this year, we are giving more than $1.72 million to separate cisco's recreation and park department -- to san francisco's recreation and parks department. in the five years we have done the event, that is over $5 million we have given, and we are very proud to be able to say that. i do not know if i have officially told you, but i believe you do know we did an economic impact report last year. what we learned was on last year's event -- and we expect it to be more this year -- we brought in over $60 million to the san francisco economy with hotels and transportation, restaurants, and what not. in closing, i want to show some pictures from the festival. i will pass them around quickly so you can take a look. hopefully it captures a little bit of the festival. right here, this is the polo field. stevie wonder had the biggest audience of the weekend. it is truly a multi-generational festival. >> can you come to the mike so people can hear you? >> it is a multi-generational festival. it has always been, but we had kids in their teens up to people in their 50's and 60's in joining the fest

many multinationals like hp, intel, cisco, and chevron are doing well in china. they're making money in china. at the same time, as the close relationship is going on, many chinese companies are working in san francisco in california. i would like to name a few. the tsl, ciuts, just to name a few. these are successful chinese companies working here. as the american companies in china, the chinese companies working in california in san francisco are also making contributions to job creation and the development of the economy in local areas. we're thinking these are very good signs. as the previous speakers mentioned, we paid a visit to the united states last february. governor brown proposed that we set up a working group for the u.s., a state, and china provinces to cooperate. we call this a working group, a joint working group of provinces and the states. at that time, the vice president made a very good, very positive response for the proposal. after the vice-president returned to china, we worked very hard on the proposal and my visit this time is to further t

this is your chance to find your heart in santa and cisco with someone special. -- san francisco with someone special. our first look out is here at buena vista park, a favorite with couples and dog walkers. both have a significant force. a refreshing retreat from urban life. the romantic past that meander up and down the park under pines and eucalyptus. hang out in this environment and you might see butterflies it, fennel, and then the lines. -- dandelions. is ada accessible. public transit is plentiful. we have conquered the steps, we have watched the dogs, and we have enjoyed a beautiful view. this is a place to take someone special on a romantic stroll and enjoyed a beautiful look out. welcome to corona heights located in the heart of this district. it offers a view of the downtown skyline, the bay bridge, and the east bay. it is one of the best kept secrets in the city. it is hardly ever crowded. on any given day, you will run into a few locals. , bought a 37 bus to get there without any parking worries. for legged friends can run freely. there is also a patch of grass for the sm

. >> cents and cisco's buses and trains serve many writers -- san francisco buses and trains serve many riders. the need to be sure they can get off at their intended stop. the digital voice announcement system, which announces upcoming stops, can help these low vision riders know where they are, but only if set properly. >> it is a wonderful piece of technology, but in practice, it is a little bit more tricky. oftentimes, i find that the automatic announcement system is turned off or turned down so low that i'm unable to hear it, or it is turned up so high that the sound is distorted. >> most of the time, it does not ever seemed to be on. or is it is, it is a really quiet. occasionally, it is so loud that it is distorted. >> driver, may i have california st., please? >> no problem. >> whenever the announcement system does not work properly and a driver does not call out the stops, and i'm totally lost as to where i am. the announcement system calls out the stops, but to help the customer, i caught the destination, transfer points, and requested stops. and it is the law. >> i use the p

the other clients include the city department of emergency services, the seven cisco bicycle coalition, the visitors bureau. results of these other challenges will be presented at the architecture and the city festival on september 27. this evening's presentation -- this year we added a focus on developing new forms of community engagement. over the last few days we were closely with twitter over the design of tonight's presentation to provide links to this presentation with their internal network, to create an opportunity for you, as a civic leaders to engage in dialogue beyond the boundaries of this room. if you tweet, use #rethink soma. we're wanting to engage workers and visitors beyond the dialogue with those who may not normally come to this meeting. we'll be working with the planning department to figure out what you may want to do with these comments. we approach to planning and preservation department in january with a question, how can civic leaders balance the desire for sustainable architecture in san francisco? at the request of the planning director week limited as to the

i work for the sanford cisco recreation and park department since march 24, 1981, and i started off in aquatics -- i worked for the san francisco recreation and park department. i got my first job speaking at a playground meeting in which they were going to close the playground clubhouse down for children who came there after school to do homework. anyway, as i came forward, i wanted to get involved with my playground. i have seen many playgrounds all over san francisco. i have worked for many playgrounds all over san francisco, and i started various groups, and i just would like to ask one question -- why is merced heights' playground being overlooked? it has been overlooked three times. we have had three meetings in our community, one of which was when it was a latchkey site. the second one in which they asked for public and resident commons, and then i started a group called friends and neighbors of merced heights playground. so my one question to the commission is -- why is the playground being overlooked in district 11? it received a d grade with the park alliance, and then it wen

what we have heard from participants are they are unfamiliar with how center cisco's combined sewer system operates. once it is described and they hear about the challenges, they generally support it. obviously, they have concerns about the cost. we have spent quite a bit of time doing focus groups to hone in on the points that resonate with individuals living in san francisco. the age of the system, seismic safety, and public health are the concerns that resonate the most. we have heard from participants that they desire a less intrusive way. we are trying to think. coming to a community meeting does not always work for them. what are ways to provide them timely information and receive feedback? we will be developing these as we develop the strategic plan. moving forward, we will use the tactics highlighted on the slide to build understanding. obviously, public engagement is the central component to this work. it will allow us to go beyond informing and educating the public. we will seek out partnerships, the middle of a, which it -- with a diverse array of organizations. whether it is bu