Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the new Shop Chinatown 888 campaign and the installation of new Little Saigon street banners to promote the Tenderloin’s Larkin Street Corridor in new efforts to support small businesses in San Francisco’s diverse neighborhoods. Both of these projects are supported through economic development grant funding made possible by the Mayor’s Invest in Neighborhoods initiative, which seeks to create and support healthy, vibrant and economically resilient neighborhood commercial corridors in 25 neighborhood commercial districts across the City.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced a Mayoral Executive Directive ordering all City departments that have the legal authority over the permitting or mapping of new or existing housing to prioritize in their administrative work plans the construction and development of all net new housing including permanently affordable housing.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee with Supervisors Malia Cohen and David Campos today introduced legislation to strengthen the expansion and growth of San Francisco’s manufacturing and light industrial sector. The legislation incentivizes the production of new space for industrial users by assisting new and existing manufacturers with affordable space and streamlines the regulatory process for locating in San Francisco. This legislation is a central element of the Mayor’s manufacturing initiative which was launched in 2012.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement congratulating UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann who announced that she will step down effective March 31, 2014 to become Chief Executive Officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:

“I extend my sincerest congratulations to Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann on her new role at the helm of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I thank her for her leadership and service to the residents of our City as she blazed a trail in health care, innovation and education here and around the world.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today launched a free municipal wireless internet access (Wi-Fi) service along Market Street – the City’s busiest and most economically diverse corridor. Starting in the Castro neighborhood and ending at The Embarcadero along the entire Market Street corridor, Wi-Fi access will be accessible to everyone with a smart phone, laptop or any Wi-Fi enabled mobile device.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on the Presidential Disaster Declaration for California’s Rim Fire, which began in August 17, 2013 in the Stanislaus National Forest, burned 257,135 acres, reached the edges of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir watershed, and was 100 percent contained as of October 24, 2013:

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on raising the City’s minimum wage:

“San Francisco is an expensive place for working families. I believe the time has come to bring an increase in the minimum wage to the voters, and I will support a ballot initiative in 2014 that significantly raises the minimum wage to help San Francisco’s lowest paid workers keep pace with rising consumer costs.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today introduced legislation at the Board of Supervisors proposing a $400 million Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond (ESER 2014) for the June 2014 ballot. The ESER 2014 program builds on the Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond overwhelmingly approved by San Francisco voters in 2010 that seismically upgraded and strengthened the City’s aging emergency response infrastructure for first responders.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that San Francisco will host a civic memorial to remember the life and legacy of former President of South Africa and human rights leader Nelson Mandela in the Rotunda of City Hall on Wednesday, December 11th at 8 a.m.

“Nelson Mandela forever changed the world, and San Francisco has felt the global movement that he created,” said Mayor Lee. “While we mourn his loss, we will honor Nelson Mandela’s legacy to help empower communities everywhere and never stop fighting for equality for all.”

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on the passing of former President of South Africa and human rights leader His Excellency Nelson Mandela:

“The world mourns as we have a lost a leader that has forever changed our hearts, minds and the world. The outpouring that we have already seen shows the love that we have for Nelson Mandela and his inspiring resolve to promote human rights, peace and democracy.