your health, children's education and the changing workplace and your money all issues we're focusing on in an effort to build a better bay area, and tonight it's the economy. abc 7 news reporter cornell bernard report from livermore where some rallied to get the city back to business. >> reporter: many small businesses tell me they are fighting for survival. they say reopening their doors needs to happen sooner than later. 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 us 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: darin and andrea 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: this salon owner nancy lam bab made this emotional plea. >> i will cleanup anything, whatever. please open up our nail salons. >> reporter: organizers say this rally called "save our town" was not designed to be political. few people wore face coverings or observed social >> 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're all working very hard to do. >> the mayor says the city is working on a plan right now 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. >> businesses in san francisco can now apply to get a permit for curbside pickup. sfmta's director of transportation says the agency is taking applications. businesses have to be zoned and permitted in order to offer the service to customers. >> and part of building a better bay area focuses on how local governments are struggling to build their budgets for the coming fiscal year. the san jose mayor 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 beginning july 1st. san jose expects tax revenues to fall by about 9% and service cuts are expected. mayor ricardo urged citizens today to share the ideas for minimizing the impact during tough financial times. >> we know 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 the hiring of new officers to replace those who were due to retire. >> the government here in fremont and the governor 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 on monday despite alameda county's orders to keep it closed.

that day musk said he would be at the facility as well. one speaker says she's 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 would allow the plant to legally reopen its manufacturing processes this coming week. we reached out to tesla for comment on today's protest but haven't heard back. meantime today dozens of san franciscans came together to talk about racism during this time of covid-19. studies have shown there has been a huge increase in hate incidents against asian-americans recently. supervisor gordon marr held a virtual town hall about the issue today. one of the speakers was one whose grandma had been beaten at a visitation valley playground in 2019 and died this year. >> whether it's racism, discrimination, we are seeing each other as others instead of

seeing each other for who we are as humans. >> san francisco district attorney also participated. he says his office, quote, has a zero-tolerance policy on hate crimes. abc 7 has been hosting our own town halls on coronavirus. you can watch them all on our website on 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. >> 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% for last year. some states allowing retail store tuesday reopen but with curbside pickup only. other stores requiring reservations. some mall limiting capacity and some beaches 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 as churchill downs this weekend but no spectators in the stands. nascar has over seven races scheduled over seven days. 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, hi-tech plane cleaning and possibly temperature checks. >> the 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: but 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's more likely than not that we will. >> well, one california city is reopening without permission from the county or governor. atwater is located in merced county. yesterday the city council voted to declare itself a sanctuary city for businesses. they say they made the move after getting no action in response to letters to county and state leaders. >> it's america. you have the choice.

it's time for the government to stop dictating another month, another three months, six months. when is it going to end? when everybody's bankrupt? >> it's up to businesses whether they want to reopen. businesses regulated by the state including bars and nail salons could lose their licenses for opening, so they may choose to wait it out. >> tourists facing still closed doors -- >> why don't you take this one? >> yeah, it looks like tourists facing still closed doors in tahoe being welcomed across the state line in nevada. tahoe moving into phase two allowing limited openings for retail and restaurants. those services are only opening up locally, though, and not to tourists. south lake tahoe actually resides incuff counties and two different states. on the nevada side tourism has already begun but in california visitors are being told to stay at home. the mayor is focusing on safety but says it's tough. >> to be asking our visitors not

to comp t tahoe right now it's incredibly difficult because it's the lifeblood of our economy. >> boating season has also partially begun on lake tahoe. watercraft inspection stations aren't opened yet so all boaters must have an intact inspection seal and a local license. well, a fire in the east bay has left dozens of people looking for a place to safe and it's not due to fire itself. coming up on abc 7 news why the building is now off-limits. working together to feed the community. >> joining forces to do good. the partnership today that led to this event which helped nearly 1,000 bay area families. and i'm meteorologist drew tuma. with a mild start to the weekend today, but tomorrow we're talking about cooler temperatures and the we're all doing our part by staying at home. that could mean an increase in energy bills.

you can save by using a fan to cool off... unplugging and turning off devices when not in use... or closing your shades during the day. stay well and keep it golden.

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more than 50 people in fremont are looking for a new place to call home after a broke out a at their apartment complex. abc 7 was at the waterstone apartments on leslie street where the fire began just before 8:30 last night. fremont fire says most of the damage didn't come from the fire itself which was confined to one unit but from sprinklers that had to be shutdown. the water damage is so bad the electrical system cannot be reenergized. that makes the apartment uninhabitable. the fire is under investigation. nobody was hurt. firefighters rescued a person today from the cliffs in pacifica. a neighbor sent us this video from nearby -- avenue. you can see that person being carted away on a stretcher. their condition is unknown. 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 am. today in oakland 1,000 families received food boxes and a little extra spending money.

volunteers loaded donations into cars at the church. the salvation army organized today's give away with donations. one clergyman says more help will be needed during these tough times. >> they're going have to do it more often because there's so many people hurting now, so many people unemployed. >> this is just offering a little bit of hope and encouragement to people. >> organizers originally planned to give each family $20, but that grew to $40 thank tuesday donor from southern california. >> now, at this time, 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 #better bay area to show us how you're saying thank you and we'll share your story. an event that had to be canceled due to health orders has found a new way to help the community grow. and it appears to be pretty popular based on this line of

cars. we'll check out an effort in the east bay to strengthen the community one plant at a time. and meteorologist drew tuma is up next with the soggy accuweather forecast. coming up in sports major league baseball's details on a return to play and the changes you might see on the field. plus hockey with no fans. the sharks captain talks about that very

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track those scattered showers throughout the south bay and east bay even by 5:00 tomorrow evening. so a slow moving storm system but very light. rainfall estimates you can see where we find those showers we're talking less than a quart of an inch of rain. and you will likely find some rain drops outside your door over the next 24 hours. we're staying in the 50s and that means tomorrow we'll go into the 60s. a little bit cooler than today but nonetheless we'll track those showers. accuweather forecast, rain, breezy tomorrow and unsettled but then we dry up, brighten up and warm up by thursday, friday and for the weekend next week temperatures going back to the

70s sports are slowly making a come back. the ufc has already returned. nascar is back tomorrow. the pga tour begins play in june, and what about baseball? we wait for baseball. according to an espn report major league baseball's rurp to play plan includes processing upwards of 10,000 covid tests per week with players and teams and they'll sit in the stands, high-fives, fis bumps and chewing sun flour seeds, those would all be prohibited. but still no return to play yet. hockey and basketball one of the sports currently on halt due the coronavirus. earlier this week we spoke to captain about what it would be like to return this season with no fans. >> for us we realized what's going on in the world and if we do come back we're playing to give people at home something to look forward to.

you know, hopefully they do, you know, great broadcasts on tv, and 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 we're looking to keep people happy at home and from them to enjoy it. >> the pro football hall of famer teaming up to raise money benefitting east side college prep school in east palo alto and the east real campaign which began earlier this month. has a goal of raising $100,000 to feed, educate and help with urgent needs for local bay area families. >> we're trying to find a way to kind of make sure we don't leave anybody behind, and so when i heard the idea i recognized right away that this is a unique opportunity. either by way of education, health or the arts.

>> at last check more than $25,000 have been raised so far. for more you can donate and visit eatreal.org. did you see, the german bundesliger returned to play. social distancing being practiced on the bench, but it is hard to social distance during a soccer match. when it was all over the winners celebrated at the stadium still packed with fans. it is slowly coming back a way for american sports to return. nascar tomorrow that should be a lot of fun, guys. >> i know we can't wait for sports to be back. just ahead get ready for we're here for you and we're open. wow. i'm an original. one of a kind. you feel me? love ya'. oop! you look cute! better than you? pop my 100% all-white-meat classic or

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