>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. businesses on the brink. a plea today from people demanding to get back to work. hello. thanks for joining us. i'm eric thomas. >> and i'm dion lim. we begin tonight with an economic rally to reopen. your money, health, children's education and the changing workplace are all top issues we're focusing on in our effort to build a better bay area. abc 7 news reporter cornell barnard joins us live now from livermore where people rallied

today to get the city back to business. and cornell, you heard from a lot of business owners there. >> yeah, dion and eric, we certainly did. many business owners say they are fighting for survival. they say reopening their doors really needs to happen sooner than later. >> open up! open up! >> reporter: dozens of people rallied in downtown livermore to support small businesses, urging local leaders to allow them to reopen. >> livermore was nothing before these businesses came in. and to let them sit here and fall to the wayside blindly is not okay with me or my family. >> we're hurting. we've had zero revenue for two months now. >> reporter: darren and andrea liggett own anytime fitness gym. they believe they can safely reopen their doors now. >> people are buying groceries. i really don't see the difference. right? because we can very easily move equipment around and keep our members safe. >> i just want to survive for my

family. i have two kids! >> reporter: nail salon owner nancy lam made this emotional plea. >> you know, just let me open up. i will work out of respect. i will clean it up, sanitize everything, whatever. please open up the nail salon! >> reporter: organizers say this rally called save our town was not designed to be political. few people wore face coverings or observed social distancing. they say shelter in place restrictions set to be eased next week for much of alameda county don't go far enough. >> we feel by working with the city that we can create a pathway to help them thrive and do it cautiously. >> reporter: the mayor of livermore says rally organizers never reached out to the city or the downtown business association. he says reopening will take time. >> i would love to get the businesses open. that is not my call. we need to convince the county that we can open safely.

and this is something we are all working very hard to do. >> reporter: the mayor says the city is working on a plan to help businesses like restaurants reopen when the time is right by closing some streets, even parking lots to allow for social distancing, even outdoor dining. live in livermore, cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >> cornell, thank you very much. here's where the bay area stands on phasing in stage 2 of the recovery. alameda and contra costa counties are set to make the move sometime next week. san francisco, san mateo and marin counties will move into phase 2 on monday. santa clara county has yet to determine a date. napa, sonoma, and solano counties are already in phase 2. it allows more businesses to start curbside sales. meantime, businesses in san francisco can now apply to get a permit for curbside pickup. sfmta's director of transportation jeffrey tumblen says the agency is take applications. businesses have to be zoned and

permitted in order to offer the service to customers. part of building a better bay area focuses on how local governments are struggling to build their budgets for the coming fiscal year. san jose mayor sam liccardo hosted an online forum today to describe some of the challenges facing his city. san jose projects a $72 million deficit for the fiscal year starting july 1st. san jose expects its tax revenues to fall by about 9%. so service cuts are expected. mayor liccardo urged citizens today to share ideas for minimizing the impact of tough financial times. >> we know that often you have creative ideas and good suggestions for us to be further exploring as we look at -- i'm sure we can tighten the belt without cutting the services that are most critical. >> one change you may notice, san jose's police department will slow down hiring of new officers who were supposed to replace those who were due to retire. >> the government here in fremont and the government of california should arrest him.

>> protesters outside tesla's fremont factory today called for ceo elon musk to be arrested. they say he broke the law and is putting workers' lives at risk. the tesla facility reopened monday despite alameda county orders to keep it closed. that day musk said he would be at the facility as well. one speaker says she has been working at the factory since the beginning of the year. >> i'm worried for my health. i don't think there's a scenario where this virus cannot be contracted. >> the county and tesla have agreed to terms that will allow the plant to legally reopen its manufacturing processes this coming week. we reached out to tesla for comment on today's protest but have not heard back. today dozens of san franciscons came together to talk about racism during in time of covid-19. supervisor gordon maher held a virtual town hall about the issue today. one of the speakers was sasanayee whose grandma was

beaten at a visitation valley playground in 2019 and died this year. >> whether it's racism or discrimination, it's all other. we're seeing each other as others instead of seeing each other for who we are as humans. >> san francisco district attorney chessa bowedin also participated. he said his office has a "zero tolerance policy on hate crimes." abc 7 has been hosting our town halls on race and coronavirus which you can watch at our website, abc7news.com. 48 states have begun the process of reopening, but at least four of those states are seeing an increase in the number of covid-19 cases. abc news reporter andrew dymbert has the latest. >> reporter: as parts of the country begin reopening the cdc with an alarming new estimate, models forecasting the number of deaths from the virus could reach 100,000 by june 1st. the pandemic has already taken a

devastating toll on the economy. a 16% drop in retail sales in april. the worst in modern history. the clothing industry seeing an unprecedented decline of nearly 90% from last year. some states allowing retail stores to reopen but with curbside pickup only. other stores requiring reservations. some malls limiting capacity and some public beaches in new york, new jersey, connecticut and delaware will be reopening for memorial day but with restrictions. >> at this point concessions will not be operating. we don't want long lines of people waiting. >> reporter: sports are seeing a gradual return as well. horse racing at churchill downs this weekend but no spectators in the stands. nascar has seven races scheduled over 11 days beginning sunday at darlington speedway in south carolina. the travel industry continues to be one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. some experts estimate airlines alone could lose $300 billion.

the future of flying may include face masks, touchless kiosks, high-tech plane cleaning and possibly temperature checks. >> physical distancing is going to be the biggest challenge. and that probably will be the cause of most delays. >> reporter: as americans work to figure out the new normal, president trump remains optimistic about progress on a vaccine. >> it's called "operation warp speed." that means big and it means fast. when i say quickly, we're looking to get it by the end of the year if we can, maybe before. >> reporter: when the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci was asked if a vaccine within a year or two was a long shot -- >> it's definitely not a long shot. i would think it is more likely than not that we will. >> reporter: andrew dymbert, abc news, washington, d.c. some rain is headed our way. drew has the latest on the timing. >> yeah, eric. it was a nice start to the weekend today. mild temperatures. but tomorrow we're finding rain returning to the area. we'll have the hour by hour

timeline in accuweather coming up. plus a fire in the east bay has left dozens of people looking for a new place to stay, and it's not due to the fire itself. why the building is now off limits. working together to feed the community. >> joining forces to do good. the partnership today that led

hollywood is mourning an actor who made millions of moviegoers and tv viewers laugh for decades. funny man fred willard. willard rarely starred as a leading man and played few key supporting roles but he captivated audiences during small scene-stealing appearances. willard's movie appearances included "best in show," "anchorman" and "this is spinal tap." the 86-year-old willard also played a recurring role on abc's "modern family." willard's family has not shared his cause of death. more than 50 people in fremont are looking for a new

place to call home after a fire broke out at their apartment complex. abc 7 news was at the waterstone apartments on leslie street, where that fire began just before 8:30 last night. now, fremont fire says most of the damage didn't come from the fire itself, which was confined to one unit, but instead from sprinklers that had to be shut down. the water damage is so bad the electrical system can't be re-energized, making the apartment uninhabitable. the fire is under investigation. nobody was hurt. project thanks looks at what's being done to help thousands of our friends and neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet during the covid-19 pandemic. today in oakland 1,000 families received food boxes and a little extra spending money. volunteers loaded donations into cars at the acts full gospel church. the salvation army organized today's giveaway with donations of food and cash from the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. one clergyman says more help will be needed during these

tough times. >> we're going to have to do it more often because there are so many people hurting now, so many people unemployed. >> this is just offering a little bit of hope and encouragement to people in these unsettled times. >> organizers originally planned to give each family $20. that grew to $40 thanks to a donor from southern california. >> we love to see it. now, we invite you to join better bay area project thanks and share your gratitude for everyone on the front lines of the covid-19 battle. you can use the hashtag better bay area to show us how you're saying thanks, and we'll share your story. an event that had to be canceled due to health orders has found a new way to help a community grow. and it appears to be pretty popular based on this line of cars. coming up next, we'll check out an effort in the east bay to strengthen the community one plant at a time. and i'm meteorologist drew tuma. we're tracking a storm moving into california tomorrow that will bring some rain to the bay

area. we'll let you know how much and the timeline in accuweather after the br and i live in san francisco, california. i have been a sales and sales management professional my whole career. typical day during a work week is i'm working but first always going for a run or going to the gym. i love reading. i love cooking healthy. it's super important to me. i was noticing that i was just having some memory loss. it was really bothering me. so i tried prevagen and it started to work for me. i wish i had taken prevagen five or ten years ago. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

in the east bay hundreds of people lining up. abc 7 was in downtown hayward where the hull and hernandez real estate company team were handing out their grow your own kits. the team has delivered the plants to homes in the area for the past 41 years and this week the pandemic canceled the plans.

>> we started thinking how can we give them their plant? he we can't put five, six kids in these delivery trucks in and out during this. so we thought let's have something where they can come pick it up and that's what you're looking at today. >> it's pretty clever. the team is accepting canned food to donate to a local food shelter. they plan on handing out more plants tomorrow. uc berkeley held a virtual commencement for the cal class of 2020 today in the online world of minecraft. ♪ >> graduating class of 2020, let me offer you my deep heartfelt congratulations. >> yep. avatars and everything. that's uc berkeley chancellor carol chris speaking. the ceremony took place at blockeley university, which is the digital version of the university. college seniors were given digitized gowns and could even throw their caps at the end of the ceremony. cal students are celebrating their congratulations with a two-day cybermusic festival that began just about an hour ago.

>> entertaining to watch. now, abc 7 is also recognizing bay area high school classes of 2020 by featuring as many high school seniors as possible. you can get your grad or even senior class featured by posting candid pics with the hashtag grads on 7 or by going to abc 7 news.com. we congratulate all of you, class of 2020. ♪

♪ ♪ now, the entire class of 2020 is getting some recognition today. president barack obama will deliver a special commencement address. special guests include lebron james and the jonas brothers. and you can watch "graduate together" here on abc 7 tonight starting at 8:00. a young man from the bay area is on the journey of a lifetime, hoping to become the next "american idol." and tomorrow night is the season finale.

♪ >> francisco martin from daly city says one of his biggest supporters has been his mom, a nurse who works at laguna honda hospital and has been treating covid patients. >> my mom is like superwoman to me. i love her so much. she's such a brave person. and she goes out every single day going on the front lines, and she's so selfless. she cares about others, not just her family. >> tomorrow's voting process is a little unusual. so listen up if you want to support francisco. if he makes it through to the top five, voting will open right after that announcement on the east coast broadcast of "idol," which is 5:00 p.m. our time. then at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow tune in right here to abc 7 to watch "american idol." >> and we wish him so much good luck. and not only that but we're watching the weather and drew tuma's standing by with some spring-like temperatures. drew? it was a mild start to the weekend.

very nice, comfortable mainly in the 70s. tomorrow it's a different forecast. we're talking cooler weather and rain crossing through the bay area. live doppler 7 along with satellite right now showing you. your location is key in determining what your sky looks like at this current moment. in the south bay, in the east bay and parts of the peninsula we're still getting a fair amount of sunshine out there. but the north bay is socked in with cloud cover. and you can see some showers already moving in to parts of the bay area. we'll zoom on in a little bit closer around cloverdale, ukiah, point arena, sea ranch, we're seeing some very light showers just beginning to move into northern california. but this is san jose right now. it's dry. it's a pretty picture on this saturday afternoon. some high thin cirrus clouds moving in ahead of our storm system. breezy conditions. also moved in ahead of our cold front. you can see winds. breezy anywhere from 15 to 30 miles per hour. and we'll keep these winds with us even through sunday. pretty comfortable when you talk about temperatures out there. it's hard to complain about these numbers. a lot of 70s on the board where

you have sunshine. a little bit cooler in the north bay. that cloud cover we're down in the mid 60s to santa rosa right now at 69 degrees. here's the bigger picture, live doppler 7 along with satellite cloud cover increasing from north to south. some light showers already moving in to northern california. associated with a cold front. a very thin ribbon of moisture that will move into the bay area over the next 24 hours and supply us with that light rain. it is a level 1 light system tonight into tomorrow. some light rain scattered downpours. it is breezy at times. a slight chance especially in the east bay tomorrow of some thundershowers, even some hail. hour by hour we go later tonight and really through the overnight hours any showers really stay in the north bay. as we go about the morning hours what we'll find is about 7:00 a.m. we'll start to see those showers move into san francisco and then it's in the afternoon and in the evening. those showers begin to move

south. so it won't be till the second half of our sunday for parts of the south bay and the east bay we find those showers moving through. it really is light scattered showers in the forecast over the next 24 hours. here's the accuweather sunday. the next seven days for you. rain, breezy tomorrow, cooler on monday with scattered showers still in the forecast. can't let an isolated shower on tuesday but dryer, brighter, warmer weather moves in, eric and dion, by thursday, friday. and the upcoming weekend next weekend it's mild spring weather with 70s and 80s away from the coast. >> thank you, drew. chris alvarez on sports. >> yep. hey, eric, coming up in sports major league baseball's plan to come back to play and the changes you could see. plus, hockey with no fans. sharks captain logan couture ta

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>> announcer: now abc 7 sports with chris alvarez. sports are slowly making a

comeback, all with no fans of course. the ufc has already returned. nascar starts tomorrow. the pga tour begins next month. but what about baseball? according to an espn report, major league baseball's return to play plan includes processing upwards of 10,000 covid-19 tests per week with players and team personnel not in the game. they would sit in the stands. high five, fist bumps, to be co. chewing, sunflower seeds, those are all going to be out. still no deal done yet. hockey like basketball is one of the sports currently on halt due to coronavirus. early this week we spoke with sharks captain logan couture on the with authority 30d sxas he talked about what it would be like to return this season without the fans. >> for us we realize what's going on in the world and is it we do come back we're playing to give people at home something to look forward to. you know, hopefully they do great broadcasts on tv. it's obviously going to be different. it's obviously going to take some time getting used to it. but for us to come back that's what we're looking at to keep people happy at home and for

them to enjoy it. 49ers legend ronnie lott is stepping up during the pandemic. the pro football hall of famer has teamed one steven silver fine jewelry to raise money benefiting east side college preparatory school in east palo alto. the campaign which began early this month has a goal of raising $100,000 to feed, educate and help wurnlth needs for local bay area families. >> we're trying to find a way to kind of make sure that we don't leave anybody behind. so when i heard the idea, i recognized right away that this is a unique opportunity. >> it's all driven toward children either by way of education, health, or the arts. >> at last check more than $25,000 had been raised so far. for more on how you can donate visit eat s. real.org/ronnie. we'll also have a link on our

website, abc7news.com. good stuff there. hey, did you see? the german bundesliga returned to play. borussia dortmund defeated schalkee 4-0. teams entered the pitch at different times. social distancing being practiced on the bench as well. however, during a match it is hard to social distance and when it was all over the winners celebrated as if the stadium was packed wit

okay. it's probably safe to say we could all use a smile right now. and we think we found a pretty good reason to grin. take a look. >> so stylish. who can resist baby goats in sweaters? now, it's not uncommon to put sweaters on young goats. it helps keep them warm. this video comes from a farm in cumberland, maine. the goats are just days old, and the farm is expecting oh, many more. about 50. that means somebody out there is

knitting. >> i would watch a livestream of that all day long. i don't know about you. tonight -- crowd control, with almost every state in the nation partially reopening this weekend. 48 states, including new york, easing restrictions. covid-19 cases on the rise in five of them. the death toll topping 88,000. some beaches reopening as a trial run before memorial day weekend. concerns about crowds already. a new york park painting circles in the turf to help people keep their distance. alarming numbers in texas after reporting its deadliest 48 hours so far. a man in hawaii arrested for breaking quarantine, police say, after posting photos on social media. news tonight about that rare but dangerous syndrome affecting children. more than 220 cases in 20 states. doctors now looking at cases from months ago, looking for signs of the condition they may have missed the first time.