thanks for joining us. let's show you a live picture of the beach board walk in santa cruz. not too far away from here, ocean access is restricted and signs are going up. >> here's a map to show you exactly where this is. the attack happened in the famed steamer lane surf area. abc7 news reporter david louie is live in santa cruz with more on the story tonight. david. >> reporter: well, dan and kristen, we are at the overlook where the light house is where the surf museum is at the end of steamer lane. the attack happened at about 11:00 this morning just about a half mile out. now, that's where steve lawson was in his kayak beyond the kelt bed. when he looked down, he saw a shark bite the front of the of e kayak flipping him into water. he contacted harbor patrol using a marine radio for rescue, a nearby boat also offered assistance. now, fortunately lawson was not injured. he says he got a good look at about 25% of the shark, but isn't sure how big it really was.

the shark's jaws left a foot long impression on the front of his kayak. >> patrol came right out, helped me. never saw the shark again. i'm sure it was a mistake on his part. i'm sure he's probably saying, hey, i lost a tooth, or something. >> reporter: now, here's a photo posted by santa cruz police of lawson back on shore after his rescue. he says he's fine and he's in good spirits. now, warning signs have been posted to warn others of the shark attack on the kayak. they're all over the beach area. as is protocol after such an incident, water access for about a mile around will be restricted. that covers santa cruz's main beach and koul beach. the beaches are not closed by the water is. a santa cruz resident said he's aware of a number of shashlg sightings in the area and he's being careful. >> most surfers keep going back out, don't they? the kayakers are a little nervous. i stopped going out when i heard of the two attacks. you're only an inch off the water. they can knock you in.

>> reporter: now, despite the warnings, surfers are still in the water here off steamer lane, but hanging close to shore. waves are expected to pickup in the days ahead and will be drawing more surfers to santa cruz. the restrictions do end on saturday morning, but steve lawson tonight is one lucky man. we're live in santa cruz, david louie, abc7 news. >> david, thank you. less than an hour ago, water rates went up for more than a million people in the east bay. abc7 news was in oakland where a packed house attended an east bay mud hearing today about the rate hike. east bay mud voted 6-1 in favor of the increase. customers did such a good job of conserving water during the drought east bay mud had a big drop in revenue. that's one reason the utility says it has to raise rates now. the water district says rates will go up immediately, 9.25% this year and another 9% next summer. the average family home would see their bills increase by just more than $4 per month each of

the next two years. customers are not happy about it. >> i live paycheck to paycheck and water is a basic human right. i cannot -- i don't want my water bill to be increased. >> east bay mud says the rate hike is needed to cover operating costs, investments in infrastructure, and a decrease in water sales over the past few years. >> new at 5:00, there is a problem with san francisco city's new $60 million financial system varies through the department, they use it to make expense reports and other financial work, but some say it is way too complicated. abc7 news reporter vic lee is live at city hall with the story. vic, you hate it when bureaucratic red tape affects the bureaucracy. >> reporter: well, dan, it took two long years and about $60 million for this massive financial system. city workers will not have to use that system to connect with some 20,000 city vendors. but as expected, there is a sharp learning curve.

>> we've been pleased with results. there are, of course, bumps in any implementation like this. >> reporter: san francisco's city controller ben rosen field is talking about the city's new financial system which was launched july 1st. it replaces a two decade old system which all city departments used for requisitions, purchasing and other financial transactions. rosen field says most of the city's 6,000 users have gone through online training and there are support teams to help navigate the complicated system. >> we're getting about 300 help desk tickets a day. >> reporter: rosen field says that's about normal for a massive new program like this. though workers in some city agencies are apparently having trouble making purchases, saying they need more training. in may abc7 news reported the city's aging fleet of police cars are breaking down more frequently and to make matters worse there is a shortage of new cars to replace them. many are here at the city central repair shop towed here

for maintenance and repairs. police union president marty hal ran is concerned that issues with the new financial system may exacerbate the existing problem. >> we have upwards of 50 cars that are sitting at central shops that are waiting -- some are waiting for parts and until those parts can be ordered those cars are going to sit there idle. >> reporter: rosen field is confident with more hands-on experience, city workers will become more comfortable with the new system. vic lee, abc7 news. >> fire fighters in richmond saved several homes from a grass fire this afternoon. sky 7 was over the scene as crews doused a hillside with water. the fire reached the backyard of at least one home. several homes, though, had to be evacuated. the fire department said the fire began around 2:30 this afternoon. >> and more flames in mountain view. an abc7 news viewer posted this video feed on twitter. she said the fire was burning off central express way near

raven dale drive. she said fire fighters had it under control quickly. no word on how this fire started. >> by the way, if you're headed to the sierra, interstate 80 is closed in both directions at the california/nevada state line until further notice. crews are worried about spot fires after wildfire broke out yesterday near truckee. consequently traffic on highway 50 in the area is gridlocked at times. if you're heading that way, mount rose highway is your ultimate route. it is a lot longer though. >> that's true. in the east bay fire inexpecters are fanning out to make sure their homeowners are in compliance. abc7 news reporter lonnie rivera is live with more. no matter where you live this is helpful information. lonie, can you hear me? >> reporter: can you hear me? in neighborhoods like this one, cleaning gutters on a regular basis is a good idea. bill relies on his son for that,

but he's reduced the fire risk in another way. >> several years ago we had all the eucalyptus in the back part taken down after one fell. >> reporter: he remembers the destructive tragic fire in the oakland hills back in 1991. since then, fire inspectors say many homes were rebuilt with fire resistant materials. the fire inspection supervisor vince says this property had some fire hazards. >> we're right next to vegetation. we have a vacant lot property next door that hasn't been cleared and kept in compliance. with vegetation cut down to a height of 6 inches or less. >> reporter: another fire hazard, storing recycled bins holding plastic near the entrance. >> storing that immediately adjacent to your home especially if your home is a wood construction, that can create a problem. >> reporter: this wooden house has eucalyptus tree leaves hanging just above the chimney. another compliance violation. branches cannot be within 10 feet of a chimney or stove pipe outlet. >> limbing back the trees eliminates part of the problem,

but still because of the winds and the height of the trees, it carries that debris down onto the roof. >> reporter: it's likely this home could have passed an inspection back in may, but now you can see the lives have filled the gutters. >> they have to get out and clean these roof lines off of all of the debris there because one ember into that and we have a fire. >> reporter: he says the risk and fire severity zones is year round and measures to reduce the risk should be continuous. in the east bay, lonnii rivera, abc7 news. >> an elementary school vandalized in east oakland wants to raise $7,000 for repairs. acorn woodland elementary created a gofundme page after vandals broke in saturday. staff members say it will take months to replace custom windows and set up new security cameras. the principal tells abc7 news he believes former students damaged the school. police are investigating. officials say water from a vandalized tank should be drained by late today and the tank back online by this weekend in novato.

thousands of gallons of water had to be dumped after somebody broke into the tank and possibly contaminated it. the problem affects 1,000 customers. water tests did not turn up any contaminants. >> all right. debate about police transparency reignites and at the center of it body camera video. who can see what and when. >> i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. we're in for a hot couple of days ahead. i'll show you when the weekend forecast is coming up. >> and blood pressure drugs, who should be taking these who are these people? the energy conscious people among us say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california

and do your thing. should people be able to see body camera footage from police officers? today state lawmakers took up the debate over making these videos public. abc7 news reporter chris nguyen heard from both supporters and opponents. >> reporter: late this afternoon in sacramento members of the state senate public safety

committee are reviewing assembly bill 748 which would require law enforcement agencies to release body camera video to the public in cases where officers use force or where it is believed there is a violation of law or public policy. assemblyman phil payne of san francisco authored the bill. >> they can withhold it or saying they are having an ongoing investigation and that could take years and years and years and you would never get access to that footage. >> reporter: across from the country a push in recent years for recordings to be released more quickly. after high profile fatal police shootings. richard condo with the asian law alliance, a nonprofit civil rights organization in san jose, supports the bill saying it promotes police transparency. >> the camera is going to show what happened as long as it's on. and if the public can get access then they can see really what happened. >> reporter: morgan hill police chief david swing is first vice-president of the california police chiefs association. he says the bill would do more harm than good, especially if

agencies have to release the footage within 90 days, even if an investigation is still underway. >> it is important we not enact legislation or rules that restrict our ability to do better investigations tomorrow as that technology improves. >> reporter: in a statement to abc7 news, san francisco poa president martin hal ran said it's a solution in search of a problem. it's wiser to allow each local law enforcement agency and district attorney to establish its own policy. local officials should decide when and how much footage to release depending on the circumstances of each individual case. police union leaders for san jose and oakland have yet to comment publicly. in the south bay, chris nguyen, abc7 news. >> civil rights groups are furious tonight about a crime bill making its way through the legislature in sacramento. a provision requiring independent review of police shootings that result in death or injury has been removed. the bill now calls for a two-year research study to find out why the shootings are

happening and how to stop them. >> we didn't need a research plan for immigration. we didn't need a research plan for some of the other issues around education. but we need a research plan for policing? >> we're able to then look at all these different incidents, see if there is some patterns, see if there's some outliers. see if there is something that tells us what's driving this. >> over the past ten years, black people in california have been shot and killed by police five times more often than whites. >> tonight california has not one but four official state nuts. almonds, pecan, pistachios and walnuts. california produces all of the country's almond crops. they also produce most pecans,ei pistachios and walnuts. governor jerry brown siechgned bill into law yesterday. >> a man who witnessed the

violent beating took matters into his own hands. he rode the bart train from his home in lafayette to san francisco this morning. what he saw on the train station on montgomery street just shocked him. >> witnessed a tall man striking another man with a cane. he's yelling for help. he's rolled into a fetal position. and nobody is helping. >> case i says he chased the attacker and tackled him. construction workers helped tie the man's hands and kept him down until police arrived. no word on a motive for today's attack, but he sprang into action. >> the world needs more caseys. >> exactly right. >> now to consumer news and whether medication is the best way to keep your heart healthy. >> 7 on your side's michael finney partners with consumer reports and they have the answer to that question. michael? >> yeah, heart disease as we all know is the leading cause of death for both men and women here in this country. even though with all the information out there, it is not always clear which drugs are right. consumer reports has some answers.

experts agree that high blood pressure and high cholesterol increase your risk of having a heart attack. what they don't agree on is who should be taking medication to treat those conditions. and that can cause some issues. >> doctors and patients might be confused about when it's time to use medication to treat high blood pressure or high cholesterol. >> consumer reports has these guidelines. first, focus on your overall risk. >> everyone over the age of 40 should know there is a risk of having a heart attack or stroke. >> if it's 10% or higher you probably need a drug to lower your cholesterol. if it's less than that, consider diet, exercise and losing weight before starting medication. >> some of those things could have a big impact. for example, exercise can actually lower your blood pressure by almost 9 points, which is a lot. that can mean you don't even need medication. >> when it comes to medication, consumer reports best buy drugs says if you must take a

cholesterol or blood pressure drug, it's best to start with one that has a long record of safety and effectiveness. for high blood pressure, consumer reports recommends diuretics or water pills. they suggest low doses of stat indrugs to prevent to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. now, there is some good news for those with extremely high cholesterol for whom nothing will work to lower it. a recent study has found that the drug rapenta, i should say rapanta could cut the risk by 15 p. that is pretty big news. it will cost about a thousand dollars a month. >> wow. really? >> amazing. a thanks, michael. >> announcer: now your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. >> hi there, everyone. we got a nice break from the heat in inland communities. upper 80s today, antioch did manage to get into the 90s. check out the temperature trend for concord. 88, tomorrow about the same. it will heat up as we head to the weekend. triple digits, saturday upper

90s on sunday, you'll have to wait until early next week to get a break from that heat. so, yes, it is summer. you expect this around this time of year. as you check out live doppler 7, you look carefully, there is a patch of fog right near the coast line. it's a lonely patch right now, but that will be expanding. the wind out of the southwest gusting to about 23 miles an hour so a little breezy in fairfield. that is what is going to help push the marine layer along. from our mount tam cam, a shaky camera sutro tower barely visible in the fog. here are your temperatures. 63 in san francisco, 60s around oakland, half moon bay, san jose 81 degrees. and a beautiful live picture from our abc7 news exploratorium camera. blue skies over downtown san francisco. 79 in santa rosa now, novato, you're in the mid-'80s around livermore. really pleasant weather from our east bay hills camera. you're watching that marine layer and as i mentioned you will be seeing a little more of it over the coming days. fog in the morning commute. typical range of temperatures

tomorrow. we are looking at triple digit heat by the weekend. here is your hour by hour planner for your wednesday. it's your 12-hour planner, 7:00 a.m. tomorrow when you get going, there will be fog near the coast. it will be a mild to warm afternoon for your 4:00 p.m. hour low 60s to low 90s. temperatures will be dropping aain by 7:00 p.m. download the accuweather forecast app. you can keep track of the hour by hour minute by minute temperatures. tomorrow morning you will have to look out for the fog. it will push into parts of the sougts bay, the east bay. 7:00 a.m. before it starts to pull away from the bay and hang around in the afternoon near the coast, which is what we expect to see around this time of year as you know. tem tires first thing in the morning in the 50s across the entire bay area and as you get going for the afternoon, expect upper 80s to low 90s inland so nice and warm one if you like it that way. if you don't, right around the coast is where you'll want to stay. temperatures will be in the 60s. breezy and certainly with some lingering fog right around the

bay. we'll keep you in the 70s for your wednesday. we do have a beautiful day coming up if you like the fog along the coast line. partly cloudy tomorrow afternoon. beaches will be in the 60s, 72 in judgsanta cruz, but watch our rip currents. south facing beaches in particular will be at a greater risk of those large breakers, sneaker waves and rip currents. here's a look at the accuweather seven-day forecast. low 60s to low 90s. next two days, pretty typical for this time of year. a little warmer friday but we may see high clouds from current tropical storm eugene. adding a little humidity to the air on friday, and then we see those temperatures coming up, triple digits inland saturday, upper 90s on sunday. mid 60s coast, though, and we'll see the heat easing early next week. the greatest thing about the bay area and i know you all know this, dan and kristen, you have a place you can go anywhere in the summertime. we have a 30, 40 degree spread in temperatures. >> that's right. and we baby step into the heat. by then you're used to it. >> absolutely. >> thanks, sandhya.

>> lost in space, the local museum taking students to mars. that's next. then at 5:30, "world news tonight with david muir". >> the deadly plane crash, c 130, marines and sailor on board. close call at american airport. the pilot about to land where four planes were waiting to take off, next. >> thanks, david. see you then. new at 6:00, twitter has a new cfo, but why his own twitter account is making some question whether he has enough experience to even join the company. that's at

breaking news in san leandro where fire has broken out at a junk yard. look at all of this smoke. frames and smoke burning near do little drive near 880. so far it's attacking the junk yard. crews are trying to cool the fire down. so far no word how it started or how long it's going to take to put out or any injuries.

here's a map of where it's happening. stay tuned to abc7 news for continuing updates on this fire burning in san leandro at a junk yard right now. >> and we have a big announcement tonight in oakland for you. sales force ceo is donating $700,000 to fund 300 jobs. they'll go to people ages 16 to 24 and just entering the work force. >> great opportunity. oakland's mayor is praising benioff who is giving millions of dollars, of course, on both sides of the bay over the years. >> abc7 news also caught up with mayor schaaf as she boind berkeley's mayor and others to roll out a bike sharing program for the east bay. it launched with 400 bikes at 40 stations in oakland, berkeley and emeryville. the hope is to have 1500 bikes at 140 stations by september with a special one-year membership for low-income riders for just $5. allegiance ant airlines is leaving charles m. schultz

airport flights to las vegas july 30th. the airline said outbound flights on sundays don't have enough traffic. it stopped flights to mesa, arizona in january. allegiance ant says seasonal flights may return next february. >> dozens of bay area students are locked in a rescue mission to the red planet. they are participating in a summer camp at the space science center in oakland. their mission is to rescue an astronaut theoretically stranded on mars. but along the way they had to solve some real-life challenges. everything from engineering flight suits to understanding the chemistry of the martian surface, and most importantly developing an idea of what they're going to find there. >> there would be probably just a bunch of hills and everything would probably be red. >> there would be a lot of dirt there and i think i would find living things on mars.

>> there might be like life forms because you need water to live. >> they get to build and test things and follow through with the engineering design cycle. all with the purpose of rescuing this lost astronaut on mars. >> really fascinating what they get to do. the camp still has slots open this summer. for information just check out the center's website at shabo space.org. >> a grass fire in san jose has damaged at least two homes. take a live look here, sky 7 over the scene. a raging brush fire there. the fire still burning about five acres. >> here's a closer look at exactly where this fire is burning. clater way near alum rock park. that is toward the park. >> back to sky 7 live now, you see how parched those hills are in this area. fire fighters say the flames are spreading very quickly. cal fire is assisting and we are just getting word that possibly two homes are burning. information from cal fire so

we're definitely going to try to look for that -- we are panning over, sky 7 tracking where the homes may be burning right there, dan. look at that. >> actually a home you can clearly see is burning. some serious damage there. let's hope the fire doesn't get into those trees and spread more quickly throughout that neighborhood. but you can see at least one structure, one home on fire as you look live from sky 7. that's a shame. >> we'll certainly keep an eye on this fire and bring you updates on abc7 news at 6:00 and on the abc7 news app. >> stay here. a number that will text you a work of art based on what you want to see. >> that means you get the beautiful image titled stop ♪ mom.

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coming up tonight on abc7 news at 6:00, the abc7 news eye team gets complaints of racial bias from these halloween party pictures that shows workers from a government group which is supposed to ensure partial

access to end justice for all. >> plus a six-figure salary now qualifies for affordable housing in san francisco. and that's not president only step designed to make it easier for buyers. >> at 6:00, finally tonight, a service from the san francisco museum of modern art is lighting up people's phones. >> people use their smartphone to send a text to the museum with the word, send me, and that can be followed by anything. it can be a thing, a color or even a feeling. >> the museum text back art that matches your request. the past three days, they have gotten 1 million requests. >> mostly it's really beautiful. people are asking for love and happiness, sunshine, landscape, the sea. sometimes it's quite personal. we've had people ask for send me photos of my daughter. or send me home. >> art on demand. >> right. >> the service even works with emojis. some art has been on display for decades.

>> text 57251. text send me when you make that request. >> we leave you with tonight, the russian connection. donald trump jr.'s e-mails revealed. agreeing to a meeting, told he would get information that would incriminate hillary clinton. those e-mails revealing he was told it was the russian government trying to help his father win. don jr. replying in the e-mail, if it's what you say it is, i love it. also at this hour, the russian lawyer with reported ties to the kremlin who came from moscow to trump tower. she is now speaking out about the meeting with don jr., paul manafort and jared kushner. who is she? what did she bring? and did then-candidate donald trump know? also moments ago on the deadly military crash. the c-130 with 15 marines and a sailor on board, we're on the scene. the close call at san francisco airport.