bay we have been tracking thunderstorms just southeast of the san jose area as you can see here northeast of morgan hill. so you can't rule out the possibility of a thunderstorm or two. we've seen some develop and hail is still in the forecast until the sun goes down. last 24 hours picking up pretty good rainfall. .68. oakland, 67. strong winds caused a scaffold to collapse in the laurel neighborhood. shortly after the structure fell at about 2:30. this is near the california pacific medical center. crews say they did rescue one worker, but no one was hurt. >> the rain today made for a very difficult morning commute. the highway patrol handled more than 500 accident calls during the heaviest downpours this

morning. that is three times the normal amount. that truck blocked the area for nearly three hours. the driver was okay and no other vehicles were involved. now the sacramento area has had more severe weather. check out the hail pelting this back yard pool. it came down like this for several minutes. the area also has been dealing with a number of lightning strikes as well. and if you're headed to tahoe, you're going to need chains on interstate 80. several semi trailers jackknifed on slick roads and a half dozen cars slid off. visibility was down to zero, but it is a bit clearer there now. several funnel clouds were spotted in sacramento this afternoon. this one was seen just across highway 50 from the state fairgrounds. the national weather service tweeted out a picture of this this afternoon.

none of the funnel clouds touched down but they were very dramatic. >> and the rain also brings rainbows. isn't that one beautiful. moments a sky 7 hd caught this rainbow stretching all across san francisco. it is still visible. from one vantage point it appears that the rainbow ends at treasure island. how appropriate. >> that's beautiful. this rain makes us think about the drought differently, but the reality is not nearly enough to make a big difference at all. and too many of us are using more water, not less, even in these conditions. state water officials say that has to change. >> we want to urge people to start their conservation measures now. >> state ride reductions in february were just 3%. the bay area did cut back by 8%. the officials say the gentle nudge is no longer sufficient.

they are requiring everyone to reduce use by 25%. the state water board wants to add new rules on how much water people actually use. the contra costa water district have been asking people to voluntarily cut back. some need to do more to meet the cut backs. laura anthony joins us with that part of the story. laura? >> reporter: well, hi cheryl. i'm here at this creek in walnut creek, running about as high as it's run in this entire winter. it looks great, but not at all a reflection of the realities we'll all be facing in the months to come. it's something we can't take for granted any longer. a precious commodity that nature and the governor now demand that we conserve. ck water systems is an a bay

area landscape company focussed on creating landscape environments that need very little water. >> we're going to put in a drought-tolerant natural lawn. i don't think people have a choice anymore. >> reporter: was it hard for you to think about pulling out your lawn? >> yes. very hard. >> reporter: ann trotter says removing her lawn was a tough decision but one she felt she had to make. >> we'd definitely like to do our part and save water in any way we can. >> reporter: trotter's doing what many others might consider as their local water districts prepare to implement and enforce the governor's order. >> that's what we're evaluating at this point, and we're carrying forward changes to our drought program to our board in our april 15 meeting. >> reporter: those provisions may well include higher rates for everyone and harsher penalties for those who waste.

in walnut creek, laura anthony, abc 7 news. san francisco's considering legislation that would require new buildings to use excess water, greywater comes from your shower. we are going to tell you who will be affected if it passes and tell you how greywater is safely reused. well alaska airlines is apologizing tonight for the way it treated a cancer patient who was trying to fly home from hawaii. she was escorted off the plane with her family and recorded the incident on her cell phone. david louie is live to explain what in the world happened. >> reporter: well dan, the power of public opinion really tipped the scales in this case when elizabeth segue decided to go public with her situation. and that forced alaska airlines

to issue an admission that it could have handled the situation better. but by that time the damage had been done. elizabeth segue posted this photo of her and her husband as they were ordered off the flight because the carrier thought she was too sick to fly. she said she was a bit weak. she had a face mask but said shye was fine to fly. she contacted her doctor who said the same. >> and then i was concerned about, you know, how is it going to look to other people and how would my friends feel. i was starting to feel like i was being hauled off to jail being pulled off an airplane that way with uniformed people around. >> reporter: the court of public opinion turned on alaska which initially had refused to refund airfare or pay for a hotel for

the night. they responded with an apology. while our employee had the customer's well-being in mind, the situation could have been handled differently. henry is an airline industry analyst. and we spoke to him via skype. >> what the industry should be proifded with are the right questions to ask to make sure that the agent is getting the right answer. it doesn't seem like that may have been the case here. >> reporter: alaska says its policy is to call its own on-call doctor and abide by their decision whether a passenger's well enough to fly. passengers say only their own doctor can determine that. >> i think they should let her proceed. as long as her doctor said she's fine enough to fly they should have let her stay. >> reporter: a major south bay medical center tells us its doctors will issue a medical letter to ill patients, indicating think are fit to fly. the other thing you have to remember is that it is a federal

offense to disobey a flight crew member's instructions. david louie abc7 news. a cable car operator is in the hospital after being hit. the accident happened where the cable car conductor needs to get off in the middle of the street to pull a switch. >> it's not an authorized stop. but people get off cable cars frequently in between. so the job of the conductor is to get off there to move the switch, as well as to look out for any passengers who get off. >> since that accident, the municipal transportation agency issued a reminder for employees to use their safety vest and pay attention to traffic. the contra costa district attorney's office says they have

solved two cold cases. one man is in jail on those two cases. >> reporter: this all started with what's called a cold case unit that was formed at the beginning of this year. contra costa county district attorney's office then asked local law enforcement agencies to send them their unsolved cases. extensive interviews along with new dna testing led them to daniel huff. he would have been released from the solano county jail today instead, he is charged in the cold case murders of two women. he is accused of a 1993 death. the woman was found in her boyfriend's back yard. the other murder nearly 30 years old happened in 1987 in tilden park. the woman was also raped and strangled to death. she was a 21 year old young

mother. the district attorney explains the new changes in dna testing that helped his office. >> it's getting quicker. it's gotten more accurate. and so that's allowed us to do more with cases. although some people still seem to think if we did dna testing back then there's nothing more we can do. and that's not really true. we can do it with smaller samples and do a lot of different things. so that's changed. >> reporter: the d.a.'s office says huff may be related to other cases. anyone with information is asked to call the district attorney's office in contra costa county. a big step forward for a new commute option. >> it was better than we ever dreamed. >> find out how soon it is all aboard for a brand new train

ride. anybody recognize this? >> efforts going on in golden gate park. you have tax questions. i have tax answers. or at least these

if you've driven along highway 101 recently, you may have noticed the construction under way for the new train service called smart train for short. wayne freedman is live to show you what the new cars look like. >> reporter: we're going to show you the actual smart cars. they rolled into the station today. that's just behind my right now. it looks a little bit like a train station and a little bit like a work in progress because

frankly, it's still under construction. but about five hours ago we got a good look at the future. when you consider that the first crowd ever may also turn out to its largest. all people inside and out waiting for -- >> the train. >> reporter: a wait of seven years, we might add since voters approved a quarter cent sales tax to fund a 70-mile railway between clover dale. [cheers and applause] today the debut of smart's first of seven trains an event open to the public and attended by local and state politicians who worked for it. when formalities ended, most of the 500 people here queued up for a walk through. in the case of jerry peters, a walk through and a sit down. >> i'm 6'3", and it's very

comfortable. >> reporter: every row on this train has its own electrical outlet, and the seats recline. as for the ride? [ train noises ] smart employees had not planned on this but they got a surprise ride after everyone else went home today. it was just 20 minutes, a couple of miles but symbolic for this $500,000 project. >> i can't believe it's happening. >> reporter: but it is happening. its service to begin late next year. wayne freedman, abc 7news. democrats unveiled new legislation to increase protections for undocumented immigrants. it includes health care and business protection.

this is all push to expand health care to everyone in california regardless of their immigration status. san francisco's board of supervisors voted to prohibit tour bus operators from narrating and driving at the same time. this comes after a fatal pedestrian accident last october when a tour bus hit and killed a 68-year-old woman. supervisors believe this is needed to eliminate pedestrian deaths. legislation has to be signed by the mayor before it becomes an actual law. moving on now, a week left until the april 15 tax deadline oh my. >> don't panic yet. we have a tax hotline. you've got help michael? >> maybe some people should panic, so give us a call. 415 we want to talk from jeff from the golden gate society of enrolled agents. the complexities if you're a

registered domestic partner versus marriage means a lot of money one way or the other. >> oh, it does michael. the state registered domestic partners are very different than the same-sex married. now in 2013, same-sex married is like regular married. it's no different. same-sex couples file jointly if they like. >> we always hear that. you always hear about the marriage tax. >> the marriage penalty is what we call it. it's really quite high. but the state-registered domestic partners file half of the income as single returns. so they don't have a marriage penalty, and that could save $10,000, $20,000 a year in taxes for the guys that make pretty significant income or disparate levels of income. >> what if they say maybe we shouldn't have gotten married. >> and i do talk to my same-sex

couples, is it really worth it to be married? >> it's a decision you have to make. but you want to be knowing the financial obligations that come with it. >> exactly. when i grew up and got married, nobody said by the way, did you think about the marriage penalty? i was 21 years old, you know. >> right. >> but today i sit and counsel with my clients about let's make an informed decision. you can't say will you marry my but you can say will you rd me. >> you can call us. or tonight, we're on facebook. so go to our facebook page at abc 7 news. we have someone there right now, answering your questions. reporting live from the seven on your side office. michael finney. >> that's a great service.

the san mateo bridge will be closed two weekends, may 8 and 15. it would go until monday morning. crews will be resurfacing the entire span of the bridge and replacing expansion joints. san francisco is encouraging a more natural way to keep rodents under control in city parks. and park workers got to see this. that's a black winged kite feasting on a mouse. it was part of a special training that park workers got and the dangers of rat poisoning. hawks and other birds can die if they eat mice poisoned. >> it can definitely have direct mortality to this wildlife.

>> the rec. and parks department asks people to use traps to control rodents instead of poison. people visiting are urged not to feed wildlife or leave food. you leave food and they flock to that. the skies opened up. it >> it was pouring this morning. and we have funnel clouds up in the sacramento area. so we're going to continue to track it all. i'll show you what's happening right now. quieter than it was earlier today, no doubt about it. take you into the east bay here. street level radar, hayward area. you'll notice some light to moderate rain. also on the peninsula east palo alto redwood shores area, we've been seeing light returns heading down towards mountain view. and when you take a look at the south bay, very spotty in

nature. just east of san jose heading into the hills and right around the monterey bay. now we have seen snow in the sierra nevada. chain controls on 50 88 and 4. the snow will continue at least until midnight tonight. a winter storm warning remains in effect. so carry your chains if you're heading up thayer.ere. more than 800 lightning strikes not all 800 here, but it has been a very active scene across the sacramento county area where multiple funnel clouds have been reported mostly between 2:00 and 2:25. but things are starting to change. we were showing you a view with drops on the lens. it is a cool day out there. gusts to 35 right now at sfo. a lovely view with a mix of sun and clouds and temperatures in the low to mid-50s from santa

rosa to the oakland concord, livermore area. lake tahoe area showing you lots of gray skies. scattered showers overnight. showers will taper tomorrow and it will be sunny and mild the rest of the week. here's the cold front that came through this morning. you remember the soaking rain. behind it we have more showers coming in as the upper level low swings inland. we'll call it scattered showers for the time. this evening at 7:00 a little more shower. and still some damp roadways. and don't forget the umbrellas, because at lunch time you'll likely run into a few showers. it will all wind down by around 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon. additional rainfall amounts anything from nothing to about a quarter of an inch. we will continue to add to our

rain totals. in the sierra, we will continue to see the snow levels running low, around 4,000 feet. additional 4 to 9 inches possible. temperatures will be lower. so definitely a colder start. in the who40s. pack on the layers carry the umbrellas. then into the mid-60s. the forecast turns dry and milder starting thursday and keeping it nice and mild for the upcoming weekend with 50s/60s coast side and 70s inland. so really back to our typical springtime weather that we're so used to sighingeeing, but this rain really a great sight. >> we need a few more of these. >> we do. coming up paying less for gasoline. why this could be a good summer for driving. and speaking of driving. take a look at the traffic from our 360-degree camera.

she was telling you about the clouds. we see this right from the freeway. this is on 880 north, rain is starting to fall,

voters have a little less than three hours to cast their ballots in a special election. 10 candidates are running. and it will be open until 8:00 tonight. vice president biden is expected to arrive on thursday. he will head to pg&e in oakland to talk about the importance of job programs. the u.s. department of energy expects gas prices this summer to be at their lowest in six years. it predicts the national average price to be $2.40 per gallon. that's a 32% drop from the seam

time -- same time last year. it's a result of price s dropping higher than demand. after threats of closure, ccff saw its enrollment rise for the first time in three years. pelosi used the opportunity to call on congress to increase pell grant funding. >> nothing brings more money to the treasury than the education of the american people. >> summer class enrollment begins today at city college of san francisco. what would you do if you won nearly $700,000? hmm? >> i have some ideas. one bay area man mmmm, they made french toast out of banana bread, then topped it with candied pecans and bananas? it's like a match made in heaven. like bacon & eggs... ...oh look, bacon & eggs. the new banana bread french toast

slam. denny's. welcome to america's diner.

more than 1,000 miles per gallon? the student who plans to just use a few drops to power their car. a diehard warriors fan is celebrating. >> anthony matched five numbers in last month's megamillion drawing. >> he bought the ticket at a arco and didn't check ticket until april fool's day. >> i think he's going to have to share that with dad. maybe he'll take his father with him. >> that must have seemed like an april fools joke.

world news tonight with david muir is next. >> and michael finney is holding a tax hotline right breaking news tonight. abc news obtaining video in a stunning new case. we have just learned a police officer will be charged with murder after being caught on camera. the officer in south carolina firing at a man running away. authorities say it started with a routine traffic stop. steve osunsami is there tonight with what police have just revealed. the plane crash. seven dead, flying back after the march madness final. among the dead, a coach. the power outages all over washington, d.c. lights out near the white house, the capitol. even where oprah winfrey was speaking. the severe storms hitting at this hour, after tornado warnings late today. millions in the path. ginger zee is right here. and no laughing matter. the famous scene from "i love lucy." and the community up