As a church pushes back after being fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating social distancing and other health orders. Good evening, im dion lim. And im dan ashley. Thank you for joining us. A church in san jose is facing more than 300,000 in fines, possible jail time for its senior pastor, after refusing to comply with publichealth orders. That church has gathered a team of lawyers, now. And pastors to, not only fight the fines but, make the case that their services are essential during the pandemic. Happening right now is is cruel and unusual punishment. 330,000 in fines levied against a pastor for simply opening up . Reporter dozens of pastors from all over california stood shoulder to shoulder. No masks and no social distancing. To support pastor Michael Mcclure of calgary chapel. For Holding Indoor violations of Public Health orders. In a space that can hold 1,900 people. The county limits indoor gatherings to 100 people. To fight the fines and possible jail time for its pastor. Over the past five months, not one person in this congregation has contracted covid19. They have contributed zero to the totalinfection rate in this county. Reporter pastor mcclure says there are signs in his church to social distance and people with can wear masks, if they want. But none of it is enforced. Santa clara Council Member said thats the reason the county felt the need to go to court. I was trying to work with them for a long time. The reality is that almost every congregation, regardless of faith tradition, in Santa Clara County, has been safely operating, in compliance with the publichealth directives. Reporter pastor mcclure insists there have been no such conversations between his church and the county. And id love to work with the health department. But they just came here, and got really upset and yelled at us, and left. They never wanted to talk to me. They never wanted to work with me and id love to. Were trying to help the community. Reporter Santa Clara Countys council says, with each notice, the county reached out with suggestions on how to safely worship. At the press conference, the group was repeatedly asked why they were not social distancing or wearing masks. Sure, were outdoors. And if you read the warning label on a medical mask, it will not protect you against covid. We are not against wearing masks. Were not against not social distancing. But, what were for is freedom. Reporter the church will continue to be fined 5,000 for each day it continues to defy the publichealth orders. A court date has been set for monday. In san jose, 7 news. San francisco naacp reverend amus brown says their arguments are misguided and run counter to the teachings of jesus christ. We must demonstrate common sense, reason, and care for others. If you open the floodgate for these congregations to go back to the usual, the regular styles of worship, it will be a death camp. Strong words. Reverend brown says no congregation, including his 3rd baptist church, should be open unless its a modified opening with masks and social distancing. He says the messaging from President Trump and others when it comes to reopening has been irresponsible. Saying its putting american lives at risk. Turning, now, to the coronavirus where californias numbers continue to go up. There were more than 4,000 new, diagnosed cases, reported today. You can see the trend in daily averages, here. The sevenday is just under 4,300. The 14day average was a little more than 3,900 cases and we are, also, seeing the Positivity Rate rise. The 14day is at 3 . Now, San Francisco is hitting pause, today, on its reopening. There are just some of the affected businesses that are affected by the decision. And abc 7 News Reporter stephanie sierra joins us live from the newsroom with what stood out in the citys covid numbers that made it hit the brakes. Stephanie. Well, dion, today, we learned, while in general, San Francisco is still doing remarkably well. Dr. Grant colefax, said the two numbers triggering the decision to pull back are the citys case rate and hospitalization numbers. Both, have increased slightly. So, heres exactly whats changing now. Indoor pools, bowling alleys, locker rooms, and showers at fitness centers, originally set to reopen november 3rd, will now remain closed until further notice. Restaurants, indoor museums, zoos, and aquariums, as well as indoor worship facilities, like churches, were set to expand capacity to 50 , but will now be required to keep capacity at 25 . Nonessential office space and movie theaters without concessions stay the same. Also, operating at 25 capacity. Both, mayor breed and dr. Colefax, referenced the surge of covid cases seen across the world and across the country, as reasons to take precautions before its too late. France, in particular, is on lockdown, again, and germany, which has been a model in the rest of the world is actually looking at restrictions. So, its not just about whats happening here, in the United States. Its, still, challenging all over the world. We want to pause on increasing the capacity of riskier activities because we do not want the virus to get too far ahead of us. Because, as we have seen across the country and around the world, when the virus gets too far ahead, you cant catch up. Now, over the past two weeks, hospitals in San Francisco went from caring for 23 patients per day, to 37 patients per day. And while dr. Colfax says Hospital Capacity still remains good, the slight uptick could be an indicator of whats to come. Now, speaking of, mayor breed warned we may see an uptick in cases after halloween, and, of course, the upcoming holidays. Another reminder to keep those gatherings to immediate family. Live in the newsroom, stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. Stephanie, thank you very much. We are just days away, now, from the election and maybe you need to still go out and vote. Here is a scenario. You go to your polling place, and find yourself being harassed before you can even get inside. Abc 7 News Reporter, chris win, has what you should do next. Reporter with the general election just days away, Santa Clara County is preparing for an historic turnout, despite the ongoing pandemic. Were committed to making this election safe. So that your vote counts and that every vote is counted, and that is going to happen. Reporter with many still planning to vote in person, in the coming days, the District Attorneys Office is working with both local and federal Law Enforcement to ease any fears about Voter Suppression or intimidation, which has been reported in other states. Youre not allowed to show up in the possession of firearms or in uniform and to try to intimidate voters. Thats just not allowed in california. Reporter and a reminder that election is not allowed within a hundred feet of a polling place or vote center. Youre not supposed to be shouting slogans at people or trying to persuade people with how they should vote, within that range. Youre not supposed to be intimidating them, of course, in any way or blocking or hindering them or influencing them, in any way. Reporter but if anyone gives you a hard time, Officials Say to report it to the polling staff, immediately, who are trained to help deescalate the solution. Be very alert and attentive to anything thats happening around them during the process of standing in line to vote or actually voting. If you see something, say something. Reporter poll watchers will also be around to help ensure a smooth process. For voters who want to reduce the chances of hitting a line on election day, go vote, starting tomorrow. Reporter registrar of voters, shannon, and her team, are hard at work preparing to open nearly 100 fullservice vote centers throughout the county on halloween. Maybe, they need language assistance or theyd like to use the accessible touchscreen voting machines. Or they need a replacement ballot. They can do any of these at our fullfunctioning vote centers that offer more services than the polling places did in the past. Reporter more than 500,000 ballots have already been received by the county. In san jose, chris win, abc 7 news. Also, in san jose. A coalition of elected leaders urged changes in the Silicon Valley organization, as its called, following a political Advertising Campaign many called racist. You are looking at the ad that ignited the controversy. It targeted City Council Candidate jake tonkle for taking part in protests following the death of george floyd back in may. Now, the svo has since removed the ad and its ceo has resigned. And the resignation of the ceo of the Silicon Valley organization is just simply the first step. But we know that the tentacles of racism run deeper than just one person. We need candidates and Current Office holders who have received support from the svo to say, in one unified voice, that this type of behavior has no place in the public discourse. The svo has apologized for the mailer, and admitted it was racist. 400 workers at a factory in utah are busy making the electric trains cal train plans to have rolling down the peninsula in less than two years. Today, we got a look inside outside, i should say, and a virtualreality look inside. David lui is your tour guide. The outside shells of nextgeneration of electric cars have already been produced at this facility in salt lake city. Over the next two years, the european rail car manufacturer, stadler, will make 19 of them for cal train. If you like the electric sound of a tesla, you will also like the sound of our electric trains. Here is a virtualreality look of what lies inside. 1,000 cal train riders to pick color schemes and the seats. Power outlets and wifi are planned. Each train will have two cars set aside for bikes with cameras for security. Restrooms appear to be spacious, and include an infantchanging table. The great benefit of these trains compared to our diesel right now is theyll be able to stop much more quickly and start much more quickly, get up to speed. Reporter initially, the same 79 miles an hour with diesel engines. But the new trains will have a top speed of 110. Before the pandemic, cal train was carrying 65,000 passengers per day. We are going to be able to triple that number over the next 20 years. The conversion to electric trains is the result of 1 billion in federal funding. That should help to ease peninsula freeway congestion. Today, cal train, is the equivalent of four freeway lanes of 101 traffic. And in the future, we would be carrying an additional five and a half lanes of traffic on our trains. Reporter c train will receive its first delivery next summer with phasedin Service Expected in 2022. If you would like to check out more video of the new cars in virtual reality, cal train is offering a limited number of cardboard viewers at its website calmar. Org vr. Impressive upgrade. A big bash for perhaps the most famous lemur around. The special gift the San Francisco zoo gave the young boy who found the animal on the streets of daly city. As we look at the new way to holiday this week, we are going woman after covid, my hours got so we cant pay our bills. And now our Family Budget is gonna be hit hard with prop 15. The yes on 15 ads say it only raises taxes on big corporations. Thats not true were all going to pay. 11 billion in new property taxes will get passed on to Small Businesses and farms. Theyll raise prices. Higher gas, health care, food. Even day care. We cant make ends meet now. Families cant afford 15. No on prop 15. Apparently, today is the day to celebrate a local lemur that captured the nations attention. The San Francisco zoo threw a huge celebration for the ringtailed lemur who was stolen out of his exhibit earlier this month. The zoo also honored the alert, 5yearold boy who spotted maki in daly city. I think the the great thing about this is everyones okay. Makis okay. You know, were here enjoying the zoo and a perfect San Francisco day. So, its its a good day. It is an allaround win. Now, the zoo rewarded james with a lifetime membership to the zoo, a lemur plush toy, as you see. And makis tote coincides with world lemur day. Who knew this was even a day to celebrate . It sure it. The day of the dead has been growing in importance in the bay area. Big events are held every year in oakland, San Francisco, and san jose. How the pandemic is affecting the celebrations in the latinx community. Reporter phyllis has been making day of the dead altars for 30 years. Its a celebration of life and we all need to think about how were going to be remembered. Reporter its a tradition that dates back centuries in mexico and central america. The altars remember those who died. Families place their loved ones favorite food or drinks on the altar, along with bright, orange marigolds, to attract their souls back from the afterlife for one day, november 2nd. The altars are put in homes, but publicaltar displays are gaining in popularity. The san jose multicultural artist guild organizes a public display, every year, at san joses main library. But the pandemic forced a change this year. Carasco and other artists have, instead, set up in other settings. One section honors martinez. Her nickname was pumpkin. She was one of the first woman died of covid. There will probably be a lot of altars this year because of covid. Its a sign of our times right now. Reporter another sign is the cancellation of day of the dead festivals in oakland and san jose. They are shifted online. San franciscos annual, nighttime procession has also been cancelled. The publicaltar display that followed has been modified. Precovid, we would set up at the park. Last year, we had 126 Community Altars and five altars representing the elements. This year, we brought the five community of altars indoors so that we can honor our ancestors. Reporter rosa heads the marigold project. The group recorded a special ceremony that will be streamed on november 2nd. Every altar, this year, is dedicated to the people that have died from covid. Or violence. The air altar is dedicated to children and theres a thousand cranes representing a thousand children that have died from covid. We dedicated it to them because of all the hard work that they do. All the people who are out there working. And are coming down with covid. And even worse, dying from it. In san jose, debated for months on what to do with its annual day of the dead play. They decided to record and stream it. The play happens in the afterlife. We learn about the power of community. That is not about one individual, its about what everybody does for the benefit of everyone. Reporter to exemplify that message of community, the actors wore masks and face shields during the recording. But the essence of the play wasnt changed because of covid19. Garcia says it didnt have to. The message of day of the dead is, already, about honoring those who have died by celebrati celebrating their lives. Death has been so present, these days. In knowing that those relationships do not end with covid, that gives us a sense of hope. That, i feel like, at this moment, is very much needed. Reporter abc 7 news. It sure has been a sunny friday in the bay area. So whats in store for halloween as we prepare to fall back . As we prepare to fall back . Abc 7 news in the bay area, we believe in science. Traffic and air pollution will be even worse after the pandemic. Thats why we support measure rr to keep caltrain running. Which is at risk of shutdown because of the crisis. To keep millions of cars off our roads, to reduce air pollution and fight climate change. And measure rr helps essential workers like me get to work and keep our communities healthy. Relieve traffic. Reduce pollution. Rescue caltrain. [all] yes on measure rr. Uber and lyft are like every big guy ive ever brought down. Prop 22 doesnt help their drivers it denies them benefits. 22 doesnt help women. It actually weakens Sexual Harassment laws, which are meant to protect them. Uber and lyft arent even required to investigate Sexual Harassment claims. I agree with the la times no on 22. Uber and lyft want all the power. So, show them the real power is you. Vote no on prop 22. The unfair money bail system. He, accused of rape. While he, accused of stealing 5. The stanford rapist could afford bail; got out the same day. The Senior Citizen could not; forced to wait in jail nearly a year. Voting yes on prop 25 ends this failed system, replacing it with one based on public safety. Because the size of your wallet shouldnt determine whether or not youre in jail. Vote yes on prop 25 to end money bail. Now, your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. Happy friday, everyone. Good evening, im meteorologist, sandhya patel. Lets take a look at the halloween forecast happening on a saturday this year with a full blue moon. Looking at sunset at 6 11. It is going to be beautiful outside. Temperatures will be low 60s to mid70s. All treats through the evening and looking spooky cool by 9 00 p. M. So if you are going out with your kids trick or treating, safely, dress in layers and dont forget those masks. Here is a live look from our santa cruz cam era. But this weekend, sunday and monday, anywhere from 10 to 12 feet for the northwest facing beaches. And if you are getting out of town, and you are traveling, here is a look at the bayarea airports. Mild sunshine. Mid70s to low 80s. Light breeze. Hawaii is looking at, in honolulu, scattered showers and 85 degrees. Sunshine. But chilly, new york city. And a warm 85 in los angeles. Live, doppler 7 showing you a couple patches of fog but pretty much cleared out. Good day to be out sailing. 59 degrees in the city. Its upper 60s, oakland, mountainview. Cooler, today. San jose. Seeing some hazy skies across parts of the bay area. Moderate air quality due to some wildfires around the state so just