>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. ♪ kristen: i'm kristen sze. you are watching "getting answers." we ask experts your questions every day at 3 p.m. to get answers for you in real time. as companies struggle to get employees to go back to the office, no single building exemplifies the challenges more than salesforce tower in san francisco. a reporter with our media partner, the san francisco standard, will join us to talk about what is at stake. and imagine a bike race more grueling than the tour de france, right here in the u.s.. a bay area man pushed himself to the limit to raise money for cancer research. his journey is in a new documentary produced by his wife -- they will join us to share their story.

first, a third person has been arrested in sunday's deadly shooting in downtown sacramento. six people were killed after a fight broke out downtown. and several people opened fire. america's latest mass shooting is prompting new efforts to curb gun violence. joining us now to discuss this as the attorney general -- is the attorney general. thanks so much for joining us, rob. this happened blocks from the capital where you work, this must really hit home for you. >> it does. at that time, full of pain and sadness. sacramento is my hometown. that's where i grew up. the location of the tragic shooting was the place that i walked by hundreds of times -- a place i walked by hundreds of times. my heart goes out to the families of the victims, the lives cut short, who will never be able to pursue or realize their dreams.

so sadly, two of them, i noticed were younger than my oldest daughter -- full lives ahead of them. it's also a time of anger and frustration for me. for actions not taken. actions that we could've taken. should've taken, at the national level, and other states, when it comes to addressing gun violence. this can never be seen as normal. it is sickening. . . it is disgusting. it is unacceptable. it cannot be. it is unique in the world, in the u.s. the u.s. is the only place that has what i call america's disease, this epidemic of gun violence. we have to continue do what we know works and build on that, driven by evidence and data and outcomes. and we are doing those things at the california department of justice. and we must do more. kristen before we dive into the details of what you are working on, let's look at the big

picture. anecdotally, it feels like it is a lot worse in terms of gun violence and deaths. but tell us, what are we seeing data wise here in california? has it really grown dramatically worse? >> there have been some rises in some crimes, including violent crimes in some places in the state of california. the backdrop to that is, we remain in historic lows, when it comes to the crime rate. but there are some spikes in violent crime. almost all of it -- 90% of it is fueled by gun violence. you cannot talk about violent crime in california without talking about gun violence. our leaders, we are focused on this, 1000% -- we must be focused on addressing gun violence. kristen let's talk about the

ways you are thinking about approaching this. is it getting illegal guns off the streets? holding those who produce or distribute this guns responsible somehow? -- these guns responsible somehow? >> it is all of the above. we are starting with prevention. red flag laws. gun violence restraining orders. which allow for due process and a court order. guns to be removed from a person who would do harm to themselves or others. supporting and expanding programs -- violence intervention programs like cease fire and peacekeepers, which are known to successfully intervene in high crime areas with deep interventions with the relatively few who are responsible for the majority of violent crime and intervening in a way that produces the crime and places -- in places like stalking by half.

with armed prohibited persons systems. we are doing deep investigations, sophisticated investigator investigations, su, tracking down guns engaged in trafficking, gun violence. we have stopped murders in the process of occurring in real-time. we are defending common sen se gun laws in courts, to create greater accountability and safety in our neighborhoods. we are suing ghost gun manufacturers, a more recent but significant threat to safety when it comes to gun violence. we are suing gun manufacturers for their involvement in

allowing ghost guns to be on our streets, our communities and neighborhoods. kristen let's talk about that, the allowing citizens to file civil lawsuits. against fun manufacturers -- gun manufacturers and distributors. is this modeled after the texas law allowing citizens to sue anyone who somehow aided in an abortion? >> that is a separate law that i had not yet mentioned, being offered by the senator here in the state of california, modeled after the sb 8 in texas -- but also very different. it is similar in the sense that it allows for private right of action, meaning it allows an individual to sue another individual for a certain conduct. ut -- in texas -- -- but in texas, it was used to undermine a constitutional right. the constitutional right to an abortion and individuals were

allowed to sue others for exercising that right. this bill is designed to not undermine any constitutional right but to keep our communities safe, to protect life and communities by allowing for suing those who have assault weapons or high-caliber firearms or ghost guns. kristen some feel a sense of futility and that we are looking at california already having some of the toughest gun restriction laws in the country. yet this still happens here. is the solution working with other states? are you working with other states'attorneys to do something collectively. >> yes. there is a need for other states to act. the federal government to act as well. president biden has pushed for common sense gun laws. congress has unfortunately not cooperated with him at this point.

it is important for the federal government to act more boldly for other states to act more aggressively, for more states and the federal government to conform with and to what california has done. california is a leader in the nation. when it comes to common sense gun laws. as a result, we have one of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the nation. those things go hand-in-hand. one is because of the other. if other states did the same, we would have an enhanced safety, when it comes to gun violence. we also have borders where individuals can appropriately freely cross them. if individuals buy guns in other states and bring them into california when they are prohibited from doing so in california, that is a problem. we are in this together. we are interrelated and connected. if the federal government had universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, invested more deeply in proven violence intervention programs like cease fire and peacekeepers, we would all be safer. kristen: what about more or

different policing, or prosecution? is that part of the equation, too? >> yes. we are always looking to improve safety. public safety is job number one. it is fundamental. it's foundational. every person in california and in this country deserves a safe neighborhood. a safe community. to be safe. i've got all over the state of california and met individuals from north to south, inland and rural, coastal, and i've never met anyone who wants to be the victim of a crime. i've been the victim of a violent crime -- i do not wish that for me or for anyone else. it is important, we know the biggest deterrent to crime, what prevents crime from happening is knowing that you will be caught, if you commit a crime, so we need to arrest people then hold them accountable when they violate the law and harm others. being able to hold individuals accountable when they are

engaged in gun violence is absolutely critical. kristen: ok. of course, you've heard the phrase "guns don't kill people, people do," do you think there's also more to ending the gun violence than taking these measures via restricting guns for example? people talk about mental health, improving socioeconomic sand opportunities for people -- socioeconomic sand opportunities for people -- socioeconomic's and opportunities for people. does that go hand-in-hand here? >> if an individual wants to harm someone, but they only have access to their hands, or a less lethal weapon than a firearm, even a knife, they might not be able to hurt as many people or an individual as a severely.

the restrictions we have on guns are absolutely critical, they are without a doubt, indisputably impactful and effective. we need to continue doing what keeps us safe. and yes, deep interventions and investments in communities. -- they make us safer, jobs, job training, economic opportunity, greater health care access, addressing property, a strong social service safety net, all of those things help create a thriving community, free of violence, including violence with firearms. kristen: thank you so very much for weighing in today. really appreciate the conversation. >> honored to be with you. thank you for having me. kristen: coming up next -- is downtown san francisco forever changed by the pandemic? the san francisco standard takes a look at the past, the present,

and what could

a partnership with the digital news site, the san francisco standard. they focus on local quality of life issues, to build a better bay area. the standard is focusing on the effort to vitalize downtown san francisco. two years after it was hit by the pandemic. specifically, the area around salesforce tower. once a bustling neighborhood and really a financial center. joining us now is the san francisco standard data editor. thanks for joining us today. you lead a team of reporters, diving into what's happening around salesforce tower.

the transit center and surrounding area. what was your goal in doing this? >> everyone really wants to know what's happening with downtown. that's really a big question on everyone's mind in san francisco. we decided to do a deep dive on a truly iconic tower in san francisco, salesforce tower. to kinda figure out what the future of downtown will look like. kristen: this reporting comes at a time when salesforce and other companies are trying to bring employees back to the office. fighting a kind of office worker that has hybrid or remote worked just fine, that is a push and pull and a struggle -- we are things right now? -- where are things right now? >> tenats comprised of 85% of the tower and we realize they are not coming back full-time. it is also law firms, consulting firms, etc., there is a wee work there as well, and we found the

tenants are planning to ask workers to come back between zero and three days a week. kristen: all right. any percentages, in terms of willingness to do so? did you take a look at how san francisco compares to other big cities? >> we did not take a look specifically as to how we compared other big cities, but there's been consistent stories using castle card entries, they have really shown a lagging behind other cities in terms of office reentry. kristen: got it. if people are only going to be there one day, to three days, that is a lot of money not dropped on restaurants in the area, retail. how about those shops? and restaurants? did you look at those, we -- how they fared during the pandemic and where we are? >> what we found was pretty depressing. we found approximately half of the retail was closed during covid, the sit down restaurants

were closed, everything from a casual lunch time iterate to a fancy place where you take your clients. somewhere like a take out place was closed during covid and had reopened -- but it was pretty sad, foot traffic sales were down 50%, they said, one bakery owner says she sells 10 cookies a day, before it was a ton of office parties, birthday cakes, etc. the situation was dire. kristen: there's also a transit center there, how about the buses and commuting? is that coming back? >> yes, also depressing. we looked at ac transit, the largest bust agency operating on a salesforce transit. ridership is down almost 90%, compared to before covid. down 88%, i believe. kristen: so there is that what was happening before and now -- what do we think will happening in the future? to these companies and businesses have a sense that patient will come back more, or noep -- or nope, we have to find

a different way? >> we spoke to mike bluhm, a stanford economics professor, he's a study specifically working from home, when he thinks is things are truly never going to be the same downtown. and that we just need to adapt to this new way of working, certain office workers are only going to come in max three days a week. sf needs to drastically rethink what we are going to be doing with downtown. kristen: right, with all that capacity i guess and space. what are some of the ideas? if not techies and bankers, somebody else will come in and fill the void? >> exactly. what he was saying is is exactly not necessarily -- not exactly necessarily a bad thing. it might actually be good. we might see -- in 2019, everybody was talking about how expensive and overcrowded it was, but we might see a return to where things were actually more affordable in sf, an hourly worker can afford to live near their job, instead

of having to commute in from very far away. that might actually be a good thing for a lot of people. kristen: i'm good with the traffic of 15 years ago. a lot of people might be. what are some of the other ideas, in the meantime, to make the area thrive again? what are some of the carrots being dangled? >> the mayor has got any initiative -- a new initiative called bloom sf, centered around downtown. salesforce transit park, if you have been, it's this beautiful urban park on top of the transit center, it is 5.5 acres. they are doing a bunch of free programming. they will have a beer garden, there's going to be a restaurant there, they have this amphitheater where they do a lot of shows in yoga that is free, toddler tuesdays, stuff like that, the area is ramping up events to attract foot traffic. kristen: part of what i enjoyed about this particular story is really the way that you presented it. it certainly made the data very

easy to digest. so i really invite people to check it out. thank you so much. anna tong, sf standard senior editor. if you go to our website, you will see a whole section on agile reporting from the san francisco standard. they are our media partner, we invite you to check it out. it is known as the toughest bicycle race in the world. nope, not the tour de france -- but a bay area man crossed the finish line. we are talking to the cyclist at the center of t

kristen: the race across america is a nearly nonstop bike ride from coast-to-coast, winding through deserts, mountain ranges, and everything in between. it is 30% longer than the tour de france. and accomplished in half the amount of time, so you can imagine how much you have to write each day.

an extreme athlete from palo alto embarked on this adventure, and there's a new documentary out about his grueling journey. ♪ >> i can't understand or comprehend that somebody can write a bike -- ride a bike this far, this fast. >> extreme heat, extreme climbing, extreme everything. >> you wake up and you are like, oh, i have 20 minutes to get back on the bike. kristen: "until the wheels come off," you can watch it right now on amazon prime, apple tv, or more. right now, we have john and his wife, who produced the film. thank you for coming on the show today. oh, i think you might have to unmute your mic or something -- i see your lovely faces in your mouths moving, but i don't hear you. trying out. >> thank you for having us. kristen: it is more high-tech than a bike -- than a bike, but

what inspired you to take on the challenge? >> yeah, so, the crew and i did the recent 2014. -- did the race in 2014. we finished, but at the end of the race we looked at each other and said, we could probably do this better, faster. so our goal in 2019 was actually to win. kristen: i thought it was also to raise money for cancer research. >> indeed, indeed, to raise money for the stanford cancer institute. kristen: we've all heard of the tour de france, but not necessarily about the race across america -- is the whole purpose of it to allow participants to raise money? >> that is certainly part of it. all of the riders i know are raising money for a nonprofit of some sort or another. kristen: not really important -- but a curiosity factor.

we are wondering if riding that much, you have to be really fit. what is your day job? >> my day job is to support a team of people in commercial real estate doing life science properties. kristen: so it's not physical fitness related. walk us through the race. where did it start? where did it take you? where did it end? the most challenging parts. all of it. >> it starts in oceanside, california, winding its way across the country, ending in annapolis, maryland. kristen: i'm going to ask jenna here, what were some of the most harrowing moments that you saw? where there moments where you were worried about him? >> i was worried about him the entire time. it was the most stressful experience of my life. to watch him.

from the vibrations on the bike, he had nerve damage in his arms, so he couldn't steer his bike because he couldn't control his arms, his neck muscles give out, so he can't lift his head. how can you steer your bike to avoid oncoming traffic when you can't steer or see? it was incredibly stressful. [laughter] it was almost 130 degrees in arizona. and he is riding his bike, and from heat exhaustion, he's also throwing up, so he can't keep liquid inside of him to will himself because he is so overheated -- i mean, i had to call helicopter ambulance at every moment -- it was so stressful. kristen: ok. it sounds like it was just the most difficult experience ever. did you win? >> we did not.

we did not. >> and his only -- >> in his own way, he won, because he finished. kristen: that's like 250 miles more than a double century a day -- which is nuts. we've got to go. but congratulations on this experience and the documentary, "until the wheels come off." we invite our viewerso

joining us on this interactive show, "getting answers." we will be here every weekday at 3:00 on air and on livestream, answering your questions. "world news tonight" is coming up next. have a great day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the deadly storms sweeping across several states at this hour. at least six confirmed tornadoes and then the system heading to the northeast. and the war, ukrainians now describing hiding in basements with russian soldiers upstairs. tonight, the graphic new images here. the horrific details now emerging from the massacre in bucha. president zelenskyy describing gruesome scenes of women shot outside their homes. families killed. osebasents.ror h in. dinolerthe russians sh james longman at the scene of