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tequila herradura, the world's most gold medal awarded tequila. a casino in the north bay says they're having 4,000 people over for new year's eve, why county supervisors say their hands are tied to stop it. a bay area church that isn't playing by the state's rules still managed to equal foy for taxpayer funded covid relief. we'll tell you how much they got. a california committee recommends four groups that should get the covid vaccine next. >> wet and windy here, white christmas for the sierra. your holiday forecast is coming up. abc 7 news at 11:00 starts right now. >> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. it would be our preference obviously not to have a party with 4,000 people indoors. >> serious concerns tonight about plans for a huge party in the north bay.

graton in sonoma county is hosting the event with thousands expected to attend. >> matt boone explains why despite state orders, the county's hands are tied. >> the graton casino is hosting a private party. they are aware of the event. >> it would be our preference obviously not to have a party with 4,000 people indoors. >> reporter: sonoma county public county officer dr. moss says she's been in touch with the casino but has no jurisdiction over sovereign land. >> they are trying to do things with as much mitt gaugs measures they can in terms of limiting their undoor capacity to 20%. >> reporter: but david rabbit was more forceful in his rebuttal saying the science is clear about large indoor gatherings. though, if they are going to be open on new year's eve, he says

at least they're planning on capping the number of people rather than letting it get out of hand. >> by having it be invite-only, i suppose they can control then who actually comes in as opposed to just expecting to have, maybe, you know, a much larger number over the course of the evening. >> reporter: in a statement, the tribal chairman told abc 7 graten resort and casino will remain open. in in addition to those safety measures already in place, team members are tested for covid-19 every two weeks and wear digital devices that ensure social distancing. bars will continue to remain closed, and walk-up alcohol service will end nightly at 9:00 p.m. matt boone, abc 7 news. also in the north bay, carollers flouted state orders tonight, most of them not wearing masks. ♪ >> about 40 people gathered at

veteran's park in napa for a defying newsom christmas carolling event. they came to show their support for the business community and to highlight what they see as inconsistencies in the state's covid restrictions. >> so, for christmas we're not supposed to sing, but we can go shopping. so, there's a whole bunch of it's okay to do this and not okay to do this. so, when is it okay? >> reporter: actor kirk cameron is facing criticism for facing similar gatherings in southern california. a few money people showed up for carolling in a mall in thousand oaks last night. in the south bay a church that's defying health orders says it will hold christmas service. an indoor service is scheduled tomorrow at calvary church. the lead pastor says it's his constitutional right and he's willing to go to jail over it. the church facing a million dollars in fines of indoor services that have an average of

700 people attending. >> what i would say to the leaders not just of that church but across the country is that when people follow you, you have an obligation to do what's best for them. >> the iteam discovered church received money through the paycheck protection program. that story is ahead. covid is projected to be the third leading cause of death in the county and there's fear travels and gatherings over christmas will send the county over the edge. >> i urge, urge, urge anyone who is considering gathering to stop. >> case rates in santa clara county are at all-time highs due to a surge of new infections following thanksgiving. the fear is another post-holiday spike would collapse the county's health care system. >> we are going to be in an extraordinary crisis here in santa clara county. >> county health officials say hospitals may soon need to

ration care, even more people who don't have covid. >> we are talking about people in gurneys without a bed to go to. we are talking about people not getting hospital care. >> the county's public health officer is begging people not to travel even locally by car and to limit gatherings to only those you live with. if we don't, she warns the consequences could be dire. >> if we have a surge on top of a surge, we will definitely break. >> that is a dire warning. santa clara county has recorded the most cases and most deaths in the bay area throughout this pandemic. more than half of icu patients in california hospitals are infected with covid. with statewide available capacity dipping to 1.1%, all of southern california and the san joaquin valley have been out of regular icu capacity for days now. the bay area is fairing better, thank goodness, with 11.4% availability. but still it's close.

new tonight, there is encouraging news on the vaccine front. pfizer announced a deal with the u.s. government providing 100 million more doses of its vaccine by next july, doubling the initial amount. the cdc says a million americans have been vaccinated. that includes more than 120,000 californians. who will be next? the state advisory committee met late this afternoon to try to answer that question. j.r. stone has more on what was decided. >> reporter: a community vaccine advisory committee made up of dozens of people from california's health divisions made recommendations wednesday on which of the states essential workers should receive the covid vaccines next. the most immediate groups include education and child care workers, emergency service workers, including fire, police and corrections officers, food and ag workers including grocery store employees and most importantly all individuals 75 years old and above. >> 75-plus, they're just they're

outliers. they're ten times, 20 times higher death rates. >> these workers will likely be part of the tier-1b group to receive vaccinations in january and february. other groups receiving the vaccines during that time period will include all high risk 65 to 74 years old, essential workers in transportation, critical manufacturing and facilities and service workers ahead of the united educators of san francisco say this is recommendation would be a win for teachers and says that this could help when it comes to getting schools back open. >> i think the potential is there. some of our buildings and structures need work. >> reporter: those in the committee are recommending prisoners be included in this tier to get the vaccine, something that would cover county and state facilities, but not federal ones. j.r. stone, abc 7 news. new developments foster farms must provide its workers with masks after a deadly

coronavirus outbreak at a chicken processing plant in central california. a judge has ordered the county to comply with a number of covid-19 health rules. a virus outbreak in foster farms livingston facility, one of the world's largest chicken plants actually killed nine people andic issened hundreds more earlier this year. foster farms says it is following safety rules and repeatedly testing its employees. >> san francisco supervisor aaron pes kin is trying to save an iconic chinatown restaurant from closing. we first told you about far east's closure last night. because of the pandemic, the 100 year old banquet hall is closing its doors. they're asking for aid for restaurants. he pleaded to wait on holding. >> bill, i beseech you and your investors and your landlord to hang in there a little bit longer.

>> lee didn't make any promises, but the office tells abc 7 news that lee may stay open until supervisors vote on the aid package in january. coming up, a bay area church that isn't playing by the statute's rules to prevent covid spread still managed to qualify for covid relief. we'll tell you how much they got next. plus with a $62 million budget short fall, oakland announces immediate spending cuts. and rescuing the holiday spirit, san francisco fire stations revive a 70-year-old tradition. i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. a special delivery is coming on christmas. i'll tell you all about the storm and another one that will follow

a church that faces more than $1 million in administrative fines for defying the state's public health order still managed to e are sieve a sizable taxpayer funded loan through the paycheck protection program. >> calvary chapel san jose received more than $340,000 in ppp money. stephanie sierra is on the story. >> chapel san jose. >> it's a blessing to hear all those kids, wasn't it. >> in this clip posted for public viewing on youtube, mcclure is preaching to his indoor congregation this past sunday at 11:00 a.m., a current violation of the public health order. >> if we each do our part and stay just within our household bubble, we can prevent people from dying. >> yet according to santa clara county counsel james williams, the church has continued to hold

indoor services without masks since august, wracking up more than a million dollars in administrative fines. >> you know, it's beyond disappointing frankly the situation there is shameful. >> calvary chapel san jose isn't following covid restrictions but did manage to tap into covid relief through the peks preks program to the tune of more than $340,000. abc 7's analysis found that's nearly three times more than the average bay area religious organization received, which is around $115,000. >> it's troubling to hear that an institution that is thumbing its nose at the courts and at the public health orders from the state and local levels is simultaneously turning around, holding out its hand and taking taxpayer money from the federal government. that's really, really quite concerning.

and you know, a bit ironic. >> newly released data shows cavalry chapel san jose received the loan on april 14th to retain 17 employees. churches that can prove an economic need due to direct impact from covid-19 can qualify for ppp loans. >> our loan is really to keep the -- you know, the economy going, to be able to help it recover. so, with that it became helping churches be able to keep in place on payroll. >> even to churches that aren't abiding by the rules? >> that's outside the scope to comment on that. >> abc 7 reached out to calvary chapel four times over the past four days for comment and further clarification on how the more than o-$340,000 lone was spent. we specifically asked how many employees were retained but we were told over the phone our finance staff is unavailable until january 5th. >> when there's the loss of revenue where it came from the

families that attended the church services or any other type of revenues they had, there's a need to keep employees on payroll. >> pastor had that need for his employees at calvary united methodist church in san jose. he received close to a $128,000 ppp loan to retain four people but it wasn't enough. >> so we had to follow for three steps, so it is a very painful decision. >> lee stopped all indoor worship services the third week of march. for the past ten months he's only offered online services. >> because during the lockdowns, we completely locked down. >> something he wishes pastor mcclure would do. >> it is a -- it's very sad because that remind me of the te history of the church has been divided when we face this kind of a situation.

>> we will stay on this and when calvary chapel san jose's finance staff is back january 5th, we will call again and get the answer to how many employees they kept on payroll with this loan. for the iteam, abc 7 news. in the east bay, the city of e oakland is facing a $62 million budget short fall. today council members considered salary deferals for some of the highest paid city employees. the city has already announced deep cuts, most in public safety. oakland police department will take a $15 million hit and the fire department will be short $5 million. the short fall was largely brought on by the pandemic, but there's also a loss carryover from last year. >> by far the overwhelming cause of this crisis is unbudgeted police overspending. that one department went $32 million over budget. >> the city insists the cuts will only apply through end of

this fiscal year, which ends in june. let's turn our attention to the christmas forecast. tomorrow is christmas eve, and ama, what everyone wants to know, will santa have clear sailing here in the bay area? >> i think he's water proofing his sleigh right now. is that right, sandhya? >> that's right, santa always is ready for anything, including rain, which is coming on christmas, dan and ama. i want to show you a forecast for christmas. let's start off with the morning. a few showers will develop, 40s, 50s, rain will be in the north bay around noontime. it will get breezy to gusty and the rain spreads as we head into the afternoon and evening hours, also getting windy and cooler on christmas day. here are your storms. first system is sending clouds right now. christmas storm is right here. and then there's another one that follows sunday afternoon and evening going into monday. that's a colder storm that's coming our way. let's check out what's happening. this system here is more clouds

than anything. tomorrow we might see a sprungal or two. but that's about it. those clouds overhead holding the temperatures up for some parts of the bay area, but not all. look at those numbers, down to 33 in the santa rosa right now, but 50 degrees in oakland. we do have fog, which is reducing visibility around santa rosa, concord, fairfield down to four to five miles. so, watch out if you are going to drive somewhere tomorrow morning. exploratorium cameras showing a lovely view of san francisco. we're basically looking at turning wet and windy on christmas and colder storm arrives sunday night. so, tomorrow morning, cold but not as cold as the 20s that we saw this morning. we're looking at low 30s to the mid 40s. once again, there will be some areas of dense fog and patchy frost. tomorrow afternoon, mid 50s to low 60s, mix of sun and clouds and a level one storm on the storm impact scale comes the in for christmas. the spotty morning showers become more widespread and breezy to gusty conditions are

expected. timing it out for you, 11:00 a.m. friday, make sure you have your umbrellas if you're in the north bay. by 2:00 p.m. it starts to slide southward, but the bulk of the moisture is in the north bay. 6:00 it is going to be wet everywhere across the bay area going into 11:00 p.m. and a few lingering showers on saturday before the system moves out. in terms of rainfall totals because of the fast nature of the storm, we're not expecting a whole lot. winter storm watch friday morning to saturday morning for the mountains. look at this. possibly up to three feet for the peaks, a foot to a foot and a half, between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. travel is going to be difficult, so probably to hold off. the accuweather 7-day forecast, sprinkles possible tomorrow, wet and windy on christmas, level one going into saturday morning and a cold storm sunday/monday. we need the storms. we're going to get them. as far as white christmas, dan and ama, the sierra will see it, but obviously we're all in

lockdown so can't just head up there right now. >> maybe i'll get a poncho along with my roller skates on christmas. >> good idea. if there's anything that this year has taught us, it's the things that matter: family. health. that's it. we found help at covered california. now we have a plan we can afford. enroll now at coveredca.com

health insurance... is understanding health insurance in another language. pero ahora es mucho más fácil. covered california offers free, expert assistance in multiple languages and financial help for people who need it. enroll now at coveredca.com san francisco fire crews revived a 70-year-old contest to bring holiday cheer to their neighborhoods during the pandemic. firefighters at 17 stations scrambled to decorate their fire houses in just two weeks. station 38 in pacific heights was the winning entry with an animated train and plenty of lights. the displays will stay in place until the end of the yore. >> that's nice.

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...at ross. yes for less! good evening. first it was kevin durant. now it's on to giannis and the warriors and not going to have draymond green to guard the greek freak. the green did practice today. you can see it right here, but needs more time for his sore foot to heal. not a ton of bright spots in the blowout in brooklyn, but james weissman scored 19 points in his nba debut. the rest of the rotation needs work. >> it's not that surprising either given that it's been a really brief camp for a team that's been thrown together. and we've got a lot of moving parts, trying to get everybody coordinated on one page is not going to happen right away. we'll be better in milwaukee. >> steve looking pretty relaxed

on that couch. giannis and the bucs in boston. jayson tatum stepped back, so far off target, banks it in with .4 seconds to go. 30 for tatum. last chance for milwaukee. the building knows this has got to be a lob to giannis, right? two free throws coming up to force overtime. giannis with 35 points makes the first and the second is no good. bucs lose 122-121. and no double means trouble. the nba couldn't even go 24 hours without a covid cancellation. rockets-thunder postponed because the rockets don't have enough players. some tested positive or inconclusive, some in quarantine, and james harden violated protocols partying at a club without a mask. the sharks facing a daunting task, opening the arizona january 14th. that's going to be their home

base for a while since santa clara county forbids them from playing in san jose. 14 of the first 18 games will be on the road. brad brennan staying at san jose state getting his second raise and contract extension in two years, was a candidate for the arizona job. went to jed fish. so, brennan will guide the spartans who went 7-0 and win the mountain west conference title. >> so, i'm really, really excited. obviously there's a lot going on right now. most importantly the best thing going on is that the spartans are in a

thanks for joining there are many things i wish for this christmas season. i wish for sex with young ukrainian women. i wish to god the dildo store next to four seasons landscaping would honor my coupon. i wish the president would pay me for my services so i could stop dyeing my hair with deck varnish. mostly, i wish the sight of a crucifix didn't make my skin burst into flames. >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live"! tonight, emily blunt. kyle chandler. and music from sturgill simpson. and now, jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hi there, hi everyone, i'm jimmy, i'm the host. thanks for watching.