ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. the online traffic fine payments system in santa clara county melted down months ago. not just that, in some cases, people are being overcharged. >> it's been a mess. abc7 has more live from the courthouse to explain and show what people have to do. [ inaudible ] all these items are -- >> reporter: david ramirez should be at school, but instead he spent the morning at the santa clara county courthouse trying to pay a ticket. >> i've been saying some time. the remaining balance is $381. my next payment is due on the 4/22. >> reporter: he's making a payment in person because the court's online payment system is down. a spokesperson for the court wouldn't comment on camera, but in an e-mail to abc7 news it says the problem goes back to december. a memo detailing the issue is posted at the court. a glitch in the software is

causing traffic fines to be miscalculated. some people are being undercharged, others charged more. >> you have to pay your ticket because the phone lines and the online service aren't working. it's kinds of alarming that we live in such an expensive city and stuff and they can't fix their court systems. >> reporter: ramirez says he tried for two weeks to pay on line but got this message -- at that system is down for maintenance. once inside, ramirez said there were long lines and a long wait before he could pay. >> they're exceeding way past the stairs and everything in there. yeah. and kinds of customer service in there isn't too friendly. >> reporter: crystal lopez drove an hour from hollister, taking time off from work to make a payment. she ended up leaving early. >> almost an hour away. i'm leavin early because the lines are really long. >> reporter: the software company that's part responsible for the payment platform, tyler technologies, sent me an e-mail only to say that they acknowledge the problem, that they're working on a solution. if you overpaid, you are entitled to a refund. if you underpaid, the court will

accept that lower amount as full payment. reporting live, abc7 news. >> okay. thank you. okay. we still have sunny, gorgeous skies, although rain is a comeback. >> it is. it won't stop. meteorologist sandy patel is here with the forecast. >> savor the sunshine, all right. tomorrow you'll be pulling those umbrellas back out again. right now live doppler 7, not showing you any rain. but there is a storm that is developing. let's pull out here. and i'm show you what it looks like -- i'll show you what it looks like on the satellite/radar perspectivive. a light level one on the impact scale. a quarter to three quarters of an inch of rain. the higher terrain, 35, 45 mile-per-hour wind gusts. here's the outlook. a few showers approaching, and by 8:00 a.m. in the north bay. have to the afternoon hours before that rain really spreads across the entire bay area. but that's not our only storm. take a look at the ones over the next several days. i'll be back with a closer look

in the accuweather seven-day forecast forecast. >> that's a lot of ones, thank you. snow, sleet, rain, sun, check weather conditions where you live with live doppler 7 on our website and the abc7 news app. click the blue "live" bar at the top. you can enable alerts to get updates sent right to your device. a developing story. a pittsburgh woman accused of shooting her husband in the head over the weekend appeared before a judge for the first time today on attempted murder charges. >> her husband, pittsburgh do the education center principal paul schatzwell, remains on life support. >> we have more from the courtroom. >> reporter: cameras were not allowed as the 39-year-old appeared. she was trying throughout. her brother said she's heartbroken and that the couple loved each other. the couple seemed to be happily married. it's not clear what happened leading up to the shooting.

schatzwell has eight children ranging from 6 to 29. the case was put over until next week for another arraignment and potential bail hearing. she plans to plead not guilty. the prosecuting attorney says if schatzwell passes away, the complaint will be amended to change the charge to murder. >> we treat every family with dignity, and we're not going treat this family any different. we're going to give them the utmost care and respect that they deserve. >> reporter: this has been especially difficult for both families. vides' attorney is waiting to receive discovery in the case before making a statement. in pittsburgh, melanie woodrow, abc7 news. the city of oakland held an emotional service today to mark the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days for its police department. it was on this day in 2009 when these four officers were gunned down. sergeant mark dunigan, sergeant urban romans, and daniel sakay,

and joel aggie. ♪ family of the fallen officers joined members of the police department and the city officials to honor the four and celebrate their commitment to the community. police chief anne kirkpatrick fought back tears as she honored the officers she never knew and those in her department now. >> this terrible incident began with a traffic stop in east oakland where a convicted felon, lavelle nixon, ambushed two of the officers. nixon shot and killed sergeant romans and sakay during the manhunt that followed before he was eventually gunned down. in just about 20 minutes, a

mountainview school district will vote on whether to enter an agreement to build housing for teachers. the superintendent of the mountainview school district wants to develop a 144-unit apartment complex near the district office. he says some employees commute from as far away as hollister, and others live with three or four roommates. if the new complex is approved, teachers and other employees could live there for $1,500 a month. we'll bring you more on how the votes unfold tonight on later editions of abc7 news. imagine parking your car at a b.a.r.t. station only to return to find out that it's been stripped of its catalytic converter, perhaps the wheels and the tires, too. >> yeah. that's what's been happening to unwitting b.a.r.t. riders at some east bay stations. laura anthony talked to one victim and joins us live from the lafayette b.a.r.t. station. laura? >> reporter: hi. the b.a.r.t. rider we talked with parked her car right in this area just a stone's throw from the station entrance.

still, her car became a prime target for a bold crew of thieves. >> saturday afternoon i thought, you know, couldn't be safer. >> reporter: mary koon road bart from marietta. gone a couple of hours, and when she returned she started her older model honda accord and knew something was wrong. >> immediately check nbengine comes on, but worse the sound. i had no idea what was happening. >> one cut there, one cut there. >> reporter: the service director at walnut creek honda tells us he sees it often, cars left at b.a.r.t. lots ravaged by thieves. >> they jack it up. they will take the battery operated tool, cut it off, and they're gone in just a couple of minutes. >> like the indy 500. the pit crews? >> nascar pit crew. that would be a good analogy, yeah. >> reporter: this 2004 accord

has the telltale sound of an emergency devoid of its catalytic converter. as brazen as the thefts are, b.a.r.t. police say car burglaries overall at station lots have dropped 33% from this time last year. still, more than 200 catalytic converters were stolen from b.a.r.t. lots last year. is there a way to crack down on this? >> there is, but it's one of those things like fishing. you throw the line in the water, and if you get lucky, you get lucky. but the fact that they're so good at it, and they know what cars to look for, you know, they're in and out pretty fast. >> reporter: that's little consolation to koon who told us she won't put her car in that position ever again. >> i would never park my car here again. especially not a honda. >> reporter: according to b.a.r.t., of the 200 stolen last year, 95% came from honda accords. apparently these thieves find them easy to work with. finally it's no small thing if one of these is stolen from your car. the repair splestimate for mary

car more than $4,500. it's a 20-year-old car, and it's not clear it's worth even half that. back to you. >> thank you. coming up, part two of a story you'll see only here on abc7. >> i don't think i'm a hero. i think the police department is. >> a u.p.s. driver held hostage gives his thanks to the first responders who helped save his life. a snowman a state university -- sonoma state university student is battling a flesh-eating disease. how he got it at a national guard training session. plus, details we're learning about what's next for the controversial flintstones' home in hillsborough.

sarah's last tuition payment, sent off. feeling good? oh yeah. now i'm ready to focus on my project. ♪ ♪ this is why we plan. ♪ ♪ you never cease to amaze me, maya. see how investing with a j.p. morgan advisor can help you. visit your local chase branch. part two of an exclusive

interview only on nbc 7 news. the u.p.s. driver who was taken hostage and forced to drive miles at gunpoint is breaking his silence. >> mitch ehlert was working a route when a man and woman approached. the incident ended with one suspect shot dead by >> abc7's reporter sat down for the wide ranging and extensive interview. >> reporter: we sat down for about three hours. incredible to hear his story. the outcome for the u.p.s. driver, mitch ehlert amazing. he walked away unharmed with so much gratitude for the men and women who kept his safety top priority. [ sirens ] following a wild hostaging and seven hours of intense hostage negotiation, a development the nation was hoping for. hostage mitch ehlert was released. days later the man was hailed a hero by the san jose police department. >> the things that he did not only to keep himself safe but to

help us capture this violent felon are amazing. >> i don't think i'm a hero. you know, i think the police department is. you know, they're the ones that kept us all good. that's who i put my mean on. >> reporter: at gunpoint, he led a sea of officers and deputies on a chase through san jose. the suspects in the cab, quickly running out of options. to this day, ehlert says he holds no judgment against the people who put his life at risk. >> they were scared. they were terrified people, you know. so like i said, i don't want them thinking that i hate these people or -- i don't know them. i don't know them. i will say this -- i am sorry to their families. i was just in a situation that nobody wanted to be a part of, you know. so i hope someho we can peace with it, too. >> reporter: he's thanked law enforcement, friends, family, and u.p.s. the company he's eager to return

to. >> it is a true brotherhood there. i mean, i am beyond grateful. >> reporter: even more grateful, he was able to return home to his wife and three kids. he says that outcome wasn't entirely clear. describing most chilling point that evening. the spokes macy rogers surrendered, but her accomplice remained. >> he started stressing about his daughter, how he's not going to let his daughter be a part of this. and he had -- he had looked right at me, and it was the one and only time he had done this. he looked at me and said, "this is why i'm not going back." she'd, kw he said, "i'm not going back. today we die." his exact words, "today we die. ". >> "today we die." incredible to hear him repeat it without any difficulty at all. he didn't skip a beat. >> what a brave guy. says he's not a hero, but he was awfully brave. >> what struck us, they talked about their children. something friends might do.

and you always hear police, right, say if you can just establish some sort of rapport and touch that human side -- >> bond. >> exactly. it makes it that much less likely that they can hurt you. >> yeah. so eletter mentioned that, and it was one of the more emotional parts of our interview. it was after macy rogers had already surrendered. it was just marafsky and ehlert in the truck. he asked ehlert if he wanted to see a picture of his daughter. after that, after that exchange, ehlert said, can i show you a picture of mine. and then it was after he showed the picture of his daughter that morafsky told him to go. >> smart. connect human to human. maybe it helps. remarkable work. >> good job. thank you. >> what a story. all right. a 21-year-old sonoma state student and national guard recruit is fighting for his life after contracting a flesh-eating disease. pretty rough situation. dez dell barba's family made a

gofundme page which includes these photos. they say the 21-year-old who is from stockton took a leave of absence from sonoma state in his final semester to go to basic training at ft. benning in georgia. the family says he got sick and tested positive for a common bacteria, but lack of proper medical treatment at ft. benning led to him developing this terrible flesh-eating bacteria. del barbra's family says he's being treated in san antonio. he's had one leg amputated, poor guy, and large amounts of tissue and muscle have been removed to stop the spread of the disease. a ft. benning spokesman referred a tv station to the u.s. army medical command for commencement. they said in a statement, "our mission is to train soldiers and to develop leaders in aigh risk and close-quarters environment. the safety and care of our soldierser mo concerg results in illness, injury, or sadly even death." top diplomats praed and

friendship with south korea in san francisco today. abc7 news was in the presidio. that's where the u.s. ambassador to south korea and that nation's ambassadors to washington, d.c., placed a wreath at the korean war memorial. more than 36,000 americans lost their lives fighting during the korean war from 1950 to '53. >> we will never forget. >> since that time we have formed deep economic relationships between our countries, and most importantly, deep people-to-people ties. >> more than 2,200 korean war vets are buried near the memorial in the presidio. many historians called the korean war america's forgotten war. abc7 news recently traveled to korea to get a firsthand at the efforts to bring change. our special report "breaking the ice: chasing peace on the korean

peninsula," airs sunday at 6:30 p.m. right here on abc7. >> be sure to tune in. that's a powerful special we have for you. let's focus our attention on the weather. nice sunshine out there today. more rain is coming. >> yeah. don't get too comfortable. >> right? >> got to keep it interesting in the middle of spring. don't get too comfortable. take a look at live doppler 7. right now the only shower i can find is in the santa cruz area. it's really a lonely shower there. as the system, the disturbance is continuing to move through. we're basically going to be tracking an actual storm as we head into tomorrow. it's a level stmpact scale. and here's what you cxpt tomorrow. basically rainfall will be a father to three quarters of an inch.o be terribly windy dpept higher elevations. over an inch of rain expected for the coastal range. we're banking looking at 35 to 40 mile-per-hour gusts over the heyer terrain. look at this lovely view. a mix of sun and clouds. i not the snupt's going to be

gorges -- sunset's going to be gorgeous. there are two people enjoying the beach too. cool out there. 58 in san francisco. 61 in oakland. and san jose, 60, half moon bay. another lovely picture from the emeryville camera. so president clinttty, we had t again. 63 in concord. from the golden gate bridge, we're seeing some sunshine right now. storm arrives tomorrow. mainly dry over the weekend. a wet pattern again early next week. hour by hour, 4:00 a.m. tomorrow, the rain is approaching heading into the morning community. 8:00 a.m., those showers are mainly in the north bay. it's the warm front that is coming through. 10:00 a.m. still in the north bay. a few sprinkles, fran east bay, the steadiest of the rain comes through between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. you will notice the evening commute is going to be tough as we will see some pockets of moderate to avenue are rain. now at 11:00 p.m., scattered showers will linger into saturday morning. then it's pretty much done. so most of your weekend will be dry, but by sunday night, the next storm is coming in. in terms of your rainfall

totals, most of you will be between that quarter inch to three-quarters of an inch. the higher terrain will pick up more rain. it turns to snow in the mountains. winter weather advisory 11:00 tomorrow to 5:00 p.m. saturday. up to a foot expected at the peaks. good idea to carry the chains in case you nationwide them. first -- you need them. first thing tomorrow, 40s. the showers approaching the north bay. for the afternoon hours, expect the rain, especially in the north bay at 3:00 in the afternoon. by evening, it's spreading. temperatures from the 50s, 60s for most of you. a look at the accu-weather seven-day forecast, level one tomorrow. rainy, breezy. a chance early saturday. before your weekend plans begin, most of you will be experiencing dry weather. late sunday night, the next storm approaches. and it's a level one for your monday. another storm tuesday, going into wednesday, thursday, still pretty much a wet pattern, they're all level-one systems. at this point, if i were you, make sure you have your shades, make sure you have your umbrellas. it's a little bit of everything

for everyone. you can download the accu-weather app and track the live doppler 7 and the temperatures. >> sounds good. thank you. two people under arrest after a pregnant woman was stabbed ten times and carjacked in front of her california home. >> the trouble they ran into trying to get away.

los angeles police arrested two known gang members accused of repeatedly stabbing a pregnant woman outside her home and stealing her car. this happened yesterday in the s sunland neighborhood in the valley. the man was seen taking off in the white kia before slamming into a parked car. moments earlier one of the men approached the victim as she pulled into her driveway. he asked to use her phone before stabbing her multiple times as the second man helped steal her car. >> she's got ten punctures from stabbing. one of which runs all the way to the lungs. >> just horrifying. the victim is 12 weeks pregnant. doctors say it's too early to

tell if the baby will survive. both men face attempted murder and carjacking charges. new details today about what's next for the owner of the "flintstone" house. abc7 is the only station to go insides since the controversial started. the home is elaborately decorated inside as it is outside. the town of hillsborough is suing owner florence fang for create bhag it calls a highly visible eyesore without getting proper permits. "the mercury news" reports fang's lawyer plans to file a response to the town's lawsuit and a countersuit in the coming weeks. the town plans to then ask a judge to issue an injunction, forcing fang to remove the dinosaurs and other decorations. you can see more of the home in our exclusive to tour inside on our website, abc7news.com. this week the warriors have been announcing the first slate of acts that will open the new chase center in san francisco this fall. metallica and the san francisco symphony will kick things off in

september. >> well, great. san francisco's mayor has made a special concert request which she talked about with us today "midday live." >> i have definitely made a request for beyonce who is not touring right now. and that's one of the only reasons why. >> she's always ready, though. >> she's always ready. i agree. she walks like a dancer. she walks like she's ready to start performing. she can do it any time. i'm ready. i'm ready to see her. >> the request has been made -- >> yes. beyonce, come to san francisco. we need you. >> how can beyonce turn that down? >> i know. >> hard sell. officials will announce one more event tomorrow afternoon. we'll let you know. okay. they reached the pinnacle of their game, and today the girls basketball players at oakland tech basked in the glory of a state championship. ♪ abc7 was inside the gym at oakland tech while the band played and others gathered to honor the young women who

brought home the title. this marks oakland tech's first state championship since 2005. >> once in 15 years. i feel like this is really good for the community to get back. >> this year's girls basketball team follows in the foodsteps. legends who attended oakland tech. famous alineups include actor clint eastwood, baseball hall of famer ricky henderson, and the grammy award-winning pointer sisters. in the meantime, march madness, the college basketball championship, of course, is underway right now. some games are being played in san jose. across all the teams in the ncaa tournament, there are 11 young men with bay area connections playing. we've posted a full list with information about each other at abc7news.com. each player i should say. >> okay. fun time of year. >> that's right. californians are heading south to check out super blooms. we want to remind you, you don't have to go too far to check out beautiful blooms.

we checked out the u.c. botanical garden in berkeley. we're days away from the national puppy day. we'll have more with the mornings team beginning at 4:30 a.m. when we'll tell you how you can give an adorable puppy a forever home. >> we'll be streaming our puppy cam all morning until noon at abc7news.com.

coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, an act of violence at cal prompts an executive threat by president trump over free speech. at 6:00 why berkeley officials seem unfazed by today's declaration. also, how much governor newsom wants to raise our water rates to help clean up contaminated water in rural and low-income areas. plus -- >> always come back to the old house. what if it's empty --

>> we're going to give you a sneak peek of a new movie and the home that's become a fictional symbol of gentrification in san francisco. that's coming up on abc7 news at 6:00. >> that looks good. >> it does. >> thanks. finally, you don't have to go to southern california to enjoy a super bloom of flowers. >> abc7 news was in berkeley at the u.c. botanical garden. it boasts a mixture of an ulnuas and perennials that go to the far east. >> it's always beautiful here. the rains have brought them out in large numbers together. but honestly, we see blooms like this almost every year. there will always be a few things blooming, but nothing like this. >> now that's because even in dry winters, the collection is always watered -- ? a few weeks, the bloom will be replaced by other colorful

flowers. they're expected to last much longer. "world news tonight" is next. tonight, breaking news. what we have just learned about some of those new boeing jets that were flying right here in the u.s. after those two crashes, the pilots frantically flipping through the manual, now we learn many new poe wiboeing jets were missing safety features that boeing charged extra for, including planes here at home. one airline's response tonight. bracing for the mueller report. cameras surrounding robert mueller today. it is expected very soon. and what jon karl has just learned tonight. what not to expect. th e system from d.c. up through new york and boston. after the exploding tanks near houston, authorities telling the public there was no risk, today, the shelter in place alert for a time amid fears of b