welcome to assignment 7. today on our program. 7 on your side michael finney helps the consumer who had a money back guarantee but no one would honor it. living off the grid, an energy expert's advice to anyone that wants to follow had nis footprints. >> we begin in oakland, the city is nearly doubled the number of outreach workers. laura anthony reports. >> these are oakland's newest out reach workers, men and wait a minute walking the possible dangerous neighborhoods to stop

violence. most are from those neighborhoods and many have been in trouble themselves. one did prison time for drug crime but has turned his life around. >> a lot of the people out here in west oakland in particular have been to prison at one time or another. i think they are saying it's another way. >> three-day training they will be assigned to one of four oakland neighborhoods deemed the city's most frequent shootings and homicides. >> they are explicitly charged with being out late at night, on weekends, in the highest crime neighborhoods. >> those hot spots they will focus on forging relationships with high risk young people. those under the age of 35 with gang affiliation, on probation or parole, the victim of gun violence or someone with the history of a gun use. >> feeling of being able to help

young kids get off the streets is a good cause. being able to help them live better lives. >> they will have the support of police it will not be a reciprocal relationship. >> we know at any point they are seen working for the police, their credibility and life could be at stake. >> still, the workers understand that a certain amount of danger comes with the territory. >> i think able to being out there to help another life, i think that is great thing. >> and the very existence of these programs depends on how the align the police and outreach worker is drown and other cities when the line has been crossed. a san francisco teacher is using her skills to improve the lives of thousands of students in afghanistan. education reporter lyanne melendez has her story.

>> children playing in the school yard slowly once again becoming part of the afghan way of life. 1979 soviet invasion then a series of wars prosecute practically destroyed the education system. taliban also banned girls from attending classes. >> in the last few years, they haven't been able to go to school. >> she is a marine reservist and her job is to help rebuild the entire education system in the violent hellman province. from setting up schools to establishing a basic curriculum. as the u.s. military secured the area parents feel more comfortable to sending their children to nearby schools. with the help of afghan community leaders, they have convinced parents to invest in the children's indication. >> they know to to how to read

and write. you have to build a literal population. >> she has been successful. marja is a region in the hellman province. in nine months, four new schools have been added and the number of students have gone from 200 to 1,000, with girls in the mix. >> so this a little success story. 40 girls sitting side by side the afghan boys is a big deal. >> in of the training and ideas came from this school, the middle school in san francisco's unset district where she was teacher o and on track to be a principal. >> her colleague remembers her tenacity. others have been following their accomplishments. >> to me it's overwhelming. it's what she does. she comes in with hope to change. >> they are set to return to san francisco in march but she will have ties to afghanistan. she is on the board of an all

girl school in kabul called cald razzi's ray of hope. >> lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> a lot of businesses have changed hands duringand recession and it can cause problems for loyal customers. michael finney set out to help one such customer in napa. >> she still has the paperwork she signed six years ago. it came with a hundred percent money back guarantee. >> i purchased an extended warranty, guaranteed if i didn't use it i would get my money back. >> the warranty she purchased for $2200 was for a new car she bought from fairfield toyota. she had several opportunities to file small repair claims but chose not to hoping to qualify for a full refund. six years to the day last august she phoned fairfield toyota asking for a refund. >> i was told by the state board

the group had been sold and they were not accepting any liabilities. >> owner scott thomason had scold the dealership and momentum told her she would have to get it from tomason. >> when a dealer buys another dealership they by the assets, not a liability. >> you have to track them down and small claims court. >> all angela had was p.o. box for thom ma son, momentum refused to give her a phone number. so she mailed her refund request. >> that mail was never picked up at the post office box. >> last month she still hadn't received her refinanced so 7 on your side contacted toyota

corporate. next day ka check came from momentum on a check written from thom ma son's bank account. he wrote. he paid promptly once made aware of the situation. however, we have a copy of a letter he sent to angela in october after she first tracked him down. >> i feel that if it wasn't for channel 7 i would be out $>> if >> if a former dealership fails to ownership. they can be seed up to three years after the deal has been signed. i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> a new solution to an unsightly problem. >> coming up, how effective a new high-tech treatment is for your toes. >> and after years of silence

ng ring. progresso. oh yes hi. can you put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green gnt, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant

fixing the name. it'siber none. looks like one. well, i know. i put an "n" there. ah! fiber one honey clusters cereal! that's really good! it tastes good, so there can't be fiber in it! it's actually got about half a day's worth of fiber. [ asst mgr ] it says so right on the box. [ fiber seeker ] really? try it. [ mr. mehta ] honey, touch of brown sugar, crunchy clusters -- any cardboard? cardboard no, delicious yes. so where's the fiber? maybe it's in the honey clusters. [ male announcer ] fiber one. cardboard no, delicious yes.

a newly approved laser treatment promises to help with an unsightly problem that affects 35 million americans, specifically their toes. carolyn johnson reports. >> we're talking toes today. >> the patient in the chair wants to remain anonymous. she battling a condition many people consider embarrassing. toenail fungus and it can cause permanent nail damage and lead to serious infections beyond the feet. today, he is going to undergo a new laser treatment known as pinpoint. the technique is popular alternative to oral or topical medications. >> they came up with a wave length that is a fungus sensitive. it's able to penetrate through

the nail, through the skin into the nail bed until just the fungus. >> we're ready to go. >> after first thinning the nail they apply the laser produ slight warming sensation for the patient. >> it's like a mild, it doesn't hurt. >> the process takes about half an hour. once the fungus is killed, the nail should continue to grow naturally, replacing the yellow portion with a normal nail. >> it's going to take a few months for the nail to grow out. >> the pinpoint recently became the first laser approved by the fda to treat toenail fungus. several other companies have competing works but despite the increased work in this treatment some doctors have questions about the technology. >> i want to see data. >> irene hoffman is a podiatrist in san francisco. she points out the lasers have

not yet completed rigorous testing. she believes less expensive drug treatments are effective if combined with topical medications to keep the fungus from returning. >> there is no easy treatment for nail fungus. anybody that wants it is going to find disappointment. >> the doctor says he does counsel patients up front that the fungus can return. while the company is still conducting the first multiclinical trial they say early results in smaller studies were promising. >> it's very effective. it's never hundred percent like anything, but i've been very pleased. >> carolyn johnson, "abc 7 news." >> in january an international team of doctors performed a procedure that restored a modesto's woman's voice. here is carolyn tyler. >> for more than a decade brandy

couldn't use her voice. now she is aerbox chatterbox. >> i'm still wor but it's improving every day. >> she is on thought to be second person only to receive a larynx transplant. surgery.icated a team of surgeons practiced on cadavers for two years before performing the delicate operation. >> she is just about the best we could wish. >> they took the larynx and thyroid gland from a donor that okayed the procedure. 13 days later the patient was able to speak. jenson's vocal cords repair life 12 years ago when a ventilation tube in they are her throat was accidentally removed. she used a electronic box and

suffered teasing and stares. >> in my behind i never thought we would be able to put something like this together. >> she was an ideal candidate because of a kidney transplant four years ago, she is taking powerful medications that help prevent organ rejections, her voice continues to grown stronger. >> and i'm doing it. it was very much worth it to me. >> the only other known larynx transplant was on man in cleveland back in 1998. that was also successful. jensen's doctors call her a living laboratory and say her progress gives hope to thousands of patients. carolyn tyler, "abc 7 news." >> still ahead, a stanford energy expert explains how to live off the grid.

plus.... >> we're doing for it natural entrepreneurs. where local [ female announcer ] to do well, kids need to eat well. aneating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium. and general mills big g kid cereals can help. did you know it's the only leading line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain and a good source of calcium? cereals they already love, like lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch. give your kids more of what they need to be their best. grow up strong, with big g kid cereals. ♪

:x:p wow, you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin program. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true.

[ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. hungry no. results yes. how would you like to pay a lower power bill, for el for electricity. wayne freedman reports on a local man with a very small carbon footprint. >> it's more than an energy efficient house. this one, practicing what they preach and teach. >> so whose idea was to it get the house neutral? >> my husband's idea. >> but not so fastecause because while she studies the ozone layer, her husband, mark jacobson is an environmental engineer and co-authored a study that draws a blueprint nor clean energy sustainability within 30 to 40 years. >> the question is society or political will. >> the family house is a working example of how present technologies could get it done. solar cells power everything

from water to air to heating to the electric car. >> i think it's unique, put some money and invest in the devices. >> they begin installing the system in 2004, the price roughly $30,000 or $35,000. here is the benefit. in springtime and summer, their electric bills are zero. >> we can individually help solve the problem but we need to collectively get together to solve this on a large scale. >> doctor jacobson's study found the world has no scientific barriers to convert to go clean energy. it envisions 90% of energy being generated by sun and wind. for no more money than we spend today. >> solar is more expensive today than coal or gas, however, when you add the health effects on the coal and gas together, solar

power is the same price. >> all a matter of visualizing if one family go can do it with one house, why not? do you feel i can be the next great chef or restaurant owner? dan ashley has a focus on solutions report at a san francisco kitchen that is helping food entrepreneurs beat the odds. >> this is a really nice addition. it's from my grandma. >> she makes one tasty tamale. >> this is avocado. >> she is cooking her fabulous creation at la cocina. its nonprofit incubator kitchen, helping good cooks turn an idea in a business. lib is the executive director. >> entrepreneurs who are either low income or immigrants or both

and have a passion for food. >> well, i make this. i'm the only local organic humus in the bay area. >> this is very popular in japan. any recipe like that in san francisco. >> this is with beans inside. >> we have businesses that want to be caters or food carts, or launch a restaurant or businesses that sell packaged foods. >> businesses accepted into the program get to use the commercial kitchen at a greatly reduced rental price. they also get help with their entire business plan. >> it's the packaging. >> and even more critical. >> they have to taste good and get honest feedback throughout the process. >> veronica was the one of the first clients. they cater and sell food at

farmers markets. >> my husband work at one farmer's market with my daughter and i go to other farmer's market and it's whole family thing. >> the business is so successful she now has seven part time employees and will soon open a restaurant in marin county. >> we are working very hard. >> most of those accepted into the incubator program are women and the exception two man team that operates a new food card and justin herman plaza in downtown san francisco. >> very days if i. >> it took about two years for the owners to get from their idea to a long line of customers every lunch hour. they say they couldn't have done it without la cocina. >> this is past time to have my own company, i didn't even know -- it's happening. >> and now alicia is hoping for

her same kind of success about w her tamale business. now she is raising money for her own food cart, right next to here. >> try to raise my business. >> success, one tamale at a time. dan ashley, "abc 7 news." >> there is new smart toy that is improving human computer interaction. richard hart has a drive to discover report. >> taking the table top style and infusing it with the interactivity with video games. >> this is a new way of playing games and learn math. smart cubes designed to mimic the way we react with game pieces. >> you push it around, it's very physical way of react weigh

objects. why can't we computers be more like that. we both have a background and interested in how we can improve the experience of the technology. that is something we both care very deeply about. >> so from stanford to m.i.t.'s media lab, so they invented cube rechargeable screen that respond to touch the way to you hold them and choke them. like a wii controller that went to college. they communicate through a wireless network. in a game you align the edges to match colored dots. in another you rush to create new paths for booker the penguin to find lost eggs and escape a monster. learn to spell by touching the correct letter to a partial word or work math problems without a calculator. >> part of the technology behind this is the same technology that makes smart phones know where

they are and how they are being held. >> it has reduced it with electronic components and boosted their quality and made them generally available. >> they will be sold as a new type of game system but a software kit will make a new app that nobody has envisioned had. call them cube apps. still ahead, a journey into the past. some bay area students find a treasure in your a

you've got a strawberry pop-tart, but ve got a warm, esh baked strawberry toaster strudel. see the difference? mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. than listening there'to our favorite songs. there's nothing we love more than listening to our favorite songs. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. ♪ we're the kids in ameri

some san francisco elementary students got a look at life in the city more than a hundred years ago. don sanchez reports. >> were you excited? >> waiting to find out what is inside a time capsule from the

cornerstone of cleveland elementary school put there in 1910. former student and school volunteer researching the school's history found out about it in in an old newspaper. >> they said there was a copper box in the wall. >> students and former teachers watched as the box was open. yes there were papers inside. >> a book entitled school law of california, 1909. >> some booklet and they made $2,460 a year. and there were letters and also pictures. >> and a letter from somebody who saw a great future for the neighborhood. >> the city of san francisco has just about recovered from the effects of great earthquake and fire of 1906 and on the way to

greater prosperity. >> the letter wonders whether anyone will ever read it. he'll write an article. >> opened in september of 1910 so there will be celebration in the fall. and they are going to place a new time capsule to be opened by futuion the question is what will they put in it. >> what is in there now -- >> put something in like an i-pod or ipad or computer. >> to be opened in 2111. in san francisco, don sanchez, "abc 7 news." >> that is all for this edition of assignment 7.