>> eric: welcome to assignment 7. today on our program. 7 on your side's michael finney saves you money. his guide to daily deals. plus.... >> about a million salmon coming in there. >> eric: tearing down contaminates in a northern california river. and we take you to war-torn sierra leone. the changes in health care that is saving lives. >> a recent report shows a third of the increase in california incomes has gone to the wealthiest 1%. capital correspondent nannette miranda has the story.

>> reporter: the state's poor lost ground in recent decades. that is the conclusion of a new report of the california project a group trying to improve the lives of low income families. researchers say one of the income gains was the wealthiest widening the income gap. we found the average californian in the past 1% could earn in less than eight work days what the average californian could earn in in one year. >> it was $1.2 million a year. middle 20% earned just $35,000 a year. the findings give the occupy movement more ammunition for their cause. the income of the wealthiest 1% versus everyone else has been a rallying point. >> when you have something like this, it's what is helping us. that is why we are helping the

people. >> defenders saying being in the richest 1% doesn't make somebody a bad person. they are creating jobs. they point to steve jobs. >> the fact that he came a billionaire became incidental for jobs that he created. >> reporter: the study did note that two california cities had no income disparents and the sacramento suburbs of elk grove. >> but two cities is hardly enough to reverse the widening income gap that some studies would undermine economic growth if it continues. nannette miranda, "abc 7 news". >> eric: many you are turning to daily deals for help and coupons. the rules and regulations are complicated. michael finney sorts it all out. >> reporter: can coupons expire? how about gift cards or daily

deal sites? can you get cash back? what's up with all that fine print? for instance this tgif buy one, get one free deal but read through the fine print. discount applies to items of equal or lesser value. >> you purchase three meals and they took off the least expensive meal. i just thought that didn't quite jive with the coupon. >> reporter: sue says that interpretation cost her family $10. >> equal or lesser but they chose the lesser. that didn't seem real fair. >> reporter: fair? it appears to be legal. couponing is a national obsession but what do you really know about that coupon? take the fine print. it's there because if a rule is listed, it can generally be

legally enforced. for instance, coupons can list expiration dates, areas served and additional conditions such as no reproductions allowed. daily deal sites offer consumer protection few are aware of. expiration dates aren't what you may think. groupon says the amount paid doesn't expire. they say the amount paid doesn't expire for at least five years. that means if you purchase this $80 deal for $40 and it expires, you can still use the $40 you paid for services at the retailer. if your daily deal expired, check before you throw it out. >> gift cards have their own rules as well, they never expire. once the value drops below $10 you can get the remaining money in cash. inactivity fees are allowed but

only after 24 months and is unused. bank branded gift cards like visa and mastercard have a different set of rules. they can expire after five years. promotional cards can expire after one year. inactivity fees are allowed but only after it goes unused after 12 months. yahoo is trying to reinvent itself. the company company is shifting it's focus to mobile devices. david lure wi reports. >> reporter: yahoo has never been known for snappy home pages. they are diving deep into new services for monthly devices and the emphasis is on graphic appeal. yahoo sees this as its future as sales of tablets soar. wise stand a new news app is one example. one is enter now using sound

print. it has streaming video on the ipad. then it delivers news, even tweets from the internet that remit what you are watching on tv. >> these are articles that are surfacing because she was talking about them. >> yahoo research claims that tablet one-third of users are using them when they watch tv. >> they are watching them engaging things in like the same content they are watching on the tube at the time. >> think of a sports fan getting player and team stats without asking for them. >> we can pull those stats while somebody is watching the football game. this sunday i expect a lot of the folks using at best players and getting data in realtime while they are watching the games. >> reporter: they also unveiled a new smart phone app that has time of day photos when you call

weather from other cities around the world. >> yahoo is much more important outside the u.s. because that is primary backbone for people. >> yahoo is hopeful that it were l bring more people to yahoo. >> eric: the ones mighty klamath river. what is being done to restore an important salmon habitat. plugs upwards. >> it hasn't been exposed for over hundred years. >> digging into history. the renovations now underway at one of san francisco's oldest buildings.

>> eric: the klamath river in northern california was once one of the largest spawning grounds anywhere for wild salmon, but there is a series of dams that

prevent the fish from reaching their historic breeding grounds. dan ashley looks into the plan for removing those obstacles. >> reporter: they once fished at klamath river as far as oregon. >> they were part of our life and culture. it's been unfortunate we have been denied the salmon the resources that have been part of our history and culture. >> historically you saw about a million salmon coming in there. >> reporter: but there are no salmon in the basin today because five separated dams keep them from getting there. the first is 190 miles from the pacific ocean. more than 10,000 ren have returned this year to breed and die. the only reason they keep coming back is because of a hatchery at the foot of dam where the fish are bred and released. >> to raise 6 million salmon our goal. >> it would give places for them

to spawn naturally. the federal license to operate the dams are up. those renovations are expensive. it's estimated it will cost $300 million to tear down the dams and would be paid by rate pairs. >> instead a coalition of treibsz, landowners and local units have coming to an agreement, the dams should go. >> we concluded the settlement that is on the table that would lead to removal of the dams is the better option for our consumers. >> reporter: under the agreement the company would pay $200 million to tear the dams down. california would payillion $90 n funded through the sale of bonds. federal government would pay billion dollars to fund the restoration of the river. a federal environmental review w found removing the dams would boost en endangered salmon populations by more than 80% by

giving them more water to spawn. some farmers worry about life without the damages. the klad klamath's fertile fields produced 200,000 tons of potatoes last year. >> reporter: that is why many farm farmers spoke out about the dam removal plan at at community meeting in oregon. >> they worry about their future. with good reason. in 2001 water was shot shut off to the basin. >> the farm didn't get water. so they didn't have any income or no way to service it's debt. production. we didn't employ people. it was pretty tough conditions around here. >> the family has worked in land for three generations. he isn't happy with the settlement but thinks this is a. farmers will have access to

water even in lean years. >> talk of taking the dams out has hammered our business. >> james barney owns an rv park downstream from the first dam. he has sunk $3 million into an expansion plan for a resort above the river. he worries if guests will still visit if dams go. farther upstream, the lake is popular recreation area. if the dams are removed the lake will disappear and most of the water from property will be literally left high and dry. homeowners could find themselves overlooking the river bed instead of the lake. leon moved up from san ramon. >> came out the dams come out, homes have dropped 50%. >> reporter: 670 property owners will be significantly impacted by the dams' removal. they say restoring for this rich habitat words the price. >> the dam has had such a long

term negative effect on us as people, we can relate to having a better impact on our life. >> eric: as part of an ongoing transformation of present said yeo the officer's club is the latest to get an overhaul. >> reporter: by the time the pictures were taken in 30s and 40s, the officers club was already 150 years old. they are digging into that history revealing the original building and foundation laid down in 1776 by spanish could loneists. >> christina and adobe experts are a key members of a group working to restore and renovate the club. it's been the heart of military and social life of the base for

235 years. intent is to keep it that way. >> it will be the same. it will serve soci social cente, community center and also other center. >> a gallery will fill the empty space. two-story special events building will stay with commanding view of the main post and bay. with a facelift, note the circular fair place in bar. is . most delicate work will be replacing adobe bricks dating from 1810. first two structures were destroyed by fire and earthquake. >> these infrared tomography and impulse radar to keep us an idea the condition without touching it. we use extremely high-tech

methods to determine the condition of the material. >> it's 20-30% clay and straw. >> he is hear from new mexico and crew members are building a sample wall to see how the replacement bricks will perform. the materials and methods are unchanged from 1776. >> every area, every region has a little quirks about how they make adobes because they used the material that was available to them. like for example, in chihuahua they used pine needles. then they use horse manure as part of the mix because it counteracts the salt. >> reporter: the base and roof is where the most adobes will be replaced because of water damage. >> in addition when we talk about sustainability, it starts

with an already built structure. this is as green as it gets. >> it will be open and free to the public hopefully in 2013, heather ishimaru, "abc 7 news". >> eric: still ahead, we traveled to one of deadliest places in the world for children and what is being done to save their lives.

>> eric: it's one of the deadliest places in the world for a mother to give birth and worst place for a child under five to survive. the challenges and progress being made in sierra leone to change the numbers. the prickse children the prick of the needle causes an

unpleasant sting. but it could be life saving. >> malaria is one the most struggling for my kids. >> she is worried that her 22-year-old month has it. with a few drops blood they will know in a matter of matters whether they are fighting malaria, a disease spread by mosquitoes. we found seven of eight children tested positive. they will be sent up with medication. >> care for children under five and pregnant mothers is flee. it's expected to save lives in a country where 20% of young children don't survive to their fifth birthday. the clinic like this one show

what can be accomplished when differed relief organizations collaborate. world vision helps with staffing medical training for new mothers. they direct vaccinations to actually delivery to women who once gave birth at home. >> mid wife lucy vincent has seen a change since they made a mandate for mothers deliver in clinics. they work side by side with mid-wives here.doctors doctors without borders arrange a transfer to the hospital by ambulance. >> this is typical of those that run between, it's very difficult traveling. imagine being pregnant and having to take this to a clinic. >> in fact, many don't. the latest report finds more than 80% of women still give

birth at home. >> one in eight where women die within childbearing years. >> we have hundred deliveries every month here and we've had several others. >> replicating this success rate is a long way off but it starts with training mid-wives and best practices. >> the heart rate and breathing of the mother. we know from here that the baby can survivor and odds are increased. >> training new mothers is also critical. back at the clinic, world vision teaches mom about the importance of breast milk only only for six months and especially no water.

>> they can get diarrhea and dehydrated very quickly. >> diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children but there is hope. the clinics are crowded with concerned mothers. lucy vin sent on is watching children these delivered eight years ago grow up. >> i love it. i love it. >> eric: a day in the life of a video game tester. find out if you have what it takes for this

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medicare guide and customized rate quote. >> eric: gamers can stay up all night playing their favorite video game but some people get paid to play. jonathan bloom reports. >> reporter: after the animators create the oaks explosion. >> russians are using measures to block our guidance systems. >> and they perform the voice

overs there is an army of people with a monumental amount of work before the store hits the shelf. >> if i was a professional video game player, that is not the whole story. >> reporter: brett is a video game tester. his assignment is testing the simms, a game around for 11 years and keeps getting bigger. >> there are five extension packs and you have to make sure they work together. >> correct, in 22 different languages. >> the company is a tightly packed wall of pcs and mice. >> you want to know it works on every computer? >> correct. >> how do you test games, you test them all dare? >> you never play the game you are testing it. like you would have a couple objects and try the interactions with the objects.

>> we have to be on top of everything, there is a lot that goes into it. >> reporter: assistant producer works closely with dozens of people assigning people with a specific feature to test and released pack a specific species. >> i said do you have a cat or a dog. maybe you went riding. >> horses are bred specialty. >> we have wild horses in the environment. >> and except for the ones that really don't exist, all those animals to have behave like real animals even when the players aren't acting like real people. >> you have to be creative in your approach. you have to think about all the things they could potentially do. it's not something you would expect somebody to do. we have the experimenters. they are deevous. they mess with their simms and mess with their lives. >> it's for their sake that

brent and his team spent a year testing the release. >> how much effort has been put in to making sure it was perfect? >> almost indescribe amp. >> he won't be playing it before mch, he says he has played it enough. >> do you dream of it? >> sometimes. jonathan bloom, "abc 7 news" 7 news. >> if you want more information, go to our website.com and look abc7news.com and look under the news link for assignment 7. that is all for this edition. i'm eric thomas. thanks for joining us. thanks for joining us. >> a plastic bag ban in the bay area's biggest city catches some people offgarrett. >> tomorrow is the third anniversary of the shooting death of a b.a.r.t. passenger.

>> the is back at the zoo but officials are suspicious how he was