thanks so much for joining us. let's get right to the weather forecast. meteorologist lisa argen is tracking those cold temperatures, lisa. >> clear in the north bay and we've broken a few records from napa to san rafael. the moisture is here mainly offshore but we are looking at a couple areas of a little rain and snow mix. you see the heavier cells gist west of san bruno but as we go in a little closer, you see highway 35 here, the higher elevations also around la honda, a little bit of snowflake activity. here's atascadero. you notice the rain to the north and the pink indicates a mix of a little rain and snow. so here's the flow. it continues the moisture to sink to the south around monterey and salinas. that will be the rule today. we'll see the sunshine, we'll dry out but not before temperatures continue to drop to temperatures below freezing with several reports broken from

oakland to san francisco. another frosty morning tomorrow. i'll talk about that and the prospects for more rain coming our way next week. jenelle. >> thank you, lisa. the bay area's highest peaks saw some snow flurries but is it sticking? john alston is live with more. >> within the past few seconds the clouds started to move in and you may not be able to see it but there are a few snowflakes falling here around the corner of highway 9 and highway 35 in the santa cruz mountains. it's been mostly clear but again a few snowflakes. you can probably see behind me there is some snow on the ground -- >> we're having a little bit of problems with john's signal. of course he's at a very high elevation. you saw the snow on the ground. we're trying to get that fixed and get back to him as soon as possible. san francisco police are doing their part to keep the city's homeless population warm. they handed out 60 blankets last

night to those in need. officers started at u.n. plaza and worked to ellis and job street in the tenderloin. caltrain is taking this very seriously. they called just the potential an emergency situation. crews in the santa cruz mountains are working 12-hour shifts. crews have been getting briefed on dealing with things like downed trees on bay area roadways. >> we're gonna have trees coming down. if something happens, don't be a hero. >> trucks have put sand on freezing roads for better traction are already in use with front end snowplows ready to be lowered if necessary. the national guard amens -- in sun sunni -- sunnyvale and gilroy.

quite a few people trekked up to the taxpayer of the mountain to see the snow firsthand. here's karina rusk with the story. >> when the snow didn't come to them, the enthusiastic and impatient went to the snow. >> me and my wife just decided to come out and play in the snow for the day. >> mount hamilton is like a magnet pulling people from the peak of the valley floor. >> we're just exploring, taking pictures and hang out. >> hanging out comes only after hanging on. that's because after braving the windchill at 4200 feet is nothing compared to braving 19 miles of a narrow and winding road. >> i was scared the whole way. i had anxiety. i was holding on to the seat the whole time. >> what looks like child's play is actually a safety hazard. the last seven stretch to the top is intended for research, not crowds. >> often times no cellphone

service. like today we don't even have electricity. >> astronomers were able to work using a generator but conditions can be overpowering. eleanor gates remembers the blizzard of 2001. that's when mount hamilton looked like this. >> we had 2 1/2 feet of snow and it difficultied to feet in snow places and we were snow bound for a number of days. >> if the thought of a snowball fight is tempting, remember the first battle is with the pavement. >> bad shape. definitely a dangerous drive. >> just wanted to see the snow. is it worth it? >> yeah. (laughter) >> okay. that's the opinion of four old justin. without spoiling anybody's fun, they're urging, really pleading don't come up here looking for snow. and that is just for the public safety. reporting at mount hamilton, karina rusk, abc 7 news. >> the north bay could wake up

to a little more snow after getting a good dusting yesterday. a white carpet of snow cover at the peaks of mount saint helena. these photos show people enjoying a brief day time snowfall in santa rosa. sonoma county authorities are prepared for more snow this morning but they are more concerned about icy roads. >> the biggest threat right now is going to be black ice early in the morning we're expecting very, very cold temperatures. >> definitely stocked up on more sanding centers. that's what we use to help provide traction. >> everyone's excited about the prospect of snow. it's the black ice you can't see that you need to be cautious about. the sierra is getting another serious dose of snow. this is what highway 257 at north star at tahoe looked like last night. you can see snow continues to fall there. traffic at interstate 80 at

truckee's. viewers have been sending us pictures of snow. made a ball of snow just before 11:00 last night in daly city on john daily boulevard. maggie fisher e-mailed us this photo from tahoe. that's her grandson next to their s.u.v. which looks like it's not going anywhere anytime soon. this is the ricardo family with waist-deep snow today at kirkwood. if you have photos, you can upload or e-mail them to us. coming up next, the state's move to help drivers with new licenses still stuck in the system. and discovery to make its final

>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >> we've got ahold of john alston in san mateo county at higher elevations surrounded by snow on the ground it looks like. hi, john. >> it's been star lit while we were here and all of a sudden clouds showed up and you may see one or two flakes falling right now as the snow is -- coming down a little, nothing really much right now. you can see behind me though there is snow on the ground. maybe a quarter of an inch. some of the caltran crews out here says it started 2:30 this morning. we saw one or two caltran sand trucks heading down into saratoga and there was one vehicle that was off the road and one or two vehicles going down highway 9 we saw were inching their way because the

roads here are very, very slick. the snow that has fallen has pretty much accumulated and turned into ice as cars have gone over it. there have been several vehicles out here. the sun is starting to come up but it's still very, very cold and as you've been saying all morning, sea level, palo alto and other issues, black ice accidents happening and popping up all around the bay area. certainly up here in the higher country, it is very slick on the roads. sand trucks are out. a few cars are inching along very, very slowly and it is very, very cold. a little snow coming down but right now the clouds move along and you see the stars and the moon and the snow disappears so one of those mornings. >> you have some good advice there about drivers taking it easy and taking it slow. stay warm. a demonstration in san francisco this afternoon will show support for the libyan people in their struggle for freedom. thousands of people are representing 20 local arab

groups plan to rally in u.n. plaza followed by a march in washington. president obama had signed an executive order freezing the u.s. assets of libyan leader moammer gadhafi and four of his children. the sanctions also apply to the libyan government. mr. obama says the sanctions are necessary because continued violence in libya poses an extraordinary threat to u.s. national security and tripoli came under gunfire from rooftop militiamen with accounts of protestors being killed. the space shutting "discovery" will do some aerobatics. the shuttle will do a nose over tail backflip when it gets 600 feet blow the space station. they want to get a good picture as it moves closer. four pieces of foam came loose but it occurred at a time when it wouldn't strike the shuttle with great force.

they wouldn't expect damage to the tile underside. the images will be reviewed before "discovery" gets a final clean bill of health. waiting for licenses to renew now have 90 days to use a temporary license. the dmv made that announcement yesterday after acknowledges the problems it's having producing the new hi-tech driver's licenses. san mateo county officials say a pair of burglars got into a home at woodside by posing as utility workers pretending to look for damage. the homeowner was apparently distracted by one of the men while the other took valuables. lisa is tracking our storm which looks like it's moving south and moving out. >> that's right. we have a few flakes of snow on the peninsula but elsewhere records have been shattered, even north and east bay valleys with even san francisco and oakland getting close to

breaking records this morning. you can see the clear sky outside that window. 20s in the north bay valleys. another freeze warning for tonight. your weekend forecast is next. >> also next the giants begin the defense of their world series crown. and guess who's a little bit nervous for the league opener.

♪ you're unpacking already? yeah. help me find some mugs? sure. ♪ [ beep ] hey. okay. -these'll do. -yeah. [ male announcer ] wake up to the mountain grown aroma of folgers. ♪ the best part of wakin' up so, where do you want to start? i think this is a pretty good place. ♪ is folgers in your cup how did you do it? eh, takes a lot of love. the real difference is, this year we went to lowe's. well all our lowe's garden club select plants are grown for your local region

and selected for peak performance. we get new plants delivered throughout the week and we guarantee our plants and flowers for one whole year. and nobody beats our prices. nobody. so it wasn't me? well, you provided the love. [ male announcer ] experience. lowe's. let's build something together. me in to lowe's and get 1 pint of primrose. was $1.18. now only 98 cents. >> construction crews are nearing the final stage of a

crucial part of the bay bridge project. from sky 7 hd you can see some of the final pieces of roadbed along the section of the new span. next week the 4th section will be put into place bringing the height up to 480 feet. only 45 feet left to go after that. sections will be lifted in an around the clock operation beginning monday. lisa argen is here with our chilly forecast. >> we have a rain/snow mix towards salinas and the peninsula. i'll show you that in a moment. right now looking outside, heavenly, where temperatures at the lake tahoe airport are how about minus 7. truckee's at 1. this is higher up so even cooler than that. right now we're going to take a look at a live camera highway 9 about 850 feet. that's of course significant. look at the snow on the ground there. so they have reports of snow at the weather office in monterey,

feltton, salinas. and that's where we still have a winter weather advisory until 10:00 this morning. so live doppler 7 hd shows the moisture offshore and along the coast of the peninsula down through the central coast. we're gonna zoom in and show you that mixed presip. look at the heavier cells here west of highway 1. those will continue to rotate to the south and east but if we zoom in east of atascadero, notice the rain/snow mix woodside and further south take a look at this! around salinas highway 1. here's monterey and they're getting a little activity here with the moisture and that cold air out there allowing for some of this precipitation to come down as snow. but elsewhere unfortunately the skies are clear and we're looking at most of the activity continuing to rotate south of the bay area. a few cells clipping the peninsula so maybe a snowflake

from time to time along the peninsula. certainly cold enough in the lower elevations but the winter weather advisory is for the santa cruz mountains until 10:00. we've broken the record for napa, san rafael, oakland getting close to that in san francisco with temperatures below freezing. san francisco though 38. 34 in redwood city. look at san jose. you'd have to make it down to 33 to tie the record. definitely the possibility and more freezing temperatures on the way tonight. so keep that in mind, bring the plants in and the pets. it's going to be another very cold night. so a chance of a shower or a snowflake from san francisco on south. also the possibility in the east bay. north bay's clear. freezing cold temperatures through 8:00 this morning and then freezing again tonight. so here is the winter weather advisory through 10:00. you can see an inch of snow down to about 1,000 feet. even below that highway 17, skyline boulevard. watch out for icy roads further

south as well into salinas with hazardous driving conditions. and i talked about the cold temperatures tomorrow morning, north, east by valleys, temperatures mid-20s to mid-30s. keep that in mind tonight, another clear night. but we are looking at this area of low pressure that will continue to skirt along the coastline. got the cold air in place. the possibility of a snowflake or two this morning, then we'll see more sunshine. and after that we'll continue to dry out through the day tomorrow but then another system wants to bring some rain our way late tomorrow. 48 vallejo, 49 san jose. this is the best chance we could see a few areas of snow from salinas to santa cruz upper 40s to around 50 today, freezing cold tonight and then tomorrow night into monday maybe a couple areas of light showers. better rain tuesday and wednesday with much milder air coming our way. so we had this last weekend, too.

a little more moisture i would say last weekend than this weekend. >> because mount tam was just covered. not seeing as much snow the higher elevations. thanks so much, lisa. let's check in live from new york city to tell us what's coming up on "g.m.a." at 7:00. >> you get no sympathy from us. we've got 56 inches of snow. you can handle a couple of cold days. that arctic blast shattering records with frigid temperatures well below normal. now this big chill could be on its way to hollywood on oscar eve. we're going to be live in l.a. with the latest. plus americans trapped in libya finally may get out of the country as it goes to chaos. then charlie sheen defends himself saying his comments about his boss were not anti-semitic. he's talking out again. we have all the latest details

on the troubled star. tinseltown's biggest weekend is finally here. tomorrow is oscar night. the red carpet has rolled out, the stars are getting ready and we have your exclusive backstage pass to the oscar. are you tuning in? >> i am. >> i'm getting on a late night flight tomorrow night. i'm very upset but i'm going to try to watch as much as i can before i leave for the airport. >> i interviewed him last summer when he was making his appearance on general hospital. >> oh, i'm so jealous! well, have a safe travel tomorrow and we look forward -- >> and stay warm. >> we'll try! (laughter) >> have a good day. >> bye. >> bye. >> in sports saint mary's will try to rebound from the disappointing overtime loss. last night the warriors were blown out at oracle arena by the hawks. larry beil has the highlights.

>> the warriors did not make any big moves at the trade deadline and based on the way they came out last night against atlanta, owner might have been thinking we should have traded the whole team. everything was easy for atlanta and the warriors could do nothing right. picks monta ellis ahead to josh smith. down hard! down 12 after one. down 20 in the half. never in this game. the steal on curry. they were down 26 after three. just for charity, a david lee dunk there, he had 20 points. more from smith. hawks up 29. air ball! the warriors lose, and they lose badly. the final was 95-79. better story from the sharks in calgary. kid, what are you looking at. negative 3 in calgary by the way. brian jacks up. kim jackman everywhere in these

highlights. anything las hagman. two and a half minutes left in the game. taking the feed and scores on to overtime and then a shoot-out. these former shark goalie kiprasaab to keep the shoot-out going. been brilliant as of late. 4-3 sharks. they have now won six in a row. the giants play their first game since being crowned world championships last november. lincecum kind of roughed up a bit. ended it with a strikeout, went one and two-thirds. butterflies, a little nervous. five runs himself, the bottom of the first. aaron rowen doubles home. giants win their opener 7-6 while the a's open cactus league play on sunday. brian wilson did not pitch in this game.

he's been bothered by a stiff back but is expected to throw batting practice today. shuman spent time with hitters all over baseball thinking fear the beard. >> this is not hysteria. this is the greatest city to be in right now. you don't wanna be anywhere else besides the bay. >> i don't think i had anymore fun than joining the team on the parade in san francisco. that was the epitome of working hard. it was awesome. >> right now i guess once you got it going, once you fear the beard. >> this is fake. i can take it off right now. >> are you a nautical man? do you have your own boat. >> i have a schooner. it's double parked out front. i have 15 minutes until i get a ticket. >> it was great offseason. >> it's in black. >> it went away. >> you know, we spent a lot of day games here, you know that.

focussed. >> a lot of people misunderstood brian wilson but a lot more going on in that head than people think, isn't there? >> i don't know. i go about my day, eat right, get my work in. i think the only thing that truly pays off is hard work and that just speaks for itself. whether or not "sports illustrated" is right about being three-quarter nuts, i don't know. i don't interview myself. whatever. i go about, do my business, treat my teammates the right what and it's what my teammates think. >> he is the best kind of crazy. the cal basketball team has been placed on two years' probation for making impermissible recruiting calls. the coach's assistants made 365 improper calls during a six-month span shortly after mike montgomery took over in

2008. the ncaa report study 27,000 calls. the violations were things like calling recruits too often or the wrong time. the penalties imposed were kind of minor and the schools will not lose any scholarships. at the combine this weekend, andrew going through spring practice. certainly would in the first pick in the nfl draft. the coach deciding to leave stanford to take the niner job. talked to payton manning. but his plan all along was to stay in school. >> i somewhat made up my mind before talking to payton. anytime you have an opportunity to talk to payton manning, you take that opportunity, at least in my mind you do. he told me not to look back, don't regret your decision, don't worry about injuries or get yourself in trouble or you're not going hard because you're worried about injuries. >> andrew's got his own fear of the beard thing workin' there.

mike shumann will have all highlights tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. have grate weekend, everybody. >> there's snow on mount hamilton but officials are warning you to stay away for your own safety. also united fro

♪ welcome back, everyone. the winter storm that swept through the bay area brought lots of rain and wind but people seem most excited about possible snowfall. the higher elevations are definitely seeing some. abc 7 john atton is live at one of those locations, the intersection of highway 9 and 35. hi, john. >> good morning, jenelle. right now at about the 3,000 foot level. snow on the ground behind me, you can tell. probably a quarter of an inch that started 2:30 this morning according to some of the caltran crews out here sanding the roads

as well as plowing the roads, not that there's a lot to plow but they're all making sure things are as clear as possible sanding the road as well because it's pretty slick out and one person we can attest to that is john louie of san jose. and the car behind us. you just did what. >> i put on the chains. >> yeah because with the ice and stuff, it's like 29 degrees or something. >> so what are you doing up this hour? >> well, you know, it's snowing and that doesn't usually happen in san jose so i decided i wanted to see the sunset -- or sunrise actually. >> what point did you realize you needed the chains? >> probably when i started slipping on the roads, yeah. and, you know, the car kind of like wobbled a little bit. so i wanted to make sure i was safe. >> was it worth getting up and putting on the chains. >> yeah, i think so because the moment i put on the chains, i

got traction on the road and i could drive. hopefully i'll make it up there safely. >> okay. thank you very much. welcome to the sunrise, welcome to the 6 a.m. club. as we said here, we're at the 3,000 foot level. the snow has actually stopped for now, the sun is coming up obviously. but the roads are very slick. as i said, caltran -- here you go, caltran truck and a plow cutting through, sanding, plowing the road. this has been going on at least the past hour since we got here. this is a second pass. another plow went by the same route probably ten minutes ago. you can see the plow scraping the ground although there's not much there. that's what happens winter at 3,000 feet live in the santa cruz mountains, john alston, abc 7 news. >> john, enjoy the sunrise up there with john there behind you. weird to see people using chains and stuff in the bay area.

>> well, there is also snow, lots on mount hamilton. but officials are warning you to beware of your own safety. if you get into trouble there are no turn-outs, no parking and spotty cellphone service and it's very difficult for emergency vehicles to make it up the road. >> bad shape. yeah, definitely a dangerous ride. >> no ambulance service up here. often times no cellphone service. like today we don't even have electricity. >> astronomers at the 4200 foot summit were only able to work yesterday with the help of a generator. san francisco is a city filled with neighbor parks. some are more clean and vibrant than others and a lot of that is due to volunteers. a new effort kicks off today in a community that desperately needs the help. carolyn tyler reports on a group called parks 94124. >> there are 225 neighborhood parks in san francisco.

and many have been adopted by community groups. but there are 11 in bayview hunters point that no one has looked out for until now. >> many of the parks that we come to admire have constantly gone to park meetings, pressure park commissioners. >> the force behind parks 94124. she and three other women who live in the zip code have started an advocacy group to revitalize their neighborhood parks. >> they have been just kind of neglected. part of it the usership has been down. it's really not a priority for the city or for people either. >> the parks director says city government can't do it alone. >> no parks department anywhere in the country can be successful without committed volunteers and park stewards. >> parks 94124 envisions organizing cleanup efforts and

raising money for playground equipment and community programs. according to the founders of parks 94124, there are more than 11,000 children age ten or younger living in district ten, most of them right here in bayview hunters point. >> it was like park stewardship? of course. it's part of the bigger picture here, part of what we're trying to do to bring a better quality of life to our community and for our children. >> most community groups focus on one park. with the expertise of the neighborhood parks council, these women are tackling nearly a dozen other absolutely the biggest vision for neighborhood parks in san francisco right now. >> it's expected there will be a multimillion dollar park bond measure in 2013. parks 94124 will be pushing for a piece of that pie. in san francisco, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. >> lisa argen is now here with the forecast. i hear there may be some snow

flurries around? >> yes. you look outside our window here. clear, beautiful. sunrise 6:46. right around monterey we're looking at snow so definitely south of the area. clouds out there, no records broken yet in san francisco but we have broken records in the north bay with a hard freeze there and another freeze tonight. a look at your weekend forecast and beyond coming up. >> thanks, lisa. >> thanks, lisa. you can see

to stay fit, you might also want to try lifting one of these. a unique sea salt added to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ ever wish vegetables didn't taste so vegetably? well, v8 v-fusion juice gives you a full serving of vegetables, plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number?

. >> a chilly morning. meteorologist lisa argen is here with her forecast. >> freezing temperatures in the north bay, some records broken and a few areas of snow around town. this is the saratoga gap, highway 9 and 35 at about 3,000 feet. you can see the snow on the ground there. a few flakes here and there the past hour. and the main activity has been around salinas and monterey

county. sutro camera right now shows more sunshine. we've got definitely some frost. maybe some frozen plants up in the north bay. san francisco 38 degrees. you'd have to make it down to 37 to tie a record. records have been broken in our north bay valleys. more freezing cold tonight. live doppler 7 hd shows the moisture awful close to san francisco and the peninsula and the air is cold enough to support snow. it's just that most of the moisture is missing san francisco and most of it is to the south. we'll take you in a little closer. you can see the rain through monetary ra, down through atascadero. look at the pink here. you might be looking at a little snow there. further south though take a look at monterey and around gonzalez we've some snow. so this is where it is south of the bay area.

this is where the winter weather advisory remains until 10:00 this morning. i'll loop it for you. you'll notice the trajectory shows the precipitation. the area of low pressure continuing to show the moisture sweeping just along the coast here down into monterey county. we are looking at the cold numbers and the clear sky from livermore, 31. we have broke the record in napa, 27. we broke the record at san rafael at 30. oakland freezing 32. 34 redwood city. 35 half moon bay. los gatos 33. definitely the cold air making headlines this morning and the chance of a shower or a snow shower from san francisco on south mainly. maybe the diablo range you can see a flake of snow but more importantly we have got the cold temperatures for the weekend settling in. high temperatures today well below normal. and so until 10:00 today, the best chance of snow will be here

in the santa cruz mountains. higher elevations and also really at sea level anywhere from the coast on south. you won't see any accumulating snow but you will be looking at the cold for another day. the freeze warning until 8:00 this morning north bay valleys. and then again tomorrow morning through 8:00. our east bay valleys will see the freezing cold temperature. the culprit and area of low pressure continues to sink to the south taking the moisture with it. the cold air's in place. there's just not enough moisture really to bring the snowflakes anywhere widespread. we're just seeing them scattered about mainly around monterey, salinas. temperatures with some sunshine today, 48 vallejo. breezy winds along the coast. those northwesterly winds keeping a definite bite in the air with 49 in watsonville and our look ahead. we're talking milder temperatures as soon as tomorrow but tonight another night into the low 20s.

two around 30 and you'll notice more rain coming our way. i wanna add some rain drops into mustn't as well. much of next week looks unsettled. so cold no matter how much i wear, i still feel like i'm freezing. you have to bundle up. thanks, lisa. >> a professor had won the nation's highest award for teaching math. she made it her mission to have bay area students follow mathematics. here's lee ann melendez with the abc 7 salute. >> remember what it is? 8! that's right. >> she probably wouldn't be here had it not been for her math teach in native bulgaria. in class she was given a second chance to solve a math problem. >> i was troubled my classmates could do it and i couldn't. i couldn't believe that was the case. i went to the math circle and

three months later i won the local math contest with a perfect store. >> her teacher told her what comes from within you can take you very far. >> she gives that advice for all students. >> i think she's really good at laying out a lesson. you can tell that she knows it all backwards and forwards but she's really good connecting and knowing where you are. >> i feel like after, your brain works a certain way. it's a lot easier to tackle these sort of problems. >> she has taught math at mills college in oakland nearly 12 years. during that time math majors and minors are more than doubled. she founded the berkeley math circle, a weekly after-school program to engage students in a fun and exploratory way. >> what we are doing is great in the sense that we're introducing methods that can work in other

countries. and you can grade the movement you're spreading to the united states. >> but she would like to see even more american students become passionate about math like in bulgaria. she says teachers there are highly regarded and appreciated. >> the central government actually supports those circles by compensating the teachers for doing the circle. >> in 1987, she represented her country in the international math olympia. at the time held in cuba. the american team made up of all boys was impressed. >> they went wow! there were two girls on the same team! >> a decade later in 1998, the u.s. finally sent a girl to compete. melanie wood. guess who trained her. >> and i am very proud to say i was training the u.s. team at that time and so i trained melanie, also. she went on to win two silver medals in the math olympia.

>> today she's doing post-doctoral work at san jose university. she has inspired other students. katy was one of her students and assistance. >> i started tutoring them. and they understood the way that i communicated math with them, and you can just see the light bulb come in. >> today she develops intervention programs for teachers whose students are having a hard time with math. last month the mathematical association of america awarded her the award for distinguished college teaching of math. she was as excited as she was when she solved her first rubrics cube in her parents' car. at the time she was only in fifth grade, an achievement that led to many more. >> right there in the car, i

scream! just like goal! that was the equivalent to me personally. >> we salute for sharing her love of math with her students. coming up next, the worst the economy gets, the better their business gets. >> they were calling his neighbors and family to embarrass him, disgrace him, to humiliate him. humiliate him. >> 7 on your side's michael [ female announcer ] last year, ethan thompson and three friends from missoula, montana,

won the first ever folgers jingle contest. to find out how you could be the next folgers jingle contest winner go to bestpartofwakinup.com. ♪ the best part of wakin' up is folgers in your cup ♪ yep! look in your bag, made you something. (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif.

>> welcome back. there's one industry booming in these hard economic times. that's the debt collection industry. complaints about debt collectors top all others to the federal government. 7 on your side's michael finney with a look at their tactics. >> john enjoys a moment of calm with his family. a nice contrast to the endless phone calls he received for his car payment. >> they call me, start calling me and harassing me on my home,

my workplace, my father-in-law. >> he says debt collectors make nearly 450 phone calls to him in just a year and a half and they didn't stop there. >> the issue was they've been calling his neighbors and his family to embarrass him, to disgrace him, humiliate him and pressure him to repay a debt at a time when he just couldn't afford to. >> the alexander law firm says they come in with twice as many as before the recession. >> creditors are being much more aggressive now about calling people and calling them frequently as soon as a consumer is late, maybe as much as seven days late on making their minimum payment. >> she received her first phone call at 6:30 in the morning on thanksgiving. >> i was thinking it's thanksgiving day and i'm trying

to sleep in. >> stacy laughs about it now but she wasn't when she received this call. >> ms. davis, this is officer john prince calling from the legal department. this case will be going in tomorrow at 11:00 by eastern standard time. go inside the courthouse, facing some legal consequences and might be arrested. >> the fair debt collection practices act prohibits calls made before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.. a debt collector may not engage in any conduct to harass any person in connection with the collection of a debt. >> most say it's a matter of harassment. most get multiple calls in a day but we have very little guidance from the courts about say how many calls in a week would constitute harassment. >> the association of credit and professionals says he doesn't

condone it and says the industry gets a bad wrap. >> by law you can stop harassing death collection calls like putting your request in righting. tim was able to wipe out his debts completely with the help of his attorney. >> it was a fair settlement. and it was a relief. >> stacy found out she didn't even hold the debt the collector was asking for. she was being scammed. >> said that it's a scam, and there's scams like these. >> now, if a debt collector continues to harass you even if you've asked in writing not to be bothered, you can file a complaint with the state attorney general. to make that easy for you we set up links on our website. go to abc7news.com and click on "7 on your side." >> the verizon i-phone is not getting rave reviews from "consumer reports." the magazine is not recommending the phone citing the same problem reported by at&t i-phone

users, dropped calls and low signal strength. engineers tested the verizon i-phone in the consumer report. >> when you hold the phone in your hand and touch the gap, if you're in a low signal area you can drop a call or be prevented from making a call. >> verizon has not commented on the review. engineers for "consumer reports" looked at five other smart phones on the verizon network and none of them had the same problem. verizon sold more i-phone 4's in the initial launch than any other product in the carrier's history. an east bay designer who's hoping her fashions will play a staring role on sunday. when you've been together as long as we have --

[ carl ] honey, where's the -- top shelf! life can get a bit... routine. that's why i decided to switch things up with cottonelle ultra toilet paper.

[ carl ] oh yeeaaah! you see? it's 35% thicker than the northern brand. [ carl ] love it! you might say this one little switch has made all the difference. peanut, get dressed... we're goin' dancing. [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] little switches can make all the difference. find cottonelle ultra codes. then see how you could win ultra prizes to make little switches in your life. a homeless man in new york has been reunited with his

daughter after 11 years thanks to twitter. 58-year-old daniel morales and his daughter were reunited in new york city. he received a prepaid cellphone and a twitter account as part of a project to see if social media can help homeless people. >> this is a great moment for myself. i feel rejoiced. seeing my daughter once again after living here. and my granddaughter. >> when i first seen his picture and his twitter status, i'm like, no, this can't be. >> father and daughter haven't seen each other since she moved with her mom from puerto rico to new york 11 years ago. the academy awards are tomorrow and we'll finally know who wins those oscars. this year's show will be dramatically different using social media and there are bay area connections. arts and entertainment reporter don sanchez puts it together for

us on the aisle. >> the social network has been the inspiration for big changes with host james franco and ann hath way, the oscars are reaching out to a new generation. >> they're twittering and using facebook.com and connecting with younger viewers in a way. that's never been done before. what better way to reach out to young people. the young and hip seem to be the buzz words thrown around. i think you're hip and i'm young. >> franco grew up in palo alto. his mom betsy played his mother on general hospital last year. the academy uses rank choice voting. it's like a political race. and if the oscar is the award won by walt disney. it includes the special oscar for snow white and the seven dwarfs. there is a charm bracelet walt bought for his wife, each charm

engaved with the name of a winning film. it was stolen and found by a dealer by phil collins' ex-wife. >> i just could not think the disney family would have sold it, you know. >> so you got it back. >> i bought it back. >> across the bay, oakland fashion designer zoe hong is one of nine people to appear on stage sunday night. >> i have a little leather tag so it's a little edgier. >> if her dress makes it to the stage... >> kind of iconic. >> the stars will find something a little different in their ritzy goody bags. they will have a stuffed version of heidi, the owe possum. an international appearance on several tv shows. she has 315,000 followers. much more than me. the academy awards are sunday

abc 7. coverage begins on the red carpet at 2:00. the show begins at 5:00 followed by a post-award schedule. i think i'll be inside all weekend bundling up, maybe starting a fire because it's so cold outside. >> not a bad idea. temperatures in the 40s during that red carpet. definitely the cold air in southern california but a live look outside. this is higher elevations but this is snow out there. the air is definitely cold enough to support snow but live doppler 7 hd shows that there is a rain/snow mix getting awful close to 280 there. highway 1 we've got the rain and further south around boulder creek, you can see a little bit of snow there and certainly south of carmel we've got a little rain/snow mix. so mainly offshore down around monterey bay and a winter weather advisory through 10:00. only upper 40s to near 50 today. >> thanks for joining us. lisa and i will be back at 8:00.

[ giggles ] hey, max. [ announcer ] you can help significantly extend your dog's healthy years. a groundbreaking 14-year study by purina... proves that puppy chow, then dog chow nutrition, fed properly over a lifetime, can help extend his lovable antics up to 1.8 healthy years. long live your buddy. [ laughs ] oh, max. long live your dog. purina dog chow. double dog dare you to try better-tasting than ever purina dog chow. we know your dog will love it.

yeah, dirt? do you think the two of us will ever find the one? well, we've been left behind by so many mops and brooms... aw, man! ...but we have got... see ya! ...each other. ♪ what about love?! [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. the 2 in 1 swiffer sweeper uses electrostatic dry cloths to trap and lock more dirt than a broom and uses dirt dissolving wet cloths to clean better than a mop. you're quite the pickup artist! [ male announcer ] 2 in 1 swiffer sweeper gives cleaning a whole new meaning. good morning, america. i'm bianna golodryga. >> and i'm dan harris. this is saturday, february 26th. and this morning, the big chill. arctic air blasts the western half of the country. bringing record cold temperatures. and check this out. snow in san francisco. now, this bitter cold is heading

to hollywood, just in time for the oscars. outbreak? one woman may have exposed tens of thousands of people to measles after traveling through three u.s. airports. it's a highly-contagious disease. and now, the cdc is definitely trying to track down everyone who might have come in contact with her. escape from libya. americans trapped in libya, are finally evacuated, as that country descends further into chaos. we hear their harrowing tales and talk live to two americans who made it out. and it's time for oscar. the red carpet has been rolled out. the stars are getting ready. and we have your exclusive backstage pass. what exactly is the streisand door? and where does it go? good morning, everybody. i love this. did you see the website out of san francisco, a place where they're not used to snow. they have a website ca