taking a stand against cell phones. there's a new statewide push to keep the devices out of classrooms. good afternoon, i'm

kristen z. thanks for joining us for abc seven news at three. in a letter to california schools today, governor gavin newsom is calling on every school district to restrict smartphone use in classrooms as the new school year begins. he's reminding educators about the mental health and social risks of phone use in classrooms. he writes. here's part of it. excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. combined with the u.s. surgeon general's warning about the risks of social media, it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails for smartphone use in schools. just last week, we told you students at two high schools in the mount diablo unified school district kicked off the new school year with a no cell phone policy. students at mount diablo high school and ignacio valley high school have to put their phones in sealed pouches for the entire school day, which is like san mateo high school. they've had a cell phone, free learning environment for several years

now. they instituted their policy in the 2122 school year. and they say the principal tells me it's been working out really well for them. our coverage of this top story will continue later in the show. the state superintendent of public instruction, tony thurmond, will join us live along with the ceo and founder of common sense media, whose research was cited by the governor in his letter. hear their thoughts on the no phone policy and how it might be implemented in schools. coming up closer to 310 now we want to get a check on our weather. it's a sunny afternoon across much of the bay area, in fact, just beautiful. so here to tell us about it is abc seven s spencer, christian spencer is going to love you today. >> oh thank you. well we had a little bit of a warm up today kristen. the marine layer never really fully formed overnight. and this morning. so we had some patches of low clouds near the coast but not enough to cool things down. we've got a nice onshore breeze right now. also but we can't call it a cooling breeze because temperatures are

basically a few degrees higher right now than they were at this time yesterday. but it's comfortably warm. we don't have a heat wave or anything like that. here's a look at our current temperatures under sunny skies from coast to inland. it is 84 degrees right now in livermore, 86 in concord, 88 at fairfield. so you see, it's warm inland up north. 89 at saint helena, but no 90s showing up yet. and around the bay shoreline. we have temperatures right now in the low to mid 70s. and here in san francisco, 69 degrees, almost 70. so nice. mild to warm day here. and come on computer move along. there you go. taking a look at blue sky over the golden gate right now. these are our forecast headlines overnight. we'll see or will feel gusty winds in some spots next few days. it's going to be a little bit warmer than the last couple of days. and i have to operate my computer manually right now because it's not taking commands. and then this weekend it will be cooler with temperatures dropping a little bit below average. so i'll give you a quick look at

the accuweather seven day forecast. as you can see, it's going to be a pretty steady pattern with a little bit of a cool down on saturday and sunday, and the temperatures bounce right back up to the average range for this time of the year. and i'll have more details and the accuweather seven day forecast on abc seven news at four. kristen. >> all right spencer we love you. the computer not always. all right. we are 83 days away now from the presidential election. you can see our countdown clock to the polls opening on election day right here. next week, democrats will gather for their national convention. it starts monday in chicago and will run through thursday. vice president kamala harris has already been certified as the party's nominee. there's a noisy situation playing out in the san francisco neighborhood involving waymo. their driverless vehicles seem to be getting confused. they're honking at each other as if they're stuck in a traffic jam. we've seen waymo cars have a few hiccups in their first year of fully autonomous driving, but nothing quite like this. abc seven news reporter tim johns is hearing from frustrated neighbors.

>> for the past few weeks, randall white has been dealing with a persistent and annoying problem right outside his san francisco condo. >> so i was like, where's that coming from? i looked down and i was like, i think it's coming from the waymo cars. >> this parking lot full of driverless waymo cars has had multiple incidents where suddenly the vehicles become confused and start honking all at each other. white says he heard it for the first time about two weeks ago, after he was woken up around 4 a.m. then it happened again and again, and i started thinking, well, this is an issue. white isn't the only one who's had issues with the noises, either. several people who live in the buildings nearby the parking lot have also had similar complaints. >> over the past two weeks. i've been woken up more times overnight than i have combined over 20 years. >> russell polsky lives in a building adjacent to white. he says the honking incidents have happened at random times during both the day and night, and have started to take a toll on him. >> i could not be more cranky

today for a monday after these past two weeks. it's really at a high level. it's just really, really it's tough. it affects the way you, you feel. >> white says he and others have reached out to waymo about the issue. in a statement sent to abc seven news, waymo says, quote, we are aware that in some scenarios, our vehicles may briefly honk while navigating our parking lots. we have identified the cause and are in the process of implementing a fix. white says monday afternoon was the first time the honking seems to have gotten better. despite the inconvenience, he tells me he's still a fan of the autonomous vehicle company and uses the cars on a regular basis. >> and so i was all about it until the honking started and all i really want is resolution in san francisco. >> tim johns, abc seven news. >> up next, continuing coverage of our top story today, that new push to keep cell phones out of classrooms. the state superintendent and a researcher will join us live to share their thoughts

back to our top story. governor newsom today asking school leaders across california to urgently restrict the use of cell phones in learning environments. his letter says the evidence is clear reducing phone use in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes and enhanced social interactions. newsom's advocacy comes as the issue takes center stage in more bay area school districts. as we mentioned, two high schools in concord just started the school year with a new requirement that phones and earbuds be stored in a locked pouch during the day. joining us live now to discuss this issue is tony thurmond, state superintendent of public

instruction, and jim steyer, ceo and founder of common sense media. jim, superintendent thurmond, thank you both so much for your time today. >> great to be here. >> so, jim, i'll start with you, because the governor's letter cited numbers from your organization and from pew research in his plea to school leaders. so tell us about those statistics and what they're saying. >> well, basically, what it shows is, as superintendent thurmond and i both know as parents and educators, is that kids spend their lives on cell phones and that in school they can be incredibly distracting from learning. they can also, in some cases, create social and emotional issues for kids that also prevent them from learning. and therefore we need to have some common sense restrictions on cell phone use in schools. every parent out there knows this. every school superintendent, the state superintendent knows this. so this is the time for us to put some logical, common sense rules in place, district by district. >> as a parent, i too can intuitively know that if my kid's on his phone right during class time, he's not absorbing

the material as well. but i know superintendent thurmond, you talk with teachers and teachers union and work with them closely. what are they telling you about their experience as those kids engage with their phones? >> you know, i think it's always going to be mixed. you know, some parents are going to say, well, what about safety? what if there's an emergency and i felt that way with my own teenage daughter when her school said, everyone puts their phone in the pouch, you know, and you can't get access to it. i was concerned about safety, but the students got used to it. the parents got used to it. and if this means fewer distractions, less bullying, and certainly a way to address the mental health challenges that our kids have, this is something that we should do. and we're going to help lead this effort to get this done. >> all right. and superintendent thurmond, before we get to like, what we can do to actually implement that, because this is a general call that the governor put out. >> it is not an order, right. but it's asking the school districts to think about it and try to take action as soon as possible. but i just want to ask you, what are the teachers

telling you when they see the kids on their devices? what is their experience? and we know how hard it is for teachers already. and, you know, retention of teachers is hard, too. >> absolutely. retention challenges. and what i hear from teachers on a regular are disruptions in class an increase in behavior and distraction by kids being on their cell phone. and so, you know, we have to make that our priority to help young people. and as you point out, right now, there are bills and legislation pending that one bill in particular that would make this a requirement. and there are lots of conversations about changing how social media, you know, has these algorithms that cause kids to just go down the rabbit hole of being on the phone all the time, all the time, which we know is not good for them. so we're going to work with those legislators as well as work with parents and teachers and educators and others to get good feedback on how to implement this in the best way possible. >> right. jim, do you have any ideas in terms of what might work? i mean, definitely, i can tell when my kids on, you know,

his phone too much, looking at too much social. i can just see this grayness. but do you have statistics that can make people say, okay, now i get it, and now maybe i'll really work with the schools to make this happen, even though i do want my kids to, you know, be accessible. >> well, 70% of kids admit that they're distracted by cell phones in schools. so this is a no brainer. and kristen, you tony knows this is apparent. we all know this as parents. but the other thing i would tell you is we also and this is another area that common sense media leads california in the country is you have to teach them digital literacy and citizenship. so in addition to having restrictions and pouches, in some cases you also have to have a curriculum around the safe, ethical, responsible use of cell phones and social media. the other thing i would add, and superintendent thurmond mentioned this. so we've sponsored much of the major tech legislation in california, in this country over the past decade at common sense. and there are important pieces of legislation right now that are in front of the legislature that would restrict some of the algorithms that superintendent thurmond is talking about, protect kids privacy better. so

you also have to have a regulatory legislative approach to go along with the district by district common sense approach. the one thing i would say, and i'd be interested, tony, what you think the perfect is the enemy of the good. i'm a former teacher. superintendent thurmond has been a teacher. we know how hard this is. so it's there's no perfect one size fits all solution. but we've got to move forward now. we've got to for the sake of our kids and our students. >> so what are some solutions? >> because superintendent thurmond sounds like your own kids school is trying something. we reported on the bay area schools that are using these yondr pouches that kind of lock up right in the beginning of the day. the kid does carry their phone with them, but they just can't access it. i imagine that could be unlocked if the school is truly under some emergency by the administrator. but but talk about what are some possible ideas, especially ones that could realistically be implemented. you know, now that we're at the start of the school year already, i mean, these things usually take time. >> they do it takes time to change that behavior. you know,

i'm a parent of a student from a bay area high school and at her school, when students walk in, they put the phone in the pouch at the door, and they don't have access to it, you know, and there are ways to address emergency concerns. you know, we just did a webinar last week with companies that have these, wearable alert systems where you can press a button and you can get a message to the, to the principal or to 9-1-1. we have a lot of schools in the state that don't even have access to broadband for cell phone use. and so we can balance safety. you can keep one cell phone in the classroom for emergencies. you know, each community that's already doing this is going to show us what's working. but it is clear when you look at the rates of depression and anxiety that our kids have, they need less time on the phone and more time focused, and they'll do better academically and mentally. all right. >> so what will you do specifically to try to guide school districts as they consider the governor's plea and really actually put it into action as soon as possible? >> well, we're working with the

legislators who have the bills that would make the requirements we've offered to bring in the voice of, you know, classroom teachers and classified staff, parents, even social media companies to bring the voice in to talk about what this needs to look like, what kind of guidelines there need to be to help our schools do that. we're going to start by lifting up the experiences of school districts that are already doing this. the west contra costa unified school district is doing this and has had success. there are districts in los angeles and sacramento that have had success. you know, we have common sense media that has been doing this on a national scale. we're going to show districts how to do this, but take into account their feedback about where they might need flexibility into how to implement this in a way that makes sense for their particular community. >> yeah, and i think jim's suggestion is a good one, right. that i mean, one thing to take the phone literally out of the kids hands. the other is to teach them why they may want to put it down themselves and fold that into the curriculum in

schools. but before we go, because we're almost out of time, i would like each one of you just offer up a quick as we get into the school year, you know, kids going back now, next week, next couple of weeks. what advice would you give them jim? i'll start with you. and then superintendent thurman, you get the last word. i'm going to give you advice as a mom. >> one is model good behavior for your children. i actually think that's part of it. i think that this is one where we have to educate the students and put clear restrictions on them. as tony said, we really have to have teachers as part of this and make it part of their job, but not in a completely onerous way. but parents have a role too, so parents have to model the behavior and they have to reinforce to their kids when they're home that you have to do this just like you shouldn't be sleeping with your phone and doing your homework with your phone, you should also remember that you need to do this in school. that would be my number one piece of advice, jim. >> it's as if you know my struggles and watched me 24 over seven. superintendent thurman, what about you? >> i would build on jim's comments and just remind everyone as we just watched these olympic games, one out of

five californians uh- you know, one out of five athletes are californians. and so it's not just saying put your phone down, but it's reminding students to get involved in other things. physical activity. we are providing $1 billion in arts funding and music funding for our schools a year. every year we have $4 billion for after school programs that can be sports and athletics enrichment. let's encourage students to do other things. and again, let's talk to each other instead of spending all of the time on the phone. >> and i love that too. it's not just what you have to give up, it's what you can gain. love it. okay, superintendent tony thurmond and jim steyer, ceo of common sense media, thank you both so much. really enjoy this great conversation. >> thanks for having us, chris. take care. >> our coverage on this story will continue on abc seven news at four. reporter ryan curry is talking to bay area school parents to get their reaction to the governor's letter today, and to california leaders in education. for more details on how they might implement this. no phone advice in schools across the state. all right.

digging in to help build a better bay area. former giants star hunter pence pitches in to beautify one san francisco but do they really? do they see all that you are? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. z's baking the house special. arisa's styling a new look. and steve's filling his biggest order ever. with the first ever comcast business five-year price lock guarantee, these business owners get five years of value on gig speed internet and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years.

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there is a team stepping up to beautify the area and is led by former san francisco giant and friend of abc seven news, hunter pence. through his healthy planet project. abc seven news reporter gloria rodriguez was there. >> former giants player hunter pence getting his hands dirty at tenderloin community elementary in san francisco. >> you know, i think it's an incredibly important uh, you know, to especially the school districts within the city. uh, there's tons of science behind greenery, just improving child's uh- success rates and, and just the health benefits of having the green spaces around. and so it really is just an awesome opportunity to help beautify the

school and give them a lot of volunteer hours and minutes that they need to help get that work done. >> some 30 volunteers getting school ready for students to start next week, including adding dozens of plants, moving compost into the school, and removing a truckload of debris. >> i think the kids are going to be thrilled. i hope the kids are thrilled. there is a direct correlation between green space and student achievement, so even if they don't notice it immediately, it does help improve their mental well-being, their social well-being, and their student achievement. >> hunter's nonprofit, healthy planet project is partnering with the school district and organizations including the california academy of sciences and reimagining san francisco for the cleanup. >> the tenderloin is an area that actually has very little green space, very actually has very little tree canopy cover, tree canopy cover is really important, for example, for high heat days that we're having a lot of these days, and so we're really, trying to just bring

some greenery, bring some nature back to an area that is very urban, very concrete. >> and as part of this outreach, they are giving out compost to people here in the community. and buckets like this one today in the tenderloin. gloria rodriguez, abc seven news styling trend to help overhaul your wardrobe and more. >> we'll dive into the color analysis craze with the help of

a korean beauty industry. we're talking about color analysis. our media partner, the san francisco standard, reports it's creating such buzz here in the

bay area. san francisco stylists are getting in on the craze. joining us live now with more on this is the standard's cultural reporter, sarah stone. hey, sarah. how's it going? >> hey. going well? thank you. >> good. i want to talk about this. what is color analysis, exactly? >> so it's really this kind of theory that goes back to the 1980s. kind of the color me beautiful trend when people would be sorted into one of the four seasons, you know, like spring, summer, autumn, winter. and this would kind of go to the idea of some shades are more flattering on you, you know, some colors you might really love, but like, they don't really do anything for your skin and it's really being updated with a bit of a modern twist. for one, you know, we kind of going beyond just the four seasons and we're looking at undertones. so, you know, you won't just be a winter. you might be a true winter, a deep winter, a cool winter, a soft winter. like it's a long list of winters, basically. >> and based on how wintry you really are, i guess that would influence what your color

selection when you buy clothes and makeup, is that what it is? >> yeah, that's that's basically what it boils down to. and so it's like more than just the colors. it's also kind of the saturation and the hue, winters for instance, apparently, apparently the only color that can actually wear black, which is good. whereas a lot of the other seasons, they're like, well, you know, doesn't apparently work. >> okay. so zara, you know, you did the story because it's become really popular, especially here in the bay area, especially with a certain set of workers. tell us about what's happening here culturally with these color analysis and the parties. >> i say that i so many parties, when i was researching this, i think i found over 15 color analysts all across the bay area, with prices ranging from somewhere like $150 to $700 a session. and people are really into it. so like there are groups, mostly women, some men who are like, you know, coalescing together and being like, sit very they have a little lecture about color theory and they get their colors

red. and during this process they get these pieces of fabrics placed on them, kind of like candy wrappers. and it's a very visual process of just like whipping one color off another. and trying to see which kind of flatters the skin tone. >> i also know people who flew to korea where this is big industry, right? doing the color analysis. and i just kept wondering, i mean, can i do this myself? i mean, can i put fabrics up to myself and just determine what looks good for me? you know, what did you learn? i assume you went through this. so share with us some tips so that we don't have to pay uh- so you can kind of do it for yourself. >> it's a little hard, and i only say this because we're all pretty biased towards ourselves. like, i really wanted to be a winter. i like the color palette i didn't want. i was apparently light summer. and i think there's the issue where some colors you love, but they're not necessarily the ones that look good on you. so tips are make sure of a color like isn't overwhelming and doesn't drain you, which sounds easy in

practice, but is a lot harder when you're kind of looking at yourself. which is why the communal aspect of a party is so helpful. >> okay, and are you supposed to kind of do this once and then you're good? you're done? or do you have to keep going back? sort of like other forms of maintenance, like hair color? >> i mean, there's like two kind of schools of thought. one is, you know, once you have your colors done, you know, that is forever. another one kind of says that maybe every ten years or so, because when we age, our skin loses pigment. it's good to get it done again. but i mean, i think at least, you know, doing it once can't hurt and is pretty entertaining. >> all right, sarah stone, following the culture. thank you so much. really appreciate it. you can check out more of our story in the san francisco standard's other original reporting on their website, sf standard dot com. now to a story that many of you are talking about online. a north bay jam maker is getting a rush of business because of her new patriotic themed flavor, named after vice president kamala harris. lala's jam bar in

petaluma has won awards, and now owner leslie goodrich, better known as lala, is pumping up the jam with kamala jam. it's made with raspberries, white sugar and blueberries, so it's red, white and blue. she's donating $5 from each jar sold to the harris wallace campaign. again, that's lala's jam bar. that's going to do it for now. thank you so much for joining us today for abc seven news at three. world news tonight with david muir starts right now. and of course i'll be back here at 4:00. see you then tonight, breaking news. tropical storm ernesto taking aim, set to become a hurricane now. ginger zee has the latest track. also, the urgent manhunt for an escaped killer. we'll have the latest. first tonight,