breaking news is the sudden death of san francisco mayor ed lee. he died of an apparent heart attack overnight at the age of 65. of course this morning we are bringing you live team coverage of this sad and sudden news. >> what a shock. abc 7 news anchor carolyn tyler, you have been covering mayor ed lee for years, providing us with invaluable insight this morning about what has set him apart from any other mayor that we have had in san francisco before. we will speak with you in just a moment. we do want to start with abc 7 news reporter jessica castro who is live at city hall with what we are learning about lee's untimely passing. good morning, jessica. >> reporter: it is certainly doing to be a tough morning at city hall and no doubt the passing of mayor ed lee is going to be on the forefront of everything today. abc news has learned that he went into cardiac arrest last night while shopping at a safeway store. he was mayor of san francisco since 2011, was jooes recently reelected and as i mentioned his death was sudden.

in fact, he was just at a recycling event yesterday and seemed healthy. the mayor's office released this statement earlier this morning, quote, it is with profound sadness and terrible brief that we confirm that mayor edwin m. lee passed away on tuesday, december 12th at 1:11 a.m. at zuckerberg san francisco general hospital. family, friends and colleagues were at his side. our thoughts and prayers are with his wife anita, his two daughters brianna and tania and his family. in accordance with the city charter board of supervisors president london breed became acting mayor of san francisco, effective immediately. so today there will be a transition here at city hall, one we have not seen in 39 years since a mayor, someone in office, died while in office. things really quiet right now, you can see not a whole lot of activity behind me. in fact, the flags that we expect to be lowered later today, that has not been done quite yet. also we do know that acting

mayor london breed will be holding a press conference here later this morning at 10:00 a.m. reporting live from san francisco city hall, i'm jessica castro, abc 7 news. back to you. >> she finds herself in such an unexpected position to now be mayor of san francisco leading us through what is going to be a time of mourning. we're also speaking this morning to san francisco mayor -- former mayor willie brown. he is telling us about his close relationship with ed lee and also what he knows about the passing of him so early in morning. >> he was live on abc 7 mornings just about an hour ago and abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield spoke with him at the st. regis in san francisco. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we just caught up with him here at his home. he said he is absolutely shocked. he got the call just after 1:00 this morning from supervisor and now acting mayor london breed. mayor ed lee worked in mayor willie brown's administration so they have known each other for

years. mayor brown says ed lee was skillful at pulling politicians together, he was bright, he was able and he says he was a really good basketball player. at city hall mayor brown says this will not be the time for politics. he expects to see everyone coming together to mourn and to be very respectful. >> i think there will be a considerable amount of mourning because ed lee no one had a hostile thought about ed lee and it will be a general time period when all of us will be more concerned about the welfare of anita, his widow and his two daughters and his family that lives up in the state of washington. at the same time our charter charts a course and gives direction and not unlike when

dianne feinstein assumed the leadership of the city on the assassination of george moscone and harvey milk, london breed in that same capacity will do the identical kind of thing and it's all because the charter dictates it. >> reporter: and look what the newsroom found for me this morning, video i will now cherish, an interview from a very fun day that we did on the 2014 giants parade. mayor ed lee always with a smile on his face, always available to talk to us and willing to give us a comment. he did love the giants but it's another sports team that will most likely be mentioned with his name and that's going to be the warriors. the warriors decided to move to san francisco while ed lee was in office. so that will be a major part of his legacy. also the tech boom that happened around his watch will be associated with his tenure as

mayor, but then also of course the fact that he was the first asian-american mayor of a major city. mayor willie brown told us no word yet on when funeral services will be or where they will be. too early yet for that. but he does expect that mayor ed lee will lie in state at city hall. so well-wishers will be able to stop by and pay their respects and also sign a book of condolences. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> we appreciate you, amy and of course mayor brown's comments this morning. thank you. ed lee was born may 5th, 1952 in seattle, washington. he was appointed mayor of san francisco in january of 2011 when former mayor gavin newsom left to become california's lieutenant governor. mayor lee won election in november of 2011 and then again in november of 2015. lee was san francisco's first asian-american mayor and before becoming mayor he was our city administrator. >> we will keep tracking this for you and send out push alerts

on the abc 7 news app. we will speak more about this in just a moment but we want to turn now to meteorologist mike nicco and get you a check of your weather. >> hi natasha, hi reggie, hi everybody and carolyn, too. the east bay hills camera, you can see it's quiet out there, the winds aren't nearly as breezy as the last couple days. our lowest visibility is seven miles but where it's patchy it is dense. black ice could be an issue. here is my accuweather 12-hour day planner. inland in the 30s, the rest in the 40s, 61 to 65 by noon, 62 to 63 at 4:00 with our later sunset at 4:51 and a starry night ahead at 7:00, 51 to about 55 degrees. it looks like sue is working on the traffic over there. i know you have had a couple of accidents this morning. >> yes. >> what can you tell us about heading out right now? >> well, it's busy at the bay bridge toll plaza for sure at 5:25 this morning the metering

lights were on and you can see it is starting to fill out. if you can carpool, those cars are getting by nicely there in the carpool lanes both sides of the bridge toll plaza. slow out of the central valley, we had an earl yes accident westbound 580 in livermore, that's been cleared but slow traffic remains there. monta vista westbound 80 just past the nut tree was 505 mernls on there, we have an accident, track traffic is stacking up on 80. 238 we had an earlier accident before 880, cleared off to the shoulder now but still slow from the castro valley y and 880

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look at the cleaner air they have brought in, we are good to moderate right now. our zones are color road coded on the left side of your scene. the north bay, coast and central bay could have poor air quality today. hopefully today through friday it will be better for all of us but wood burning is banned 24 hours today. 35 redwood city, 55 right now in pacifica. 40 san jose, 38 in oakland, 31 san ramone, 29 right now in santa rosa. on the bay after offshore breeze. exercising chilly in morning, it will be mild this afternoon. our beaches will be our warmest again. i will show you those high temperatures coming up. going to the san matteo bridge westbound 92 at the toll plaza we had an earlier accident that's been cleared out of lanes. beyond the toll plaza on the flat section we have brake lights off and on across the causeway up towards the high-rise and over towards foster city. you are looking at a 22 minute drive from 880 over over to 101

on the peninsula. slow and go up and over the altamonte pass. we do have a slice ace train delay. with this accident still block the right-hand lane westbound 80 monta vista in vacaville. ace train 3 is running about ten minutes behind. 52 bart trains working together no problems there and the cal train system running on time up and down the peninsula. of course we're tracking major breaking news this mornin for mild-to-moderate eczema? it can be used almost everywhere on almost everybody. the arm of an arm wrestler? the back of a quarterback? the face of a fairy? prescription eucrisa is a nose to toes eczema ointment. it blocks overactive pde4

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we are breaking breaking news this morning. san francisco mayor ed lee dead at the age of 65. >> the mayor's office making the announcement early this morning. he passed away just after 1:00 a.m. at zuckerberg san francisco general hospital. willie brown telling abc 7 news carolyn tyler that lee suffered cardiac arrest. lee leaves behind his wife anita and his two daughters. dare listen, you've been covering city hall for many years. you were talking to mayor brown early this morning about the shocking news. >> it is hard to even wrap your mind around it. it's just very stunning.

65, we saw him yesterday at a recycling event, no sign of ill health. this was a major heart attack last night as he was grocery shopping at his neighborhood safeway. >> seemed to be perfectly fine yesterday. the regular good spirits that we knew him to be. >> yes, a very affable man. >> as we've been discussing this morning, he was a man who was put in this position not really intending to be the mayor. i mean, who knows, you know, what was actually going through his head, but he was intended to be a placeholder until the city could figure out who they wanted to elect for the next mayor after gavin newsom went to become lieutenant governor. >> he was a safe choice. the political honch chose were going back and forth who could we put in this spot who would not have political ambitions, that's what think wanted, someone who would just be a

placeholder and they thought about ed lee. he worked for the city for almost two decades in a variety of jobs, the last one being a city administrator. he knew the inner workings of city government. he knew how to handle a little army of workers, about 30,000 city employees. this is your guy. so that's how he became the interim mayor and said, yes, i'm not going to run and then he was convinced by people like willie brown and senior senator dianne feinstein among others, rose pack a chinatown power broker, run, ed, run. go for yourself, go for a full term, become the mayor, and he did. >> many of the causes we saw him -- that he ended up championing whether it came to housing or homelessness or people living in poverty and projects we see from his past.

we are also seeing echos this morning, he grew up in seattle even though he ended up being such a bay areaen and san up in seattle, four out of six - children, the son of immigrants, his father was a veteran and he also passed away young, at just the age of 49, worked in a restaurant and died of a heart attack while driving to work. ed lee was just 15 years old at the time but certainly no stranger to what it means to have humble and modest beginnings. we see that manifest in the rest of his career. >> that's right. he became a human rights attorney based on his upbringings and he worked very hard in the bay area, in san francisco for the chinese american community. he became a housing rights activist, that was his first job as an attorney working for chinese immigrants, trying to make sure that they had decent housing and that they weren't evicted. >> it seems like in san francisco all roads lead to or through or from dianne

feinstein. that's been the case for 40 plus years and it certainly was the case for mayor ed lee as carolyn just mentioned she was one of the forces who persuaded ed lee to run for mayor. i wanted to share with you what the senator has said this morning about her friend and this person who she really helped make as mayor. she says, early this morning i learned of ed lee's death. it's a very sad day for san francisco and all of us who knew ed. my thoughts turn to all of ed's family, especially anita, brianna and tania. of course brianna and tania his daughters. i know what this is like and i wish i could give anita a hug and express my sorrow. ed was an excellent mayor of a great but sometimes challenging city. his quiet management style was effective and allowed him to solve problems as they occurred. my heart and thoughts are with ed's family and friends and the city i love. i think when you see that statement you realize this is someone who really knew him. really knew the city, too.

>> we're also hearing from libby schaaf this morning, she tweeted out just a few minutes ago oakland sends its condolences to anita and all of san franciscans today. he served this community with parks and humility. he was a valued friend and colleague. he will be missed dearly. >> senator camilla harris and there is that great picture of the two of them on twitter this morning. she says i am deeply saddened by my friend san francisco mayor ed lee. he worked tirelessness for workers rights. keeping the mayor's family in my prayers during this difficult time. >> and congresswoman barbara lee says i am deeply saddened to learn that san francisco mayor ed lee an unshakeable force for good in san francisco and the entire bay area has passed. my condolences are with his family, friends, loved ones and the people of san francisco during this difficult time. we all feel that same way.

london breed now the board president becomes acting mayor for a time. her colleagues will decide whether to make that permanent until a special election will be held in june. >> london breed and mayor ed lee could not be more different in terms of their styles. she is -- does court the limelight, does have that flamboyant personality, does have -- did have political a.m. businesses before this as well. >> also comes from humble beginnings. >> just like he did and they were friends. he often called upon her to step into his shoes when he was out of town. >> in a city where the haves and have notes are separated by this vast -- >> wide gulf. >> that's an important trait i would think in our next leader. carolyn tyler will be sticking with us for the rest of the morning as we remember ed lee and look to the future. right now we will take a look at the weather and that is with mike nicco. outside of politics i loved

his infectious enthusiasm for san francisco. his genuine wanting to help. initially he may not have wanted to be mayor, but he owned it, that's for sure. we will miss him. all right. here is a look at sfo this morning as we switch gears. no flight delays. no clouds. it will be brighter today. a spare the air alert. er poo air quality is possible. tonight clear and seasonal chilly, frost possible in our inland valleys like this morning and one model out of the three that we use out about eight days says there could be a chance of rain next week. right now it's bone dry and clear on live doppler 7. some of our warmest temperatures santa cruz 76, 70 in san jose, 71 ukiah. the rest of us about 64 to 68 degrees. tonight you can see the wealth of 30s in our inland valleys, even around palo alto and menlo park, low to mid 40s around the bay, upper 40s along the coast and san francisco. we will have temperatures mainly in the 60s, mid to upper 60s, dry weather with a lot of

sunshine through monday. hi, sue. >> the richmond san rafael bridge traffic is stopped here inching through the toll plaza. why? an accident on the other side of the toll plaza has things bumper to bumper backing on to 580 this is coming into marin county from the richmond side of things. let's go to the bay bridge toll plaza where the metering lights were turned on about an hour ago. if your drive takes you from hercules into san francisco a 45 minute drive that includes going through the metering lights. we have this problem still near monta vista in vacaville. westbound 80. the 505 merge is very slow. that accident clearing off to the right-hand side. we will be back i accept i don't conquer the mountain like i ed to. i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but whatever trail i take, i go for my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'll go for that too. but whatever trail i take, i go for my best.

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third wettest month. we've had .04 at our highest recording station, santa rosa. we will well behind where we should be for this month and it shows in the snow pack also, we're 37% of average. coming up i will have a look at my accuweather 12-hour day planner and a chance of rain and snow next week. thank you, mike. going to take a live look now outside of san francisco city hall. this is the first time we are now seeing the flag which is at half-staff and this is the second time in 39 years that city hall is now mourpg tning t

loss of a mayor who has died in office. we are talking about mayor ed lee who died early this morning at sf general. a sudden loss, we understand that he died of a heart attack early this morning and the city now mourning and city workers just waking up a lot of them to the news that we have lost our leader and now has been replaced by london breed who is a san francisco supervisor who will temporarily hold this post until the rest of the board of supervisors decides who will take over until a special election is convened. forming san francisco supervisor got the call this morning and he spoke with us over the phone saying that lee was an easygoing person and knew the city very well. >> amiano recalled the moment senator dianne feinstein told lee who was then the city administrator to run for mayor. >> we all happened to be in d.c. because of the giants victory. president obama was president.

we were all waiting outside the white house to get entry and diann came up to ed lee and said, ed, i want you to run for mayor. it's going to be important. i remember overhearing that. this is going to affect many of our races and many of the dynamic, you know, in san francisco politics for a long time, but again, of course, you know, you want to keep respectful of the family's feelings. >> and it was nice to hear from tom this morning. he has been a colorful character in the history of san francisco. >> oh, yes. >> has a lot to offer when it comes to talking about what has happened in city hall. >> ran for mayor himself. so he knows what it takes. >> carolyn tyler of course and

it is now 6:30 and that breaking news is the sudden death of san francisco mayor ed lee. he died overnight of an apparent heart attack. he was just 65 years old. >> abc 7 news anchor carolyn tyler has been providing us invaluable insight in studio this morning. she is part of our live team coverage. we are beginning with abc 7 news reporter jessica castro live at city hall with what we are learning about his passing. good morning, jessica. >> reporter: good morning.

and no doubt a sudden death here, it is going to be a hard morning at city hall for so many people who knew mayor ed lee personally. coming here into the city hall, walking up these steps every single day and having to go to work with this news this morning that mayor ed lee suddenly died at 65 years old. overnight that will be at the forefront of everything here today. abc 7 news has learned he went into cardiac arrest last night while shopping at a safeway store. he was mayor of san francisco since 2011, was just recently reelected. as we've been mentioning, his death is sudden. in fact, he was just at a recycling event yesterday, he seemed healthy. here is now acting mayor london breed announcing mayor lee's death at zuckerberg general earlier this morning. take a listen. >> edwin m. lee passed away early this morning, tuesday,

december 12th. at 1:11 p.m. at zuckerberg san francisco general hospital. family, friends and colleagues were by his side. the 43rd mayor of san francisco, ed was 65 years old. our thoughts and prayers are with his wife anita, his daughters tania and brianna and his entire family. >> it is a day of mourning here in san francisco and just within the last five minutes or so we had crews out here lowering the flag. the american flag to half-staff. they are working on the other flags that are out here, this is the large one in front of the plaza right in front of city hall. a little hard to see since the sun is not quite up yet. today we will be seeing a transition here at city hall that we haven't seen in 39 years. the first time in 39 years that a mayor has died while holding office. now acting mayor london breed

who you just heard from is going to be holding another press conference here about 10:00 a.m. this morning. reporting live from city hall, i'm jessica castro, abc 7 news. one of the first voices we heard about the passing of the mayor was from former mayor willie brown. in fact, he was talking to our carolyn tyler early this morning. >> yes. >> what did he say to you when you heard first this. he must have been in shock. >> he was. he sounded very stunned and he simply said that he knew that it had happened around 10:30 last night, he had heard that the mayor was grocery shopping at his neighborhood safeway, when he suddenly collapsed and that he went into cardiac arrest. they were trying to work on him and revive him. took him to general hospital where he died very suddenly. >> he was generous enough to speak with us this morning, our own amy hollyfield has been intact with him this morning and she is joining us now live where the mayor lives.

amy, what did the former mayor tell you? >> reporter: he said he just saw mayor ed lee and the two were doing their usual teasing of each other. that he was perfectly healthy, full of life. mayor willie brown was just amazed when he got the call this morning. >> i was absolutely shocked. i was awakened shortly after 1:00 a.m. this morning, a call from jane kim and london breed, they were telling me that the mayor had died. i initially didn't -- if it had been any other person calling me i would not have believed it. >> reporter: ed lee worked in mayor brown's administration, he was his public works director. he calls him a corner stone of his administration. brown calling lee bright and able, skillful at pulling politicians together. he also mentioned that he was really good at basketball. brown says he expects city hall to pull together during this

time. he doesn't expect to see people playing politics saying no one had a bad thing to say about ed lee. boy, ed lee always had that bright smile on his face. mayor brown does expect to see everyone pulling together to support lee's widow, anita, and their daughters. no word yet on funeral services, it's too early for that, but mayor brown tells us he does expect that london breed will have mayor lee lie in state at city hall so well-wishers can come by and pay their respects and also to see a book out so people can sign their condolences in a book for the city. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. and we are seeing the reactions pouring in on social media this morning as people hear the news. san francisco supervisor katy tang tweeting this out, holding on to happy memories, mr. mayor. sending all my loved to anita and daughters. >> london breed is now acting

mayor. here is what we know about her. she is a native san franciscan, a graduate of galileo high school. prior to her election to the board of supervisors she was the executive director of the african-american art and culture complex. she was elected to the board of supervisors in 2012 representing district 5. that includes the fillmore, western addition, hayes valley, lower haight, haight-ashbury, north of panhandle, cole valley and inner sunset aware i can't say. precede was elected president of the board in 2015. as you heard jessica mention a few minutes ago the last san francisco mayor to die in office was george moscone, he along with supervisor harvey milk were assassinated at city hall. that was november of 1978. of course the killer former supervisor dan white. dianne feinstein who was president of the board of supervisors at that time made the announcement about the two men's deaths and she would take over as san francisco mayor. moscone was killed days before his 49th birthday and moscone

center is our convention center downtown, it is named in his honor. >> carla, can you hear me? >> yes, i can. >> carla, what a shock this morning. >> this is a story i think just no one expected. the mayor surrounded by his friends and family last night. and now, you know, san francisco enters a new era. i think at this point people are just getting over -- we're seeing the reaction from folks in washington, u.s. senator camilla harris, barbara lee, all of them giving tribute to ed lee as the first asian-american mayor of the city. somebody who took the reins as the tech boom was just beginning to take hold in the city. somebody who has tried to navigate some incredibly important problems that the city had including affordable housing, homelessness, and i think at this point a lot of

that is still in the air and now london breed must take the reins and step up and this is going to be just another -- a new era for san francisco, but i think the city is definitely in mourning today. >> carla, this is carolyn tyler. you knew ed lee very well, covered him for many years. what do you think about lasting legacies for him? >> you know, i think ed lee was somebody who wanted to do -- take the responsibility for the city. it is not a traditional politician as you know. he took over when gavin newsom became the lieutenant governor. he was not expecting to be in elected office, but this is somebody who made his way around the city, who made himself available to the media, who even just yesterday posted an opioste piece talking about divesting the city from fossil fuels.

he was until the last minute of his life really working on issues that he cared about. so i think san franciscans are remembering him, are going to remember his contributions in many different areas and the many challenges he had. there is still work to be done and i think at this point everybody is going to look back on ed lee as someone who stepped up to the plate and stepped into the public spotlight and assumed a very, very big challenge at a very difficult time in san francisco, and the tech challenges, the housing challenges, they are still there, but lee certainly tried to tackle them while in office. >> one of the things that we were talking about, carla, with carolyn is a feather in his cap is the arena that he really championed and was able to get without having to use taxpayer money to build it. i was thinking this morning as we were talking about that, it is such a shame that he is not going to be able to see that arena come to fruition. >> he called that his legacy

project. >> absolutely. i mean, the warriors was an important aspect. you remember that mayor lee, you know, headed the city at a time when the unemployment really dropped, he really did bring a lot of new development, tech development to the city. there were some critics who dinged him for that, but the fact is he took a city in transition, the tech boom remade a lot of san francisco, a lot of people say for the good and the bad in terms of rent, property values and affordable housing, but, boy, this is a guy who grew up in public housing. this is a guy who was the son of immigrants. he came from a very modest background and he took over one of america's most vibrant cities. so that's what i think ed lee will be remembered for. >> and certainly not something he necessarily sought out from the beginning.

carla, we really appreciate your insight. thank you for joining us this morning. >> thanks for having me. we also alerted you to this breaking news just after 2:30 a.m. we've been sending out update all morning long. to get breaking news as it happens download the abc 7 news app and enable push alerts. we will take a moment away from this coverage and see what's happening with your weather this morning. we turn to meteorologist mike nicco. >> thank you very much. hi, everybody. let's open up the weather window on mt. tamalpais. a few high clouds and a little bit of pollution from the fires in so cal. that's why it's such a colorful look this morning. you can see the winds are fairly light this morning, about 3 to 5 miles per hour, if even that. p my 12 hour accuweather planner for today, mid to upper 30s in the inland bay and coast. 61 do 65 at noon. 63 to 62 at 4:00. more on spare the air in those freezing cold temperatures you will find this morning next. we're going to the richmond

san rafael bridge, we have two separate accidents. traffic is squeezing by at the toll plaza. you can see the emergency crew coming right here, there is a fire truck on the left-hand side of the toll plaza -- on the right-hand side of the toll plaza, left-hand side of your screen. so they are good to know that they are arriving on scene. traffic is stacked up past harbor way as you reach the toll plaza you can see the long line of red traffic here. real good alternate right now let's take a look at highway 37. you will find slow traffic where they merge from two lanes down to one, otherwise the entire stretch of 37 looks pretty good at this point. avoid the richmond san rafael bridge westbound if at all possible.

check out these frosty cold temperatures right now at petaluma and santa rosa, 28, rohnert park 29, alamo and pleasanton 30. maybe scraping some frost off the car there if it's outside. about a million people still under extreme fire danger down in l.a. especially up in venture can a cou -- ventura county. 61 eureka, 61 yosemite, 52 tahoe. they keep trying to make snow but with temperatures in the mid 50s it's melting in some areas. let me show you my accuweather

seven-day forecast for tahoe. they will still make snow during the overnight hours but temperatures will be in the mid 50s, ten degrees warmer than average. carolyn, natasha and reggie. if you are just joining us we have been talking throughout the morning about the passing of san francisco mayor ed lee. this came as a shock to everyone. just yesterday he seemed healthy and active on the job, you are taking a live look outside city hall. this is the american flag now at half-staff this morning honoring mayor lee. >> he was laughing and smiling, making jokes at a local market talking about recycling and pride in his city. matt keller live at the corner of battery and market street with the reaction this morning. good morning, matt. >> reporter: natasha and reggie, a lot of people heading to work this morning here in the financial district in san francisco. i actually broke the news to some people that mayor lee had passed away overnight and they were obviously very, very shocked. others hoping that this was just what they said was fake news, that it wasn't true. here is their reaction.

>> i was shocked and it's just shocking. he's so young, he is a great guy and i don't -- even know -- i don't know what's the cause, i just read it from my friend's post on fb. i said no way. no way. >> wow, overnight, heart attack. you never know. you know? you never know. >> i can't believe it because he looked so young and healthy and, you know, such a nice person. it's really sad. >> reporter: and obviously this is going to have a big impact on people who live and work here in the city of san francisco, people shocked and saddened this morning. back to you in the studio. >> matt, thank you. this reaction from congressman eric swalwell, he says rest in peace, mayor, wishing ed's family peace as they grieve. we will miss ed dearly. he was a friend to all and the devoted servant san francisco needed during such a transformation time. >> carolyn tyler, you are joining us now. we are talking about his legacy,

that he will be remembered for. what is at the top of the list? >> i think at the top of the list is the mayor himself, just his attitude. he was very well respected. just a gracious man. really put the city's interests first, i think. he really believed in the job of mayor and what he was doing. he did consider the warriors arena his legacy project. he also tried to help on the homeless front by creating a department of homelessness and by creating those navigation centers which is a whole new concept of kind of one stop shopping, everybody move into a center before moving on to get out of homelessness. i think he will be remembered for that. right now funeral services pending. it's a little early for that, but we are told his body will lie in state and a book of condolences will be out for people to sign and we are all grieving along with his family and the city family this morning. >> i will put you on the spot

real quick. what is your fondest memory of walking with him? >> he just was a he liked to tell jokes. he was a corny jokester. >> he had bad jokes. >> you said after your knee surgery he said something -- >> he was saying you can't chase me around right now or i can't wait until you can chase me around again. so that sort of thing. just a nice guy. >> he was really approachable. >> we just saw that personality yesterday. up until the very end. not showing any signs of in i obvious health problem. >> this was the mayor yesterday at ted's market on howard street where he was announcing plans to improve recycling programs. >> thank you, everybody. i'm here to ask senator wiener to make more promises because i know that whenever he makes a promise it's going to get carried out. so all of you remember that. i'm going to ask scott to make a few more promises, can i do that over christmas?

>> sure. >> all right. i also want to thank our -- debbie and the department of the environment because we have a whole department dedicated to something that we all care about and that's our environment. not only in the city but we are a waterfront city, so our coastli coastline, our mountains, our parks, we're trying to really carry out this vision that i know governor jerry brown is articulating will be a big way next september for the entire world. that's our commitment to our climate. you know, this city has been wonderful to work for, not only in the capacity of mayor but also working alongside scott and the board of supervisors and we are 100% committed because we are still the only city in the country that's got an 85% recycling done already with all of our garbage. so why not do even better than that? why not be 100% recycling city? why can't we have a goal that sets the standard for everyone?

so i'm here with all of you today because every single day hundreds of people line up in front of this store because they want a great sandwich. >> he was excited about things like that. >> yeah. >> and that was less than 24 hours ago and that's what just boggles the mind. and that man that you see in that video is exactly who he was, without pretense. i saw him at the pbwc, the businesswoman's conference this year, back stage, no handlers around him, he was just there and exactly that person you see. >> that's absolutely right. i think that if you didn't get a chance to meet the mayor you might expect that there would be kind of an on camera mayor and a behind the scenes mayor, but he was just kind of the same, right? he was just -- >> genuine. >> a normal guy, right, who gave you the same space when you were interviewing him -- >> no splash, no dash, just down to earth sort of person. the bureaucrat that he was at

city hall for two decades, that was ed lee. >> we did get some reaction now from congresswoman nancy pelosi and she actually had a lot to say about the mayor, there is a longer version of the statement but this is the shorter version on twitter, it says heartbroken to hear of the passing of mayor ed lee. he was a true champion for the people and dear friend to the many lucky enough to know him. my deepest love and prayers are with his wife and daughters. the full statement goes on to say that mayor lee's first priority was always the people and she goes through some of his resumé including his modest means of growing up in an immigrant family and the way that that influenced his style. >> that shaped him. >> right. of course we live in a city where there is a great disparity between those who have a lot of money and those who do not and that is something that he was working on, got a lot of criticism for, too, but was working on and will be the -- the biggest issue that is passed on to london breed and whoever follows her. >> absolutely.

we turn now to meteorologist mike nicco with a check of your weather. good morning. i like they're calling it the people's mayor. i like that. good morning. here is a look at the exploratorium camera at pier 15. we are off to a brighter start this morning. we will be brighter and warmer this afternoon but still a spare the air day. wood burning ban. there will be a touch of haze from the fires, the smoke that's created from those suppliers down in southern california. my accuweather highlight for tonight, clear, freezing cold in the valleys and the pattern may shift next week and try to bring us a chance of some rain. how about the mid to upper 30s in the south bay until you get to san jose at 40, up in the hills 47, look at the hills in los gatos 53 degrees, 37 newark, freezing cold in danville, 31. about 33 right now in novato and up towards napa. look at the 76 in santa cruz, 70 san jose, 71 up in napa or i should say ukiah. temperatures 30s inland, 40s around the bay, upper 40s at the

coast and san francisco. now our chance of rain will be about wednesday of next week. until then mid to upper 60s with a whole lot of sunshine. sue, give us an update. >> going back to the richmond san rafael bridge. the accident, there were two of them that has been cleared out of lanes. traffic is stacking up towards the toll plaza. we know that ambulance and fire is on scene and that accident has been pushed over to the shoulder. look at that backup. all the way to 580. avoid that if you can. let's take a look at 38 and see how that's faring. still pretty good. you will have the typical slow down from where the two lanes merge into one along the causeway there, otherwise all the way westbound what a difference a day makes. yesterday 37 was the place to avoid, now we're giving the recommendation to try 37 to avoid the richmond san rafael bridge. 580 west into dublin always a grind just under an hour, highway 4 westbound antioch into concord 35 minutes and san rafael into san francisco looks

rafael into san francisco looks like a pleasant ride

whether you are just joining us us or heading out the door here are the seven things you need to know before you go. number one that breaking news san francisco mayor ed lee has died. he passed away this morning at zuckerberg general hospital. former san francisco mayor willie brown tells abc 7 news

mayor lee suffered a heart atta attack. board of supervisors president london breed is now acting mayor. breed is set to hold a news conference at 10:00 this morning and abc 7 will provide live coverage. in the east bay number three scary moments overnight in the oakland hills, a home under construction went up in flames on snake road in the montclair neighborhood. the fire led to evacuations and a total of five homes are damaged. number four, let's look at the accuweather 12-hour day planner, it is frost dwree in some of our inland valleys, and will be through 8:00. look at those low to mid 60s from noon to 4:00. followng your richmond san rafael bridge commute which is a bad one this morning, we had not one but two separate accidents, you can see the backup at the toll plaza. the red line license all the way to marina so expect a big delay, you may want to try highway 37 at this hour. number six, the oakland city workers strike is over. at least for the moment. the seven-day strike was called off yesterday while a state mediator, union leaders and city leaders try to find a solution to wage issues. number seven, polls have

opened across alabama and the state's closely watched senate election. roy moore is supported by president trump despite allegations of sexual harassment against him. the nation watching the passing of mayor ed lee. by all accounts a decent person who stepped up to lead. >> whether you agreed or disagreed with his politics, he did love this city and our hearts go out this morning to his wife and two daughters and family and friends. >> i was thinking about how he went to law school in berkeley, graduating from berkeley he could have done a lot of things with his life. he chose to use public service as an outlet for his skills and brain and did that for decades. as you say, no matter what you believe politically, he served us and he did so with a smile on his face and for that we thank mayor ed lee. we thank you for watching this morning. our continuing coverage throughout the day of the passing of the mayor. there you see the flag