Acres in san mateo and santa cruz counties. Sadly, one person died. 925 homes destroyed. But firefighters did manage to save thousands of homes. Cal fire tweeted out this video, firefighters reading parts of the hundreds of thank you letters they received. Also tonight, progress in the fight against covid19. Three more bay area counties are now in the red. San mateo, solano, and alameda counties have moved into the red tier, which means increased capacity at a number of businesses and indoor customers for salons and tattoo parlors. One of the counties is saying not so fast. Nbc bay areas Terry Mcsweeney reports from Alameda County. Reporter its out of the purple tier and into the red in san mateo, solano, and here in Alameda County. But Alameda CountyHealth Officials say there will be no immediate changes, and as with other reopenings, it will be important for Alameda County to take a measured and phased approach to avoid dramatic increases in disease transmission and reclosures. At spice i am, a Thai Restaurant on park street in alameda tonight, no one has eaten inside for months. Its takeout and Outdoor Dining only, but management can see both sides of this issue. It can be good. If it can reopen, the business, everything, i think can get full. But i dont know that technically it can be bad for the covid. Reporter with the three red tier counties have in common is they reported fewer than seven daily cases per 100,000 residents and had a test Positivity Rate under 8 for two straight weeks. It appears only Alameda County wont be loosening restrictions at malls, museums, houses of worship, salons and retail. Outg outdoor gyms also wont be reopening. With this much protection, i dont want to ruin it. Reporter as for schools, Alameda County health says it will be more than two weeks until they reopen fors. I miss school personally. It was a social experience that i didnt that really helped mental health. Reporter some of the Restaurant Managers i spoke with tonight say they dont mind the twoweek delay. Some because limited capacity is not going to really help their bottom line anyway, and others because customers who wont wear their masks outside are just going to make things worse when theyre inside. In alameda, Terry Mcsweeney, nbc bay area news. Lots to consider. Thank you, terry. We mentioned san mateo and solano counties also got the green light to reopen more businesses. Solano county says it has seen a substantial reduction in cases over the past two months. Be ab to reopen for Indoor Dining and hopefully theyll get a much needed boost in business. The things you see on your screen can reopen effective immediately. That includes indoor restaurants, personal care salons like hair and nail salons, places of worship, movie theaters and gyms, all of course at reduced capacity. A total of nine counties can now reopen even further thanks to a steady drop in cases statewide. Nail salons got that good news today. The states Top Health Official announced nail salons everywhere can operate indoors with modifications no matter what tier the county is in. However, individual counties can still maintain more restrictive measures and keep those in place. Despite all the strides the state is making, dr. Mark ghaly cautioned californias reopening, saying it must remain slow and stringent. We want to be slow and stringent so as we move forward, we can be best prepared in case we see some increase in transmission, that it doesnt cause us to take one giant step backward. Frustrated businesses including disneyland are pushing for a broader and faster reopening plan. Just in tonight, a Financial Life line for renters and landlords struggling in Santa Clara County. The board of supervisors approved an additional 5 million in financial assistance. That will help people stay in their rental homes and to help landlords pay their bills. 43,000 families face eviction in Santa Clara County. Efforts to get the homeless off the streets got a big financial boost with new money aimed at converting hotels into permanent housing. Were talking about more than half a billion dollars in federal money. In Santa Clara County, an extended stay america on Hillview Court in milpitas will provide 132 permanent homes. Not everyone, though, is happy about where some of that money is being spent. Nbcs ian cull has the story. Reporter Santa Clara County announced today it will receive nearly 30 million as part of project homekey. Its an effort around the state to house the homeless and do it quickly. These projects usually take years. Developers say this one will take months. Santa clara countys goal is to buy this extended stay on Hillview Court in milpitas by november, using new money from the state, then renovate it and by march there would be 132 permanent rooms for the homeless. Were talking about homes that people can live in next year. Ray branson is the coo of destination home. He says there will be fulltime services on site. The sooner we can get people off the streets and into housing, our community as a whole is going to be thriving, healthier, and stronger. Reporter as part of the statewide homekey program, Contra Costa County and san jose are on the list to get money to convert motels and properties into longterm housing along with oakland, San Francisco, and mountain view. But at the milpitas site, people who live around the corner have mixed feelings. So we are like thrown between what to do. We want to care of our homeless, but is this the right solution . Maybe not. Reporter others say the Community Needs more of a say in the process. Look what happened in San Francisco. We dont want San Francisco here in milpitas. Reporter i spoke with a family earlier who didnt want to go on camera but said they loved the idea because theyre already staying here as part of a temporary Housing Solution for them. The county will have multiple meetings with the community about this project in the coming weeks. In milpitas, ian cull, nbc bay area news. Thank you, ian. Developing tonight in kentucky, much of downtown louisville remains closed. This is a look at a relatively empty Jefferson Square park, which has been the site of ongoing demonstrations following the shooting death of Breonna Taylor back in march. The city preparing for more protests in advance of the attorney generals announcement about whether hell charge the officers in her death. Protesters have demanded the arrest of those three officers. One has already been fired. Two are on paid leave. No timeline has been given regarding that announcement. President trump will announce his Supreme Court nominee in four days on this saturday. That appointment a critical one for both parties after the death of ruth bader ginsburg. This comes as the fight to confirm the nominee before the election heats up. Today utah senator mitt romney says he supports the senate vote, and his support gives republicans the majority they need to confirm a new justice. My liberal friends have over many decades gotten very used to the idea of having a liberal court, and thats not written in the stars. Democrats are concerned that a new Trump Nominee could overturn the Affordable Care act and roe v. Wade, the abortion decision. They vow theyll do everything in their power to slow the process. Tributes in washington, d. C. Begin tomorrow for justice ginsburg. In the morning shell lie in repose at the Supreme Court. Nbc news will provide a special report around 6 20 in the morning pacific time as the casket arrives at the court. A brief memorial will follow. Lester holt and Savannah Guthrie will anchor our coverage. New at 11 00, a major endorsement for democratic president ial nominee joe biden. The wife of late republican senator john mccain. Cindy mccain made the announcement saying in part, quote, my husband john lived by a code, country first. We are republicans, yes. But americans foremost. Theres only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is joe biden. Now, as the election approaches, efforts to get voters involved are ramping up. Registration drives and get out the vote campaigns are in full swing. Nbc bay areas jean elle has more from San Francisco. Hi. My name is christian. Im volunteering with the democratic party. Ive been doing letters and ive been texting. Reporter on National Voter registration day, democrats and republicans are reaching out to potential voters across the country. President trump held a Campaign Rally in pennsylvania tonight, urging supporters to vote for four more years. Wait till you look at the third quarter. Look at the numbers. They will be out before the election, but i predict theyll be very good. By the way, if theyre not, i deny i ever said it. Reporter in San Francisco, manny built what its called outdoor victory booths where people can work to get out the vote safely. We were not going to let the the community in civic life. G reporter volunteers are signing up for onehour shifts. If we can count on your support for joe biden and Kamala Harris and the democrats down ballot. Reporter calling, texting, and writing letters to voters in swing states, urging them to support democrats in november. We told them the reason why we vote. We just encourage them regardless of who they vote for to get out and, you know, join us as voters. Reporter bay area Elections Officials are having registration drives. Some firsttime voters in Santa Clara County are making sure they can cast a ballot. We want to make sure that i proactively be a part of the voting process. Reporter theres still time to make sure you can vote in november. The deadline to submit your registration and get it post marked in the mail or submitted online is october 19th. Reporting in San Francisco, jean elle, nbc bay area news. Money talks. Still ahead, they werent supposed to get in, but they did. The new bombshell report that reveals several students were admitted to cal as a favor to donors. Plus california may be making headway but other states not so much. The warning about a fall surge in covid cases. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. Ill have a check of the air quality for tomorrow and the fire danger and heat wave on the way. Details in about eight minutes. We made usaa insurance for veterans like liz and mike. An army family who is always at the ready. So when they got a little surprise. Two . They didnt panic. They got a bigger car for their soontobebigger family. After shopping around for insurance, they called usaa who helped find the right coverage for them and even some muchneeded savings. That was the easy part. Usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it easy. It is now one of the largest fires ever to burn in los angeles county. This is new video of the bobcat fire in the Angeles National forest. Its threatening parts of the Antelope Valley and San Gabriel Valley foothills. The flames have damaged or destroyed 29 structures and firefighters fear that number could be higher. At this hour its burned 112,000 acres, and its 17 contained. Now, the country has reached a sobering milestone in the fight against covid19. More than 200,000 americans have now lost their lives to the virus. To give you some perspective on that grim number, its more than the number of americans who died in world war i and vietnam combined. Tonight, though, theres a new analysis that predicts that number could nearly double by the end of the year. Close to 400,000 deaths. Researchers at the university of washington are worried about signs that a fall surge may be under way. 17 states are reporting an increase in cases in just the past two weeks. We dont know if this is a bump because of labor day or if this is a friend moving into the fall. If is a trend moving into the fall, then the concern there is that the numbers could be even higher. New Research Indicates 80 of people who contract covid do develop symptoms. Pediatricians also report more than half a million kids under the age of 18 have contracted the virus. While they do have a lower mortality rate, kids spread the virus to their parents, grandparents and other people at risk. The cdc has issued new guidelines on how to celebrate the holidays safely this year. As far as halloween goes, they say to avoid traditional activities like trickortreating and indoor haunted houses. Instead do some pumpkin carving or a virtual costume contest. Another idea is to watch halloween movies with people you love in your own household. As for thanksgiving, instead of a big dinner gathering, the cdc is recommending a small group of people in your immediate household or, if you want to celebrate with more people, they suggest you do a virtual thanksgiving dinner. Also avoid going to stores on black friday and shop online instead. Not just private, Public School back in session in person in orange county. Some schools began inperson learning again today. The changes include smaller class sizes, social distancing and of course wearing a mask. Administrators and parents say theres still a lot of unknowns about the school year but many say theyre willing to take the risk so the kids can get back inside the classroom. You might call it the College Admissions scandal 2. 0. The first one, as you remember, uncovered how some hollywood and wall street and silicon parents bribed people at elite colleges to get their kids in. Now a new bombshell. An audit accusing uc berkeley of admitting dozens of students who had good connections but not the best grades. Nbc bay areas melissa colorado has more. My parents are low income, and theyre immigrants, so, yeah, im the first one to go into college. Reporter guadalupe aya la of santa ana, california, worked summers at mcdonalds so she could save up for this, a socially distant freshman year of Online Learning at uc berkeley. I put in like a lot of hard work to get here. Reporter hard work, zero connections. But thats not the case for everyone who gets into uc berkeley according to this 76 page report from california state auditor elaine howle. Her team examined the university of californias admissions process, going as far back as 2013. The report found cal accepted at least 42 students based on their connections to donors and university staff. Its really unfair. Reporter this graph from the report details how a lowperforming child of wealthy parents was able to get into cal. The report says an employee from the Donor Relations department and a team coach devised a plan to get the student admitted as a student athlete. After the students parents donated thousands of dollars to the unidentified team, the student never played a single game. It definitely felt like a punch to the heart. Reporter the state auditor did not mince words when it came to cal, saying in part, the pervasiveness of this problem at uc berkeley demonstrates that campus leadership has failed to establish a Campus Culture that values commitment to an admissions process based on fairness and applicants merits and achievements. But cal says theyve already made changes to their admissions process. The chancellor says at berkeley, we now document more thoroughly how certain admissions added moe process oversight. They should have worked harder. They shouldnt have gotten a free pass. Reporter in berkeley, melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. An historic vote today by Santa Clara County supervisors. Thank you very much. That passes unanimously. Santa clara became the first california county to make juneteenth a paid holiday. It was first celebrated in texas back in 1865 after the civil war. The bay area holds several events every year to celebrate juneteenth. Santa clara county has already recognized days to remember cesar chavez and dr. Martin lulther king jr. Ridership in Silicon Valley way down at vta because of the pandemic. Now drastic cuts could be coming. Vta leaders are considering a few options. One is to reduce the number of bus and train trips during peak commute hours. Light rail would end an hour earlier or to stop all service by 10 00 p. M. With two bus lines eliminated in the south bay altogether. Vta says those cuts could save up to 70 million per year. You heard of a drivein movie. Tesla held a drivein Shareholders Meeting today. Attendees sat in their own car to remain socially distant and instead of applauding, they honked. Elon musk says he expects car deliveries to increase by 30 to 40 over last year in spite of the pandemic. Lets turn things over to chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. Its the first day of fall, but the temperatures dont really show that yet. Thats right on track here with what were seeing, jessica. As you mentioned, over the next seven days, were going to see temperatures that are going to go more back to the peak of summer. So weve got