hi, welcome to assignment 7. today on our program a homeless encampment that is not as visible. some people say they can't do anything to stop it. >> an investigation leads to new consumer protection. i'm michael finney and what it means to you. >> and wayne freedman introduces to us a local photograph they're has turned back the clock to a focus new light on today's world. >> about 75% of california high school seniors graduated in 2010. the information is available for the first time thanks to the state's new tracking system. >> for the first time, they are

going through the entire at 18.2%. but on the way another 94,000 teens were on the street without a diploma. the skateboarders are still in school but understand why the number is so high. they find school boring. >> i had a teacher that had a boring voice. but i mean looking back on it now are we ready, a lot of my scores were horrible. >> the key to lowering the dropout rate is to raise attendance. study after study shows it helps. even targeting them as young as kindergarten. >> 17% of those students that should be in kindergarten are chronically absent. they are missing 20 days of school a year and they are getting behind at the beginning of their educational career. >> but after years of budget cuts, schools find it difficult to find a resources to get kids to school whether there is money for transportation or staff to

call parents to follow up or summer schools to catch students up. >> all the studies and education the kids that attend schools get the best grades. we need them there. >> another statistic, the dropout rates for african-americans and english language learners are about 41%. much higher much higher than the state average. everyone knows there is a homeless problem in downtown san francisco but it's also an issue in neighborhoods near the great highway where it's not as noticeable. people are living in streets, in cars, campers and advance. carolyn tyler has more. >> it's summertime and rvs are lined up along the street rite by ocean beach. they are people like this man.

>> i have been living in this city all my life and how i live is none of your business. >> his group has had enough of this encampment. sometimes as many as 20 rvs park on a two block stretch. >> but we have a fair number that do have issues and we have a lot of public drinking, intoxication, drug use and sales and used needles outside. >> this is where our children walk and they dump our sewage into our sewage system and some urinate in the park and defecate, as well. >> police say the situation has existed for years. >> why has it been allowed to go on for decades? >> i think the limitations that we have on our enforcement. >> there is a city law against

sleeping in vehicles but officers have to see a violater to cite him. >> they indicate it's illegal to park in one spot longer than 72 hours but those that are savvy can figure it out. >> to comply they can move a block away and wait until they receive another notice. they say it's a game of cat and mouse. >> i have a right to survive! >> some say police crackdown won't work. >> we push them to another neighborhood and push them somewhere else, that is not a sustainable solution. >> the district supervisor is examining strategies though she says the focus should not be just on the campers but chshl vehicles that are taking up

public space. >> one of the things that we talked about potentially permitting idea for overnight vehicles would be one issue. some kind of registration is another potential option. >> the sergeant says the solution might be somewhere in the city for officer's, an area for them. >> where there are showers are available. >> good long term solution in john's opinion. >> short term? they got to go. >> a new enforcement but everyone agrees in they will be back. starting in january, small businesses and restaurants will get a break on fees to bring live music to their stabish himself. don sanchez has the story. ♪ ♪ >> the jazz shaking up the city

hall. putting a rhythm to a new proposed bill. >> a new fehr of permits for cafes so they can put artists and musicians to work. >> cates and restaurants will have to hear noise control and a shutout off time at 10:00 p.m. >> unique atmosphere from all over the city. >> what the city is relying on is a permit. that is usually for the larger venues. >> more than $2,000. musicians look at the permits as opportunity. >> anything that will give us more work, get musicians an opportunity for more work and make it easier for stabish himself to hire mike.

>> we are trying to stay in san francisco. >> it should be good for big owners like north beach restaurant that offers singing waited version. >> it offers a lot of people and hotels if you have this. >> these permits are meant to restore a culture vie brans. do you remember north beach? i want it back. >> they go into effect in january. music could be coming to a san francisco neighborhood near you. don sanchez, "abc 7 news." >> up next. from "7 on your side" michael finney a local couple hires a locksmith to make it easier on crackdown on ripoff artists. ♪ ♪ >> a group of bay area musicians return from performing in iraq and kuwait where they got a

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welcome back. a new bill is under way in sacramento on unlicensed locksmiths. michael finney help get reforms past and has this update. >> randy reed look over the marks that was made by a locksmith. they hired him last month when his wife was locked out on a saturday morning. the president of locksmith association says the bake i can lockout should have been easy and inexpensive. >> using an air wedge, it can damage the door. >> it should never run more than $125. he said he paid three times that amount. >> i think for her it was the

fact there was two gentlemen here, in the sense she didn't want to anger them by challenge them. >> in an emergency they tend to hire a locksmith through a phone book but some locksmiths, they are difficult to track down. one locksmith found on google maps listed a address that went to a japanese store and another it was a florist. it encourages users by a flag along by going to report a problem tool. >> they hired a company using a similar search. we found this promotional video posted on youtube. it's anything but when we went to the address, we found a residence.

a check of public records also found that they are currently unlicensed. our calls went unanswered. complaints about unlicensed and unethical locksmiths have decreased dramatically since we ran this undercover sting back in 2007. >> lung a little more than i thought it was. >> hi, i'm michael finney. can i see your license. >> he was eventually arrested on and pled guilty. >> this is important because that lock was an easy lock to fix. what kind of training do you have? >> inspired by a series of 7 on your side stories. they increased the fines for unlicensed locksmith activity to

$10,000 in 2008. now, the state is moving to take it to the next step. it's writing new regulations so they could issue new citations without going to a advocate. >> it makes it easier to hit them where it hurts which is in the pocket book. >> some bay area musicians raent recently returned from kuwait and iraq where they performed for the troops. they stopped by the station and toukd to cheryl jennings about their trip. >> we knew it was dangerous because he were having to wear flak jackets to and from every army. >> you went anyway? >> yes. >> i don't think i realize that. >> it didn't seem dangerous when we were going. >> they are with the band pablo

cruise. they joined several entertainers to bring home to u.s. troops serving in kuwait and iraq. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> pablo cruise is known for hits, what you're going to do when she says goodbye. they played with entertainers. toto, and bill champlin. >> he did all the hits. from chicago hits and the hits, jamie wrote "wild one." bill's big hit. >> did you perform that? >> i did. they loved it ♪ >> and the danger of being in a war zone became a reality for the performers. >> we just finished the last, the very last hit.

and as soon as we got the last one, in come incoming, everybody in the audience, we all jammed to get down as low, we heard the rocketing over and hit. >> it was an adventure they will never forget. >>. ♪ ♪ >> incoming, incoming. >>. >> it was amazing. >> when we continue, the bay area lunch program that nourishing both bodies and mind as children. and.... >> one of of the world's top hands on learning museums is making a big move. we'll go behind the scenes that

'. kids are the new heart of a program in oakland, i could call it the lunch and learn plan. lyanne melendez explains how it works. >> low income students are fed lunch at school through the u.s. department of agriculture. but in the summer, many families

fend for themselves. >> a lot of it has to do with the fact we don't have enough where kids can go to get food. >> he a former superintendent. he wants to expand the food program and heard the mayor talk about government agencies collaborating. while they are walking through in gateway. wouldn't it be nice if it was a site you could have a good lunch. >> alameda food banks where he volunteers loved the idea. so did several branch managers in oakland's poorest neighborhoods. he even helps distribute the lunches everyday. >> on the first day, 25 kids were fed. today that number has increased to 70. then after lunch, it's time to

feed their mind. >> because the kids have food in their belly and they are able to stay longer in the library and browse and check out books and all the great materials we have for them. >> they like because it's very healthy. they like it so much. >> i like the free lunches and also the books. >> only has 14 public libraries. five have joined the library food program that is still funded by the federal government next summer they hope other libraries will follow their lead. in oakland, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." a favorite bay area attraction is getting a new home. the exploratorium broke ground to put a new face on the san francisco waterfront. dan ashley has a progress report

on the new digs. >> where do you go to play with a laser or see a yo-yo grand master? for more than 40 years the answer has been the exploratorium at the pam as of fine arts. but the exploratorium is moving to a couple of pierce that will soon be a city show place. piers 15 and 17 is along the san francisco embarcadero. >> this gives us the new opportunity to give exhibits about the bay and the outdoors. we really can't do in our location. >> the pier buildings are barn like structures that stretch 800 feet over the bay. pier 15 will be developed first. re-created as state of the art science museum with exhibits that can grow and change overtime. but that is just the start. >> part of the gift to the city is provide roughly 2 acres of

civic space for the public to enjoy the area. to that end they are expanding the deck and recreation area for the public. >> space used to be a parking lot. that what it looked like in february. now it's being removed little by little. >> we are standing where the public will be. >> this is view looking back toward the city where the parking lot was. and this is a rendering of when it's finished. >> so when the public gets here they will get a new jewel in the exploratorium and be able to see the magnificent view of the bay. >> absolutely. remember it's practically here. >> the front of the buildings will keep the staple historic look but under the pier there has is a major overall for earthquake safety. >> first, divers inspected what was in need of repair.

>> they physically look at it? >> right. >> physically touch it? >> right. >> many oiled pilings are being repaired but this time lapse video shows the biggest seismic strength they are, giant new pilings up to 16 on 0 feet long. -- 160 feet long. >> when it's finished the exploratorium will have three times the exhibit space it does now. that is three times the space to amaze and to educate. in san francisco, dan ashley, "abc 7 news." >> up next, a local photographer is using 19th century technology to bring new perspectives on a 21st world.

verizon 4g lte. erica's fastest and most reliable 4g network in over 160 cities. verizon. built so you can rule the air. there are pictures stored everywhere and here a local photographer with a different take. >> anywhere in san francisco, you will find people with artistic tendencies. you might assume it that is do with his job as a sushi chef. >> but this art is more complicated. >> first he must pack it. then he puts it and puts all the pieces totaling.

ever hear of brow nie? this wouldn't be one of those. in the obsess active artist genes. he has built the entire operation including his camera piece by piece in a small apartment. >> i wanted the cameras that could fake the pictures. it was getting the pictures. >> what kind of film is this? >> this is actually x-ray film. >> images three feet by 14 inches. so you build a camera that you have to climb in to. >> i don't know if i can. >> that image is upside-down. the camera doesn't have a convention at shutter. pull off the lens cap and count. >> so you have to make sure you don't jar the camera? >> that happens a lot. that is why i have to take more than one shot. >> when he began, these pictures

didn't turn out perfectly. this was the first one. oddly with all the scratches and all the impacific oceans, it's one of his favorites. >> it looks like 1860? >> yeah, it is. i won't back in time. >> his work follows the classic philosophy. it's one of a kind. >> it's something very old and very nostalgic. >> the technology lends a new perspective to our modern world and places in it. >> they don't look like anything because they are not perfect. >> but perfect enough in an art form where imperfection becomes perfection. >> in the future i will have a studio. if i tear myself away from the kitchen. yeah. >> in san francisco, wayne freedman, "abc 7 news."

>> if you want more information on the stories on our program today, just to our website at abc7news.com. and look under the news links on the left side for assignment 7. that is going to do it for this edition of assignment 7. i'm kristen sze. hope you enjoyed the program. we'll see you back here next time. time. >> they're spreading, the "occupy wall street" tent cities are showing up outside the bay area's major hubz. >> also ahead. >> the surfer who saw his friend attacked by a shark in monterey bay this

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