welcome to assignment 7. today on our program you take your car in for regular service. michael finney explains why it's a good time to give your home a tune-up, as well. plus the underwater world just off the coast that few people have ever seen. and an east bay man reinvents the bookstore, how it will be lot different from your trip to borders. >> a deficit that state lawmakers has ignored. it's the short fall in the unemployment state trust fund. california's unemployment fund plunged into insolvency in

2009 but the weekly benefits thanks to several loans from the federal government. two reports estimates the account will have a $20 billion deficit. another report from the state employment office it will be $14 billion, either way they spell trouble. >> had we acted sooner the deficit won't be this bad. >> the employment development department has been sounding the alarm for years. they warned them of the looming gap when the legislature approved doubling benefits. after a that a record number of submitting claims. >> we ended up with a big am balance. it needs legislation to address it. >> but lawmakers haven't had the courage because it could cut benefits or eligibility. >> benefits are already low. i think it's con congressional

to do that. >> or they could raise contributions for each worker another thumbs down idea. >> increasing taxes on small businesses is not going to help us recover from this recession. >> or lawmakers can do a combination of both. unemployment fund deficit is one of many problems facing the new governor and legislature in january. 400 amendment in interest on the federal loans come due in a year. >> california continues to look at the problem but they want to help fund unemployment insurance. 21 years ago the loma prieta earthquake devastated the bay area. heather ishimaru takes a look at how things might be different if a similar quake struck today. >> the earthquake did some of the worst damage to highways and bridges. now, the major structures are m improved. we could lose function but we

should not give the work they've done. >> francis is an expert on emergency preparedness. she has co-authored a handbook for state transportation agencies. she took a look at loma prieta and changes skins then. >> i think it's important to realize that the average street in the bay area has not been maintained. >> she says surface streets have been neglected and 1700 road segments will be impassable. in 1989, they could not communicate with bay area fire agencies. >> we now have a requirement in the government code that all fire agencies must use the incident command system when they go on a mutual aid effort. >> the bay bridge is safer but it's still three years from

completion. >> tie downs. we added a seismic damper where that damage was done. >> the pales retrofit pales in comparison to the new bridge which is built to not only safe standing but stay open. >> it's quite likely we'll have either of the airports immediately so supplies will be flying into travis air force base and we need a route to get it in the city. >> the question, will it be done before the next big one? >> most of us take our car in for a tune-up but less common to do a home maintenance check. a simple tune-up can save you a huge bill later. michael finney has more. >> terry stone of compare heating and air-conditioning is performing routine maintenance on a heating unit. >> just make sure is within

specks. >> terry hopes to catch minor problems now before they turn into big problems later. he checks the gas pressure. >> gas pressure could overheat the furnace, crack the heat exchanger. >> and that is definitely something you want to avoid because a bad heat exchanger can cost you $1500 to repair. it can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, he inspects the heat exchange where a miniature camera to make sure there are no cracks. >> hers looks really good. >> and he the burner to keep it running at maximum efficiency. >> if it's dusty, that is when efficiency starts going down. >> you want to clean your filters. that is something you should do yourself every month. a consumer's checkbook, they suggest it be done every few

years. >> many will try to encourage you to get an annual maintenance contract. checkbook is not very high on those because many people don't need to have a maintenance visit every year. maybe you can have one two, three or four years. >> or companies that try to sell you an expensive repair. >> they say you need this, it's going to cost you a couple thousand bucks, i think i'm going to do price shopping on this. >> they say the number one complaint is overcharging. >> i would be cautious. if someone is coming out and immediately they want to start changing things or they want to start telling you there is higher bills coming, you probably need a second opinion. >> bay area's consumer check book has ratings of 80 companies

compared to price and service. >> it's nice a clean. >> i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> when we continue, a new treatment for debilitating disease that can strike as you get older and runs in the family. plus... a weekly tv show that has been on the air for nearly three decades with one important requirement for anyone who wants to take part. [ female announcer ] these are the crescents you love on a holiday.

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a new alternative treatment is helping patients with a debilitating condition to avoid surgery. carolyn johnson reports. >> he and his brother share a family trait, fingers bending toward the palm. >> i try to wash my face, the stick my finger in the eye. >> it's the results of a disease

that affects 3% of americans. it's caused by a hardening of the fiberous tissue in the hand. >> as time goes on they pull down to where it can even lock into your palm and you can't straighten your finger. little things like trying to clean the kitchen with a table cloth, i can't get my hand flat. >> the treatment involves surgery but richard is asking for an alternative. at a clinic in larkspur, they mix an enzyme solution, the liquid is injected into his palm. over the next 24 hours, the bacteria based enzyme will dissolve collagen. >> instead of cutting out the diseased tissue we can dissolve it in the office. >> he returns for step two in which he will straighten the

hand by breaking the weakened tissue families. first, there is a slight carving sound. >> did you har it? >> then after several minutes, richard's hand is straight chbdz on o and the pressure is loosened. the doctor says it produces results similar to surgery, though he cautions there are limitations. >> much like the disease can occur after surgery or it can occur after enzymes but the treatment of the enzyme is repeat the office treatment. >> as for richard he is planning to take advantage of his new flexibility. a bay area book seller is reinventing his business to a new mobile version. the idea is basically borrowed from the public library system.

laura anthony has the story martinez. >> her name is big blue and she is making appearances as farmers markets throughout the east bay. dave is the owner of this 35 foot custom book mobile. >> i was falling asleep night, one night, wouldn't it be neat a taco truck for books. >> in july, he closed his bookstore for good. the store was the oldest in contra costa when it first opened in 1963. he wanted to stay in the business through sales. then he found big blue on the internet and he became part of his reinvention. >> this was decommissioned from the ipsilante library. >> he drove it back to

california. >> he knows his book mobile will be a handful in the country using for book sales. >> waiting for a brick and mortar store, simpson will bring his books to them. >> it will be like a farmer's market, or a wine festival. >> with all the events, he knows it will be difficult to compete with online discounters. he says he'll give it for a year and if it doesn't work out. >> i had two people wanting to purchase it. one that someone to pull it into his yard and another one was a hippy and drive it off as a hippy bus. a bay area community program aired the 1,000th show in october. it's put together by senior

citizens and don sanchez has their story. >> it's almost show time in mountain view. when all volunteer crew is getting ready to tape a program calling the better part. >> three, two.... >> the weekly magazine show has been running for 27 years on community access television started by a club from the seniors center. only requirement to participate you have to be at least 50 years old. today 81-year-old ernie is on camera and a director is 76-year-old phil lenahan. >> when you have your mind working so intensely and so quickly, it keeps all fired up. >> we're going to switch for two shots and go through i twice.

>> the better part runs on community access stations all over the south bay. it's taped at a nonprofit that also trains the volunteers. >> everybody just pitches in. if someone needs help, someone comes to the rescue. >> the members of the crew have changed over time but the program is so successful they are now taping the 1,000th episode. >> one of the other things about a show like that, other shows come out and help on their shows to learn. >> they can produce programs on anything that interest from them. from an all japanese combat unit in world war ii. >> we wanted to show that we were just as good as any other americans. >> to saving falcons, to everything you wanted to know about coffee.

on this day, she is the flow director but also directs in the control room and hosts. >> it's not to be like on the camera but i keep thinking i've done enough but i always meet something else and they have a story that i want to tell it. >> we asked all long the volunteers will stick witness, everyone had the same answer. >> as long as i'm able. still ahead, just off our coast, breathtaking sea life. >> it's spectacular. we are so jealous we can't go down there. >> for the first time a high definition view of a

ocean scientists are amazed on the images they collected from the under sea sanctuary.

>> when a group of scientists get together, they tend to avoid superlatives. this would not be one of those days. >> here it comes. >> we were 22 miles out of sea and northwest of san francisco on an expedition by uncommon display of humpbacks feeding on krills. >> it begin early in bodega bay, they clus clustered on a boat. the destination, the cordell bank, perched on the edge of the continental shelf. >> dive, die, dive. >> it's a national marine sanctuary, one of the first seen in this country, uninfluenced by humans but it's been a long time since we took a deeper look down

there. >> a number of smaller specimens would be great. >> that was robert in 1981 as he led the effort to protect this place by an acts of congress. the images had a lot of influence. >> it's a diverse, dynamic, high energy biological community that is isolated. this is an island. >> today, dan howard manages the area for the federal government. >> what we're trying to understand is how the reef has changed. >> the result challenged any preconceptions, instead of using 16 millimeter film, they took down high definition cameras in difficult conditions at 120 feet they show a rock bottom carpeted with life. >> there is so much more vibrant than you would expect. it's beautiful. between you and me there would be thousand little fish. >> it's spectacular.

all of us are so jealous we can go down there. >> they brought a little back up here. but they will preserve these specimens for generation of study. >> it's a transition zone between the north and south. that may actually, it's only found in this area between the north and south. >> in short it's about building a database, observing today for future comparisons. >> with this new imaging we see that the community the thriving. it's very healthy and very clean. that is a relief. >> especially perhaps for hungry whales with so much food and they know a good thing when they find it. from the cordell bank, wayne freedman, "abc 7 news." >> coming up, a bay area history

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to start your two week tune up. ten years ago we introduced you to an educator teaching about the civil rights movement that children weren't learning in the classroom, lessons that is still relevant with president obama in the white house. carolyn tyler salutes jeff feinberg and his unique program. >> they are celebrating the 10th anniversary of what he called sojurn to the past. he'll visit dozens of schools encouraging students to follow him along the civil rights trail. >> i don't call eight black studies program. this is shared history of americans. >> this is lesson learned outside the classroom. in his one of a kind program, high school students board buses and head to the epicenter for social justice and equality.

they take a ten-day trip to the south, tracing the places and meeting some of the people who propelled the civil rights movement. we went along ten years ago. >> it's been overwhelming being here in birmingham. >> in the past decade more than 6,000 bay area students have taken journey and for some, touching the living history of the civil rights movement has been life changing. >> we met gomez on the inaugural trip. >> is this going to go away from me after i leave or it going to stick with me? >> he followed the path of the pioneers, like wowt little rock nine. she was there age when she braved an angry mob to integrath central high school. they actually met her and the woman screaming in this famous photo. talked about forgiveness, something that is not in the

textbooks. they toured the memphis hotel where dr. king was murdered and a church where a bombing killed four little girls and shared the pain of one father. this is him today. he is now 26 years old and works with low income residents in san francisco's mission neighborhood >> it is a changing moment in my life. >> u.s. congressman john lewis as nonviolent protestor beaten in the 1960s. he passed a resolution honoring him for his powerful impact on young lives. >> they become better human beings and better citizens. >> it's our responsibility to help european people. >> she is a sojurn board member. fascinated by klansmen on the

doorstep of hissippi mississippe for the last year, rena evers has traveled with the students back in time? >> it's important to share that it's the human element. right in front of you, it's not something that happened hundred years ago. >> it's not just the well known names. the kids meet ordinary people with extraordinary stories. >> even as a teenager, you can still do great things. >> it happened pablo become a high school history teacher. he now takes his students on the civil rights journey. >> but the program is struggling. sojurn never turns anybody away that can't afford with the $2600

cost. now, they are losing donations with the downed economy but still they are pushing on. >> i have found my life's work and i keep going as long as there is a racial divide in this country, you need to do this program. >> we salute jeff feinberg for his dedication of teaching children about the civil rights movement. i'm eric thomas. thanks for joining us. thanks for joining us. >> preparations are underway for the inauguration of oakland's first female and first asian mayor. the navy is investigating a series of lewd videos by the captain of an aircraft