welcome to assignment 7. today on our program a bay area center that started with an answering machine is now helping thousands of women fight cancer. how san francisco wants to take the old mint beyond mint condition. >> i love to come to work. i really truly do. a woman celebrates 65 years on the job and her history of good health is pretty incredible, as well. >> we begin in san jose where big plans for high-rise living hit a speed bump when the recession hit. developers were hit with a lot of unsold condos but now there a plan "b". >> the 360 residences rolled out

with price tags started at half a million dollars at that time when the housing market was crashing. the result is completely empty tower. >> if i could afford living something like 360 i would. >> three other high-rise developments are slowly filling up, but not the 360. david is real estate consultant specializing in high-rise living. he says 360 wasn't up front about demand. >> i think they didn't get as many offers this had he just been honest with people. they were looking for people to make offers. >> plan "b", they bought the property in a foreclosure sale and to allow the 360 to convert to rentals. >> it's good to get it activated. it's a good step. >> the redevelopment agency sold

the 360 to the developer for $10 million. $8 million was paid up front and the rest of the bill due when the condos sold. >> the agreement calls for the recipe maintaining money to be paid off like this. $250,000 now and the rest when the for sale signs come out again, perhaps in five years. the idea is whether they are owners or renters, people living in the 360 will support downtown businesses. >> so there would be no loss to the taxpayers. this is a win-win. >> the marketing of the 360 is about to come back to life and the big question, how much. karina rusk, "abc 7 news." a warning about how you deposit your tax refund checks. for one man, it took three years to get his money the irs. michael finney stepped in to help. >> nathaniel carter had two tax

refund checks but no bank account so his friend tried cash the checks at her bank but little did they know the money would disappear for three long years. >> i couldn't get anybody at the brarng to give me an answer. i kept running into dead ends. >> i was so stressed out because its his money. >> he deposited the checks, totaling $1118 in the atm machine, the former washington mutual bank but did the bank didn't accept checks made out to a third party. that is when the money disappeared. >> it was available to her for a short period of time and then all of a sudden it was removed from the account. >> the bank took the money out of her account and after that the money crisscrossed the country, twice, the bank sent the money to the treasury department which returned the funds to the bank, which sent the money back to the treasury

department which gun returned the funds to the bank. -- which again returned the money to the bank. >> chase bank bought washington mutual and nobody could find his money. >> i said let's try 7 on your side. >> we contacted chase bank and they said washington mutual bank issued a check two years ago but no one ever cashed it. so chase issued a new check and finally nathaniel has his tax refund. chase bank says this was complicated involving several third parties but we're glad we resolved the situation to the customers zblafgs i was about to go crazy. i'm glad he got his money. >> 7 on your side was really helpful in getting the process

started. >> it shows how important it is to look at a bank's policy before making a deposit. many banks do not accept checks written to a third party. i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> 25 years ago, there were very few support groups fighting cancer in the east bay. one of the first celebrated a major milestone. cecilia vega reports the women's cancer research center is making lives better and helping to save them, too. >> it started out as an answering machine in a living room 25 years ago. it was simple idea by a group of women, all fighting cancer without support oth support othn each other. >> i heard nothing, there was nothing for me. >> they knew all about the

medical side of the disease but it took her own diagnosis to realize there were no support groups or gathering places for women just like her. she bute beat it and so many others weren't as lucky. >> you can't realize when you hear the words -- you have cancer. >> today the resource center a lifeline, women come for yoga to calm the nerves and even sometimes they come to smile. >> help on a first name basis and it targets specific communities like lesbians or spanish people. taxis to the doctors go fast but the door is already open whether they come right after being diagnosed or in the final stages of the fight. >> this is a safe place. it's safe and you walk in and

they are theory help you. >> to this building here in oakland, over the past 25 years, the cancer resource center has helped 80,000 women fight this disease. >> elizabeth is among the fighters. >> somebody who was diagnosed, it's like, okay. i'm going to get through this and support i need. >> with the help of everyone here she will keep on fighting. when assignment 7 continues, the smallest university in california wer a student learned the ropes before setting sail on the high seas. >> and golden

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smallest university in the state. heather ishimaru attends the california maritime academy. >> cadets will run the ship when it sets sail in a couple of weeks. >> this is where cadets train at sea. >> the captain will stand watch over a crew made up of college students. >> they learn right hire. they get to experience this at sea. >> the at sea requirement is part of the education at california maritime academy, one of six state owned facilities in the nation. it's a fully accredited facility. students pay the same tuition and learn about everything from driving a super tanker to managing and designing a ported to running the engines below the deck. freshmen will spend a semester living on the ship to get their sea legs. >> it's also a good thing

because it gets you exposed. >> it's a throw back when super tankers ruled the san francisco bay andan ruled the longshoremae waterfront. it opened in 1929 and been training people ever since including captain bolton before coming back to teach. >> you must take leadership and responsibility. you must learn how to handle the ship or you are not going to graduate. >> this must follow strict rules set forth by international law. they have to balance several bosses in running this campus. >> we are unique, i have three bosses essentially. homeland security. secretary of transportation and the governor of the state of california. >> among the federal requirements, all the 1,000 students must wear uniforms. >> u.c. berkeley you are

overwhelmed it's too much. at maritime, they stress on the small community. >> most will end up in the private sector. in fact they had a graduation rate of about 80 am, roughly twice the national average. graduation of the academy nearly guarantees a job. >> the placement rated normally is about 100%. in these hard times we've dropped down to 94% within a month or two of graduation. >> with that diploma comes good salaries. >> average hovers around $60,000 to $70,000 not bad for first job out of college. >> san francisco's old mint has been a landmark since the 1870s but when the treasury department left it, the future seemed uncertain. dan ashley takes a look what planners hope will be a golden opportunity.

>> san francisco's old mint was built in the 1870s, it's been decades turning gold and silver from the hills into coins. today it sits empty. >> this building is a national historic landmark. >> president of museum and historical society, it's in the process of breets gofe by life y turning night a san francisco museum. this is what the museum and visitors center will eventually look like, but there is still a lot of work to be done before the first guest arrives. >> we do need to complete upgrades, mechanical, plumbing, ada compliance. >> they housed treasury offices and was handed over to the city in 2003. it was the bank that funded construction and was one of the few buildings to survive the 19 officer 6 quake.

>> it existed in a sea of rubble. >> paul wolford is one of architects. >> the greatest challenge is to honor the history of the building to preserve it and to renew it into something that is moaningful, not just for our times but for the next 50 to hundred years. >> natural light will replace lamps and fresh air will be circulated from outside. there will be modern twists, a floor put in decades ago will be replaced with glass to light the gallery below it. above that a soaring glass roof, not only it will protect the deteriorating facade but collect rain water. that garden will replicate the wetlands that once stood where the building is today. >> it will be one of the most environmentally historical land marks in the united states. >> first phase of planning was

funded by the specially minted coins. >> after $13 million in the last of seven years we're now at the point to the final fund-raising and start construction of the building. >> another $35 million must be raised to open part of the building to the public. they hope to start construction by next summer and open by the end of 2013. >> still ahead, her work ethic is hard to top. the 60-year feat by one remarkable bay area worker. >> i took a piece with me. >> and timbers of a torn up tunnel, how it's g g gg new

a couple of years ago we reported on the renovation of an old collapsed railroad tunnel. the project is finished and as wayne freedman found out, parts of that tunnel live on in some

unusual places. >> for an old redwood tree, wife and mother that liked to decorate and husband that knew one day without warning a new redwood wall material arrived. >> it surprised me. >> a surprise to any one that remember the old tunnel that had the day and couple of years ago it's renovation as new route for bikers and eventually smart trains. you might recall when work begin two years ago, crews were astounded to find the ceiling lined with pressures old growth redwood timbers. one problem. >> it was rotten and burnt, it was charred. >> now that the project is finished, gone for good, or so we thought. >> come this way. >> as it turns out, 20 tons of

the redwood has survived in a few nice neat piles thanks to richard recognized some of the wood had possibilities. >> i took a piece with us and saw how beautiful the material. >> was he bought a bunch and put it on craigslist. >> it did not take long from those boards to go to seedlings, one was here in the mill valley. >> it's here, it's here, it's here. it's the whole store. >> that is make hall that turned night shelves and counters for high end jeans store. but of all the projects, ron may be the most ambitious. he waited his entire life to work with old growth redwood like this. >> this redwood has been drying for over 130 years. >> and made more valuable, with

old redwood growth hardly exist anymore. the rest transformed into cityscape. >> i found out about it, i jumped right on it. >> with the goal of making coffee tables and stools and the furniture store he owns with his wife. they range from $300 to $900 and they have tight grains. >> you don't see it. we haven't seen anything like this. >> all because he spotted a pile of junk around hundred-year-old tunnel and recognized the treasure. >> listen to this. >> their new destiny from a vanished forest for future generations. >> now i have a piece of history in our bedroom. it looks better. >> wayne freedman, "abc 7 news."

>> we would like to introduce you to a remarkable 85-year-old woman. she is celebrating 65 years on the job and she hasn't had a sick day since dwight eisenhower was inaugurated president. >> this is not a retirement party. she has been working here for 65 years. >> i love to come to work. i love to do. >> she started in 1946. the minimum wage was 40 cents an hour. she never stopped wearing high heels. >> you can't smile and see her running down the hall. >> she got hired and the phone was ring can nonstop. >> one of doctors say, what do you do. she said i am the secretary.

and he said answer the damn telephone and she answered it and they hired her. >> she has been the had a sick day in 60 years. >> when she had her appendix out she was back the next day typing with an i.v. in her arm. she had one of the first electric typewriters. >> i got one 15 minute lesson. >> she is her attitude is just amazing. >> she is still a member of the frank sinatra fan club. how does she get to work? >> i drive. >> 55 years and a plan. >> and there is nothing in between. >> she says she would work like five more years. how can you refuse an offer like

that. >> up next, we salute the bay area woman who was part of the civil rights movement. now others haved a way to beth! hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. nogoing back the again. good for you! how'd you do i eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios.

and another remarkable bay area woman and unique birthday gift she received this year. a foundation in her name to help carry her fight for civil rights and equality. carolyn tyler has an abc7 salute. >> just about every monday you will find jill wakeman at primrose. it provides food to needy families each month. >> i just had this need, as long as i can remember to put somebody else's shoes and say what can i do. >> the 76-year-old she felt compassion for others but was the civil rights movement that led to her activism. >> presbyterian minister came through and recruiting people to go down there. >> she went down south to mississippi for the summer. her letters home reveals the

culture shock. she said i feel completely out of the world here. she was in the march and rally. >> dr. king came and dr. go king was there and he talked. >> went back home in san mateo, she joined with those trying to did he segregate the schools including elinor. >> curry has written a book detailing there of their projects and programs >> one of jill's latest efforts is fighting on behalf of gays and lesbians, by protesting against the baptist church. her godson gave her unique present for her birthday.

>> i thought of how can i create a gift that helps her legacy live on. >> he has created a nonprofit foundation in her honor and developed a fund-raiser cut for equality as in coffee cups. >> 125 million americans drink a cup of coffee, how many money could we make to give up one cup. >> this is one of organizations jill's foundation will help. >> that would have a tremendous impacted here where they are seeing a record number of clients. >> anything that was generated by the support by her foundation can help us continue to be able to do it and keep up with the increased demand. >> i can't change the world but maybe i can make a difference in somebody's life. >> we salute jill wakeman to her dedication to the community and legacy of hope and compassion.

if you want more information go to our website at abc7news.com. look under the news links on the left side for assignment 7. that's all for this edition of assignment 7. i'm eric thomas. thanks for joining us. we'll see you next time. >> next at 5:00, san francisco police said they have proof they were fired on before they shot and killed a man. also. sounds of defeat echoes throughout streets of san francisco. a packed civic center plasa watches a world