hi, welcome to assignment 7. today our program. >> virtual reality is more vivid than imagination but more controllable than real life. >> virtual reality helping you overcome real phobias. east bay clinic that is changing lives. plus helpings veterans making an important transition. >> and the historic winter land performances. legendary jimi hendrix. >> overcoming phobias is a daunting challenge for many people. you can now tackle your very

real fears through virtual reality. >> for 45 years, kathy milton harbored a fear of heights after falling out of a tree when she was child. she just lived with that fear until she recently lost the job. >> the first question out of my mouth, how are you at heights? of course, i didn't answer directly or quickly. he naturally figured out that i feared heights. >> she is furnished tournd a special clinic in fremont that uses virtual reality that overcome their phobias. with the help of a clinical psychologist. she uses head gear to stimulate situations that trigger her fears. >> virtual reality is more vivid than imagination but more controllable. >> this displays what she is

seeing through her goggles. she is watching the floors go by and then she will exit to an open walkway. >> how are you doing. what very your fear level? >> 100 is the highest level. a typical patient starts at 84 and over a number of sessions will drop to about 24. kathy is at zero to 2. >> i need to find a way to face your phobia, things that terrifies you, in a way that is controlled so you are not withhold and lose your fear. that is when virtual reality comes in. >> imagine a person looking down on plaza at san jose city hall. unable to get from one point to another because of their fear of heights. >> the real moment of truth came at a bart station platform. >> i went to the edge, it was about 50 foot drop off the side, i just sat there.

i wasn't fearful. >> virtual reality with guidance from the doctor has changed kathy's life and now she has a check listed of things she wants to do, things she once feared. >> number one is ride a ferris wheel. second one is climb ladders. >> in fremont, david louie, "abc 7 news." airlines are packing their flights these days and it's harder to book together. that was true for a bay area mother when an airline wouldn't let her sit next to her two small children. michael finney tells her story. >> flying can be rough, you be stuck in seats, plummeting, watching a movie you don't like. and there is a line to the bathroom. all that is tougher when you are four years old. that is why andrea makes sure that the two young children sit next to mom and dad when they

fly. >> they don't understand the seat belt light flashes and they don't know where the bathrooms are. >> so the family booked together when they flew to washington, d.c. on united airlines. four-year-old and six-year-old would each sit by a parent. days before the flight, united e-mailed them said there was a change of aircraft. they had new seat assignments and they were not sitting together. >> we were scattered across the plane. >> she was now in row 23, the other in row 24, each seated next to a complete stranger. united airlines told them by phone they couldn't put them together because there were no open seats. >> i explained my children were four and six. they say it's perfectly acceptable to sit apart from their parents. >> she couldn't imagine if they needed help. a total stranger was suddenly a surrogate parent. >> i don't think it's a

stranger's responsibility if my child ears hurt on the flight or if there is an emergency i don't want to that to happen. >> if they paid more, andrea said paying more was unfair since they booked seats together >> the family was ready to hold up a sign asking passengers to switch seats. it didn't go quite that far. >> at the countered there were passengers and we talked about it. >> the family and united ticket agent asked other passengers to help and they did. after some shuffling, annika and sandra each got to sit with a parent. >> why is this policy in place? we had friends that it had happened to. >> she contacted 7 on your side. the airline tells us it does have a policy to keep kids with

parents. in case of an aircraft change our computer system is programmed to keep families seated together. when it's not possible prior frier boarding they will attempt to reseat customers. andrea hopes it isn't so tough in the future. >> it seems like something stimulate forward situation. you make sure that young children sit with their parents. >> united contact the family after our interview offering an apology and a voucher. there are no faa regulations and no minimum age for them to sit together. i'm michael anyone any, "7 on your side." >> the exploratorium in san francisco is building hands on science museum at a new location the waterfront. it's being built for the future. the construction crews must first shore it up. what it takes to prepare an

historic pier for a new life. >> tom starts work a little differently from most construction workers. tom is working or rather under pier 15 in san francisco. two years from now the pier will be the new home of the exploratorium, a state of the art museum full of green features and science exhibits. first, the old pier built in 1915 is getting a retrofit to withstand an earthquake up to 8.2. we got a tour below deck. >> twars it's custom built for the project the boat we're riding on. >> a alone it will cost million. it's low tide now so the crew is scrambling to do as much as possible before the water rises. >> the one thing is the waves out here. hang on! that is the swells. >> there is probably a ferry

boat that came by. >> there is a cave like feeling with more than a hundred workers climbing around. they are stationed in teams, some on top, some underneath. many have been partners for years. >> they may need to save your life. >> right now they are reinforcing old piling and it's covered with a fiberglass shell. finally concrete is pumped in to a port that is closed off. divers make all that happen underwater in very murky conditions. >> a lot of times you can't see your hand in front of your face. you turn your life off and close your eyes and feel around. >> the dive el met weighs 80 pounds but underwater is lighter. >> these tanks provide them with air as they go down. these tubes provide not just oxygen but also warm water that circulates through their wet suits because it's cold down there.

>> the diver helmets have microphones so they are in constant communication with the supervisor. high overhead a giant crane is lowering new pilings. they are 135 feet. on top of the pilings there is a huge concrete block to support the pier deck. >> you get an idea of the seismic bracing. >> the public will never see all of this. divers say sometimes there is an audience. >> every once in a while you see a crab or fish. once in a while a sea lion will come by. >> it's scheduled to open in 2013. >> still ahead, new technology on your smart phone, how to get 3-d at your fingertips. plus, you decide is it vandalism or art? sidewalk graffiti that has divide add neighborhood. and cubicle dwellers, this is for you, what you can get at

welcome back. they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one san francisco neighborhood is debating what some see as blight is really a work of art. carolyn tyler has more. >> san francisco's lower hate is one of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods and street art adds to that distinction but now there is a lively discussion is it vandalism. when is graffiti art and when is art graffiti? these arl of symbol of the debate. >> some people don't want the koy in front of their house or business. >> they help create this mural. on the sidewalk below swims a school of koy that she finds problematic. >> i see where the koy go down and graffiti goes on top of it. that way could exacerbated the

graffiti. >> the artist says it's the opposite. jeremy says he is has created 3,000 coykoy on the streets of san francisco. >> the fact that tha they cover up graffiti tags and vandalism by putting images on there in itself is helping and betterment to the community. >> san francisco stands about $20 million a year on a rigorous graffiti abatement program. >> what makes the difference between graffiti and art? >> the simple word is permission. if the property owner gives you permission. >> he says he has permission for all of his work. there is debate about that but we know for sure a haight street store owner commissioned koy on this great. there is a documentary called

vigilant at this examines the problem. >> it's an outlet of expression. this is a different kind of expression. >> i asked the film maker if it would encourage more illegal tagging. >> it should inspire people to question laws that are so strict about street art and graffiti in a city that wants to eliminate it altogether. >> you might question but the city what a and what a lot of people don't understand is whether it's something being scrawled on the walls of your home or the sidewalk out in front, the city holds you responsible if you haven't given permission to the artist. they will give you 30 days to clean it up, the city will do it then and send you the bill. there is a new option for busy employees that can rarely make it to the gym. carolyn johnson says it promises

to bring the workout to the office. >> as director of a marketing company he is a master multias the kerr, but he has done something new. >> just stop for a minute or two and clear your head and get the blood flowing. it's actually pretty valuable and it works because it's the thing you are sitting in. >> it's known as the gimmy gym. >> it gets you going pretty fast. >> from body presss to leg extensions. >> there are four stations and you can do core exercises. >> adam ben david says he came up with the idea for a desk gym sitting in while he was in college. >> we got a few dumbbellsd thosd had those around the chair and

got an exercise band and it started to snowball. >> it wraps around a pulley system built into the chair. the user can adjust the tension by raising or lowering the street. >> up to hundred pounds and we have thinner bands, as well. you can dial it up. >> but for desk bound professionals, it offers something more valuable, convenience. >> if i had to get up and do a quick set of pushups or sit-ups and i'm not going to get away from the screen in front of me. a san francisco company has unveiled a way for mobile devices to track and identify 3-d objects. richard hart describes it. >> first we use our phones to scan bar codes such as the product name.

then we went to these codes, more two dimensional code that provided pictures and links on ternet. now, we can get information from pointing the camera at picture. >> that is the scan bottom. >> button. >> add 3-d information. that is called augmented reality. it's the specialty of a company with offices in houston and san francisco. it makes apps for tracking natural features including faces. then we went beyond the camera to add other sensor information such as geo location such as find a place to park. red means the spotted one street is taken, green means it's available. next step goes beyond images to track actual 3 dimensional objects in the real world. >> tracking objects now. so we can successfully track a printer. we built a model city.

we were able to track it and overlay everything on it and teach the phone how to see. >> with an ipad 2 or a phone, you can overlay your own information. >> very simple to make your own. >> using an app a tree down load on the android market. as more users add visual objects it's a social network. >> when we continue a bay area group that helps veterans make an important transition from troops to teachers.

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the department of education is hoping to improve schools in low income neighborhoods. one way is to help veterans transition from the battlefield into the teaching field. lyanne melendez looks at one such program in the bay area. >> tony says education was not his first career choice. before landing a job as a kindergarten teacher he spent 20 years in the air force. but when he and his wife started a family, he wanted nothing more to be at home with his children. >> i saw the effect of me being gone on them. i thought, well, why should they

have to deal with this. >> his wife had also been in the air force but retired to becomel a special education teacher. his life changed when he visited her classroom. >> my heart went out to the kids and the needs they had, to the academic needs. >> with a degree in he, he spent two years working on his kre ken shls at night while on active duty. he knew he wanted to be involved in special ed kids and last december was hired to teach at an lvyd in fairfield. before entering that classroom he took this advice from his wife wendy. >> kids learn different ways. if you can find your whatever that is that makes them want to be there, that is the key.

>> what did you learn? >> nemo. >> very good job. good for nemo. >> what he learned in the military has served him well, here in the classroom where all his students are on the autistic spectrum. >> we have a class schedule we follow. everything is very rigid with these particular students. military is that way. >> keep coming, come on keep it up. >> shirts to teachers help them get a job in education. this federal program has placed 800 veterans in california schools since it started in 1985. it offered tuition assistance to help get certified and those that teach in a high poverty district get bonuses. >> we have a great achievement gap in california especially at the hispanic and african-american levels that we really need to change. i think veterans can make a big difference here. >> you are right there.

it's instance. so you have that opportunity to make a difference to somebody one on one. >> see you tomorrow. great job, buddy. buddy. >> in fairfield, lyanne melendez "abc 7 news." >> celebrating jimi hendrix. ♪ ♪ >> the music from the legendary rock icon that you probably never heard and it was recorded during historic performances in san franci [ man ] did we get anything good? sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet. fiber makes me sad. oh common. i dare you to taste one hint of ber in fiber one. oh, i'd be able to tell. why don't i just eat this bag? and how can you talk to me about fiber you enjoy that. i am.

[ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. ber one.

september 13th was officially designated jimi hendrix day in san francisco. he was an essential part of the music scene in the '60s. now more of his amazing music is available. here is don sanchez. ♪ ♪ >> he perhaps is the greatest electric guitar player in musical history. a legend that continues.

>> they are part of side tell i can in the panhandle where he gave a free concert on the back of a truck on equipment borrowed from jefferson airplane. >> he broke all the rules and was cool. i wanted to learn about that neat l. ♪ ♪ >> his grandparents had been involved but he was inspired on stage and in his clothes. >> it's about getting attention and see him. >> he influenced bootstie collins style with the shirt. he says he is continuing what hendrix started. >> now, i get the opportunity to do what i feel he wanted to do. >> they are here for the reloose of four set cd, the jimmy en drinks experience, winter land.

this is the first time we're hearing the music. >> the board of supervisors did he had declared it winter land day in san francisco. they celebrated at amoeba records in the haight. she remembers still the first time she saw jimmi. >> he was ready to get on the plane and he turned around and came back. i met him halfway and we talked for a while. >> don sanchez, "abc 7 news." >> that is all for this edition. i'm kristen sze. thank you so much for watching today. we'll see you back here next >> a marine and cal firefighter is in critical condition after an attack in san francisco. >> the sergeant told us as long

as we do not put tents up, we can stay. >> the "occupy" protesters pick a new spot toooooooooooooooooooo

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