tv Assignment 7 ABC October 23, 2011 4:30pm-5:00pm PDT
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welcome to assignment 7. today on our program. a new entry in the electric car market and locally made charging station that will save you money when you plug in. plus.... >> a tribute to a san francisco firefighter killed in the line of duty runs into a road block. we'll show you what happened later. >> i can take a left hand ordinary right-handed picture. >> the closest thing you'll find a real life pitcher. >> no more friending for california prison inmates they have been cracking down on prisoners that use social, two from their cells. nannette miranda reports. >> we were excited that facebook
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was doing the pages. >> number of california inmates are actively updating their facebook pages using smart phones. they are talking about time in the yard but the activities aren't always mundane. they say they are plotting crimes with each other in code on social media. one child molester contacted a person who is 17. >> we found he was asking her facebook site with photos. he was pretty much monitoring her life and able to know what she looked like ten years ar >> they are working with a california corrections department and other law enforcement to disable the accounts of inmates who are actively posting while incarcerated. even if it's updated by a outsi. the group says it's not fair because the inmates stay connected with families and tell media about conditions inside. >> media is one way that
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prisoner family members communicate with each other. they can expose what is going on inside the prison. >> prison is not a hotel. >> victims rights groups say prisoners are able to write letters and that technology they are up to no know good. they are trying to get a grip of proliferation of cellphones in prison. more than 7,000 have been confiscated in the first six months along loan. >> they can commit crimes using phones in prison. we need to stop all this. >> depending on their parole terms, they could request their facebook account to be reacted elevated upon their release. >> another electric vehicle has enteredace race to go green. they want to see how far they
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caning on a single charge. >> it's a cliche to call this a shiny new car. it has certain sparkle. venture capitalist says it will remove a major barrier worried about how far they can go on a single charge. it has range of 300 miles. >> you get your electricity from two sources, one from a battery which is charged by the grid by you plugging in at night and second internal combustion engine when you need it it burns gas, generates more electricity. so it's a single power train all electric. >> that is distinctive sound of the twin 200 horsepower engine that can reach a top speed of 120 miles an hour. it cost $96,000 to $108,000. but planning to add lower priced
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models to the fleet. >> the wood comes from rescued wood and it's reclaimed wood from the bottom of lake michigan. everything we do, we don't cut down trees, we use the beauty of the wood that is already there. >> there is environmentally friendly news on the charging front. solar city is starting to sell solar powered units to keep it topped off at home. compare it when you plug night the wall. >> the price of a solar powered home charging station about $1500 and if you are still worried about running out of power on the road, walgreen's says it will be installing 800 charging stations across the country. david louie, "abc 7 news." >> riding a bike is now safer in pleasanton because of new smarter traffic signals.
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jonathan bloom has more on what could be a trend setting change. >> big wide intersections along in pleasanton can be dangerous on a zbeik one of main complaints from cyclists they would get the green indication and then start peddling and see it turn red oriole on them. >> quite a few times. >> cyclist knows the problem all too well. so-called smart traffic lights that are just too dumb to notice a bicycle. sometimes they turn red too quickly. sometimes they never turn green. >> i was there five minutes. and then i walked across with my bike. >> in pleasanton, all that has changed. they call it the intersecter. it looks like a radar gun mounted on a traffic light. it fires microwaves down to the intersection and when it bounces back it can tell if it's looking at a car, pedestrian or bicycle. >> once it does that, there is bicycle here and provide the
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extra time it needs across the intersection. >> on the computer screen, black numbers are car, the blue box is a bike. it will give the bike an extra ten seconds to cross the intersection and if there is no bike, they speed up the traffic lights to get more cars through. >> it actually improves it for drivers. >> they are thrilled for the technological first. >> we would like to see the technology used in other cities and it's great to see pleasanton take the lead. >> in addition to the 7 texas is a on foothill boulevard, pleasanton officials say from now on every new traffic light they put up will come with a microwave bicycle detector. from massage to acupuncture, alternative therapies available for women returning home from war. and they explore the
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a brother's tribute to fallen firefighter wasn't going as planned. he called 7 on your side michael finney for help. >> oh, my god. >> mark miller for the first time, and it was back in june fourth. pain in his heart comes to the surface when it's reminders of how it all happened. >> the nearby resident gave him pictures he took of firefighters battling the blaze. coming here was difficult and healing at the same time. >> i think it's therapeutic to try and see, to see where my brother was his last fews. >> mar moments. >> mark doesn't want anyone to forget his brother's sacrifice. he had wristbands made in memory
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and hopes to pass them out during a tribute marking his brother's 54th birthday. one band says firefighters strong and other says people's paramedic, his nickname. >> he was every person. he didn't care who you were, where you were from. >> but the writes bands didn't come out the way he wanted. >> it's like somebody took a metal stamp and hit hit with a hammer and made a little mark, barely legible. >> mark contacted the wristband company which insisted he got what he ordered. it later agreed to replace the bands for free and forwarded an e-mail. bands are laser engraved. if they need molded style there will be mold cost. the company says that e-mail should not have been sent out.
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>> i apologize and our company's fault. >> kon confused, mark contacted 70 your died. >> all of a sudden i got an e-mail stating an order was being shipped to me. >> we remade the fwoorndz him. >> all were remade for free. mark honored his brother's birthday with a big balloon release and everybody wore a wristband for anthony. >> they were happy to have them. everybody loved my brother. he was lovable guy. >> mark plans to set up a nonprofit foundation and sell the wristbands to raise funds for a scholarship in his brother's memory. >> a bay area medical center is making a unique program available to veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. its program specifically designed for female vets. carolyn johnson has more.
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>> i'll ask you to close your eyes. peaceful quality. travel to all parts of you. >> army veteran is learning to manage emotions. diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder the adjustment back to normal life l has been slow. >> sometimes i'll be say for instance in a mall and then i'll see myself back in iraq. >> imagine wrapping all that experience like a bubble or balloon. >> the session isn't taking place at v.a., it's part of a program being ordered by the health and healing at pacific medical center in san francisco. they say the institute integrates a variety of alternative therapies, this session to massage and acupuncture treatments. >> then we have classes,
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including yoga, ta-e chi and. >> helps me learn to pay attention to my breathing and pay attention to what is going on when things do arise, my heart starts pumping. >> they are going with other groups to extend the service for more returning female services. >> back to some of the things that we left just all the options to find what is best for us. >> the institute has started a found help cover the cost of treatment and hopes to grow the program in the coming months. in the meantime, she has begun another alternative therapy, painting. >> anger, confusion, fear, that
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gave me hope and then with hope i gain strength and i feel more positive about the world super hero might not be the job description for a botanist but if you want to be one, it can tough. more now from dan ashley. >> a lot of days inhe philippines start with a jeep ride. scientists go for an hour or so in the bus. this is the easy stuff but what is ahead you better be prepared. >> they are joining philippine colleagues to search and rescue the rain forest. peter finch is leader.
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>> it's extremely diverse in terms of species and under extreme stress. >> philippines hundred million people on islands about the size of arizona. population is growing. pristine areas shrinking. they hope the expedition will demonstrate the need to save what is left. >> they spend five days o at national park and last stop on a five-week trip. it's covered with dense tropical forests. >> this time of the year high temperature averages 90 degrees with 85% humidity so it can feel like more than 110 degrees. and there are a lot of leaches. this park official got one between her toes. even so jim, a 61-year-old retiree does this for fun.
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>> you see everything that up here. >> that is from tiny mosses. they collected 1200 specimens with the unique spot in the ecosystem. even the mosses are critical. >> they release the water after rain and release it during dry days. >> the team includes an expert tree climber. he works klair care any climbs 50 feet in seconds and drops the specimen. the work goes on for hours. some nights they camp and some they go to hotel room to organize iz what they collected. >> next morning they are back in the field. it's grueling but this is what botanists call the glamour part of the job. >> the only regret of doing this
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it was never intended to be here. in 1940 the plan was to build a library to house the mural but then came world war ii. >> you couldn't get concrete, you couldn't get steel. so finally the library was a multiuse space and more need for classrooms so there wasn't anything large enough. this is 22 feet high by 74 long. >> that is nearly as long as tennis court. president of city college and well known architect convinced them to come to san francisco to participate in the golden gate exposition on treasure island. it took him four months to complete the fresco known as the pan american unity mural. >> he was paid a thousand dollars a month for living expenses and a thousand dollars travel, but the mural itself is
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his gift to city college. >> the mural is fusion between the great, past contributions of latin america and later north america's technical innovation. it covers a significant portion of the mural. his ex-wife is prominently shown even though he is behind her holding another woman's hand. despite the brief love affair, they later remarried at san francisco's city hall. for more than 20 years, this ten panel mural was stored in greats until was installed in the theater. very little is known about it. >> nobody has gotten in here to study it. >> julie is working on a relocation proposal. they got the attention of the mexican government. a panel of experts arrived to
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examine the mural and see how it could be transferred. >> the mural fresco has to be very well protected so during the movement it doesn't get damaged. that is what the mexican experts are experts on. >> each panel is securely to st. here is what the back of the mural looks like. >> talks are underway to move the mural, the place that would house it has yet to be built. this is the site behind me, a parking lot here at city college. this is what the building would look like. >> bergman reached out to somebody else. they put together a committee the friends of diego rivera murals. we want to make sure that it will not interfere with other programs or education. this is outside money that we
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wanted to provide the college to be able to do. >> they will have to rely on deep pockets and donations from the public. there are three other murals in the bay area, one at san francisco's city club, a second at the art institute and another at u.c. berkeley. many believe the mural at city college should have a home ncisco, lyannestature. melendez, "abc 7 news." up next, struggling with hitting the fastball? mike shumann has the solution in the pro batter. stay with us.
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have you ever wondered could i get a hit off tim lincecum or matt cain. maybe not, there is technology to test your skills. >> hidden away in redwood city is the california baseball farm club facility. inside you will find the pro batter training simulator. >> its training tool, pitching machine but video simulated. >> it combines computer and video technology to re-create the experience of facing live pitching. >> it gives you the game conditions where you can see the pitcher and his wind up and time the pitcher. it gives you at the advanced levels, eight different ones you can hit off. >> a pitching machine and projector and control pad. start at the high school level.
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>> i can pick left-handed or right-handed pitcher. we'll continue. now what the computer does it has set the type of pitches for that age level. it's upt for fast the wind up, it's throwing 8 miles per hour fastball. >> you can set how many pitches you want and fire away. >> a former college player that ends up playing in the big leagues. he is an instructor. he says this a great training tool for all levels. >> they come in my kid goes into the game, he can't time a batter right. we get them in pro batter, we see a lot of success with that. >> the facility has t-ball, softball and set up for softball and cricket. it's membership only but it's open to everyone including yours
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truly. >> give me something easy to start. they won't know, if i can't hit off of 12-year-old, there it is. right here. thank you. [ applause ] that is out of here. try to hit a curveball here. nies now you see why i played football. i'm mike shumann. "abc 7 news" sports. >> if you would like more information on our stories, go on fo to our website at abc7news.com. look under the news links on the left side for assignment 7. that is all for this edition of assignment 7. i'm eric thomas. thanks for joining us. thanks for joining us.
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