Mayor Edwin M. Lee today signed the San Francisco Transit Center District Plan after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved it on July 31, 2012, confirming the City’s commitment to developing a new commercial corridor envisioned in the downtown Plan and helping to finance the multi-modal Transbay Transit Center already underway.

“This district will be transformed from an area once dominated by automobiles to lively streets, abundant parks and more open spaces,” said Mayor Lee. “With even more transit service planned for the future and the new transit center now under construction, this is the best place to accommodate growth in the City. We can build and improve our City while creating jobs for our residents and supporting our continued economic recovery.” Read more.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the development of a 25-year master plan for the expansion of Moscone Convention Center with completion of the first phase expected by early 2018.

“The recent renovations at Moscone North and South are exciting, but they don’t address San Francisco’s need for more convention and meeting space to remain competitive with cities around the world,” said Mayor Lee. “Tourism is our City’s number one industry and bringing Moscone into the 21st Century will boost our City’s economy.”

“This is one of the most utilized convention centers in the nation and many of our convention clients are simply outgrowing it,” said President and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association Joe D’Alessandro. “Other competing cities have either recently expanded their convention centers or are planning expansions. We can’t sit back and let other cities around the world take our business away.” Read more.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded San Francisco with an additional $3 million in Workforce Innovation grants to train and reskill San Francisco residents for the City’s growing number of technology and IT jobs. The City’s TechSF Initiative received $5 million from DOL in March.

“Making sure that San Franciscans receive the skills and training they need to compete in the 21stcentury job market is a cornerstone of my economic strategy and critical to our City’s economic recovery,” said Mayor Lee. “I thank the Obama Administration for investing in public-private partnerships that strengthen workforce training and bridge the skills gap between our residents and the good paying jobs that many of our tech companies are creating right here in San Francisco.” Read more.

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee, as Chair of the first U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Technology and Innovation Task Force, announced the Open Government Innovation Partnership – a call to action to help cities advance and prioritize innovation to drive job growth, economic development, improved efficiency and collaboration. The USCM Technology and Innovation Task Force will be asking Mayors to join the partnership as active and committed partners to help build an ecosystem that will help cities advance and prioritize innovation to improve government.  “This is a time for cities to confront challenges by taking risks and embracing innovation,” said Mayor Lee. “In San Francisco, we are using technology and innovation to improve city services that impact our everyday lives, from transportation to education to civic engagement.” Read more.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Board President David Chiu today introduced a proposal to reform the City’s current anti-job business tax structure for the November 2012 ballot. After months of thorough analysis by the City Controller, economic modeling by the City Economist and inclusive outreach to San Francisco’s diverse business communities, Mayor Lee and Board President David Chiu proposed a gross receipts tax as an alternative to the City’s current payroll tax, which punishes companies for growing and creating new jobs in San Francisco. The measure also raises $13 million in new General Fund revenue through increased business license fees for affordable housing.

“San Francisco is the only city in California with a payroll tax and it’s time to reward companies for creating jobs in our City, not punish them,” said Mayor Lee. “After months of inclusive, transparent outreach to the City’s diverse business community and many others, President Chiu and I are proposing comprehensive business tax reform for this November that ends our tax on jobs, protects small business and will bring stable, growing revenue for vital City services and affordable housing for the future.” Read more.