Transcripts For KGO ABC7 20240704 : vimarsana.com

Rebound following a big drop in 2021, shown here with the light blue line. As a chef, a lot of my friends had left statewide. California lost more than 75,000 people from 2022 to 2023, but things are starting to turn around, says chef danny mirza, a San Francisco resident. I just started getting the phone calls asking if i know of anybody with Jobs Available in our industry. Again which is huge for us. Weve spent a lot of time in tahoe, a lot of people went to tahoe. They werent prepared for year round life in tahoe, so im not surprised that people want to come back. The pandemic allowed people to work remotely and in places that were a lot less expensive, but thats now changing, says the Public Policy institute of california. Now employers are being a little bit fussier in some cases about people showing up in person at least a few days a week. And i think thats drawing people back to california because the dynamic and high paying jobs, especially in the bay area, are still here. The bay area is also seeing a resurgence. The bay area in general, actually, its not just San Francisco has seen something of a turnaround. And we have some new Dynamic Industries like ai that are drawing people back to the state. Kevin ho, a Real Estate Broker in San Francisco with vanguard properties, says things have definitely improved. We have a lot of sellers who have previously would have left the city. Now theyre upgrading and staying in the city, buying bigger and better homes. We have clients who are locating and relocating back to the bay area. We had a couple just closed on an iconic property who are moving here from miami and experts say San Francisco is in recovery mode. They say San Francisco needs to build more housing and make housing more affordable for people to be able to stay. Meanwhile, kevin ho, the Real Estate Broker we talked to, says hes seeing big crowds during open house on sundays. And he says listings are selling in less than a week. Live in the newsroom. Suzanne forn, abc seven news. Interesting. Okay, suzanne, thanks a lot. Population changes are due to many factors. Obviously domestic migration, international immigration, as well as births and deaths. How do changes in San Francisco compare to changes across the country . Well, lets run that down for you. By the numbers. The Us Census Bureau says 60 of counties nationwide saw population increases. Population went up in pretty much every county in florida, 96 of them texas counties saw some of the fastest and biggest population increases in far Northern California. Lassen county saw the biggest population decline by percentage, losing almost 4 of its population. Los angeles had the biggest total decline, losing more than 56,000 people. That translates to 0. 58. That is a noticeably smaller drop, however, than the year before. It is still the most populous county in the country. Well, it was hard to miss the wind. Today, there is a wind advisory, in effect, awfully gusty. We shot this video in the north bay today. Abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking the Current Conditions outside sandy. Yeah, and dan and anna, those winds have died down a bit at the lower elevations, but not the higher elevations. Take a look at this live picture from mount tam, where you will notice a very shaky camera as we look back towards sutro tower. Right now at the lower elevations, gusts to 28 at napa, 24 in livermore. You will notice, though, 40 mile an hour wind gusts out of the northeast on mount diablo. Wind advisory up until 11 a. M. Tomorrow, 45 to 55 mile an hour. Wind gusts up to 60 in the hills as we go. Hour by hour, you will notice the winds picking up again later on tonight. Going into tomorrow morning, they will be strong uh 3637 miles an hour. And then as you look at some of the peak wind gusts, you will notice 72 mount diablo, mount eminem, 70 healdsburg hills 62. That offshore wind brought us the warmth. It is 71 for a high in san jose. Napa santa rosa, santa cruz, 68 in the city and in oakland, 67. Livermore still hanging on to mild to warm weather. Right now were in the 60s and the 70s. Ill let you know when the winds will drop off and how long this warm weather will last. Coming right up, ama. All right, we want to know. Thank you. Sandhya. San francisco faces a new lawsuit over street conditions. Tenderloin residents are suing the city, hoping the courts will intervene and improve things. Abc7 News Reporter luz pena is here to explain. Luz. Thats right. San franciscos officially in the middle of two lawsuits, one by the coalition on homelessness and now by a group of tenderloin residents and businesses who are accusing the city of tolerating illegal drug dealing and a growing number of homeless encampments. As San Francisco woke up to a lawsuit by five residents and two businesses in the tenderloin, the citys drug market hotspot, that are at their wits end because the city has treated their neighborhood as a containment zone for narcotics activity and all the problems associated with that. Matthew davis represents the tenderloin residents who want to remain anonymous. In their complaint, one of the plaintiffs, a mother of two, documented being threatened with knives and hammers outside her home. These photos, showing a glimpse of their daily lives every day at all hours. People are dealing drugs and using drugs in front of their apartment building. There are encampments. People are lighting bonfires. Their sidewalks are filthy with all types of problems from used syringes to human waste. The phoenix and best western hotels documented inaccessible sidewalks for guests and drug use throughout the area. The Phoenix Hotel decided not to renew their lease next year. The business is down so much because of the conditions around their hotel, randy shaw, director of the tenderloin housing clinic, is hoping this lawsuit leads to change in the area. We hope we get our Constitutional Rights protected, which has not been the case, and the people should not treat the tenderloin as if, oh, you want to sell drugs, you can do it in the tenderloin, but dont do it in cow hollow. In response to the lawsuit, in a statement, the City Attorneys Office said in part, the city is making efforts to reduce crime, disrupt open air drug markets and address homelessness, all while complying with the preliminary injunction issued in the coalition on homelessness case. The mayor said theyre seeing improvements in the tenderloin at un plaza in the daytime, but at night its still an issue and were going to continue to do everything we can to work as aggressively as we can to focus our resources and attention on the tenderloin. We met melvin jr in the neighborhood. He has lived in the tenderloin for 20 years, and was glad to hear that a group of residents are suing the city. He doesnt feel safe in the area anymore. Its horrible. Now. Just yesterday, someone pulled a knife on me while i was walking home from work for no apparent reason at all. And these residents and businesses are not seeking any financial compensation from the city. They just want the courts to intervene and help the tenderloin. The city has about a month to respond to this lawsuit. Luz pena, abc seven news. Lucy, thank you so much. The case against the protesters arrested for shutting down the bay bridge has been dismissed. Protesters accepted a diversion agreement to do five hours of community service, and the group as a whole will pay about 4,500 in restitution, 78 protesters have been charged for shutting down the bay bridge on november 16th in a cease fire protest. The protest blocked westbound traffic on the bridge for more than two hours yesterday, protesters calling for a ceasefire in gaza shut down part of San Francisco International Airport for more than three hours, part of the off ramp to the International Terminal was impacted, along with two security checkpoints. No one was arrested. New details in the effort to recall, Alameda County District Attorney pamela price, the registrar of voters, is going to manually verify the signatures to determine if the effort can advance about 73,000 signatures are needed. Organizers collected more than that, about 123,000. A random sampling was conducted to verify the signatures. Today the registrar says that was not sufficient to verify if enough meet the threshold. If things check out after the manual count, the effort goes to the county board of supervisors to set a special election. Now it is neck and neck to replace retiring representative anna eshoo. This is district 16 in the u. S. House. It includes most of the south bay and the peninsula stretching from pacifica to los gatos. Sam liccardo was in the lead. Hell be one of the two candidates in novembers general election, for sure, but the battle for second place is very close. Evan low now has a 63 vote lead over joe simitian. Votes are still being counted, so this obviously could still change. Another close race for the state senate is district seven, which covers contra costa and part of alameda counties. Berkeley mayor Jesse Arreguin is in the is the clear frontrunner here. Jovanka beckles is increasing her lead over dan kalb for second place, and its looking more and more like prop one will pass. It would use billions in bonds to provide housing for the homeless and the mentally ill. Right now, its got 50. 2 support with 22,000 more yes votes than no votes. But its looking like it will pass. A voter turnout is better than expected, actually, for the primary, it is up now to 32. Nearly average turnout in a California Primary Election has been running about 33 over the past 20 years. And remember, you can find race results from californias primary election right there on our website. Easy to find. Go to abc seven news. Com in the north bay. A deal is in the works to save a beloved Child Care Center from closing the Fairfax San Anselmo Childrens Center, a lifeline for low income families , received an eviction notice earlier this year. But as abc seven News Reporter cornell bernard explains, a new Purchase Plan could allow families and teachers to stay. Its feeling more hopeful. Its feeling more positive. Teacher mariana giordano is ready to exhale, following news that the Fairfax San Anselmo Childrens Center may not be closing its doors after all. I think theres a light at the end of the tunnel. Its really, really exciting to hear that we are moving towards the steps of being able to stay here. Skin that you snuggle up, cuddle up and lay in the Nonprofit Center opened in 1973 that offers low income families, subsidized child care. The property is owned by the Ross Valley School district, but last january, the board moved to evict the Child Care Center because the building needed too many repairs. You are required to remove from the premises. Cut to this month, where a new nonprofit, the siderman Legacy Childrens fund, is offering to buy the property from the district for 2 million and lease it back to the Childrens Center. We will be able to remain at the property as long terme tenants and that deal also says that the property will have to remain as a Child Care Center in perpetuity, and so that will allow us to stay, which is very exciting. Yard sign supporting the sale of the Childrens Center are popping up across town, nearly 100 families depend on this facility most every day, and its super, super important to keep us here. We serve a great purpose in our community, especially being one of the or the only low income child care in the ross valley. Renovating the Childrens Center will not be cheap. It could cost 8 million, but marin county officials are hoping that federal funds will help with the bill. In a statement, a spokesperson says the countys request for a 2. 5 million federal fiscal year 25 earmark would contribute to those needed property and building improvements, in addition to a 2. 5 million loan pledged by Marin Community foundation. The center is also applying for other local and state grants, the Ross Valley School superintendent says after a years work invested, the district has laid the foundation for a successful transition. A School Board Vote on the sale is scheduled for march 27th. That this is just the first step that weve been hoping for. For a long time in fairfax. Cornell, bernard, abc seven news coming up next, the debate over whats underfoot Synthetic Turf versus real grass and other alternatives, what some south bay parents are asking for, plus a new push for a 32 hour workweek. A california senator is behind a bill to change rules if you have heart failure, entrust your heart to entresto. Entresto helps improve your hearts ability to pump blood to the body. Dont take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if youve had angioedema with an ace or arb. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. Ask your doctor if entresto is right for you. Salonpas lidocaine flex. A super thin, flexible patch with maximum otc strength lidocaine that contours to the body to relieve pain right where it hurts. And did we mention, it really, really sticks . Salonpas, its good medicine. Some advocates over a proposal to replace playground surfaces at some schools with artificial turf. They claim heat and chemicals from the turf could be harmful, not just to the kids but to the environment. Abc seven news south bay reporter zach fuentes shows you what some in the community would like to see instead. Big concerns from many parents with students in the Sunnyvale School district. My kids and all kids deserve to play on surfaces that are safe and natural and healthy. The district is proposing changes to playground surfaces at six Elementary Schools as part of overall site improvements. The District Board of trustees is looking into replacing floor matting at playgrounds with Synthetic Turf. Courtney jansen has one child in the district and another set to start there in the fall. Community group mothers out front Silicon Valley has mobilized parents like her who have been concerned. When i actually was first approached about this nine months ago, i didnt care and im just gonna admit it, i didnt care. And i did a little bit of research, she said. That research led her to find out things about Synthetic Turf. She found unsettling. She said that included the high heat it can produce that could be uncomfortable for kids, and also environmental concerns. Parents and advocates are also worried about the risk for chemicals known as pfas, which are often found in artificial turf. The epa says that pfas may be linked to Harmful Health effects in humans and animals. My kids are young, their systems are developing, their bodies are developing, and theyre going to be extra susceptible to the effects of these chemicals, Community Groups who have worked with the parents say theres also the threat of broken turf blades causing plastic pollution, how theyll get blown or washed down the storm drains, and wind up in the creeks and then in the bay. One alternative, the groups are pointing towards is engineered wood fibers, which are actually are great and easy to take care of and inexpensive. We reached out to the Sunnyvale School district, which said in part, we understand our communitys concerns regarding using Synthetic Turf for our playground surfaces and why they are recommending wood chips as an alternative. We have reviewed both Synthetic Turf and wood chips and are recommending pfa free Synthetic Turf based on our analysis. But the group say that even the turf that claims to be free of pfas still contains similar chemicals that arent widely tested and may be harmful because we dont know it should should be rejected until we know its safe, especially for our young children. The Sunnyvale School District Board of trustees will be discussing bids for the project at their thursday night meeting in sunnyvale. Zach fuentes, abc seven news. Its drought map thursday, the day we get a new look at californias drought conditions, 95 of california is not in a drought a year ago, about half of california was out of drought. The California Water resources control board is proposing more relaxed regulations for water conservation. So relaxed some say they may not be enough. The changes would involve agencies that provide water for things like toilets, showers, landscaping