>> kristen: hi, welcome to assignment 7. today on our program. hard work after hard times. an east bay job training program helping women who have done time. new generation of super bandages that could help a surgeon save your life. plus.... ♪ >> our wayne freedman shows you local under ground music scene that is literally under ground and it's free. >> nearly half of all today borne disease outbreaks were caused by imported food. fish and spices were among the biggest culprits. what is the being done to keep

your food safe? dan ashley has the story. >> dan: chances are the fish at the local market comes from thousands of miles away, places like china, taiwan, vietnam. it winds up in huge refrigerators and freezers like this one in the south bay. >> lea is here to make sure the shipment is safe from china. >> i'm looking from the labeling from the outside all the way in to the interior like. i'm looking that the product is what they say it is. >> one of these in here. >> dan: she randomly select a case, open a box and take a sample to send back for further testing. all of that happened here at the bay area lab. the fish has to clear this facility before it can be sold. it's tested for chemicals including mercury and banned

pesticides. >> by identification by detection, we're looking for salmonella in the fish. the amount of bacteria, we're looking for the pathogens, the one that will make you sick. >> there is a person with a certified nose that nothing is spoiled or spells. >> we are looking for decomposition. you look at it and taking apart and looking. >> we can test for different pathogens and different toxins, foods and drugs. cosmetics, anything that comes through. >> dan: all of this testing is sweeping reform of u.s. safety laws. president obama signed the food safety modernization act. instead of responding to contamination into the food supply, fda is actively trying to prevent it. >> it has given us an additional

tool to make you optimistic. i think we'll have other levels of control. over the last ten years we imported food, it's than% but my staff has not. >> barbara says the agency needs to be smarter in how it inspects food. >> what we're trying to do is put limited resources at the most important areas in food supply. >> dan: that means ranking countries that i am post food to the united states and focusing on those with the worse records. >> if they deny the inspection we would deny the entry into the country. >> eric is with the washington, d.c. pew research center. he says strides are being made the fda will need more money to implement everything required in the act. >> we are concerned that fda won't be able to check all those imports, not be able to ensure that domestic factories are regularly inspected. will not be able to issue the

new science based standards to protect things like produce and processed foods to make sure they are safe. >> kristen: a unique program is helping women in santa clara county transform their resumes and their lives. it's begin them a future many never thought was even possible. here is karina rusk. >> reporter: this construction training program comes with a couple of twists. it's not just designed for women but women with records, trying to turn their lives aaround. she has spent half of her life locked up. >> i am trying to make choices now and they are so much better than they used to be. >> one of the thing is breaking free of drug addictions. signing up for the program is another. the group works in partnerships along with santa clara office of women's policy is using the

training. the goal is to get the 12 women in good paying construction jobs moving them from being a tax burden to a tax payer. >> it gives us to learn how to do something different that is going to better ourselves. >> this five-day boot camp with hands-on training in livermore is one element of the work force preparation. >> the majority of the eight week program is classroom construction with a variety of professionals giving them the skills they need to succeed in any industry. >> the curriculum focuses on how to get a job and be a good employee. there is also a healthy dose of motivation. >> there are people that want to fit in society, be productive in our society. they have a huge skill base. if you look at who they are and work with who they are now. >> reporter: he says the building trades are looking for qualified women.

there is no question she inspiring new recruits. >> i didn't have the guidance. now, this is giving me it. >> reporter: some of the jobs could literally take the graduate to new heights. karina rusk, "abc 7 news". >> kristen: there are only 17 female chief executives among companies in the fortune 500. that doesn't include a growing number of women launching start-ups. david louie has the story of a san jose woman that is manufacturing jobs. >> suzy likes to cook but this is different. ingredients, carrot oil and vitamins and the building blocks for cosmetics. an accidental spill earlier in her career put her on a new path. >> when i went back to clean it up. i saw the lab people and i was shocked that i put 127 of the

same chemical into an eye cream. >> 7 years ago a $60,000 yielded $1 million in sales, next year we sold $3 million. after that we sold $6 million and then we sold $15 million. now, we're at 18 or $20 million this year. >> now 100% pure has 40 employees at the manufacturing plant in san jose. they mix the natural ingredients into creams. they package the cosmetics. and they ship them worldwide. co-founder is committed to local manufacturing. >> we're saving jobs for the economy. i love why creating jobs, but number two owning our own manufacturing gives us innovation. which makes us more competitive. >> another retail shop. growth has been fast and they source online. they wanted to use packaging of

recycled materials. the site accelerated the process to find vendors as sales grew. >> semi-entrepreneurs, they can look for the products with a upn to of button and communicate with them and research the trend. >> alibaba.com has seen a 70% increase of women using the site reflecting the growth of women entrepreneurs. >> once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur. they 6 had offers from other companies interested in acquiring them. >> kristen: when we continue, "7 on your side". >> if you work out of your house i have a quick way for you to save couple hundred bucks. >> kristen: and a new procedurew that allow parents or patients like this man to walk on their

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>> kristen: working from home can be a big money saver, not only for the companies but the worker who don't have to commute. michael finney has on often overlooked home savings. >> were you commuting in morning out early and on the road? tony used to drive to work. this is what it looks like now, in his front door, quick turn to the left and in his home office. >> like some businesses in the bay area, they may be downsizing as far as office space and they have employees working from home >> officing at home is saving wear and tear on his car and avoiding the high cost of gasoline. one more thing. he knows no to to caught his insurance company and report the reduced miles. >> three primary factors

insurance cost, record, driving experience and the number of miles you drive. you are working from home you want to let your insurer know. >> many working at home forget to report the mileage reduction and missing out on some easy money. he is saving shy of $200 a year. >> under state farm, the discounts range from zero to 45%. >> reporter: jake stewart is a state farm agent in san francisco. he says the company's new multiteared tiered mileage program can offer offer huge sa. anyway, it's words a call. >> we encourage our clients to give us a call any time they experience a life change. a job change, it could be a baby. it could be a home purchase. because these things will influence what our recommendations will b them.

them. >> reporter: and they offer low mileage discounts and some are much better than others. it's definitely worth your time to shop around. >> kristen: each year more than 7 million a a broken bone. in the case of one san jose police officer that fracture marked the end of his days in newom reports on new research tha soon soon make struggles like his a thing of the past. >> eric a former san jose police officer gets pretty well on these crutches. though he has 22 months to practice. >> anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. this was my fifth surgery fifthd second bone graft. >> he explained the compound fracture after he chased a suspect. >> this is well known area that can be difficult to heal because there is not a lot of meat. we discussed amputation as a

viable option. >> eric was forced to retire from the police force as he underwent surgery to fuse his ankle. now, finally his doctor has good news. >> you can stand up and put this. >> with physical therapy he could be walking on his own again in six months. >> i told my kids as soon as i can walk we're going to disneyland. >> but they are dramatically speeding up the healing process. instead of grafting bone, they grow bone from cartilage that can be made from their own stem cells. >> they want to turn into bone automatically. >> they are trying the technique on mice, a technique they discovered by accident. >> we realized we were on to something and we were really excited about that. >> within a few years, they could practice it on humans. instead of two years the recovery time from a serious fracture could be six months

which would have made all the difference from eric. >> he may not even lost his position with the police force. >> but eric is not thinking about what if. >> looking forward to walk. >> and packing his bags for disneyland. >> kristen: coming up, a new generation of bandages and an old high school auditorium that is about to get a new lease on life. [ male announcer ] ever wonder what's behind two little fleas? the next generation and then countless more. how do you kill them? frontline plus. it uses two ingredients. one to kill adult fleas and ticks. plus another to eliminate flea eggs and larvae,

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you can schedule an in home visit or get answers right over the phone. call anthem blue cross today at 1-877-230-6352. that's 1-877-230-6352. >> kristen: welcome back. a new generation of bandages could change the way surgeons and the rest of us control bleeding. one product is already on store shelves. carolyn johnson has more. >> in surgical settings doctors

have to stop bleeding in one blood vessel while working in another. now, they believe they have the solution. it's a type of gauze. >> it's basically plant material. >> jim swift is chief science officer for life science plus in mountain view. he demonstrates how it works. he says the material turns into a jell as it contacts blood causing it to quickly clot. >> it essentially stops the vessels. from leaking blood>> >> drugstores begin selling a consumer version several months ago, the surgical version is undergoing testing but it follows a a trend. last year we new a new material developed by researchers at stanford to close incisions without scarring. other manufacturers have developed designed jells designo control bleeding in hospital

environments. >> it's a high-pressure system, patients are on blood thinners. they can have problems controlling their bleeding. we can actually end up having a small hematoma. >> john is radiologist at pacific medical center in san francisco. he is also a partner in the company. he said blood stock isn't designed to replace sutures but it helps patients with bleeding issues. >> there are cases on conventional patient that is on blood thib go agents, they found it to be out standing. >> they hope to have the data to apply for fda approval for internal use within a year. >> kristen: a landmark san francisco theater may open up after being hidden for more than 25 years. the city arts series wants to call it home. all it takes now is money.

don an sanchez takes us inside. >> it's on hayes street across from symphony hall. inside is the glory of north auditorium. built in 1927, it was a temporary courtroom in 1985 and then turned into a regal storage room. >> it's going to be glorious. >> she wants to move the lecture series here. the home is closed for restoration. f the place.t she needs. the details of the woodwork, how it feels to sit up in the balcony and look down. >> not a bad seat in the house. od floor that plywood floor that down will go. she will install new seats, sound, lighting. >> it will cost less than one million dollars because the fire marshal has deemed what we are doing, maintenance and

redecorating. >> they are testing it. it won't be the only show here. symphony and ballet have expressed interest. >> this facility is what is described as glorious disrepair, but what they want to do is turn it into a showplace. >> its modest project but it's big for us. it's a necessity. if we don't have a theater by may of 2013, i don't know what will happen to city arts and lectures. >> which has brought fascinating discussions for 31 years. >> kristen: still ahead the sound of music. ♪ ♪ >> people that turned it into a

>> kristen: when is the last time you went to a concert? there are free ones every day in the bay area. wayne freedman takes his video camera under ground and lesson in. >> it has become an overwhelming experience. never ending blending sounds of urban people and machines in motion. ♪ ♪ >> but just on market street there is a subterranean haven where yo to escape. >> you don't know until you go. ♪ >> maybe you never heard of earl but around the bar system they know his face and music. ♪ >> and he is not alone. >> if you make it here, you can

make it anywhere. >> my parents wanted me to be a doctor but look what i'm doing here. >> what he is doing is rush hour in bart's station. it's it's like darwinism in music. >> anybody will tell you there aren't that many gigs. >> and this audience is potentially the largest. a moving one, and a hurried one. >> they say, wow, that guy is making a killing, you pay one bill and you are broke. >> any rapid transit station reinforces the notion the closer we are strangers, more distance we get. music brings people together. >> sometimes it's very rewarding but you get a smile that what you are doing does something for them. ♪ ♪

♪ >> reporter: bart has been attracting musicians since the system opened. this happened by accident. >> this is a good spot. >> acoustics were part of the design but not necessarily for musicians. >> mike is bart's unofficial historian. he retired after three decades. mike remembers how bart tried to keep musicians out in first. in 1987 it took a lawsuit to guarantee their place here. >> so even bart lost the case, did bart win? >> i think in the long run, yes. ♪ >> today, thanks to violinist, bart has a symphony of soloists. some with names they can't

pronounce. >> this is an oud. it's an oud. >> and in a city filled with so much noise, aren't you happy to have most of the music any way? guys like earl are part of bart as much of the trains and turn styles. they are the sole of the place. >> what i'm giving is priceless. it's real, man. you can't give what you ain't got, right? >> you'll never know, until you go. at san francisco, embarcadero station, wayne freedman. [ applause ] >> thank you, sir. >> kristen: great story. if you want more information on the stories on our program today just go 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 kristen sze. see you back here next time. >> the national dialogue about same-sex marriage takes a new tone. >> alan: big changes at the top of you yahoo. >> standing up to justice in san francisco.