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tv   Mayor London N. Breeds State of the City Address 2024  SFGTV  March 29, 2024 2:05pm-3:01pm PDT

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>> good morning everybody! [applause] good morning. [applause] and welcome. [applause] there's my grandma. well come. welcome to san francisco james r herman cruz terminal at pier 27.
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the first stop for all most 300 thousand people who come here every year from around the world to our beautiful city. i want to tell you about another jewel of the san francisco port that just celebrated 125 years. the san francisco ferry building. [applause] in the 19th century, commuters and visitors traveled by train or ferry or both. a ferry terminal on the waterfront downtown was a practical necessity. it was the sfo of its day. grand central station. but as we so often do, san francisco built a practical space a world class beauty, with a 245 foot clock tower along arched arcade, and a interior worthy of a renaissance cathedral. at the foot of market street, a
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beautiful bridge from water to land, the ferry building announced to every commuter, every traveller, this is san francisco. you have arrived. until that is, [applause] until that is, in the late 1930's when two new bridges the bay and golden gate and rise of the automobile made the ferry building seem outdated and unwanted. soon the grand interior converted to drab cuneals cubicles and in a act of urban planning catastrophes only the 1950 could respond, a double-decker slicing it from the city it served. for decades, this great landmark was isolated. nearly forgotten, a crumbling shell of its former glory. no one went there. no one bet on its future.
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its time had passed, but then the freeway came down and the city created a new walkable grand embarcadero with the giants on one end and the restored ferry building at the center with patience, smart planning, investment and time. san francisco turned a discarded transit hub back into a global icon. a famous city most famous landmark as herb cane called it. today the ferry building hosts shops restaurant, artists and torests and locals and just a few month ago during apec hosted leaders from around the world. this one building at the heart of downtown says a lot about our downtown and about our city. first, beautiful places, world class desirable places are never forgotten for long.
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second, our local government with the right vision and right investment and right support can spark monumental turn-arounds. third, and most important, never ever bet against san francisco. [applause] we never stay down for long. we have faced incredible challenges in the fast 5 years, two unparalleled health crisis. one in the form of covid, the other in the form of fentanyl and national reckoning on policing and sublic safety and some people inside and out of san francisco feel these challenges have overwhelmed us. i don't begrudge people frustrations. i don't dispute these have been a tough 5 years, but rather then destroying our city, the
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storms revealed our strengths, our spirit and service to each other. i believe past is a precursor to our rise. this is a year of the dragon and we will soar again. [applause] we all know the story. shortly after i took office, we began to hear thisquiting reports of the new and deadly virus. soon enough, covid-19 would up end the world. san francisco declared a emergency february 2020 and then with our partners around the bay, issued the first shut-down or order in the country. my administration then marshaled department of emergency management, public health and staff throughout city government to mobilize and turn our convention center into a global command-covid command center. we cut through the bureaucratic red tape to set up testing
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sites, community hubs and vaccination sites around the city. city workers fanned out to tend to our most vulnerable residents and as nursing homes across the country saw ballooning death rates, we protected our seniors at laguna honda and elsewhere. [applause] we were one of the first cities in the country to reach an 80 percent vaccination rate and as deaths climeed across the u.s. and the world, san francisco saw the lowest death rate of any large city in the country. [applause] people want to say our civic government is dysfunctional. we can't collaborate, we can't get hard things done. tell that to the thousands of san franciscans alive today because of what we did. [applause]
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our city faced a storm unlike anything we have seen in a hundred years. is anybody here a hundred years old? you didn't see it either. [laughter] through hard work, collaboration, ingenuity and simple decency of people we orchestrated the most successful response in the country and as covid wane and vaccinations froze we entered the second phase of my tenure, recovery. the pandemic lead to a massive shift how our economy functions all most overnight. work from home, exposed to weakness in economies and big cities, especially tech forward san francisco, we were too dependent on fields that can work from home. our downtown had never been designed as a neighborhood with many homes and round the clock residents. downtown was office and office
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was hit hard. simultaneously the pandemic constrained our efforts to house the homeless. then the murder of george floyd and ensuing national reckoning devastated police recruitment and staffing here in san francisco and around the country. even as they brought to light the systemic racism that many of us have known for far too long, the department of justice has called the police staffing shortage a national crisis. these are national challenges, exacerbated by local conditions. what did we do? we didn't throw up our hands we got to work, on public safety. we divertsed non emergency, 911 calls to free up officers while providing better overall responses for those struggling on our streets. i appointed a former hate crime prosecutor as our new district attorney and brooke jenkins
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began prosecuting crime. [applause] we used bate cars and plain clothe officers to disrupt auto break ins . we coordinated every public safety agency you can name. local, state and federal. shareal miyamoto conducted deputies to conduct warrant sweeps. i appealed to governor newsom and he sent the california highway parole. delivered the u.s. attorney and drug enforcement agency to interrupt the sale and trafficking of fentanyl. [applause] and all of these efforts have paid off. we doubled the number of drug arrests in 2023.
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retail theft and car breakens plummeted. the arrest was 25 points higher then the national average. our crime rate is the lowest it's been in 10 years. [applause] not including 2020 when we had to shut the city down. yes, these figures are accurate. they coincide with the arrival of the chp national guard, u.s. attorney office, da jenkins increased in prosecutions. i do recognize that some people don't feel the lower crime rate yet, and if you are someone you know is a victim of a crime, all the stats mean nothing. i understand that and i hear your concerns and that's exactly why we are not letting
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up. we will roll out 400 automated license plate readers at a hundred intersections across the city this month. [applause] thanks to the voters approving proposition e on tuesday. [applause] we will be installing new public safety cameras in high crime areas, deploying drones and changing police department rules so our sworn officers are out in the field and not behind a desk. [applause] and yes, we are adding more police officers thanks to our effort san francisco is now the best paid major city in the region for starting police officers. retention is improving. officers are transferring here. we have the most police academy applicant in more then 5 years
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and the next academy class will be the largest since before the pandemic with 50 cadets. [applause] with all that, we will add 200 more officers in the next year and get to full police staffing in three years. [applause] at the same time, we are not sacrificing our reform work. the san francisco police department is on track to reach the 272 department of justice reforms by april of this year. [applause] thank you to those who lead these efforts including our police chief, bill scott. [applause] of course, we can't talk about public safety without talking about the other health crisis.
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this is a national tragedy, fentanyl is impacting our city both large and small, urban and rule. it is awful and heart-breaking and while i'm stepping up enforcementf oour laws because that is what our residents deserve and what pour city means, i remain absolutely committed to saving lives. our approach-- [applause] our approach is about accountability, resources and new pathways. this means arresting and prosecuting dealers, and when necessary arresting users who are a danger to themselves. it means expanding existing treatment options and creating new ones like abstinence based treatment solution. [applause]
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yes, offering service is critical, but frankly we must compel some people into treatment. we will have a additional tool thanks to the voters who helped pass proposition f tuesday. [applause] and i directed the human service agency to create a action plan for prop f implementation. if we can provide cash assistance to more then 5 thousand people can screen recipients for substance use disorder and get them into treatment. [applause] and we have the services they need. including 15 free clinics across san francisco that can administer bupomor 15 day one. we are delivering the goal adding 400 new treatment beds and if governor newsom prop 1 passes we have a real opportunity to add hundreds more. we are not waiting, we are doing the work with supervisor mandelman so when the state
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opens the pipeline for new beds, san francisco is ready and first in line. [applause] that brings me to homelessness, which also remains a key focus of our recovery. now, since ifen polk been mayor, we helped over 15 thousand individuals exit homelessness. we are the only county in the bay area to see unsheltered homelessness go down in the last point in time count. we did it by increasing shelter capacity by 66 percent and increasing housing for formally homeless people by over 50 percent. my office of invasion funded by bloomburg philanthropy is appointed new accountability tools to track data, outcomes and hold non profits we fund accountable. [applause] our encampment teams are
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bringing people indoors and bringing down the tents, despite attempts by the court and by some advocates to obstruct or efforts with city attorney david chui we fought hard and helped more then 1500 people into shelter from encampment just over the past 6 months. [applause] the number of tents on our streets are down by 37 percent this past 6 months. at the lowest levels it has been since 2018. the other day a gentleman asked me, how can we help so many homeless people and still have thousands more? well, we know people fall into homelessness for many reasons and we have programs preventing homelessness for san franciscans every single day. but we also know we keep housing people and people do keep coming here.
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the advocates and some elected officials want you to believe san francisco isn't a destination. they want you to believe people don't come here for drugs or other reasons. we all know that's not true. of those arrested for public drug use in the tenderloin and south of market over the last year, over half were not san francisco residents. half. i had enough of it and clearly the voters had enough too. we are not letting up. [applause] we are continuing to add new housing, new shelter. we are setting a new goal of a thousand people a year for homeward bound program. the program that provides unhoused people a ticket back to their home cities. [applause] and we have a new tool for those struggling with mental illness and addiction. for decades, state laws have
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prevented us compelling people into treatment, even if their families are begging us to do so. the people truly suffering you see walking in and out of traffic or screaming at nothing in particular, the people who so desperately need help. i fought to change the state conservatorship laws for years and we finally succeeded. [applause] now we are implementing the changes faster then any county in the state. so far this year yee increased the number of people submitted for conservatorship by 170 percent compared to last year. that is how we make change. that is how we save lives. and of course, there is the pandemic related issues felt most acutely in san francisco. our downtown recovery. i have always believed we need to start with a question and if not, how do we make downtown
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what it was, but rather, what do we want our downtown of the future to be? in 2022, 2023 we worked with trade groups, business owners, builders, neighbors and city departments to create the road map to downtown san francisco future. a comprehensive plan for a dynamic resilient downtown with resident night life and businesses. a neighborhood that keeps going around the clock, downtown 24/7. [laughter] the first year focused on stabilization, filling our empty store fronts, creating attraction and night life activity and delivering tax incentives. we recruit new businesses and continue to see new leases signed lead by ai which alone is projected to add 12 million square feet of office space by
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2030. and it won't be ai alone. this is one of the most beautiful urban environments in the world with a unrivaled pool of talent and builders and dreamers and largest collection of deployable capital in the country, but downtown cant just be about jobs, it can't just be the 9 to 5 financial district. we also need more people to live and study there. so, our new initiative, 30 by 30, 30 thousand more residents and students downtown by 2030. [applause] to do that, we first need to create more housing downtown. we already passed the few local laws to reduce fees to office conversion. our first office conversion is happening now. 32 new homes at the warfield
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building that would not be happening if we hadn't stepped in, and more are coming. [applause] now, we are working on state laws to change state laws with senator scott wiener to spur production and speed up housing production downtown. that is housing, but 30 by 30 is also about bringing students down down, and a lot of them. we are working with thought leaders, business folks and educational institutions to make downtown a hub, a center of excellence. we invited the university of california and historically black call jss and universities to join us and some are coming as early as this summer! [applause] we are working with other universities and existing anchors, uc law, usf and san francisco state university.
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imagine, student professors researchers and employees working from dorm room to classroom to start up from the ferry building to city hall. cross pollinating ideas, cross pollinating companies. we will lead in ai, climate tech, bio tech and things we haven't imagined yet are. housing students, invasion, that is our future. tearing out the bike lanes on market street going backwards will not move us forward and it won't magically revive downtown. [applause] but 30 thousand more people living and going to school down there will. downtown has always been the economic engine that funds the services we care about, and it is post pandemic difficulties are the driving reason for the deficit we now face.
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we no laupger have the luxury to penalize. we need to incentivize. so let me make two things clear, number one, the board of supervisors and i will close this deficit and we will not weaken our public safety to do so. [applause] number two, i have a clear vision for downtown future and my administration will make it happen. [applause] our vision is a vibrant mixed use neighborhood with transit, bar s, restaurants, venues, where people live, work, study, and play. we are through the valley of covid. we endered the slings and arrows of recovery, and now we rise to our next chapter on housing. we are changing our reputation. as a city of no to a city of
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yes. yes. [applause] yes to reducing fees, yes to eliminating barriers and yes to any idea that overcomes obinstruction and builds the new homes we so desperately need. there is one housing no i will commit to, any piece of anti-housing legislation that comes across my desk i will veto. [applause] every single one. we have a state mandate, so let's build our projects like the power station where we broke ground last year and treasure island just this week we relaunched a new phase of housing. let's work with our land use chair, supervisor melgar to keep advancing pro-housing laws through the board.
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and let's- [applause] and let's bring 30 thousand residents and students to the downtown. if we do that, more people and more neighborhoods will be able to afford to live here. more housing means more opportunity. and san francisco will remain the city of yes for our children and their children and it's not just a vision, our work is actually delivering change. crime is at record lows. san francisco is a ai capital of the world. the birthplace of the next economic boom. the la times reports in 2022, san francisco companies raised 5 times as much funding as the companies in florida and texas combined. [applause]
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that is what they do to us. our small business reforms like first year free championing by supervisor ronan are filling empty storefronts across the city. [applause] we are a national leader in early child care and education. doubling the number of kids getting care and subsidies in 2018. [applause] and paying our educators a real wage that recognizes them for the work that they do. [applause] we just hosted leaders from around the world for apec, the biggest global stage for san francisco since the signing of the united nation charter in 1945. [applause] our parks are the best in the world and we massively expanded outdoor public areas from jfk
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drive to india basin coming to the southern waterfront. [applause] muni is leading the bay area transit recovery, who would have thought, willie brown? carrying more riders then all of the other regional transit operators combined. we are on pace to hit our goal of zero green house gas emission by 2040. we are launching a wnba franchise hosting [applause] hosting the nba all star game, the super ball and fifa world cup! [applause] and i envision a san francisco of walkable, safe, thriving neighborhoods with great schools that teach algebra and a strong economy.
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[applause] where people get the help they need and where everyone is welcomed. i want to thank the voters for supporting this vision on tuesday. by backing these various propositions and the strong rejection of proposition b. [applause] thank you supervisors engardio and matt dorsey on algebra and police staffing and conulateulations on scott wiener, matt haeny and [indiscernible] as well as all the new comers come bravely step forward to run for county committee. [applause] and let me say something to those in the press claiming tuesday election means san francisco is not a progressive
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city anymore. building homes and adding treatment beds is progressive. [applause] wanting good public education and effective police force valuing the saturday safety of seniors from chinatown to bayview, immigrant and working families in the tenderloin, is progressive. [applause] we are a progressive diverse city living together celebrating each other. lgbtq, aapi, black, latino, palestinian and jewish. [applause] that is not changed and that will not change. so, i don't know about you but i'm tired of the negativity. i'm tired of the people who talk about san francisco as if our troubles are inevitable and
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our success a flukement our successes are not a fluke, and they are not fleeing. they are the products of years of hard work, collaboration, investment, creativity, perseverance. they are the output of thousands of people in government and out who believe in service, not cynicism. [applause] i want to say something to those inside san francisco and out, who traffic in negativity. to sell ads to advance right wing causes to tear others down or to simply stroke fear for their political convenience. i want to say this on behalf of the real people who you have been disparaging, on behalf of the nurses, the gardeners, janitors, counselors, commissioners, engineers, emergency workers, teachers, the transit operators who
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dedicate themselves to this city. [applause] on behalf-on behalf of our firefighters, 911 dispatchers, the sheriff deputies and police officer who do life-saving work under difficult circumstances. on behalf of the small business owners thrks bartendser, the artists. on behalf of the women. on behalf- [applause] on behalf of the women here who let women everywhere know that we trust them to make their own decisions and offer them a safe haven when they do so. [applause]
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on behalf of the housing advocate said who started a movement here that has taken root all over the country. [applause] on behalf of the transgender activists and their families chosen or otherwise who made san francisco and outpost of hope. [applause] on behalf of the city i called home my entire life, which i'm proud to serve every single day, i offer these words from our 26 president of the united states, teddy roosevelt. you exceez me for updateing the pronouns. [laughter] it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong woman
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stumbles, or where the doer of deeds, could have done them better, the credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena. [applause] who strives valantly. who sends herself in a worthy cause. to those outside the arena watching from the side-lines, who offer only criticism, i have a message for you. san francisco is not wearing the shackles of your negativity any longer. [applause]
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i'll say it again, san francisco is not wearing the shackles of your negativity any longer! [applause] to the public servants who have been here during the city's most difficult time, doing the work all along, thank you. thank you for your service. we will continue to move our city forward to be the city of yes. no longer will we allow others to define us, because we know who we are. we are a city on the rise. we are a dragon taking flight. now, let's soar san francisco! let's soar! thank you. [applause]
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>> who doesn't love cable cars? charging emissions and we're free which we're proud of you know, it's not much free left in the world anymore so we managed to do that through donations and through our gift shops. you got a real look and real appreciation of what early transit systems are like. this was the transit of the day from about 1875 to about 1893 or
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later, you know. cable car museum is free, come on in. take a day. come down. rediscover the city. you can spend as time you want and you don't have to make reservations and it's important to be free because we want them to develop a love for cable cars so they do continue to support whether they live here or other places and people come in and say, yes, i have passed by and heard of this and never come in and they always enjoy themselves. people love cable cars and there's none left in the world so if you want to ride a cable car, you've got to come to san francisco. that what makes the city. without the cable cars, you lose part of that, you know, because people who come here and they love it and they love the history ask they can ride a cable car that has been running since 1888 or 1889. wow! that's something. can't do that with other historical museums. rarely, have i run into anybody from outside who didn't come in and didn't feel better from knowing something about the city. it's a
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true experience you'll remember. i hope they walk away with a greater appreciation for the history, with the mechanics with people are fascinated by the winding machine and i hope the appreciation, which is a part of our mission and these young kids will appreciate cable cars and the ones who live here and other places, they can make sure there will always be cable cars in san francisco because once they are gone, they are gone. it's the heartbeat of san francisco that founded the cable and the slot and without the cable cars, yeah, we would lose something in san francisco. we would lose part of its heart and soul. it wouldn't be san francisco without cable cars. [bell ringing] [music] san francisco has a
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fascinate and complex network of governmental and community organizations. this often over limited partner in their missions and collaborate rit on solving today's challenges. often used for good, there are insubstances the relationships have created conflict. unduly influenced city policies or services or circumvented procedures. torous issue policies restricting officials ability to solicit behested payments were created. but what is i behested payment? a behested payment made to a nonprofit at the request, suggestion or direction of a city officer or employee. a payment can be cash, goods and/or services. these rules have no impact on
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your ability to donate to a charity or other organizations. the rules only apply to officers or designated employees on the city and county of san francisco. these city officers and designate nited employees make considerations with some limited exception. this vo will explain who interested parties are and the types of solicitations not allowed and what exceptions allow for certain solicitations. fortunately, no actual partying is restricted boy these rules. simple low put an interested per can be anyone with an interest in your department's work. including, anyone seek to influence your department.
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lobbying. over the past 12 months. permit consultants registered with the ethic's commission and reported contacts with the officers or employees department during the past 12 months. or anyone speak enforcement i license, permit or other entitlement from your department. considering this, if someone is seeking a favorable decision from you or your office and you ask them to do nit to a charity, they might think if they do donate they will get better treatment. this is when we want to avoid. the real or perceived conflict of interest. there are some exceptions to these rules to help city agency and programs collaborate with nonprofits and donation. solicitations made urn
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authorized city programs for donations to nonprofits or public schools through competitive procured contracts are allowed by an ordinance. in connection with the negotiation or administration of i city contract, which are directly related to the terms of or perform under the contract; public appeals med through television, radio, bill board, a public message on an online platform. the distribution of 200 or more identical pieces of printed material, the distribution of a single e mill to 200 or more recipients or a speech to a group. 20 or more people. these exceptions work. because these solicitations are broad enough to not target a narrow audience. let's look at examples.
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an elected official in san francisco. know this is a food bank operating in her district is in need of in kind donations to make holiday meals for families in need. abc inc. is a client of a registers will be lobbyist can she accept i donation from abc inc. on behalf of the food bank in her district. >> in she can cannot ask for a do nigz to the food bank because likely an interested per for her. she cannot ask a lobbyist for a donation either. she may however make a public appeal for donations through mass media or a garthing of 20 or more people. let's try another.
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jordan is a receive who volunteers for a nonprofit. acme inc. is a contractor with their department. can jordan asked ceo to make a corporate donation to the nonprofit? no. this request is prohibited buzz acme inc. is contractor with their department interested party. let's try one more. city employee madison, received i noticer in the mail soliciting do nigz for the local animal shelter can immediate son donate to the shelter? now this we got the green light there is nothing in the behested rowel that restrict their choice to make a personal charity donation from their personal funds. hopeful low you now have a clearer 70's behested payment rules. but every situation is unique.
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we encourage to you build upon when you learned and roach out to the ethic's commission any time for advice. for specific questions condition tact the ethic's commission at 415-252-3100. or ethics. commission @sfgov.org thank you for your service and ticking the time to learn more about behested payments. in case there is is a discrepancy with this sum row and the law >> ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪
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♪♪ ♪♪ it looks at good and tastes good and it is good in my mouth pretty amazing. >> ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ i am the executive chef i've been here as a chef at la concina since 2005 reason we do the festival and the reason we started to celebrate the spirit and talent and trivia and the hard work of the women in the la concina program if you walk up to my one on the block an owner operated routine i recipient it's a they're going to be doing the cooking from
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scratch where in the world can you find that >> i'm one of the owners we do rolls that are like suburbia that is crisp on the outside and this is rolled you up we don't this it has chinese sister-in-law and a little bit of entertain sprouts and we love it here. >> there are 6 grilled cheese grilled to the crisp on the outside outstanding salsa and a lot of things to dip it knocks you out and it's spicecy and delicious i was the first person that came here and we were not prepared
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for this every year we're prepared everybody thinks what they're doing and we can cookout of our home and so the festivals were part of the group we shove what we do and we w we tried to capture the spirit of xrifs. >> and there from there to sales and the hard part of the sales is 250 assess our market and creating a market opportunity giving limited risks and sales experience to our guys and
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>> the city of san francisco is invest nothing resources to care for people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis on the streets. is this includes new programs and the expansion of successful pilots >> worried about you lying on the street here. >> we can take them to other facilities like mental health facilities or shelters or offer resources and connect them to social workers and follow up. we try to provide safety for the public and for them to let them know than i are not in trouble and we are here to offer them many resources and service they may want and takes buildinged the relationships with the public president people we contact with. takes time and trust. the city street team include mental health clinicians, community paramedics, emt's,
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social workers and councillors train in traumatic care u most vagzal interviews. cultural competence and he deescalation. >> san francisco 911 when is the emergency? >> san francisco trained 9 leondis patchers operate inspectly from the police department. through investments and alternatives to law enforcement, the city ruled the police sponses to people experiencing mental health emergencies. >> now that we have a team that is geared toward mental health that helped dispatchers able to assist the public when call nothing for common they don't think needs an ambulance or fire or police they think they need help. i wanted to be that social worker what wents the extra mile and figured out how to navigate the system. joy feel great when i help someone that's why i got in the work if you are experiencing an
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emergency or worry body safety on the street call 911. for nonemergencies use 311. you can learn more about the street response program at
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>> good morning and welcome to the 2024 resource fair. good to is have you guys here. hopefully this is the first of many. >> we are here today to look for lbe and dbe and minority business across the different classification, and also looking for top notch talent. >> there are real ea great opportunities for individuals all most every table had opportunities for jobs, all most every table had opportunities for businesses. you have fooget out there and network and is the best place to do it. >> please make the most of your time, engage with exhibitors, attend one of the two break-out sessions, and take advantage of networking. >> i learned about contracting opportunity in the break-out sessions so all i came what i came for. >> people get what they need. >> there are plenty job opportunitie