Thank you so much for joining us. The fire happened on Commonwealth Avenue in the citys Laurel Heights neighborhood. Jr stone is there, live, with more on this developing story. Jr. Well, ama, the damage inside this Community Center building is extensive. And you can see it, all around me. Charred black, all around me. And that includes on the ground, where you see this wood that is just burned out and lying there. And its not just this front entryway, but you look in this front room, as well. This is a front room that fire tore through. You would think a lot of people, they dont like the armenians, and somehow, through their hate, this is the way they take their revenge. Now, this is what the damage looks like the building next to the st. Gregory armenian church. This isnt the church but its the Community Center building, that also had Church Offices in it. Pastor says he was told, by crews, that is, fire crews, that someone set this place on fire, in three different locations. Possibly, using molotov cocktails. Two downstairs locations and one upstairs. Happened around 4 00 a. M. , this the fire department, though, will only officially say that the cause, here, is under investigation. When i saw the destruction, its unbelievable, unacceptable, and it doesnt look like its normal persons work. It looks like theres some hate crime behind this. Otherwise, nobody in his normal mind would do anything like this. And back out here, live, in san francisco. You are looking at that front room that burned, early this morning. And you can see all of that black and charredout wood. They have a lot of cleanup work to do. But on a positive note, so many people from this Church Congregation and, also, the community, have come together, today, in hopes to help clean this area up. Everybody referencing that case back in july where graffiti was put on the outside of a school on broadway. An armenian school, at that. Much more on this, tonight, at 11 00. Reporting live in san francisco, jr stone, abc 7 news. All right. Jr, see you at 11 00. Well, its clear there is a big divide over race and social justice in our country, right now. Its been 115 days since george floyd died with Police Officers knee on his neck. And calls for action moving to the national consciousness. And now, 47 days till the election, and people can vote on concrete change. A new poll shows prop 16, thats a ballot measure that would reinstate affirmative action programs in california, is losing. And its losing, by a big margin. The secretary of state says the measure allows diversity as a factor in public employment, education, and contracting decisions. It is a legislative constitutional amendment. Based on race, ethnicity, or sex. But the latest poll numbers are not looking promising. Abc 7 news reporter, stephanie sierra, breaking down the latest totals. Reporter jose is holding on to hisdy bl diploma. The framed piece of paper symbolizes more than just four years of hard work but an opportunity for a better life. When i got the acceptance letter, it was like this is life changing. He wants the opportunities afforded to him, to be aatinos minorities, across california. Something propositasp 16, it leveling the playing field. Its about giving people the opportunity to to be competitive in the labor force. Reporter if passed, proposition 16 would essentially restore affirmative action in california yet the latest poll doesnt look promising. According to the Public Policy institute of california, 31 indicated they would vote yes. But 47 said they would vote no. And 22 dont know. For the bay area, 40 would vote yes. 41 , no. And 19 dont know. So, i spoke with eva patterson, who cochairs the yes on prop 16 campaign. Do these numbers surprise you . These numbers did not surprise us. We knew we started below 50 . Reporter patterson says there is a great deal of voter confusion. Watching a focus group with black voters from los angeles, they all said no, we will not vote for this, as it was read to them. Then, when we explained that it was in favor of affirmative action and equal opportunity. They all went, well, of course, well vote for this. Patterson says within the next few weeks, the prop 16 campaign will launch a robust tv and Advertising Campaign with hopes to clear up some of this confusion. But in the meantime, created a detailed guide online explaining the specifics of all 12 propositions you can expect to see on the ballot. If we get 75 of those who vote for biden, we win. Reporter but laura cruz is holding out hope it does so his children can follow in his footsteps. I want them to have like a Brighter Future and a brighter outlook on the nation and on life. Stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. And again, you can visit abc 7 news prepondera. Com or downlo7 news app for a deeper look at all the propositions with our interactive voting guide. We have a link on our home page. Now, to oakland, where a City Council Task force is considering cutting the Oakland Police department bujdget in half. Eric thomas reports this follows the reemergence of the black lives matter moment. Reporter about 300 million or 44 of oaklands General Fund Budget is spent on policing. But in the wake of the killing of george floyd, an unarmed black man by minneapolis police, and the subsequent growth of the black lives matter movement, members of the oakland city koupsle are thinking about reducing that. Not only from this moment, but for years, been advocating for more police accountability. Bass cochairs a new task force charged with Reimagining Public Safety in oakland. A group made up of city council members, community members, and neighborhood advocates. By next spring, the task force is supposed to deliver recommendations about what to do with the Police Budget. So were aiming to reduce our Police Budget by 50 , in order to invest in community. Reporter specifically, she says, programs aimed at tackling the root causes of crime and poverty. The Union Representing oakland Police Officers says a task force to reexamine what officers do is probably needed. But defunding the police, thats an entirely different matter. We are hitting a 29 increase in murders, year over year. 40 increase in shootings. Reporter don says the union was not invited to join the task force where they would have presented a contrarian view. We need is manufacturmore of there, especially in east oakland. Interim police chief was not available for comment. The Public Safety task force will meet every two weeks until it presents its report to the full council in march. In oakland, eric thomas, abc 7 news. And while we are talking about policing. Oakland Police Officers, despite some heroics this morning, they stopped a burning van that was about to roll down an embankment. The comcast city vehicle. It caught fire and started rolling in reverse toward the off ramp coming off southbound 880. They saw the driver tt vehicleme vehicle. Got a fire extinguisher and the 880 off ramp was closed for more than six hours. Meanwhile, in marin county, a woman was taken to the honest after the smart train here hit her car and pushed it about 100 feet. Lot of damage there. Sky 7 over the scene in san r rafael. Rafael. They have not released details on how badly she was hurt. All smart trains are currently delayed and a bus bridge is in effect. New protections are now in place for essential workers in california. Today, Governor Newsom signed two pieces of legislation that expand rules to help keep workers safe from covid19 and assist them if they contract it. Senate bill 1159 by peninsula democrat, jerry hill, provides benefits to essential workers presumed to have contracted covid19 on the job. I think we did is we focused on what was right and just, rather than what is popular and easy. And thats something that california always does. The governor, also, signed Assembly Bill 685 which ensures workers are informed that there has been a workplace exposure to covid19. The mask mobile is now cruising the streets of san mateo county. This specially outfitted van traveled to daly city and once there, supervisor and county staffers went door to door handing out reusable cloth masks to Business Owners and their customers. Focusing and targeting areas that are most vulnerable, during this time. Especially, lowincome communities and hardtoreach communities. In addition to masks, res recipients are given information on covid19 resources, as well as details on san mateo county. Fines start at 100 for a first offense by an individual. And 250 for a commercial entity. Marking a milestone. It was six months ago, today, an otherwise unremarkable tuesday in march, that the bay area began sheltering in place. One prism to view that. Movie theaters are starting to reopen after being in the dark for so long. What its taking to bring that old habit back. Plus, redefining the classroom. Local leaders empowering black building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. This is abc 7 news. Six months ago on this day, the shelterinplace order was given in the bay area. It seemed inplausible, then, that the pandemic sfrikzs would still be in place, today. This is a critical intervention that we know can reduce harm and save lives. So whatever we need to do to stay alive, then thats what we need to do. Well, what we did was hoard toilet paper, to start. And then, stayed home. Downtowns emptied out. Businesses, still struggling with the seesawing rules about reopening. May be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves. Maybe, a face mask. I dont really like the way its been handled. I think it was an issue of ignorance allowing certain businesses to open and not others. Wedding planning. 2020. You better forget it. Pushing it out to 2021, at the earliest. 180plus days state now uses a colorcoded system to track how counties are handling the spread of coronavirus and decide what can reopen. You can check the status of the county where you live on this interactive map. Its available on abc 7 news. Com and the abc 7 news app. As counties turn from covid purple to covid red, movie theaters are reopening. H happening in marin county, tomorrow. The question is will people actually return . Reporter name one experience more casual than a matinee. So is this a date . Of sorts. Reporter after three years together, it better be. Bo and Theresa Riley of napa the kind of outing that may come soon to a theater near you. That being able to go. How long has it been . About six months. The cinemark owned theaters in napa have been opened for a couple weeks. In marin, they open tomorrow at 25 capacity. I just miss coming here with friends and family. It gives us something to do. Like, kind of stuck at home. Its nice to see a movie and not have to sit in your bed while watching it. Never had to close because of a pandemic. What you see in napa is now an Industry Standard from stricter guidelines for serving snacks to cleaning regiments to wearing masks. Its not like the old days where you walk into an auditorium and pick your own seat. Now, a computer does it for you. And you will notice, in front and behind, areas are taped off. Hows your relationship survive . A lot of netflix. Yeah. Netflix is our best friend right now. Reporter and its a concern. Since 2000, theater attendance has dropped by about one and a half percent a year, with 2019 being the lowest. Then, covid19 added another challenge. If you look back at vhs and dvd and streaming, theres always been something that was going to kill the movie theaters. But the fact of the matter is were a stable, mature industry. Reporter and now, one in recovery mode. When theresa and bo sat down, they had the entire auditorium to themselves. Its like a private screening. Right. Yeah. Just for us. Reporter in napa, wayne freedman, abc news. Now, to the california wildfires. The august complex in mendocino and humboldt counties. The north complex is the other large fire burning in northern california. Its 36 contained. Abc 7 has partnered with the red cross and more than a dozen abc stations to raise money for evacuees. Its called day of giving and as of the last hour, more than 407,000 has been raised. You can also donate online. Here is the information. Donate by going to red cross. Org abc or by calling 866499give. Thats 8664994433. Still ahead. Y yosemite park. Closed as of just a few minutes ago. Yosemite National Park just closed to visitors about 15 minutes ago because of bad air quality in the park. This is the view. You cant even see the mountain. And this one looks towards half dome somewhere out there in the smoky distance. The air quality is projected to be in the unhealthy to hazardous range over the next several days. The park anticipates the closure to last through the weekend. Now, your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. And that air quality advisory remains up for the yosemite area, indefinitely, until the fires in that vicinity are actually put out. So let me show you a view, by contrast. We have much better air quality than they do. Showing you blue skies up above. A nice breeze blowing through the region. And those temperatures. 65 in the city. And 63 in half moon bay. From our emeryville camera, we are seeing a combination of fog and higher clouds as leftover moisture from what was once a tropical system, karina, is moving into our area. Low 80s from san jose to napa. Look at the air quality. It is so good, right now, which is wonderful to see. Green in santa rosa. Concord. All green through livermore, san jose, all the way down toward santa cruz. Have to appreciate the good air quality we have because you know its not going to last, unfortunately. Nice sea breeze coming in. Thats helping air quality. 18mileanhour winds right now in san francisco. Now, the smoke forecast will show you levels of smoke will be less than what we have experienced in days past. For 11 00 a. M. Friday, blue is what indicates that. That continues into tomorrow night. Well have a pretty good sea breeze coming off the ocean and thats km thats whats going to keep air quality good. But things deteriorate over the weekend. A north wind is going to bring that smoke back into our area. So saturday into sunday, you will notice the pinks there, which is more smoke for the region. The air district does not have a spare the air. So finally, that 30day record streak is over. But the air quality advisory remains up due to smoke impacts from wildfires in the upper layers of the atmosphere. So tomorrow, the air quality will be good to moderate. Just be prepared, though, for occasionally seeing some haze and smoke. Right now on live doppler 7, we have some fog near the coastline. Here is a view from our kgo roof camera. Morning fog and patchy drizzle. Cooler, breezier, tomorrow afternoon. And it is going to be smokier for the weekend. That hourbyhour forecast. Morning drizzle from 5 to 8 00 a. M. And then we will see some cooling and we do get some of that fog blowing out of here. Temperatures in the morning anywhere from the mid50s to mid60s. Another mild morning ahead with the drizzle. And afternoon highs will come down. Mid60s coast side. The accuweather sevenday forecast, drizzle to breezy conditions. Hazier, smokier, and warmer for your weekend. And monday is the last day of summer. Autumn begins at 6 31 on tuesday. And we will be seeing warmer conditions. Our fall warmth for wednesday and thursday. Larry and ama. All right. Sounds good. Thank you, sandhya. Still ahead. Two people using we sand my heart fell. Oke i knew wed lose our home. And we did. Over 24,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires in the past few years. Wildfire victims need help so im voting yes on 19. It limits property taxes on wildfire victims so families can move to a replacement home without a tax penalty. You never know what youll be faced with. Please, vote yes on 19. We know these are challenging times. Rest assured, you are not alone. Weve all had to adapt. And with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. Together, we can save energy and money. Try closing your shades during the day. Setting your ac to 78 or higher. Or cooling off with a fan when you can. United we are always stronger. Stay well, california, and keep it golden. Coming up on abc 7 news at 6, we dedicate a whole hour to an indepth look at sheltering in place. You know it decimated the economy. The question is did it actually save lives . What we now know about the lockdown. If we dont produce a safe vaccine, we will lose the confidence of the public. The politics of a pandemic. How our health is at the center of the fight. That is all coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6 00. But finally, right here, we are focusing on race and social justice this week and our efforts to build a better bay area. And we are also launching a new series. Its where youll hear many of the Diverse Voices in our community on a variety of issues. Heres abc 7 news anchor, jobina fortson, to kick it off. We are doing something new here at abc 7. We are turning our mics over to people in the community, for a segment were calling for the better. Well introduce you to people in our neighborhoods, who are working hard to build a better bay area. Today, you are going to hear from tyson amir and mike davis with the black literacy collective. An organization that promotes literacy and comprehension that specifically involves socially and culturally relevant content to black life in classrooms. You already know, if you were here last week, i write heavy bars. So we want to break it down. The black program is an evolutionary step for us because, as the title says, Building Leaders and activists with collective knowledge. They are going to get the writing skills. Theyre going to get stuff that allows them to touch on the common core and content standards that the state of california or the United States wants them to be exposed to in school. But, in addition to that, they are going to get the social, political, the cultural, Historical Foundation that they should have but we know that the School System is not going to give them because