octor about jardiance. governor newsom standing side by side with asian american leaders. his commitment to stopping the spike in violent hate crimes. also, the new video of an older asian woman knocked to the ground and robbed. the new bill that would reclassify this kind of attack from a felony to a misdemeanor. getting kids out of distance learning and back to in-person learning. the pushback is already under way. the lack of demand for covid testing has led to test site consolidation. why some say it is way too soon. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. >> the idea that people have to live in fear because their race, their ethnicity. the idea that we are still having conversations that we were having in 1881 a year

before the chinese exclusion act. what is wrong with us? >> that was governor newsom today as he met with community leaders in san francisco about the rise in racist attacks against asian americans. the outrage over these crimes and how to respond to them is going well beyond governor newsom this evening. thank you for joining us. >> tackling issues of race and social justice is something that we are focused on at abc 7 every day as we work to build a better bay area. a sentencing reform bill proposed by an east bay center would reclassify violent robberies as misdemeanor petty thefts. they was sparked anger from members of the asian american community who says this is not their idea of justice. abc 7 anchor dion lim spoke to both sides of the debate. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: new video out of dally city shows an older,

elderly, asian woman knocked to the ground and waved. this new wave against asian americans if the bill passes without the use of a deadly weapon or causing great bodily harm would be reclassified as misdemeanors which carries a maximum $1,000 fine and one year behind bars. concerned citizens held a rally recently in oakland's chinatown in protest. i reached out to senator nancy skinner of berkeley who is championing the bill as part of a committee to revise penal code. she issued a statement saying the intent was so nonviolent cases of theft wouldn't be charged as violent felonies. her spokesperson friday referred me of a video with her and scott weiner of san francisco earlier this week. >> i've seen an enormous amount of inaccurate information about this bill. if you go up to a senior and shove that senior to the

ground, you've committed an assault against that senior. if you injured that senior, you can be charged with a felony. >> reporter: the asian american prosecutors association issued a statement voicing their concerns over the bill and cited my story of three men attacking and robbing an older asian man in san francisco. alameda county d.a. nancy o'malley who has been a proponent of restorative justice for lower level crimes weighed in. >> it's a very big mistake in my opinion t wouldn't even qualify as great bodily injury. i don't think they understand that. that is a classic robbery where somebody is pushed to the ground or somebody is grabbed and tussled. >> reporter: when asked about the laundromat case, senator skinner's office told me under sb82 elder abuse and assault would be considered felonies, however prosecutors tell me elder abuse and assault without a felony robbery significantly reduces prison time. a hearing on the bill is set

for next month. in san francisco, dion lim, abc 7 news. at the heart of this debate, the recent unprovoked attacks against asian americans. governor newsom met bay area leaders to condemn what's happening and commit to combat the problem. abc 7 reporter chris reyes is live now with more. >> reporter: good evening. the governor spoke at the chinese culture center in san francisco side-by-side asian american leaders praising them for being one of the first governors in the country to condemning anti-asian racism and are asking him to continue to amplify their message. >> it breaks your heart. it doesn't just break your heart. it actually infuriates i think all of us the idea that people have to live in fear because their race, their ethnicity. >> reporter: standing side by side, local asian american leaders, governor gavin newsom addressed his commitment to addressing the recent spike in hate crimes and incidents against the community. many of them happening right here in the bay area. >> today we have close to 3,800

incidents of verbal and physical attacks against the asian american community. >> reporter: cynthia has been gathering those numbers for an entire year through the initiative she co-founded stop aapihate.org. her fellow leaders were concerned about covid-related anti-asian racism. >> parents are scared about children because of racism, not because of the virus, but because of hate. >> reporter: assemblyman says his fellow leaders are working to address anti-asian racism with real action start wag bill asking the doj to start tracking hate incidents. >> it's important not just to address hate crimes, but we also have to track and address at a root level hate incidents to stamp that out. >> reporter: this group said they called on the governor to amplify the message and address it with urgency. their fear where in atlanta

eight asian women were left dead. >> we are concerned what happened in the atlanta area is a reminder all of us are vulnerable at this time. these last few days have been extremely painful. >> this is emotional. it's not intellectual. this impacts all of us. >> reporter: many leaders at the event say they can sadly see what happened in georgia coming a year ago and want to be as preventative as possible to make sure violence against asians don't escalate. chris reyes, abc 7 news. a solidarity event is planned tomorrow in chinatown held in portsman square on kearny street to give people the space they need to mourn. it starts at noon and is supposed to end at 2:00. it will be family friendly and there will be translators. people are being urged to rsvp through a facebook page. that's where you should do that. start of building a better bay area is fighting for racial

and social justice. we don't have the all the answers, bewe have a lot of resources to help you. to find your ally, go to abc7news.com/takeaction. the governor says the state could abandon their eligibility tiers by may making shots available for anyone who wants them. the governor says we are anticipating within 5 1/2 weeks we can eliminate all the tiering because the supply will exponentially increase. a major policy change from the cdc in order to get more kids into the classrooms. under new guidelines, students in classrooms now only need to be three feet apart instead of six feet as long as everyone is wearing a mask. the three-foot rule also applies to students in middle schools and high schools as long as community transmission is not high. >> we have seen data demonstrating this is safe even in areas of high community spread. >> i just hope this is not a rush to put in twice as many desks in a place where we're

really starting to get things reopened. >> teachers unions say the research did not look at inner city schools and ignored the risks of aerosol exposure. these new cdc standards come as the county school district has agreed to return starting april 1. it will be a slow process for the rest of the county. >> reporter: empty hoops, a silent program, ghost town hallways. lawrence cook middle school in santa rosa has looked this way all year. >> i like your step one, justin. >> reporter: not for much longer and with less zooming. the schools and its 900 teachers announced a return to some classes by the end of this month. english teacher amy let. >> i think if we had tried to come back, we'd be shutdown as soon as there was a case. >> this was a time to be tough. this wasn't a time to just let it go. this is about safety. >> if you come on the school bus, what you are going to do -- >> reporter: this is the

largest of nine districts in the city and 40 in the county most of which remain closed. when kids do return for class here and elsewhere, do not expect a return to normal. >> it is hybrid. there will students who will stay in distance learning. >> hybrid is not full time. hybrid is two to four hours a week, two days a week. that's not opening our schools. opening our schools is opening our schools five days a week. >> socially, emotionally, two days is better than zero. >> reporter: could that change now that the cdc has updated guidelines from six feet to three? there is new pressure on the public health department to allow more students in classrooms. does three feet feel okay to you? >> absolutely. absolutely. why wouldn't it be? >> it reminds me of the five- second rule where people think germs won't be on food until it hits five seconds. >> reporter: it is for public health and school districts to decide. one more complication in a year

filled with them. in santa rosa, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. fewer of us are getting coronavirus tests. still ahead, why that is not a good thing. plus, school, work and play, it's all happening at home these days. that means our electric meters are on overdrive. a few tips on what you can do

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stage, many people have forgotten about covid testing so much so some sites are closing or consolidating because of lack of demand. experts warn that testing is still a vital part of fending off the deadly virus. >> reporter: once bustling with hundreds of cars, traffic at the pleasanton fair grounds testing side has closed to a trickle so much so that they plan to close it april 1. since april 2020, we've add teder over 31,800 tests with average 200 tests per month consolidating our covid-19 testing to one location allows us to focus existing resources in livermore. decline and demand for covid tests here mirrors a nationwide trend. >> everybody here is ready to come take their covid test? >> reporter: according to the covid tracking project at johns hopkins, testing in the u.s. dropped by 50% in just one

month from 2.2 million per day in january to just one million per day in february. >> remember, we are still looking at about 12% of americans have been fully vaccinated which means 88% of americans who can still absolutely catch coronavirus and spread it on to others. now is not the time to forget about testing. >> reporter: still, some are wondering whether or when they should get a test. have you thought about getting a covid test recently? >> no, i have not. i haven't been traveling. i don't have any reason to feel like i need to have a test. >> if you've been in contact with someone, if there's a reason to be screened, if you are traveling or if you have traveled and you've been quarantined and need to get out of quarantine without serving the full 10 days, you can get tested the seventh day, all those sorts of things are important and will remain important. >> reporter: by consolidating the testing here at their livermore site, they say they can better deploy and ramp up resources opt vaccine side.

vaccines are here, but the rollout is slow which means testing can still be a lifesaver. laura anthony, abc 7 news. the state today postponed the filing due date for all individual california taxpayers. the franchise tax board says it wants to be consistent with the internal revenue service. the new filing deadline is may 17. the irs announced this week as we reported to you it was extending its deadline until may 17 so now the state is following suit. the department of justice is reportedly investigating whether bay area-based visa is engaged in anti-competitive practices. both reuters and "wall street journal" say the focus is on the debit card market. the government is investigating whether they limited merchants from using networks that are less expensive. there is no comment from visa. while workers have enjoyed the benefit of not commuting during the pandemic, they may have noticed their utility

bills have gone up. energy has shifted from office buildings to homes. sheer what we can do about it. >> reporter: with many offices dark and employees working remotely, it is no surprise that commercial energy use has dropped. you can see 8 the 8% decline in california. residential energy use has taken a corresponding increase. federal workers say it's 9%. it's a reflection of more people working from homes and sheltering during the pandemic. vice president of energy and environment at the silicon valley leadership group. >> there is a great time to promote policies that encourage things like rooftop soler. >> reporter: they continue to embrace remote work post-covid. google this week says it is planning to ask workers to return to the office in the fall. it is continuing to work on a new $1 billion campus next to mauve moffet field.

>> i think there will be commitments made by companies to continue do reduce their energy use. >> reporter: even with offices unoccupied, the shift in residential energy use made be even more dramatic. >> commercial energy usage hasn't dropped as much. the lights still have to be on. heating, ventilation still has to run. those are big energy consumers. >> reporter: what can people at home do to address their increased energy use? pg&e offers this. rely on natural natural natural possible. abc 7 news. people increasing how much energy they spend outdoors since the forecast looks pretty good.

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be careful if he beach. the national weather service says caution is needed because of large, powerful rip currents that are happening along the coast from sonoma to monteray county. sun is out. people want to get out. you have to exercise caution. >> yeah, you do. >> however, the weather looks awfully nice. meteorologist sandy patel is here for the arrival of spring, sandy. >> yeah, tomorrow it starts bright and early in the morning and a good reminder if you are going to the coast, take a look at this live picture from our santa cruz camera to be careful because the waves are up. the northwest swell has been

building. as a matter of fact, there's a beach hazard statement up until 11:00 for our entire coastline. swells between 13 and 15 feet with strong rip currents and they are topping 15-foot range. watch out. never turn your back on the waves. a look at live doppler 7. clouds are still lingering on the eastern and southern past of our viewing area as we take a look at the sierra nevada. they are seeing snow. it still looks like winter up there. chain requirements have been off and on. winter weather advisory remains up until midnight. saturday above 5,500 feet, 11 inches expected for the peaks, three to six inches of snow expected for the 55-foot level. travel impacts continue. a nice view. plenty of sun. san francisco, oakland all in the 50s. 61 in mound vanview. along mountainview.

clouds stacked up. upper 60s. 52 concord. 59 in livermore. here is a look at the hawaiian airlines travel forecast. mostly sunny, a light breeze tomorrow. upper 50s to low 60s. if you are getting out of town, it is going to be wet and windy. in honolulu 77 degrees. new york city 56. bright and sunny in chicago. 52 in los angeles. mainly sunny after the fog. 67 degrees. here is a lovely view from our tower camera looking at san francisco. chilly areas with fog overnight. spring begins at 2:37 in the morning and we have a warmer pattern setting up as we head into next week. morning temperatures mid-30s to upper 40s. definitely bundle up and look out for the fog. it will be thick in some areas and then in the afternoon temperatures will range from the mid-50s to the mid-60s with a mix of sun and clouds for your saturday. if you are making outdoor plans, sunday will be the warmer of the two days. here is a look at the accuweather seven-day forecast. spring arrives at 2:37 in the

morning. we do have the warmth coming your way with plenty of sun on sunday. mid-50s to upper 60s. that warming friend on hold for monday. it just continues after that. we'll see those temperatures coming up into the 70s inland. 50s, 60s, coastside. we have warmth coming your way in time for a new workweek. >> yes, spring off with a bang. thanks. >> well, a lot of grateful families as a theme park reopens after being closed most of the pandemic. we'll have that coming up next. tonight on abc 7, for a one-hour "20/20 special" about the murders in atlanta this week and overall attacks on asian americans. our own anchor dion lim's work will be featured in that. this starts at 10:00 p.m. right here on abc 7.

finally here tonight, laughter and squeals of happiness and joy could be

heard all around oakland's lake mirror today. >> that is because children's fairyland officially reopened today. the venerable amusement park decide for little ones shutdown months ago during the spike of coronavirus cases last fall. the running, jumping and playing not only brought smiles to the kids' faces, but staffers and parents as well. >> the best thing to watch them happy and be able to enjoy their life. >> it's really great to see parents and guardians and children walking through happy to play even on a chilly day. >> officials say it has been tough to stay afloat, but donors have stepped up to make sure fairyland survives the pandemic. i've been there a number of times. it is a magical place. that he is fun to see. >> yeah. it looks like it. >> "world news tonight with david muir" is next. we appreciate your time. >> for all of us here, thank you for watching and our next newscast is coming up at 6:00 p.m. we hopefully will see you then.

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tonight, the breaking news as we come on the air. the president just a short time ago on the horrific shootings in atlanta. and what we've learned tonight. president biden and vice president harris meeting with asian-american lawmakers and community leaders late today. president biden and the vice president on the tragedy, the pain, and vowing to work to make our asian-american communities safer. and tonight, the newly obtained surveillance of the alleged gunman at the scene of the first attack. all eight victims have now been identified, six of asian descent. the devoted mother of two, the u.s. army veteran, the spa owner killed just two days shy of her 50th birthday. police saying they are not ruling out a hate crime, and abc's steve osunsami in atlanta tonight with late reporting on what we now know. the other major news this friday night.