a pretty city. that attracts a lot of businesses. we have certain parts of the city that have really great thinking going on. you see california, as of state. our hospitals attract a lot of minds and attention. -- uc california, sf state. >> it looks like we are just about of time. thank you for being on your district supervisor. we have been talking to supervisor at a loss from district 11. join us next time when we will be back with one of our 11 mr. supervisors. -- we have been talking to supervisor john avalos from district 11. join us next time when we will be back with one of our >> good evening, and welcome to the 31st annual mfac awards. [applause] hello, everyone. i am your mc tonight for the good government awards, and i'm so excited tonight. we h

88 the strike authorization vote is premature, unnecessary and ultimately impractical because the city's charter prohibits muni drivers from striking. >> so legally they don't have a leg to stand on here. i am not a lawyer. but my understanding is they have a no strike clause in their contract. >> they claim that they have plenty of money and muni salaries and pensions are not a problem could trigger a backlash. already unnerved by the damaging incidents. >> still another video shows the driver chasing a mom and her baby off the bus because it was taking too long for her husband to get on the bus with the volumeer. >> we have calls into the union requesting some response to this flyer. and by the way this vote is underway already and should last about a week. we will know whether or not they are going to have a strike vote and whether or not they are even going to be allowed to do it because of the rules. but this question is really kind of shocks everybody that it comes as it does right now. certainly a public relations disaster. >> it will be interesting to find out what the tactic is behind this, what the r

francisco police need the public's help to find a man that sexually assaulted a woman in a popular park. also.... >> muni passengers have an incredible ride through one of the city'sunnels here in san francisco. we've got the video. you have to see it to believe it. stay with us. the story is coming up. >> kristen: recordings in the barry bonds trial may fizzle out before making it into evidence. we'll have live report coming up.

the city. do we need to do an environmental impact report based on your logic on muni's root construction of signal loot -- route construction of signal rights all across the city? >> it would depend on whether they're replacing existing signals of similar size or whether they're going to be placing those improvements in an area that would cause pedestrian safety issues or blight in terms of aesthetics. if a replacement of an existing structure is very different than putting something new in an open area in the public right of way. supervisor elsbernd: the intersection i'm referring to they replaced but it's significantly bigger, it's right in the middle of a pedestrian walkway. a little island. >> i don't know. if there was evidence of a problem, that's -- the statute and the case law, the supreme court guidance is really clear, you err in favor of environmental protection. if there's a close call, you do the environmental review, you exempt something only if there's no possible significant impact and it's in those cases, there are people that bring substantial evidence that there's going to be a

the public for feedback for the city's budget deaf fis sey. those attending the town hall meeting said the big problem is salaries and pensions of city employees. talks with muni and police officers' unions, they have stalled over the issues of pensions and this could be a very tight budget. mayor lee agrees pension reform is needed but he agrees that no one group is to blame for the problem. >> we negotiate all of our differences out and in these very hard times, hard economic times, it is not about finger-pointing but how do we resolve it? >> he says the meetings are use full and hopes it will help them make cuts that are needed in a way that reflects the city's values. >>> in san jose, well, walmart customers may soon be the first in the country to get some home delivery. the company is testing delivery of groceries, health and beauty items, over-the-counter medications and household supplies. the launch is limited to tests only at this point and walmart did not provide any information on expanding to other markets. >>> search continues for an 11-year-old boy missing in the sequoia national forest. he was hiking with his family when he disappeared. his fath

the babies station. overseeing the city's largest district, last year he had to tackle a string of attacks on muni and deal with public outcry by using community of reach and putting undercover officers on the train. he has also served as a captain in the mission and deputy chief of field operations overseen for 200 officers to give it was then in 2003 he was indicted for trying to obstruct the investigation. an incident where three off- duty officers allegedly beat up to men for their take-out food. he was cleared of all charges. two years later he was demoted by police chiefs have their fault after an officer was injured during a protest. he was sent to oversee the security for the city's water supply. he is also credited with starting sports programs for gang members and serves on the board of directors for the san francisco boys and girls club. kate thompson kron 4 news. he is >>pam: starts his new position immediately. in a controversy tonight over slurs hurled that insurance gamat a giants game three. he claimed he was threatened with the bad. >> she proceeded to turn and then say you've been told, k

the city. it is in the southwest corner of the city, but very transit oriented as far as the west side goes. it is adjacent to the muni m line and a bart station. it is an appropriate location for more infill housing to meet the region's housing needs. the basic principles for the project include environmental sustainability, increasing house an opportunity both for this location and as a city resource, and to make this a transit- oriented neighborhood. right now, it is sort of transit adjacent. to create a social and commercial heart for the district -- no one has really walked to meet any of their daily needs. it provides for a burst range of household types. the basic project components are these. i will go over these quickly. at the next hearing, we will talk about these in more detail. we thought it was important to go over them in a basic sense. one is a reconfiguration of the streets. improvements to open spaces and other public amenities. comprehensive transportation program. the pretty comprehensive sustainability program that includes infrastructure for water and energy. the block pattern today is not what w