what is the rush to add union square at this time? that's my question. >> we asked respondents to suggest parks and we set a minimum that respondents must operate. and golden gate park and marina green park where we have traditionally had the bike rental concession. but we also said if there are other appropriate locations, we would be willing to consider evaluating the appropriateness of those locations. when the response from park wide came in, they did suggest operating in union square. the department evaluating the appropriateness of operating in union square and had conversations with the m.t.a., conversations with the san francisco bike coalition, extensive conversations with our partner park wide in this endeavor about their safety record. and their plan to operate in dense, urban space safely. and the department determined in consultation with all of those people that because the transformation the city has seen the last 10 years, where we are starting to see bike lines in downtown and the bike line has been approved and there

you can see union square right in the middle. stockton street is going to -- by the way, the construction will probably commence within two weeks. it will be 18 months long for the first phase. that is utility relocation. during that time, all traffic headed south on stockton is going to be diverted. if you are going west, you will get shunted over on sutter down to mason. there will be no private vehicular traffic allowed on stockton street the low post. only muni, tour buses, taxis, and delivery trucks will be allowed down there. there will be four full-time construction crews working, two on stockton street. one on ellis. one on geary. every bit of that area is going to be a mess. our problem is going to be trying to figure out how to make the public understand that they cannot get down there. i would like you to think about standing on the southwest corner of the square. you are at the geary and powell. have you been down there? have you seen the tour buses? they turn right on to call. they turn right on to post. at post and

union square is a very congested square.e driven a horse and carriage around there and i wouldn't recommend it to anybody that wasn't a full-time equestrian professional like myself. that's what i do. i handle horses, either from underneath or from behind driving them. and my whole aspect on this is that we need to reduce the amount of motorized congestion in union square, not the bicycles or the pedestrians. which are really the key groups that make san francisco where we want to go, which is non-motorized and non-vehicle. so i see putting the bicycles in there at union square and reducing the amount of motorized buses, cars, whatever, and reduce that whole congestion thing to where it's more cyclists, more pedestrians, and more of an oasis away from congestion, because we want to remember that we go to our parks to get away from this city. the city is full of consumerism, things we want to get away from in our parks, and open spaces. those two are not running in the same direction. so when you have a business, it does take

. >> i would like to go through the presentation of the union square entrance four union square market street for the central subway. what you see in front of you, this is the engineering configuration in which the station is located and extended between market street and the theory. we have the escalators and stairs located on jury -- on geary. this would result in no identity to the station if they were separate and we would like to combine the two. by doing so, we have the opportunity to locate an emergency ventilation shaft at the location of the old elevators. this is the new configuration, the new layout. the station is deep and is connected to the concourse level which is right below the street level and from their distribution will go from between the market street area and union square. the area in question is the southwest corner of the union square and we go into more detail of the configuration. what we have identified is the location which is the back of the house of the union square where the emergency stairs from the garage are at the same location for the tunnel and for

and president of the union square association. let's hear it for all those judges, ladies and gentlemen. now, these judges have a very, very difficult job. they have to rate the competitors. each bell ringer will be judged on rhythm, originality, and style. today we're going to find out who has the it factor and before the amateur competition stuff starts, i'd like to bring up a former bell-ringing champion, mr. carl payne, ladies and gentlemen. not one, not two, not three, 10-time bell-ringing champion. the only bell-ringing champion who is even close to this would be mr. byron cobb, who has five wins. and buddy, my second husband, what's the secret to winning? >> stay on god's good side. >> ah, that sounds good. now what we're going to do is ask you to go up and gib these fine people a sample of the championship bell-ringing that you have done since, oh, gosh, i can't even -- when cable car was in black and white. it's been a long time. mr. carl payne, the winningest cable car bell ringer ever. [ringing bell] [applause] >> carl

wes tyler of union square. wes? big mystery.by the process of elimination, it's koit! >> koit. mr. scotty bastopol for the third year in a row. love this city. thank you. >> runners up. the 47th not -- annual cable car bell ringing competition, no particular order, mr. trini whitaker. sullivan philips. ken lunardi. and joseph hsu. come up and get your trophies. thank the judges. [laughter] now it's time for what you've been waiting for, third place, ladies and gentlemen, mr. howard woo. howard woo. again, they're not booing you. all right. mr. ken mcdonald. chief of muni operations officer, please come forward to help me present the second place trophy. second place, ladies and gentlemen. mr. frank ware. and before we announce the winner i'm going to drag this out even longer. i'm going to take a moment to thank the kind people who made the 47th annual cable car bell ringing contest possible the the vice chair of the sfmt board of directors. and friends of the cable car music, union square association, trophy masters shanghai re

delays later on in union square.g your drive between market and sutter. also going to affect your muni lines today, as well. so use bart instead. that's your best bet. right now we have 46 trains running on time for bart. and in the south bay, so far, so good, lots of green, everything on time for the guadalupe parkway and 101 and 280 no troubles. back to you. >> thank you. >>> one cute chick but it isn't ready for prime time yet apparently. the monterey aquarium has removed this three-week-old penguin chick from the exhibit to protect it until it get a little older. instead, that bird will be hand raised behind the scenes, which means lots and lots of fish. and private swimming lessons. this is the aquarium's first african black footed penguin chick. don't know if it's male or female. they hope it will raise awareness about threats to penguins. >> when they're still curious about it, other penguins investigate by biting so they had to remove the chick. >> not good. >> no. >>> it is 5:56. coming up in our next half h

temporary and permanent space in the union square rosh. temporary and permanent space in the union square rosh.

driving past san francisco union square is going to get more difficult when the next phase of the city'stral subway project begins. the ground breaking $1.6 billion project took place a year ago. it will extend the metro service in the south of market on over to chinatown. today construction crews will relocate underground utilities in the union square and market street areas. only one lane of stockton street will be open near market most of the day. the other lane will remain closed except between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.. work and traffic restrictions will continue through june of next year. >> governor brown presents his state of the state speech today from the assembly chambers of the state capital. how to tackle the state's $25 billion budget deficit is expected to be the main focus of his address tonight. it will be hills first state of the state in 35 years. in his previous two terms of governor beginning in 1975, brown's annual state of the state were usually short and mostly written by himself. the speech begins at 5 p.m. and we'll be streaming it live on our website abc7news.com and o

on union square. i hope you -- you let us not have to do that. i appreciate your consideration very much. i think that -- other than that, i'm very appreciative. if you have any questions. >> great. thank you. >> is there any public comment on this matter? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner moore. >> this is a very funny store, i'm going to have to tell it. for the last 20 years, each time i go to the dentist, which i do every three months, i look at upper floors of the building. it is actually -- i ask everybody, why is this beautiful building empty? because obviously we all know we don't use sometimes. so i talk with -- with supervisor chiu about two years ago as to whether or not a blight ordinance could really ask why certain buildings are empty. in this case, i thought nobody cared about the building, because only the ground floor is used. only to realize today that it will -- it really requires a conditional use, a change use -- which i was unaware of. so i'm delighted to support that indeed somebody moves in and uses this,

for your early commute look out for road construction, also details on an incident in union square. >>> good morning. it is monday, january 31. i'm elizabeth wenger. >> i'm sydnie kohara. can you believe it, last day of the month. >> yeah. >> january. where did it go. our time is 4:30. thanks so much for joining us. >>> topping our news, police in san francisco investigating a double shooting at a souvenir shop near fisherman's wharf. two people were killed. let's go to sharon chin at the scene where authorities are trying to establish a motive. sharon, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sydnie. the two people were found dead here. this place is called original discount. it is a shop that sells souvenirs near fisherman's wharf just steps away. police say the shootings happened around 8:30 last night. the police presence drew a crowd of spectators in this tourist area. we don't know of any witnesses. officers arrived to find a man and woman inside the store. [ signal breakup ] were found dead on the scene. investigators are trying to pinpoint a motive for the crime. >> there is o

also, delays expected later on at union square for construction.ll that and much more coming up in traffic just minutes away. >>> thank you. it is 6:25. okay, it's your chance for a little one on one time with a piece of giants history. >> that's right. if you missed it the first time, today you can see the world series trophy. it is making a stop in walnut creek as part of a nationwide tour that spans from here to new york. fans can see it at the lesher theater for the arts starting at noon. you can also get an official photograph taken. today's event first come first served. >>> just six more days until the super bowl. wahoo! the steelers are on the way to dallas right now. we saw them as they left pittsburgh about 30 minutes ago so if you are a fan of the steelers or the packers, make sure you have your med the ready. the big game causes enough stress to cause a heart attack. when people are under emotional stress adrenaline causes the hearten to large and blood vessels to tighten. these are live pictures as the steelers head to texas getting re

crews will relocate underground utilities in the union square and market street areas. of stockton street will be open for most of the day between sutter and market street. construction work and traffic restrictions will continue through june of next year. >> governor brown presents his state of the state speech today from the assembly chambers of the state capital. how to tackle the state's $25 billion budget deficit is expected to be a major focus of his addresses tonight. it will be his first state of the state in 35 years. in his previous two terms as governor beginning in 1975, brown's annual state of the state addresses were usually short and mostly written by himself. the speech begins at 5 p.m. we'll be streaming it live on our website abc7news.com and on our i-pad app. >> it was yesterday morning about this time when i was so rudely awakened by hail. >> can you say that on tv? >> rudely awakened? >> hail. >> what the hail. the hail pounding on the skylight of my house. it was that loud. >> definitely interesting storms, mike. >> some of those thunderstorms do d

. >>> getting around san francisco's busy union square will get more challenging starting tomorrow when the city will begin digging up the streets in preparation for the new central subway. don knapp on the headaches ahead. >> reporter: one day some of this congestion on stockton at union square will be out of sight underground. >> most of the traffic will be on stockton in between sutter and market. so expect delays and detours. we are recommending people go around that area to make for a smoother ride to work or home. >> reporter: monday morning the digging begins here in front of neiman marcus then heads down stockton to market then back out towards chinatown. it will take a year and a half to move utilities. and another six years to complete the tunneling. get ready for eight years of construction closures and detours. this flower seller is concerned. >> i remember when they did b.a.r.t., the worst thing that happened was just west of 5th to about 8th is still dead. i mean, it never really recovered because of the years it took. i think they are planning it a little smarter this tim

one day some of this congestion on stockton at union square will be out of sight. underground if the city's $1.5 billion crosstown subway is completed as planned. >> most of the traffic will be on stockton between sutter and market. expect delays, expect detours. we're recommending people go around that area to make for a smoother ride to work or home. >> reporter: monday morning, the digging begins in front of neiman marcus, heading down stockton to market, then back out towards china town. it will take a year and a half to move utilities, another six years to complete the line. get ready for eight years of construction, detours. this store owner is concerned. >> when they did bart, the worst thing that happened was west of 5th to 8th, it's just still dead. it never really recovered because of the years of construction. i think their planning is smarter this time. >> reporter: this animation from the website shows the route from the 3rd street light rail north to the convention center up to market street, union square, and chinatown. one of the most congested corr

stockton street near union square. highway 4 traffic moving along very nicely here in bay point even though it's crowded. we already have stop and go traffic in antioch which is typical. no major problems on the way heading west. this is a look at the bay bridge. we are getting a little bit more of a robust backup here. it's backed up to the middle of that parking lot and the metering lights are on. southbound 680 traffic looks good as you pass mission boulevard and head toward the south bay. steve has the day off. it's rosemary. >> yes, we are near freezing out there in some cases. heads up literally. we'll show you where. a gorgeous view there in the dark. 40 minutes until the official sunrise pap little bit of haze looking at the bay bridge. we are dealing with dense fog in some spots. santa rosa and napa. visibility down to a quarter and half mile this morning. that's where we are at our chilliest. 36 at livermore. sitting in the low 30s. getting into san francisco 43. our winds are light behind the system that you

this is the most valuable asset in the country having windows around union square. the merchants. and to be blocked by trees. this is -- this store already has -- these -- these newspaper stands that were put up fortunately right in r

crews will start relocating underground utilities for the union square and market street area. that means lots of construction. but the city says it won't cut off access to any businesses. you can expect a phase, this phase of the project to continue through june 2012. >>> an unlikely group is protesting a plan to plant 1,000 trees. believe it or not. they are environmentalist. the city council voted to move forward to put those trees in a park. now, the city says this is to offset about 200,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions that are generated by highway 84. but an environmental group is worried about the effect of the new trees, the effect specifically they would have on burrowing owls. >> what they need is the grassy meadow with the the habitat where they can get back for some protection but they can hunt out over the grassy area. >> opponents are also worried that the trees roots could reach a nearby landfill causing the release of methane gas. >>> we had temperatures from anywhere from 57 degrees to 80 degrees. 70 in san jose for a record. the old record was back in 19

>> (inaudible) union square, you let me broach that.een wanting to ask you (inaudible) >> it's been redesigned and it's built and they kaint going to change it over-- ain't going to change it overnight. (inaudible) and it was a matter of it was a matter of they knew -- i knew if i stayed there and didn't walk offt one that was going to win might get built. and if i walked off, it might not get built. anyway -- let me answer it this way. how would i design it? i don't know. because i -- i haven't been given the contract. but two of our students earlier had done the design for union square and students, matthew henning was the chief designer. he works over at -- in the east bay. they did a spectacular design that in two terraces came down to the macy's facade there, they took off one layer of parking. the sort of thing that yan talks about. this was underground. they took off one layer of parking and came down in two steps into a grand, inviting place. i was heart struck when i realized they hadn't submitted, but that's the way i would ap

they're bringing more of their kids in union square. there are people down there making balloon animal some musicians and also there are busier where doing caricatures for some of the people who come down to the embarcadero. things to be gearing up and as it gets later and later, more more please out. if it to run this please out in groups of three and for the set will have about early to deter people from drinking. the wrapping is zero tolerance policy for tonight for and drunk in public mess and underage drinking. they're walking up and down the embarcadero as we speak. of reporting live and services go, kate thompson kron 4 news. a >> of course it ought to be in the bay were going to bring you the biggest and best parties in the bay area tonight to get at 11:30 p.m. for kron 4 years live presented a elite md deal locally year shows a jaundice at 11 for the news at eleven 30 for the party. as in the urals and of crack down on d y s comes with it. tonight law enforcement agencies throughout the day for drunk drivers. kron 4 shows you w

brown mayor, i suggested to him that union square the made a community and the district. it happened. they cleaned it up. it was a disgraceful place with homeless urinating and defecating. it was out of control. it became a beautiful place. all of the merchants did well because of it. this is what should be done in every district in the city, including mine, of the waterfront. this is the most heavily used district. we do not have one. but lisa is finally working on it, and i hope to see it soon. i am very hopeful you will pass this because it is so beneficial, especially in the preferred districts like civic center. this is a place where many people come, it is the waterfront downtown. it should be given special consideration because of its priority and its importance. i cannot say enough to please pass it. thank you. >> i run the noe valley cbd, and i consult with other neighborhoods on establishing theirs. they are committed to improving business districts, parks, streets, and other spaces. the create a strong sense of community because the force all the stakeholders i

at union square plaza, you will see the errors in the upper left-hand corner of the picture, and the kiosk will be underneath, tucked behind the elevator. stores will be inside the garage. in marina green, storage will be where there is a bicycle rental kiosks already, and storage will be exactly where there are storage containers already on the right hand side. in justin herman plaza, you will see that -- down in the bottom in the middle, and storage will be off site. i would like to address safety parkwide concerns safety -- address safety concerns. parkwide has 30 years experience. the fisherman's wharf district had concerns originally, but they have been alleviated because they have had zero bicycle-related insurance claims, and an excellent safety record in that area. all proposed locations are well served by bicycle lanes. each rider will be given a map with bicycle lanes highlighted. it will also all be given a helmet. baez's are accessible from the north, south, east, and west sides. there are numerous bicycle rental operations within a few blocks, all with excellent safety r

. >> reporter: one day some of this congestion on stockton at union square will be out of sight when the subway is completed as planned. >> most of the traffic will be on stockton in between sutter and market. so expect delays. expect detours. we are recommending people go around that area to make for a smoother ride to work or home. >> reporter: monday morning the digging begins here in front of neiman marcus then to stockton then back out to chinatown. it will take a year and a half to move utilities and another six years to complete the tunneling. eight years of construction and detours. this man is concerned. >> when they dug b.a.r.t, the worst thing that happened was just west of 5th to about 8th is still dead. i mean, it never really recovered because of the years it took. so i think they are planning it a little smarter this time. >> reporter: this animation from the website shows the route from the 3rd street light rail north to the convention center, up to market street, union square and chinatown. one of the most congested corridors in san francisco. >> based on the feedbac

are property owners in attendance of the 27 block area around union square. i have also participated for the past several years in the mobility access pricing study business advisory committee. i have had the benefit of several presentations by the staff that are members. she has been very patient with us. i am here on behalf of members to ask two things of view. one is to ask and receive the file for the feasibility report. the other is not to proceed with studies until more is known about the impact of the proposition. san francisco is not london, not stockholm, as the previous speaker said. we do not suffer the same congestion levels of those cities that inspired them to implement congestion pricing. the streets are not overcrowded or congested, not burdened beyond capacity. the congestion we experience is largely one that comes to us from the bay bridge and leaves us at the bay bridge. san francisco as a world-class favorite destination. we should be creating incentives for people to come here. not establishing barriers to entry. as one person from the pe

having the downtown park fund support union square again in the coming fiscal year. and then we hope to partner with some of our sister city agencies to offer wellness and recreation services to their staff and to be compensated for those services. we are also looking at a number of new revenue proposals. including continued expansion of recreation and aadequatics programming. -- aadequatics programming. we are looking at some recreation fees that are currently below market to see whether it would make sense to increase those fees somewhat. we are looking at adding additional concessions and park amenities. we are very likely to propose an r.f.p. next year for the golden gate park carousel and the birthday barn as well as looking to add a miniature golf course to the department's portfolio. and an additional special events. we will look to capture permit revenue for existing commercial activity in our parks. the palace of fine arts will once again be available for weddings. it's been offline for a number of years is the facility has been renovated. it's a fantastic p

they went out and studied, talked to people going out and shopping three spots around union square. there is whole other parts to this. what about the people that are working and shopping within polk street, within chinatown, not coming from outside, but just within another area. you would think they would be talking to those basic people. that's what this commission is charged with. i think you should be looking at that. what really concerns me also is who is going to get exempt on this whole thing. commissioner o'conner talked about taking his kid to and from school. what about the teachers that have to come every single day to school? are they going to be exempt or are they going to be charged? they shouldn't exempt. of course, this building and all of the state buildings and all of the federal buildings, will the state say all of our employees will be exempt and since the state, city, and fed workers comprise the largest amount of workers, what is that going to do? some thought. you're exempting whole areas of the city. president yee riley: thank you. any more? go ahead. >> if i

does it mean tourists were interviewed at union square or something? >> this is from our electronic town hall where we invited people to participate in a web march and it's from a -- webinar and it's from a panel what is random digit selection. we wanted to know more about the regional opinion. most of the outreach has been san francisco-based and we wanted to know the benefits and impacts in san francisco obviously. because it's a regional market, if you go towards the downtown, we wanted to hear from regional travelers as well. they are not tourists. they are folks who work in san francisco or come to san francisco a couple of times a month. we did want to at least get people who come to san francisco. commissioner o'conner: got you. president yee riley: director. >> so you had mentioned that it is the state that is the authorizing agent for trolling vehicular movement so disprove 26 affect the c. -- does prop 26 affect the c.t.a.'s inability to act? >> we are getting an opinion on that and other people are getting an opinion about prop 26. from what

you can see right here in front of union square. project will connect muni cars from the cal station to china town and should be ready for service in 2019. there is a lot of work that needs to be done before then. this is one of the first stages. let's move along to the bay bridge some -- some crowding coming into san francisco. you can see that the traffic is still for the most part moving well. also this morning's commute across the san mateo and dumbarton bridge moving along nicely over to burlingame. a little bit of slow traffic. 280 looks pretty good and in the south bay we're having a little bit of slow traffic developing, especially highway 7. filling in for steve, it's rosemary. >> we're looking at a dry day. what a gorgeous view. you can see the sun. you can see the gorgeous color. the winds will remain light. temperatures are rebound for the afternoon. this morning we're 10 and 15 degrees colder because of those partly cloudies. 45degrees in san francisco. we've got 34 in areas right around santa rosa/napa, also dealing wi

if you're heading through union square today you may need extra time.n talking about it all morning for the central subway construction. only one lane open on stockton street from sutter down to market and this may impact some of the muni lines running through the area. >> thanks for joining us. back with a local update at 7:24. >> join us for the midday news at 11:00.

san francisco's union square any indication things are looking up.he chronicle reports about a dozen signed leases in union square and about ten new stores went into business in 2010. brokers tell the paper more stores lease space in union square than any other year during the last decade. three leases signed on post street in december including ing direct, graph diamonds and brooks brothers. swarovski crystal is expected to open a new store on gary street. hear that, rob. coming up next on "today in the bay" -- tackling concussions with a special chin strap. we'll show you what makes this one different. >>> and looking live this morning at the golden gate bridge. you can see some of the fog that rob's been talking about and don't forget we have rain coming when you need to pack your umbrella, coming up in just a bit. [ female announcer ] this is a strawberry pop tart... and this is a warm, fresh baked strawberry toaster strudel. we asked kids what they want... and we got a clear answer. the one kids want to eat. [ kids ] oooooooooooooh. toastestrude

that still continues to work, and i know there is a lot that we can do to speed it up through the union square area and threw the chinatown area. i do not want you to abandon those seniors, to force them to taking the subway -- and through the chinatown area. something we can do to make that bus move faster, so this is a tough one, but this is in addition to the subway and make it across market street. we would miss our time line in terms of submitting the application. thereby throwing the project generally off about one year. it would also raise a whole lot of issues from the federal level, in terms of community support for the project, and i do not know what the ultimate ramifications are, but there would be some serious ramifications by postponing. chair nolan: director? director: going back to vice chair lee's comments, we did hear from the community. i think going back to look at the records that i have received, there is sufficient documentation for the subway, and ado concur with director brinkman that we have an alternative, but i think we should move forward with the initiative, seein

---la idea es poner dichas estaciones en el parque "golden gate", "union square", la plaza "justin herman

and will be held every tuesday now for now until the end of may in the union square conference room. >> thank you all. >> tentatively. >> who is doing this wearing? -- the swearing? the biggest issue in america today? segregation still exists... racism... the repression and oppression of women the educational system stem cell research homeless people cloning government health care taxation announcer: so, is there anything you're doing to help make a change? i'm not really doin' anything. ummmm [sighs] got me on that one...

driving past san francisco's union square is going to get more difficult beginning today when the nextse of the city's central subway project begins. ground breaking on the $1.6 billion project took place nearly a year ago. it will extend metro service from the south of market to chinatown. today construction crews will start relocating underground utilities in the union square and market street areas. the work will involve daily lane closures on stockton and nearby streets. and, frances, it's going to continue for some time. >> till next june. getting into san francisco isn't as bad, backed up to west grand. especially not bad considering there was a stall on the upper deck earlier. what is slow is westbound 580 as you make your way through the altamont pass. that stretch is going to take you 40 minutes from 205 after 680 and north 101 a little slow near the capital expressway. heavy on north 280 right near highway 17. kristen. >> frances, thanks a lot. oprah: all new. powerhouse oscar legends sissy spacek, holly hunter, and susan sarandon. then, oscar nominees -- wow! then, oscar nom

i happened to be the first one to serve just they make union square a district, and it worked, and howcome we live in the most heavily used district in the city, which is the waterfront district, the financial district included, and we do not have the community district, and we need it desperately because we have homeless there. it is ridiculous. it is filthy. there is no reason it should be that way, so we have to go through a community district downtown yesterday. it thank you. >> ♪ it is beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ ♪ with parcells everywhere, and the thing that will make it ring is the budget that you green -- bring to every door ♪ ♪ it is beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ ♪ parcels everywhere, and i hope you will be there and you will be with budget and you will care ♪ >> i am here to oppose the participation of the city in a community benefit district at the city's center. at the library commission, recently of representatives came to the commission and talked about what the benefits are for the community district, and his most vivid story was about how with gr