thanks for joining us. this is part of our commitment to building a better bay area, focusing on the issues that matter to you. >> late last year, san francisco received a $415 million windfall that came from excess property tax revenue. some of that money is going to a number of city expenses leaving $185 million for the general fund. >> mayor london breed wants that money to go to homelessness and housing initiatives but a group of supervisors wants to fund teacher pay raises. >> we want to know what you think the money should be spent on,lessleness or teachers. >> go to abc7news.com/vote. you can see the results change in real time. >> teachers, parents, and others are rallying outside city hall in favor of the teacher proposal. that's where lyanne melendez joins us live. >> reporter: the teachers are asking for $60 million over three years. they don't get to keep that

money. that money will eventually be returned to the city after proposition g has been resolved in the courts. in the meantime, all of this is creating great division in there. as soon as it was known that san francisco had a surplus of $415 million, mayor london breed suggested that some of it go to begin solving the homeless crisis. even before that, the mayor was selling her ideas of expanding mental health services. >> a first in the nation program to bring treatment directly to people suffering with addiction on our streets. >> reporter: here's the breakdown. much of that surplus from property taxes, $230 million, will go to fund libraries, buses, the city's rainy-day f d fund, et cetera. they're called set-asides. that leaves $185 million for any other needs. basically, it's up for grabs. today, homeless advocate jennifer friedenback made the

round at city hall to push for that funding. >> we're asking for $170 million for homelessness, for housing, prevention, and shelter and mental health treatment. >> reporter: but the city passed prop c, the homeless tax, that would raise $300 million a year by taxing big companies, right? except that it now is stuck in court. voters also approved prop g, giving san francisco teachers a guaranteed 7% raise every year. but that, too, is held up in court. the school district and the president of the teachers union, susan solomon, are now asking city hall to use some of that surplus money to cover them. >> we're not competing with them. we believe everybody needs their fair share. but we also know that this lawsuit could take a couple of years. >> reporter: supervisor sandra fewer is co-authoring a measure offering $13.5 million this year and next year to cover the raises promised in prop g, but nothing else within the

proposition like extra money for technology and the district's rainy-day fund will be covered. >> i am not going to throw them under the bus. what they need is bridge money in this funding. >> reporter: supervisor hillary roman will ask for additional funds to cover more of prop g. >> i don't think that's enough, and that's something that i will be, you know, voicing at the board of supervisors. >> reporter: that proposal requires six votes to pass. that proposal will be voted on sometime in february. lyanne melendez, abc7 news. we want to check back in on our poll forvis. whathouldanis spend the surplus on? homeness or teachers? right now it looks like more of you are saying teachers. 83% with only 17% of you saying that additional money should go to the homeless. >> it's kind of a shame we have to pit the homeless against the

she felt shelters because both have needs. you'd hope prop c gets resolved soon. affordable housing, one of the big issues the teachers raised when they talked about their take-home pay, many people just can't make ends meet here in the bay area, which is why coverage of housing and homelessness is part of our effort to build a better pbay area. every one of our nine counties is conducting a home lessen us is. it's required by the u.s. department of housing and urban development in order to receive federal funding. santa clara's count began this morning. in 2017, the census found 7,400 homeless people there. only once in the past ten years has that number dipped below 7,000. volunteers fanned out for this year's census. david louie live in the south

bay with the expectations for this year. david? >> reporter: well, larry, that figure you mentioned, 7,400 in santa clara county, that was from two years ago. that was a 13% increase from the two years before that. in today's survey, despite all the efforts to address homelessness, that number is expected to rise again and part of the reason could be an increase in homeless families. the face of the homeless has been changing, and this new census might put a new light on who they are. in the previous survey two years ago, the number of chronically homeless and homeless veterans dropped, replaced by a new group. >> the woman that makes your sandwiches at the deli you go to or the janitor scrubbing your floors at night, those are the faces of homelessness today. >> reporter: home first is the largest provider of homeless services in santa clara county. the census helps to align services to shifting needs. >> they're going to see if the

will's an increase in homeless families. there's been a movement the create safe parking services for people with rvs and cars. a lot of our families are in those areas. >> reporter: the mayor says the point in time count helps to prioritize spending on services. >> it tells us what is working. >> reporter: a woman staying at a shelter says she's getting help after being homeless for several years. >> it's been six long years in different vehicles and, you know, my health has -- is, you know, to the point where i need an emergency surgery, you know, and i'm very grateful for those services. >> reporter: one in four are living in shelters. today's census is strictly a head count that will be followed up by another survey for more detailed demographic information such as interest in permanent

housing. in the past, two-thirds of the people surveyed indicated they were homeless because they couldn't afford the rent. live in san jose, david louie, abc7 news. >> david, thank you. alameda county is set to hold its homeless count tomorrow. in 2017, there were a record number of homeless in the county, 5,629 people, an increase of nearly 40% from the 2015 count. the city and county of san francisco held its count last thursday. there it's different. officials use a broader definition of homeless including people staying in domestic violence shelters as well as jails, hospitals, treatment facilities, so in 2017 there were 7,499 homeless individuals counted. that's down 1% from 2015. 3,840 of those people were living on the street. we'll get this year's numbers sometime this summer. pg&e, and we're learning more about what today's bankruptcy filing means for

everyone, from wildfire victims to pg&e customers. they face billions of dollars in claims tied to the wildfires. the bankruptcy filings means victims' lawsuits will be consolidated an they'll likely get less money in payouts. they're committed to maintaining surveillances for customers during the bankruptcy process as in your lights and gas staying on, but this will affect pg&e customers for two main reasons this matters to you. your bill is probably going to be higher and your power might get turned off more often in the future. why will you be paying more? we're still paying for pg&e's last bankruptcy in 2001. if you look at your bill care p fully, the dwr bond charge is there. it could take over a year for the bankruptcy to get sorted out and that takes us into another fire season. if pg&e equipment is found to be the cause of more destructive

wildfires, that means more lawsuits, more wildfire payouts, and even higher bills for you. speaking of wildfires, they could be the reason your power gets turned off more often in the future. after the north bay wildfires, remember the utility said it would shut off power to wildfire-prone areas during bad fire conditions such as when it's really windy. then the camp fire happened and they didn't turn the power off. they may be shutting off more people's power more often. remember when they did that in calistoga, it took them days to restore power. businesses lost tons of money and homeowners were not happy. pg&e says they'll get faster at restoring power but its equipment is not designed to be turned on and off like a light switch, so you could be in the dark. and that's why pg&e's bankruptcy matters to you. our team coverage continues now in the north bay with how pg&e's bankruptcy filing is affecting the fire victims.

abc7 news reporter wayne freedman live in sonoma county with the story. wayne? >> good afternoon. this lot in larkfield states is not one of the feel-good stories of fire recover. you see the weeds, the homes in the background. this is not about fire recovery, quite the opposite. with pg&e declaring bankruptcy, it represents frustration and is a double whammy for the owners. christmas decorations and caution tape past mariti their . >> it sets us way back. i'm 64. my wife is 63. >> it's been quite a struggle. i'm kind of tough but -- >> reporter: they own one of 148 homes that burned in larkfield estates, a loss for which they've sued pg&e. now in the last week a double

wham whammy. cal fire cleared pg&e for responsibility for the tubbs fire and they've declared bankruptcy. >> typical behavior on the part of pg&e. it tries to avoid responsibility. >> reporter: this attorney represents the semiautomatics and 4,000 other plaintiffs suing pg&e for fires in 2017 and 2018. she is telling them to stay the course. >> what i'm tell ming my clients is they should not get d discouraged. >> reporter: now pg&e faces a different legal landscape and a long line of claimants that include sonoma county, which has sued for millions of dollars in losses. supervisor james doss says a long ordeal ahead. >> the amount of money needed to build resiliency going forward. this is a 20-year lack of investment. >> reporter: and these, the representative faces of victims. they are tire offend the word limbo. they're even more tired of

living in it. what disappoints you most? >> that it feels like they're going to get away with this. >> reporter: as we come back live to larkfield estates, pg&e declared bankruptcy before in 2001. at that time, you may not know that the utility faced another mass lawsuit for water pollution in kettleman city. ultimately, pg&e did settle that lawsuit for a full amount, but it took five years. wayne freedman, abc7 news. >> wayne, thank you. coming up, a major iphone bug could allow somebody to eavesdrop on you. what security experts are saying about the facetime feature and when users can expect a fix from apple. millions of people don't have access to affordable, nutritious food. the bay area school where students from food insecurity are getting help. >> and

the chief security officer at looko lookout, a cybersecurity company. >> whoever managed to find this found one weird thing that gave them odd behavior. >> it's a wake-up call for all of us. >> the importance of this story is to remind everybody that these devices are powerful computers that that have access to everything. >> there will be a software update later this week. in the meantime, the group facetime feature has been disabled. security experts recommend upgrading your system, then you

can go back to using facetime. melanie woodrow, abc7 news. it is important to save money for your child's college education. >> a you know. >> driving down my block. >> that's the best way to do it without major penalties? michael finney has some tips for us. >> have you used 529 plans? >> oh, yes. >> our kids went to school together. we've had this conversation many times. been saving for know the advantage of putting college money into a 529 savings account. you get big tax breaks at that time, but what happens when it's time to take the money out? financial experts and consume s consum"consumer reports" say the smart ways to do that too. >> when her daughter was born, she put money into a 529 plan.

her daughter is a college freshman and it's time to start taking money out of her 529, which is more complicated expected. >> you taught thehought it's th bucket of money, and we're starting to learn there are some strings attached an rules. >> rules that are important to follow, according to the financial team at "consumer reports," if you want to avoid hefty penalties. >> if you don't spend the money on legitimate 529 expenses you'll pay income tax on the earnings in the 529 and a 10% penalty on the amount you saved. >> legitimate 529 expenses include obvious things such as tuition and supplies like books and computers. but you can also use the money towards room and board. if you're enrolled in school at least halftime. as you spend, be sure to keep all your receipts. the irs may have questions later. be aware that when you spend the money also matters. >> you need to spend the money in the same year that you make

the withdrawal. that means the calendar year, not the school year. >> and if you're lucky enough to have leftover 529 funds, avoid taxes and penalties by saving it for graduate school or transferring the money to another child, a cousin, or even to further your own education. "consumer reports" says sometimes you can even use 529 money towards encase nal costs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, but that is only available up to $10,000 per student per year. still a pretty good deal. now, just to be sure to check with your plan administrator to find out what's covered in the plan you have chosen. >> larry is talking about the kids have more financial wisdom. the parents need it too. >> sororities, fraternities, not covered. i'll save you that phone call. >> is that right? >> not a covered expense. room and board, that's it.

>> good evening, everyone. live doppler 7 showing you some clouds overhead. that is going to be changing in the coming days as we get into a wet pattern. i want to show you what folks in the midwest are dealing with. this is just brutal. the arctic chill has plunged into the area, minus 55 degrees in fargo. life-threatening conditions, minus 50 in minneapolis. 24 below zero in chicago. very cold conditions there. and as you take a look at the windchills going into tomorrow morning, it's not going to get that much better. still minus 42 minneapolis, a widespread record likely, minus 40 in fargo. it is frigid here. while we are in enjoying sunshine and you almost feel guilty basking in the sun, seeing a little bit of fog. it is just so perfectly framed from this camera. 54 in san francisco, oakland,

mountain view, san jose in the upper 50s, morgan hill, 52. this really looks more like summer than winter. we are seeing that fog rolling in and it will be a part of your forecast. upper 50s from santa rosa to petaluma. livermore, 60 degrees. here's what you need to watch out for if you're stepping out tonight or going out tomorrow morning. foggy areas during the overnight hours, rain returns tomorrow evening and a stronger storm on friday. hour by hour we go, 7:00 p.m. tonight, the fog around the coast, the bay. the morning commute, even out toward the central valleys. be prepared for that fog. in the morning, temperatures low 40s to the low 50s. as we head into the afternoon, increasing clouds, numbers in the upper 50s to the mid-60s, a little cooler than today. then we get ready for an area of low pressure. as we look at the satellite/radar, the reason why this is complicated is it's a

cutoff low, cut off from the main flow moving west to east. track one brings us more rain, 80%, if that happens, track number two, 20% chance it skirts the coastline heading to the south of us. we'll go with track 1, a level 1 system, rain heavy at times, about a third of an inch to an inch for most areas. a slight chance of thuntd der. 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, clouds on the increase, by 5:30, sock pocket os-rain for the reign. 8:00 p.m., approaching san francisco. 10:00 p.m., it's coming down pretty hard, oranges and yellows indicating heavier rain. it will be briefly heavy going into the 12:30 hour, and then it tapers to scattered lighter showers for a thursday morning commute between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. still some isolated showers thursday at noontime. rainfall potential with this system, highest right now, totals look like in the north

bay, over an inch possible there, half an inch to three-quarters of an inch to the rest of you. a moderate storm for friday into saturday, level 2, heavier rain, stronger winds, half an inch to 2 1/2 inches of rain and a chance for thunderstorms. accuweather forecast, rainy in the evening, level 1 for wednesday into thursday. 2, wet and windy friday. saturday morning rainy and gu y gusty. cold showers on sunday, snow level dropping, 3,500 to 4,000 feet, which means our highest peaks, may see a little show, and an early chance on monday. this will bring some snow in the sierra and the snow levels go from about 8,000 to about 3,000, 4,000 feet this weekend. >> keep the ski season going. >> right. >> they'll be happy up there. coming up, a deaf couple from california claims delta air lines discriminated against

the san francisco marin food bank is reaching to help a hidden population of the hungry, student ps. they partnered with city college of san francisco to open a farmer's market on campus. students can get healthy items for free. many students are spending so much on sky-high rents and education costs, it leaves little left for food. >> knowing that san francisco is one of the most expensive cities to live in, you can imagine when you go through college that you're broke and ten times more if you live in san francisco. >> you can't have performance in the classroom until the basic needs are met. >> the food bank is at the campus health center and is open on tuesday mornings from 9:00 to 10:30. delta air lines is investigating claims it discriminated against a deao sin a flight home from california. you'll see the confrontation with a delta gate agent in

detroit. the couple wrote a note to the agent requesting to sit together but the agent threw the note in the trash. one of the passengers then tried to grab the note. then the agent called police claiming she felt threatened because the passenger went behintd her counter. delta refused to let the couple board. they flew back to los angeles aboard another airline. a dramatic rescue on an icy lake. how several chicago police officers worked to save man remember the way we used to do things? hey man... like connect with friends? dig it! or get in shape? or sell a house and pay a real estate agent a big commission. [crash] at redfin, we charge you a 1% listing fee. and because redfin.com is america's #1 brokerage site

our agents get more eyes on your home so you sell for thousands more than the one next door. don't get stuck in the past. sell with a redfin agent. than the one next door. what does help for heart fait looks like this. entresto is a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb.

the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. yeah! coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, live team coverage on pg&e's bankruptcy filing. how it could get in the way of projects meant to prevent future problems. and a 7 on your side investigation. what's been going on that sent several drivers to the repair shot? development or perezer vags? some say the battle is more about the future versus the past. we'll look at the duel in the south bay. that's in half an hour.

finally, we were talking about the polar vortex in the midwest. how cold it is in chicago. >> check out these aerial shots of the chicago river. and lake michigan. big ice chunks. look at that. it's all been frozen over or just about, at least the surface. tomorrow the expected high is 13 degrees below zero. >> whoa. >> windchills will make it feel as low as 50 below zero. >> a rescue from lake michigan became a group effort. chicago police formed a human chain to reach a man who went into the water after his dog. the man rescued the dog, then he got trapped in 34-degree water surrounded by ice walls. >> officers tried to use the dog's leash to pull him out but he couldn't hold onto it. six officers formed that human chain to place the leash around the man.

tonight, the states of emergency. authorities issue warnings about the life-threatening cold. 28 states. the chain reaction crash, passengers pinned in their cars. whiteout conditions, wind chills of 52 below zero expected in minneapolis. 50 below in chicago. that system now moving east. the well-known tv star brutally attacked. tonight, police are calling it a possible hate crime. the "empire" actor telling police the suspects, their faces covered, put a rope around his neck, poured something on him and shouted racial and homophobic slurs. the new warning tonight from this country's top intelligence chiefs, contradicting what the president has said about russia, north korea and the threat from isis. the deadly chopper crash. tonight, a medevac helicopter racing to help a patient crashing, several dead.