Transcripts For KGO ABC7 20240703 : vimarsana.com

KGO ABC7 July 3, 2024

Polarizing figure. Obviously, we know about that trial in the 90s that really transcended the way people cover those court cases. And his background as an athlete for years, simpson was an honored athlete, an incredible one coming from a poor neighborhood in San Francisco and turned into a superstar. We know his legacy changed during that murder trial in the mid 90s outside the betrayal Hill Recreation Center is an old, faded mural. One of the athletes on the mural is oj simpson. This park and this gym is where he spent a lot of time playing sports as a kid. There is simpson on a Baseball Team in the late 50s. There he is again years later, posting with kids outside the ballpark. Everybody in San Francisco was so, so proud that he was a san franciscan. He attended Galileo High School before playing at city college. He finished his collegiate career at usc and spent 11 seasons in the nfl, finishing with the 40 niners. But for the neighborhood, he left behind, there are questions about the impact he had. I mean, should have brought some of that money back to the community. He did though. He was giving us trophies, though i play sports up there we used to play at and he brought us trophies every year. Basketball football and baseball. He put enough gets a great block and o. J. Simpson has done it. A career many say they hadnt seen from a running back. I just wonder if the three of us at this moment fully realized what it has been. Our great privilege to watch oj simpson run for 2000 yards in one season. His athletic achievements were remarkable. I mean, he 2000 yards rushing was considered absolutely unattainable. And he did that and he did it in buffalo where it was snowing and it was raining. It was a terrible conditions. He became a pop culture icon, starring in several movies in the 80s. And then everything changed in 1994 from Police Headquarters in los angeles, where there is a manhunt underway for oj simpson. Ill have that story. It was just such a big figure, larger than life figure, to see him in the back of a bronco riding down the freeway. It just was. It was surreal. The trial about the death of simpsons wife grabbed the whole worlds attention, impacting simpsons family here in San Francisco. I should like to think that i brought them through their challenges. Reverend amos brown knows the Simpson Family well and says his life and legacy is bigger than one moment. Mr. Simpsons life mirrored the human predicament. Triumphs and tragedies. Reverend brown went on to mention he was a close friend of the Simpson Family for years. He says no matter what someone has been through, there is always a chance to treat them with kindness. Ryan curry, abc seven news. And what an experience it must have been to witness history. Dan yeah, it really was in so many ways. Thanks, ryan very much. You know, i covered the o. J. Simpson trial for abc seven news in 1995 and was there for the last two weeks of the trial, including the verdict. The verdict in the simpson case is finally end, but the jury is still out on how this socalled trial of the century will ultimately affect our perceptions about justice in america. Dan ashley, Channel Seven morning news is, if we only had ron and we were there, as i said, for that final two weeks, dionne and you know, to be there outside the courthouse to watch hundreds and hundreds of people who gathered, especially the day the verdict was read. It was so dramatic. It was tinged with tension, concern about which way it would go and how people would react. There was even a bomb threat one day and they evacuated all the media from the compound, except my photographer, and i hid and we were to stay on the air. But there was a tension and it was a circus like atmosphere. It was almost surreal, but you knew you were watching something that was historic. Yeah. Especially knowing also that the entire world was watching with bated breath. Yeah. And it really was at a time long before social media. Right. And the proliferation of news in the same way that it is now. So people really watched television in huge numbers. This spectacle that was the o. J. Simpson trial of the century. For more on ojs life and death, check out all of our stories on abc seven news. Com. Well, moving on. New at six San Francisco police are now looking into an incredible video of a tow truck trying to tow a moving car. The video, which i first brought you last night at 11, has gone viral. It shows a tow truck backing up into a vehicle, trying to hook it with the driver and a passenger inside. Today were learning new details about the tow company. Abc seven News Reporter luz pena has been talking to San Francisco police and the City Attorney about this incident. She joins us live right now. Loose. Thats right. Dion. Yes. The San Francisco Police Department is investigating this case. The City Attorney tells me they have been tracking this towing Company Since last year. And recently blocked them from doing business with the city. It was a terrifying experience that joanne and her husband are still processing. We were freaking out. We were calling. We were like, basically rolling down our window saying like, hey, like, what are you doing . Like, you cant be doing that out of nowhere, this yellow tow truck began to back up and try to drag their vehicle while they waited at a red light in San Francisco. So she started backing up and his lover came down. And, and so basically, hes just backing up, trying to latch on to our car today, the San Francisco City Attorney confirmed the towing company, specialty towing, is known to their office for violating state laws. Prior to this incident. This Company Appears to be the same towing company that my office had previously moved to suspend and debar from receiving city contracts. After viewing the video, City Attorney chiu said the latest incident is simply illegal. It could likely be violating a number of laws, potentially criminal laws. The fact that we have seen yet another way in which this company is violating the law, unfortunately, its not surprising, but, but the video is shocking nonetheless. Prior to this incident, the city received complaints from multiple victims who were allegedly scammed by specialty towing. The city then proceeded to block specialty towing and or other towing companies under the same ownership. From working with the city on enforcing parking laws, specialty towing is an affiliated company with a Company Called auto towing, so theyre all essentially part of the same operation. Auto towing had been illegally towing cars off a private lot without out the permission of the Property Owner , on top of that, they were strictly limiting the hours during which cars could be picked up and pressuring the owners to pay in cash. We called the towing companys phone number and the operator hung up on us. So we showed up to auto towing in the bayview, searching for answers. Obviously closed. Lets try to call them again while were here on the phone. We were told auto towing is no longer in business and the person denied being connected to specialty towing. Sfpd is now urging other victims to come forward. It is insane, but we do ask the victims to, if they have encountered Something Like this, to contact the Police Department immediately, the City Attorney said. Specialty towing allegedly also defrauded San Francisco taxpayers to receive welfare benefits. In this case, its still unclear why the couple was targeted. The couple said they filed a Police Report last night and confirmed that the car is paid off, as well as the registration in the newsroom. Luz pena, abc seven news we appreciate your tenacity trying to learn more. Thank you for that report, luis. Thanks. Happening now it is official. Oaklands airport name is changing to the San Francisco bay Oakland Airport. Heres a live look at the abc seven Oakland Airport camera. The port of oaklands board of commissioners unanimously approved the plan to change names in just the last hour. Officials in San Francisco not very happy about this. Abc seven News Reporter tim johns is live at port headquarters with the details. Tim. Another shoe will drop. Theyve threatened to sue. Yeah, dan, this is certainly just the first step in this story. One important thing to note, though, even though the port did vote yes, this is not completely finalized as of yet. It still needs to go through a second reading and approval. Although that is probably just a formality at this point. That will be coming up at a meeting on may the 9th. Now, after taking Public Comment on the issue and then speaking themselves, the port of oaklands commissioners all voted in favor, each of them saying they think the move will enormously benefit the city of oakland and the entire east bay region. As for folks in San Francisco, of course theyve been very vocal about their dislike of the move and have even threatened legal action, something the port of oakland says theyre not afraid of. Nobody owns the San Francisco bay. The port operates and is the steward for 20 miles of land along the San Francisco bay. Our airport is on the San Francisco bay, and i think we just want to lean into the fact that that is a very recognizable identity here, that we want to be able to, use. Now, folks in San Francisco say they worry the name change will cause passenger confusion and could even cause people to fly into the wrong airport. We caught up with sfo spokesperson after the vote to hear his reaction. Well, were very disappointed that oakland has chosen not to collaborate with us to come up with a solution. That kind of meets their needs and addresses our concern. And as for that potential lawsuit, San Francisco City Attorney david chu did send us a statement almost immediately after that vote came down. And he says hes disappointed that the port of oakland didnt choose to collaborate with the city further on alternative name changes for the airport. And he says they will have more on that potential litigation in the coming days. But for now, im live in oakland. Tim johns, abc seven news. Tim, so interesting now that this step has been taken, there will be other steps coming. Well see what happens. Thank you very much. A double whammy for bay area fishers. One season shortened. Another season canceled altogether. Its all about balancing priorities, but its affecting their bottom line. Also ahead. Using sound to save whales a program along our coastline has proved so successful, its expanding. Im meteorologist sandhya patel. Say goodbye to the warmth. Wet, Colder Weather is on the way. Ill have your weekend and california has now canceled its commercial salmon fishing season for the second consecutive year. Abc seven News Reporter lena howland talked with fishermen about the impact of their bottom line. For the second year in a row, california wont be having a commercial or recreational salmon season. Salmon is about 90 of my income on an annual basis. Its a massive hit for seafood distribution. The charter boat industry and coastal communities, but especially for commercial fishers like salmon captain sarah bates. She says its already putting people on her fleet out of work. Many of us are unfortunately not finding work on land. Bank accounts are unhealthy. Mental health is even more unhealthy right now. And i do fear that we are going to start losing members of our fleet. Were going to start losing some of our capacity as a port to deliver seafood to california. Still, many fishermen tell me this is a double gut punch after dungeness crab season has already been cut short. Salmon and crab is kind of our iconic San Francisco fishery. Theyve closed it down again, mainly because of water policy issues, as most water is going down south into the desert to grow almonds, theyre taking that out of the river system. The California Department of fish and wildlife says low fish populations are just one of the reasons for the closure. Ultimately, its not enough water for all interests, especially in years of drought. We chose to be extra conservative, close those fisheries so that they have the best chance of returning and spawning and sort of building our stock status back up to healthy levels as quickly as possible. Governor gavin newsom has requested for a federal fishery disaster declaration. In a statement, he said well continue working with the Biden Administration and congress to ensure californias fisheries and impacted communities are supported during this critical time. As for the 20. 6 million that was allocated for last years closure, that spend plan hasnt been approved by congress yet. Were still waiting. But what were asking for is actually something much, much greater than 20. 6 million. What we need is a comprehensive and funded plan to bring back our salmon population so that we can go back to work in San Francisco. Lena howland abc seven news. Fog. And now an upcoming storm is hampering efforts to locate a distressed whale off the california coast. The gray whale was last seen off the daly city coastline, dragging a gill net that got tangled around its tail. As you can see clearly, a fish and wildlife officials want to locate the whale and put a tracker on it so they can eventually cut the gill net and free this whale. A system thats protecting some of the most magnificent creatures along our bay area coastline is expanding, and as abc seven news weather anchor Spencer Christian explains, its paying additional dividends as well in whats becoming a whale of a success story. When you have a great idea, word spreads pretty fast, and now an ocean going system thats protecting whales here in the bay area is expanding to the east coast and canada. Doug mccauley directs the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at uc santa barbara. Two years ago, the benioff group teamed with the Marine Mammal center to install a system of acoustic buoys off our coast. The system can detect migrating whales, warning ships in the area to slow down to avoid deadly collisions on the west coast. What we do is we couple that vessel analytics, surveying and tracking how vessels are paying attention to the slow speed zones that the government puts out for whale safety, as well as also tracking the whales, he says. The whale safe system also relies on satellites and massive databases to track the movement of ships, as well. And on the east coast, the information could be critical for an endangered species known as the north atlantic right whale, whose population has now dwindled to the hundreds and theyre already sitting on the edge. This precipice of extinction. And to that gets scary. And thats where tools like this then come through and we hope will help make a difference for their survival. Similar data also drives a voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction Program thats benefiting the bay area environment in several ways. Jessica morton is with noaa, the National Oceanic and atmospheric administration. She says over the last year, their effort, known as protect blue whales and blue skies, not only cut the risk of ship collisions, but also the amount of dangerous air pollution, and we end up seeing tens of thousands of metric tons of regional Greenhouse Gas reductions when they slow down to these target speeds of ten knots or less, nearly three dozen Major Shipping Companies now participate in the voluntary program, and researchers are hoping that similar cooperation will ultimately help protect threatened whale populations worldwide. Nobody wants to run over whales, and none of these companies do so. They genuinely also are looking for that information so they can help become part of the solution. In San Francisco, Spencer Christian, abc seven news now when the blue whales, the Blue Skies Program that all started, it offered financial incentives to shipping companies. But listen to this. Noaa says the shippers are now reducing speed voluntarily in these sensitive areas without being compensated, so its on their radar. Also says he said in the piece, you know, no one wants to hit a whale. Thats right there. All right. Lets turn our attention now to the Weather Forecast. As we enjoy just another lovely day. Yeah, were trying to hold on to. All right, well, you know what . Get outside diane and dan this evening and just enjoy the nice weather we have because its changing very rapidly. Let me show you the high temperatures for today. It got up to 83 in livermore, concord, uh 81 in san jose, 84, san rafael, 78 i

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